EPCOT Report: Spring Crowds & Construction
It’s time for another EPCOT construction and crowds update! This Walt Disney World park report will offer photos & commentary about construction progress on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Harmonious, Moana’s Journey of Water, Creations Shop, Club Cool, and more.
After spending a ton of time in EPCOT at the beginning of last month for Flower & Garden Festival, we’ve cooled it with our visits the last couple of weeks, mostly making quick evening visits. Speaking of which, please check out our 2021 Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Food Reviews, Photos & Booth Menus if you haven’t already. We pigged out so you don’t have to–or so you can also pig out, but only on the good stuff.
For our construction coverage, let’s start at the front of the park. If you missed our last EPCOT update, the entrance area is looking great. The fountain is finished, new flags have been installed, a soaring orchestral background music has debuted, and new lighting package has debuted. EPCOT makes a strong first impression before the wheels fall off once guests get to Spaceship Earth…
Speaking of which, no news yet on the multi-year Spaceship Earth Reimagining that was shelved during Walt Disney World’s closure last year. Spaceship Earth needs track work, among other things, and a lengthy refurbishment will be necessary within the next few years. Perhaps after Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary ends in 2023?
On the plus side, the “Beacon of Magic” lights are now being installed on the EPCOT icon.
We previously expressed some…let’s call it mild cynicism…about the look of these lights. Not saying that was right or wrong, but it was justifiable coming on the heels of the Harmonious Stargate installation.
At this point, I will admit that the points of light that have been installed thus far are almost entirely unnoticeable.
The above and below photos were taken with a telephoto lens zoomed all the way in. The vast majority of guests probably wouldn’t even notice these when passing by.
They’re essentially on the backside and top of Spaceship Earth, though.
It’ll be interesting to see how much more prominent these look when installed on the front and underside of Spaceship Earth.
Definitely willing to adopt a “wait and see” mentality with these lights. It’s entirely possible or even probable, that the negative impact during the day will be more than offset by the added wow-factor at night.
We just shared the latest non-update from Disney on Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind’s opening timeframe, but here’s a fresh look at construction.
Don’t expect to see any visible progress here anytime soon. Now that the facade is fully enclosed, work has moved inside on the queue and pre-show areas. We have no reason to believe this project is pausing a la TRON Lightcycle Run, so at least there’s that!
On the opposite side of Spaceship Earth, the last remnants of the Innoventions building are now gone.
Walt Disney World hasn’t offered any substantive updates on it, but there’s no reason to believe Moana’s Journey of Water isn’t still happening in this location. However, it’s presumably behind schedule since demolition was behind schedule.
Here’s a slightly elevated look at the EPCOT Central Spine.
Optimistically, we’re hopeful that the prolonged time ‘back at the drawing board’ on this project has given Disney the necessary confidence to keep its scope intact. Tourism has bounced back faster than many expected, with analysts moving their recovery forecasts up by several years in some cases. Now, it really doesn’t make a ton of sense to scale this back…but that doesn’t mean Disney won’t.
Last week, Walt Disney Imagineering shared concept art and details about a new Club Cool and Creations Shop, the replacement for MouseGear.
Dull is at might sound, Creations Shop probably does not reflect budgetary cutbacks on the EPCOT overhaul. Looking at other recent retail spaces around Walt Disney World and Disneyland, this is simply the style for some reason. Perhaps Disney discovered they could increase merchandise sales by .08% with a boring and sterile retail space, and couldn’t pass up that truly golden opportunity.
Nearby, work continues on “Food Restaurant,” the successor to Electric Umbrella.
No opening date has been set yet for that new culinary concept, but late this year or early next is a possibility. It probably depends on attendance levels versus dining capacity. Hard to see it being necessary before actual attendance is back around 75% or more–especially with nearly perpetual festivals now.
Food Restaurant has not yet been revealed as the official name for this location–I’m just extrapolating from Creations Shop.
Food Restaurant won’t just be a place for sustenance and caloric intake during your visit to EPCOT. The foods you’ll find here will extend Disney storytelling and act as a testament to the park’s ability to inspire the dreamer in all of us, all while encouraging you to explore your own expressiveness and creativity. Wow, can’t wait.
Joking aside, I’m really looking forward to the EPCOT monorail line returning for better vantages on this construction.
