EPCOT Overhaul is Over
Ahead of the grand opening of CommuniCore Hall and Plaza, Walt Disney World shared new information about the transformation of EPCOT and its completion. This post covers a rundown of what to expect in the reimagined front of the park–including new food offerings and more–now that construction walls are fully down, along with some thoughts about the end of EPCOT’s overhaul.
For starters, the news that the EPCOT overhaul is over comes via park VP Kartika Rodriguez who declared the following: “after years of creative vision, innovation and dedicated work, I’m thrilled to share that the historic transformation of our park is complete.”
The construction walls are around World Celebration; CommuniCore Hall & Plaza, plus Mickey & Friends are now open to all. According to Rodriguez, these new spaces speak to the heart of the World Celebration neighborhood, which focuses on experiences that bring communities together.
Rodriguez also added the following: “If you can dream it, CommuniCore Hall can do it… the future of this gathering and event space is limited only by the boundaries of imagination. We’re all about the magic of possibilities here at EPCOT, and our imaginations are pretty spectacular. ” (Emphasis not added.)
“Since the first construction walls went up in 2019 through today, I can’t tell you the amount of time, talent, energy and passion that went into this current transformation,” the EPCOT Vice President continued. “EPCOT cast and Walt Disney Imagineers poured a lot of love (and art and soul!) into the beautiful park you see today.” The announcement also includes an obligatory Walt Disney quote.
I was able to attend the media event for the grand opening of CommuniCore Hall & Plaza, and my description of the spaces would not be nearly as charitable. But I’ll have a full review later this week once I’m able to explore the venues during the day and see how their being put to use during normal ops for Diet EPCOT. For now, I’ll just say…uh…there’s so much space for activities, I guess?
Turning to the new additions debuting alongside CommuniCore Hall & Plaza, the space adds two venues for performances. On the CommuniCore Plaza Stage, guests can enjoy “¡Celebración Encanto!”, the first show to debut in this new space for a limited time from now through September 6, 2024.
Bring the whole family for a fun sing-along to some of your favorite songs from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Encanto.” I don’t have any intentions of reviewing “¡Celebración Encanto!” separately since it’s a fairly minor offering, but it’s fine. Pretty much what you’d expect. The only oddity (at least to me) is that Mirabel and Bruno don’t appear until towards the end of the sing-along, shortly after which it turns into a quasi dance party.
I wouldn’t be surprised if “¡Celebración Encanto!” evolves over time, as Mirabel and Bruno are–I assume–why the target demo would want to watch this in the first place. Without them on stage (or mingling in the crowd), a lot families are just going to pass right by this sing-along. It’s not the same as the Frozen sing-along over at DHS, since that has a semi-captive audience and thus can build to the character reveal.
You can catch the story of the Family Madrigal during the day, and at night, a Latin groove band will fill World Celebration with music and fun. While “¡Celebración Encanto!” is the headline addition, I found the Latin groove band to be the much more enjoyable, and something that could potentially maintain some energy in the former Future World as crowds otherwise start heading for World Showcase. (I also thought the music was way too loud, but I feel that way about every single performance at EPCOT–so hardly a unique critique. I guess I’m old…or perhaps value my hearing too much.)
On the other end of CommuniCore Plaza, there’s room for another performance space. According to Walt Disney World, this “will be perfect for open-air entertainment… you’ll have to stay tuned to see how we’ll bring that stage to life!” I assume this is a teaser for future use at the 2024 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival? Color me intrigued.
Speaking of festivals, right next to CommuniCore Plaza Stage, there is a new quick-service food and beverage destination that’s called “Festival Favorites.”
You can find an ever-changing assortment of some of fan-favorite items from the four EPCOT Festivals here to enjoy now. This summer, it’ll include a few treats inspired by the Disney Animation Studios Film “Encanto,” including a Cheese-stuffed Arepa with cilantro-lime crema and cotija cheese, and the Coconut Tres Leches, which is a vanilla cake soaked with oat, almond, and coconut milk topped with toasted coconut.
I actually love the idea of a Festival Favorites walk-up window like this–I hope it does, in fact, serve actual favorites from festivals. Have this be an ever-evolving menu and rotate in a few extinct dishes and it could be a real winner–that draws locals and fans to EPCOT at times of lower attendance (like right now!). It’s also in a good location with shade and indoor seating nearby. This might be the best aspect of CommuniCore Hall & Plaza, which is saying something.
After you’ve tried something tasty from Festival Favorites, be sure to visit some of your best pals at the all-new character greeting location, Mickey & Friends. This bright and colorful space is the perfect place to capture new memories with Mickey Mouse and more.
We had the chance to step inside Mickey & Friends during the CommuniCore Hall preview, where we met Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse–all in their iconic attire. The meet & greet is very similar to the Awesome New Character Spot at EPCOT that debuted in Innoventions West back in 2019 when that began its phased closure. Different murals, very similar idea.
