Epcot September 2019 Update: Future Walled
Following our “Epcot Update: It’s the End of Future World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” post, we return for the “After” report to show all of the new walls and what has closed. This continues our Walt Disney World September 2019 construction updates, and should give you an idea of what to expect at Epcot if you’re visiting in the next couple of months.
In Future World, expect a lot of construction walls, pinch-points in crowds, and potentially going the long way to reach your destination. Among Walt Disney World fans, this project has been known as the Epcot Central Spine Redesign, and that’s for good reason–it’s primarily going to impact the main corridor of the park, from the turnstiles to Showcase Plaza.
In order to bring this to fruition, Walt Disney World has closed a variety of offerings in and around Innoventions. There’s too much to list here, but our “Closing at Epcot: Club Cool, Starbucks, Electric Umbrella, MouseGear, Fountain of Nations, Etc” post offers full details. After closing a variety of these spaces over the weekend, Disney wasted no time in putting up walls, removing signage, and establishing temporary venues for some offerings…
As you can see in the photo at the top of this post, a little over half of Epcot’s entrance plaza is walled off as the pavement is torn up and new planters are installed, as part of the project to restore the original beauty to this entrance area.
However, this is not really an issue here from a crowd-flow perspective, as there’s plenty of room thanks to the removal of the Leave a Legacy monoliths. (Once the other side is finished, this side will be walled off and the pavement will be torn up and the process repeated.)
Continuing under Spaceship Earth and into the area between the Innoventions buildings, we come to our next set of construction walls.
From here, signs point guests towards the Innoventions West Breezeway.
We’re guessing this side of the park is now going to see more foot traffic, at least for now while the Breezeway remains open.
Once guests head to that side, they can access World Showcase directly via the newly-widened walkway that begins near Journey into Imagination.
You can also head the other direction, towards the Innoventions East Breezeway, which leads to Test Track and Mission Space.
Pin Central, MouseGear, and Electric Umbrella all remain open for now. All are expected to close later this winter for refurbishment (in the case of the latter two) or removal (in the case of the former).
You can also access World Showcase directly (for now) via the path between Fountain of Nations and MouseGear.
This path is pretty narrow, and during the post-IllumiNations mass exodus, it gets congested. No worse than the pinch-point near Mexico, but it’s not ideal.
Here’s a look the other direction at the backside of the construction wall pictured a few photos above.
Note that the signage for Club Cool has been removed, as has the Starbucks logo on Fountain View.
I know it’s a bit painful to see Fountain of Nations like this, so I’ll spare you more close-ups.
Looking back the other direction, you can see planters up to block what used to be the path to Club Cool.
The sign here notes that Disney is “reimagining the future of Club Cool.”
As this seems to be one of the things fans are lamenting the loss of most, it surprises me Walt Disney World hasn’t made it crystal-clear that Club Cool will be returning. (And why wouldn’t it? Coca-Cola sponsors the experience in what’s truly a win-win-win for Coke, Disney, and guests.)
The sign on the other side contains no such reassurances about the Innoventions West building.
Expect more walls to go up over here soon, and demolition to begin on this building in the near future.
Backtracking a bit, there’s a new Character Spot in the other half of Innoventions West.
We’ll have a full blog post about this tomorrow–it’s a bit of a hidden gem.
Our main motivation to head over here is to take a look at the construction walls behind this building, which run from Character Spot all the way to Coral Reef Restaurant.
From the monorail, you can see that a ton of land has been cleared in this area already. In part, this will become the Moana: Journey of Water walk-through attraction.
On the other side of this building, Art of Disney remains open.
This is another “winter” closing, with the store setting up temporary shop in the American Adventure.
Chef Figment appears in the window display here for Food & Wine.
It’s silly, but I always love seeing the different ‘seasonal’ Figment window displays here. Hopefully this is continued elsewhere.
Jumping around, here’s a look at progress on the Space 220 Restaurant, which Bob Chapek stated at the D23 Expo is opening “this winter” (the latest Parks Blog update contained the same language).
Note that the “this winter” technically begins on December 21, 2019 and ends on March 19, 2020…which is a clever way of delaying the opening from late 2019 until early 2020 without actually saying as much.
A look at the new color scheme on the former Odyssey restaurant/events pavilion.
This will reopen as Walt Disney Imagineering Presents the Epcot Experience on October 1, 2019. I love stuff like this, and hope everything from the show floor at the D23 Expo is reused here.