Many of you have asked, but no updates yet on when the EPCOT monorails will go back into service. It not having happened for spring break doesn’t bode well for summer, especially with the Poly down until late July, half of Contemporary down until September, and Grand Floridian doing weak numbers.
My guess at this point–and it’s just a guess–is that the EPCOT monorail returns on or shortly before October 1, 2021.
Despite stressing for months that Walt Disney World’s (supposedly) phased reopening won’t be like flipping a switch, it’s now seeming more and more like that date will be when a number of fairly consequential changes will occur.
On an unequivocally positive note, the topiaries and floral displays around EPCOT are looking fantastic.
This really helps take some attention away from those construction walls. The vibrance around the Seas, Land, and Imagination pavilions, in particular, is stunning. Kudos to the horticulture team on that.
Heading into World Showcase, where all of the tacos and the Stargate for Harmonious have now been installed in the lagoon.
We’ve caught the fountains testing a couple of times and it has been downright comical just how poorly they conceal the barges. Here’s hoping there is still a lot of test and adjust to be done.
On this particular day, we saw testing of one of the display panels. It’s probably nothing, but this was like a Rorschach test for us. Sarah thought it looked like flowers plus random green pattern and I thought it looked like a demon or monster of some sort plus random green pattern. I’m obviously right–nothing says “more Disney, more family friendly” (Chapek’s mission statement for the EPCOT overhaul) than demons.
For more details on this upcoming nighttime spectacular, including an anticipated opening timeframe, see our post covering Everything You Need to Know About Harmonious at EPCOT.
Our final construction update comes from Morocco, where a wall protrusion is being removed. Other sites have been coy about what’s going on here, presumably wanting to avoid ‘prurient preoccupations’ on family-friendly sites.
The wall is being redone because it looks like male genitalia. Although presumably unintentional, there was a distinct phallic shape to the wall. It was easy to miss, but once you saw it, you couldn’t unsee it. In recent years, it became a popular photo spot with the youth–like the colored wall trends, but edgier.
Amusing as this might be, none of it is a joke. That’s what’s really happening. For obvious reasons, Walt Disney World doesn’t want that kind of photo going viral on social media.
Weekday crowds were not as bad as during the peak of spring break, but worse than this same time last month.
The weather probably doesn’t help–I’m definitely not ready for 90 degree temperatures on a regular basis.
Despite some areas of congestion and long lines, wait times were not particularly bad. We didn’t see anything over an hour, and even this lengthy overflow queue for Frozen Ever After was only a 45-minute wait. For some reason, Journey into Imagination had consistently long wait times.
Keep in mind that actual waits are typically much less than posted wait times, although that does vary by attraction (and just in general). That wraps up this update from EPCOT. All in all, an okay visit despite the heat and crowds. Going forward, expect more afternoon and evening visits, because the park is so much more pleasant once the sun goes down!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about what we’ve covered in this EPCOT update? If you’ve visited recently, what was your experience like at EPCOT? Thoughts about construction progress on Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, Creations Shop, Food Restaurant, Club Cool, Harmonious, Moana’s Journey of Water, etc? Excited to visit during Flower & Garden Festival? 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!
“The wall is being redone because it looks like male genitalia”
I can’t be the only one who can see the same thing on the artist rendering of the Central Spine Redesign of EPCOT. If you look between Test Track Spaceship Earth.
“because the park is so much more pleasant once the sun goes down!” This made me think of a Disneyfied version of the Arctic Monkeys. “They say it changes when the sun goes down, World Showcase lagoon people going round, they say it changes when the sun goes down arouuuuuuund Epcot…”
I bet there’s tons of (much better than that) Disney World versions of songs people with suitable time, creativity and boredom could come up with…
Poor Sarah. Can’t learn to stay off the caffeine for her!
I hope that the “food restaurant “ Will sell more than dry hamburgers and french fries .
Tom
EPCOT attraction idea – Thoughts?
Is the Honey I Shrunk the Audience theatre still operational? I know they show the Pixar shorts in there but it seems to me that for not a lot of cash there’s an Antman experience that could quite easily be done by retro fitting it into that space.
I loved HISTA in DLP and don’t know why the pulled it from EPCOT?
The article and comments are very entertaining, thanks to all for the enjoyable snark 🙂
“Food restaurant” — hilarious and very on point! I almost thought it really was Disney’s name for it!