One thing worth noting is that Mickey & Friends has both a standby line and a Lightning Lane. To my knowledge, Walt Disney World hasn’t yet announced this as an addition to the Genie+ service, but I’d expect to see it in there soon (today?). We’ll be watching to see how quickly Lightning Lane inventory goes for this–a similar capacity meet & greet at Animal Kingdom is quite popular, but those are also unique costumes…and it’s DAK, which is its own beast.
Finally, Walt Disney World shared a list of everything that has been added to EPCOT as part of the so-called historic transformation:
- Takumi-Tei
- Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue
- Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along
- Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360
- Awesome Planet
- Creations Shop
- Club Cool
- Space 220
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- La Crêperie de Paris
- Main Entrance Fountain
- Beacons of Magic on Spaceship Earth
- Connections Café and Eatery
- La Gelateria Toscana
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- DuckTales World Showcase Adventure
- Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana
- World Celebration Gardens
- Dreamers Point
While Walt Disney World will never be finished, EPCOT will always be in a state of becoming, and so forth…it is interesting to note that the company is declaring “mission accomplished” on this overhaul despite so much of it not coming to fruition. A lot more was planned and shelved, some of which we discussed recently in Here’s What EPCOT’s Overhaul Needs in Phase 2.
I’m not shocked that the Wondrous China film or Mary Poppins ride in the United Kingdom pavilion aren’t happening, and think fans had built the latter up to be something more than was actually planned, anyway. However, I am surprised that the much-needed (literally) Spaceship Earth refurbishment and the Wonders of Life pavilion transformation have been cancelled.
That’s to say nothing of the original three-level festival center that would have “one of the most remarkable architectural designs at any Disney park, featuring a plaza level, a middle expo level, and a park that sits in the sky on the top level.” Or, for that matter, the original and more ambitious plans for World Celebration.
I’ll always wonder what could’ve been had March 2020 not happened. But in fairness to Disney, it “only” took an additional 4 years to create buildings, bushes, and placemaking roughly equivalent to what they demolished. To end on an optimistic note, at least we are getting Test Track 3.0, which sounds pretty promising…and will hopefully usher in a second (and needed) phase of the EPCOT overhaul.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of EPCOT’s overhaul ending? Is this an exciting development, or are you underwhelmed by the end results? Looking forward to any of these changes and additions? Disappointed about anything that has been cancelled? Agree or disagree with any of our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Listing Club Cool as one of the “new features” is certainly a choice they made here.
I’m assuming the Mickey and Friends meet and greet is going to be much more popular than it’s been when it’s been hidden in the Imagination pavilion? If so, would you recommend hitting it at a different point now than when you suggest in your Epcot itineraries? (I’m really trying to avoid Genie+ at EPCOT this trip. That much back and forth is too much for my multi-generation party.)
Lost: 1.Fountain of Nations. 2. Innoventions buildings. Both impressive.
Gained: Nothing worth mentioning except the lights on Spaceship Earth, which are beautiful and a great idea. What is the point of building communicore with nothing in it when the innoventions could have just been remodeled?
Conclusion: Total loss. Park VP is lying through his teeth.
Festival Favorites sounds interesting, as long as they aren’t trying to push weird stuff and so-called plant-based nofu things on us. Make sure to have a good variety! Although the SPAM Hash needs to be a permanent resident on the menu. I’ll check it out on Friday!
Annoyed they dumped the play pavilion. Further annoyed they are neglecting the iconic space ship earth–just maintain it! And of course Imagination (also my favorite as a kid like many incl Tom) left to wallow. There are actual families that visit Epcot not just adults drinking and eating around the world.
I’m hoping DAK gets a real upgrade versus this white wash.
The overhaul of the test track and I think that’s gonna be a good thing. A blend of the original ride and the new is exactly what EPCOT needs.
But they need to do that with Imagination and Spaceship Earth also. Neither of which will probably be done anytime soon.
Also, they really need to do some more expansion in world showcase. I’m honestly shocked they didn’t resurrect the Mary Poppins expansion in the UK. That would’ve been amazing and checks all the boxes they are trying to do with EPCOT, add IP more “rides” for kids, add another “must do” attraction like Frozen, Ratatouille, Guardians & Soaring. But nope. Probably will not happen either.
I’m dumbfounded they don’t do a Coco layover in Mexico. Blows my mind and would make that ride popular again.
Mary poppins a must do? Lol
What year is it? Plus it was like a merry go round
Sure, a Coco layover sounds like an amazing and obvious choice on paper…but when you stop and think about the actual physical layout of the building – especially the queue for Gran Fiesta Tour – it’s easy to figure out why that’s never going to happen. There’s literally no room to accommodate the crowds a Coco retheme would bring into the building. Even if they turned the crystal/glass shop next to the ride into additional queue space, that still wouldn’t provide enough space to prevent it from overflowing into the market square. They would have to do some major reconstruction on the pyramid to create a proper queue line for the ride and we all know that’s not going to happen.
I think we all agree the only thing historic about it is how little was accomplished in such a long period of time. I’m pretty sure Card Walker got the entire park built in less time than this tiny update took.
My biggest disappointment is that they cut the tri-level festival building. That seemed to be the one really striking and innovative part of the whole project, and it gave me serious 1964 World’s Fair vibes, which seemed perfect to add to Epcot. I suppose it’s possible that some day down the road they might re-visit adding that, but I can’t imagine Disney is going to want to tear up another big chunk of the park in plain sight after the Guest Satisfaction beating they’ve taken over the current (non) overhaul.
I’m trying to imagine what it would be like to spend weeks experiencing all the new and amazing attractions in Tokyo, and then right after that, visit Communicore Hall in all its CREATIVE SPLENDOR. Oooof.
Probably about the same as visiting the Ruins of Mouse Gear was right after it opened (and still today). It sucks in comparison! Sure, it’s brighter in there. But they have maybe 10% of the stuff that MG did. MG was like the twin to the Emporium, except it had even more stuff.
I’m disappointed with Epcot for all the same reasons you mentioned and so much more. I was diehard fan since it opened, and it has been going downhill for many years. I was really looking forward to the 3-tiered festival center with amazing architecture and new “dreams” brought to life using imaginative technology. I guess 2 stages were a lot cheaper.
Hi,
Saw the picture of the treats but as usual pictures are no way a reflection of what’s on the plate but hey ho
Also if wanting to ride Test Track it closes for refurbishment next week…according to CM on the ride
I assume your first picture is the view from the parking lot entrance. How nice that they put a nondescript structure blocking half of Spaceship Earth. After all who wants to see the iconic symbol of Epcot. Unbelieveable!
That’s actually the back side of Spaceship earth. That building has always been there, just the statue of Walt and the bench are new.
There really isn’t anything in the entire front area aside from planters. There’s not even a water feature. Innoventions became an empty hall? The walls being up for over 4 years should have done more than just empty space. The entire concept of the park has been lost and is now just an advertisement for Disney+. They should just rename it to IPcot as it’s basically all IP now. Lots of missed opportunities all around.
To be honest, ANY change at EPCOT is exciting for me since I’m only able to visit once every two years, so really the only thing about the overhaul that I don’t like is the name “CommuniCore Hall.” Unless maybe there’s some relevance or nostalgia behind it that I’m not aware of? It just sounds bland and unexciting.
Originally there were Communicore East and Communicore West buildings. They housed many different things. Epcot Center in the 80s was an amazing place for a kid.
I guess Morocco will still go unused? That’s an overhaul that needs to happen. Either bring back Morocco or make it a different country. If people still want Mediterranean food, make it Spain. Take inspiration from the Alhambra to still use the mosaics, build it into Barcelona and bring in Gaudi’s style, or just something.
Turkey would be better than Spain. Having just come back from a week there in Malatya and Cappadocia, I’d much rather see this than a mediocre rehash of the Mexico pavilion, which is what we would get. Turkish food is awesome! So are the people there.
Is there a Disney park that has fallen further from its glory days?
I dont think that Wonders of Life or Mary Popins is coming but I think the SpaceShip Earth upgarade is going to be announced along with a couple of other expansions to Epcot they will just claim its ‘part of the continuing efforts to provide park expansions and world class experiences as part of the 60 billion (not actually all going to DIsney World but we arnt saying it) expansion to the park’. Or something along those lines to be sold to the investors.
Thats mostly my speculation but I dont think the ride system can cope much longer and it would be raw meat for the D23 fans and claim increased people from it and as part of the next round of budget for rennovations and be sellable as a ‘new attraction’.
I mean, they have to do work on SSE at some point. And it’s going to take a while. So it would make sense to also reimagine it to some extent then. I’m just surprised it hasn’t already happened.
I was there the last week of May before the final construction walls came down. As a guest that has been many times in the past and loved the Fountain of Nations and the “old” front of EPCOT, I found it all confusing and underwhelming. I am sad for the loss of all the interactive entertainment that used to be housed there, but to be fair that has been on the way out for a long time.
I think the old front needed a refresh, but that absolutely could’ve been accomplished on a much shorter timeline and without wasting so much money. Or they could’ve taken this long and spent this much…but actually made it good.
The outcome here is the worst of both worlds.
Also there the last week of May…my thoughts echo yours…I will alway miss that massive, beautiful fountain!
I mean, remys is fun and guardians has become my favorite Disney ride – also my kids really liked the moana water thing so its not all bad lol. High hopes for new test track as well but stinks not having it on our next visit. I hope they can fit in a few new rides and a few reimaginings for Epcot in the next 5 years
Yeah, I’d confine my criticism to World Celebration, not the other stuff. A lot of good did come out of the overhaul, just not in the area behind SSE.
Well they actually did unite people in disdain for the egregiously botched opportunities at Epcot!
I’m completely underwhelmed.
Agree! Back in 2017 my then 10 yo son was worried that Innoventions seemed to be scaling back and wrote a letter to an exec of the park pleading for innoventions to remain and be refurbished. The letter he received in response assured him that no closure of innoventions was planned…hmmm…