You were in rare form on this one. Very entertaining read!
Ok, just google-image searched what they are demolishing. Didn’t see the “base” so to speak. So yeah, I would have seen that too. HOWEVER, width vs height argument still valid.
We were there last week, and only Test Track had a really terrible wait — 75 or 80, I think, which isn’t majorly different from normal, I guess. The heat got pretty intense at times, but I was thankful for the frequent shade and definitely thankful once we made it inside. Soarin’ was 40-45 midday, and that was a pretty pleasant wait with it being both inside and not terribly long.
Nighttime was great. It could get congested in spots in the World Showcase, but as the night continued, it got pretty easy to find seating to eat. I think Soarin’ got down to 20ish minutes, and Test Track was fairly low. We went on Nemo two nights in a row around 10 p.m. for my daughter, and at one point, there were only two other people in line. Not my favorite ride, but I’m sure glad we never had to wait for it. I highly recommend those late nights at Epcot!
” Sarah thought it looked like flowers plus random green pattern and I thought it looked like a demon “. You may be right, Tom. If you look carefully at some of the Harmonious signs, the second “O” has a pentagram in it. They are inviting demons to this show. When you see Spirit Boards for sale in that Creations Shop, you’ll see you were right.
Well now I’m mad that I won’t get to see the wall, but I’m curious about the first person who saw that, because if we’re talking about the doorway’s height in proportion to its width, that’s not anything anyone would hope for. So that little pareidolia seems Freudian to me. I, of course, do not speak from experience, at all.
Related, have we checked on the artist from The Little Mermaid VHS cover?
I got two days in January for Epcot, but if there’s still going to be a load of construction (and in the case of one photo hotspot, demolition), I might switch it up to an extra Hollywood Studios day. I was just hoping for lots of l̶o̶n̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ edutainment, but I might find too much to be annoyed by, such as all the hardhats, loud banging, and whatnot. I feel like all that would make me very testy and not leave much for visual stimulation. And I DARE you to find all the double entendres here.
I was psychologically prepared for the Harmonious stargate, but my kids, who have yet to discover the unmitigated joy that results from reading Tom’s blog, were taken completely unawares. We walked from the Yacht Club through the IG, and my 12-year old daughter’s first reaction upon glimpsing the WS lagoon was, “WHAT?? Mom! What is…THAT???” I explained, and she doubtfully commented, “Wow. That better be one amazing fireworks show.” In a maternal attempt to model gratitude-based philosphy, I chirped, “I have a lot of faith in the Imagineers. I’m sure they wouldn’t put a hulking circle like that in everyone’s view if it weren’t going to be well worth it!” I then spent the rest of the day surreptitiously trying to destroy the stargate with my, apparently powerless, laser eyes. I absolutely see the taco demons.
Ha! I had my doubts about Harmonious as a longtime IllumiNations fan back when I assumed the barges would float in and out each night.
Now that I know what it’s going to look like every day, I’m expecting this show to be approximately 39x better than World of Color. Somehow I don’t see that happening.
I spent a significant amount of time in Morocco this last year just staring at walls while my partner photographed them and somehow completely missed any ‘shapes.’ Mostly I was sad to not be eating at Marrakesh. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to get my inspiration and Disney story journey at FOOD RESTAURANT now.
I’m looking forward to seeing how poorly the fountains work, too…
I have spent dozens if not hundreds of hours photographing the Morocco pavilion, often with no other guests around. I have spent many more hours editing those photos.
And yet, I never noticed the shape until I saw someone post a photo on social media. After that, I could never not see it.
Demons a little, flowers yes, definitely looks like a pre-K art project you hang on your fridge because you love your four year old.
PS you have ruined Morocco for me. However if you like that I have a Disney VHS clamshell to sell you.
On a recent trip, we were in the Moroccan area and some one stopped me to take pictures of him an a few of his friends. I wondered why they wanted me to back up to include more of the wall and why they kept giggling. Now I know.
Hey Tom……What day is this from? How were the crowds at night?
Yesterday. Didn’t stick around for night, but weekday evenings haven’t been bad our last few visits–even during spring break.
The heat must have really brought the sarcasm out. This was great. Thanks for the laughs.
Park reports are always good for sarcastic remarks, especially those written after I’ve just had (too much) caffeine and when there’s not much else to say about some things. 😉
“food restaurant”
LOL