We’ll wrap up the photo update on a positive note–the beloved fiber optic pavement is still going strong–for now.
Hopefully a ‘next-gen’ version of this is incorporated into the transformed Epcot. So simple, yet so great.
On a semi-related note, one of the questions that’s come up both in the comments here and via social media is whether it’s worth visiting Epcot right now. There’s no straightforward answer to that, and as with a lot of things, it depends.
I think most of you will probably want to look at the attraction lineup, photos of the construction walls, and decide for yourselves. Only you know how much time you have, your vacation priorities, how much construction bothers you, etc.
However, I’m nonetheless planning a post that tries to answer the question, as a lot of you reading this are first-timers or might simply desire added perspective, even if you end up disregarding it. Accordingly, my question for you all is over what timeline? As in, should we stop the discussion at late 2019 or early 2020, or continue to Summer 2020 and beyond?
We’ve already experienced Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, so I’m comfortable including a recommendation for next summer, and somewhat okay speculating beyond that, but probably not into 2021. Too much will have changed–and could still be announced–between now and then.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the current state of Epcot and its construction projects? Are you mourning the loss of Future World and everything that has–or will–close? Looking forward to watching Epcot transform over the next few years? Wondering whether it’s worth visiting Epcot between now and 2021, or if you should skip it? 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!
a couple aspects i hope they consider, but probably won’t…
TREES and SHADE and MISTERS! all of the parks are severely lacking in shaded areas, which makes even the most uncrowded trip unbearable if you have to wait in the sun for any amount of time. example- waited for just about 5 minutes at Flavors from Fire booth midday (not a bad wait by most estimations, right?). picking up food for several people. but after the only-5 minute wait for my food, i was beyond DONE from baking in the hot sun. and then once we had our food, we turn around to more scorching sun and literally no shaded area to sit or stand to eat. seriously, do they not realize they are in florida and the sun is unforgiving? would it KILL them to incorporate more shaded areas to avoid people passing out from the sun beating on you from above and then back up from the pavement? those canopies near what is currently pin central need to be utilized all over the property, and they need to plant more trees not less (i’m looking right at you, newly reopened walkway from liberty square to fantasyland! photos were tkaen of trees that were there for all of one day and then they took out, who cares about yet another view of the castle?) those canopies would work wonders in areas like toy story land- the criticism i read and have now experienced first hand about the lack of shade was spot-on accurate! the one misting station in future world near test track? all closed. we saw only one other misting stations in pandora all week, no others. the playground in future world? forget it, all in the sun, kids will bake playing and parents bake waiting. sea world, dollywood, they get it with the misting stations- they are everywhere, and it wouldn’t kill disney to take a few notes. i was severely disappointed in the lack of consideration for guests when it comes to cooling off. you’re supposed to duck into an eatery i guess? oh, wait, no tables available. and benches? they are all out in the smoking areas (seriously, the smoking area at magic kingdom has about 2 dozen benches that could be spread around the park for people to sit. and don’t get me started on how they make an entire bus station have to walk through that smoking mess in order to get to the security check).
my other suggestion is at epcot they need to make paths to the entrance from the Seas and from what will be GOTG coaster, not make you funnel back halfway across future world to double-back in order to get to the entrance. cut a couple extra pathways, save people a few steps.
If you are planning a trip to WDW, I would definitely still visit EPCOT. Just got back 9/14. There is still a lot to see and do: Spaceship Earth (for now), Frozen, Test Track, Soaring, Seas Pavilion, Living w/ the Land (if you can do it, the Behind the seeds tour is a cheaper tour option and well worth it), not to mention all the countries, entertainment and movies. My wife and I spent two days there easily, and especially enjoyed watching all the entertainment that occurs intermittently throughout EPCOT. Take the time to enjoy these performers! Granted Food & Wine was going on, and we also wanted to see a concert that was occurring but enjoyed our days. Maybe if you have small children you would want to spend less time, but there are attractions and entertainment worth spending some time on.
It seems like the better way to enter Epcot (World Showcase) is through the International Gateway. IT would alleviate going through all the construction at the entrance but you could still get to Test Track, Mission to Mars, The Land & The Seas. Just a thought.
Not really. There are a lot of walls up, yes, but (as of this phase of construction) you can still access all areas and attractions without having to do any more walking than before. The day may come where navigating through future world construction is a slog, but for now it’s not as bad as it looks in the pictures (check out the updated park map).
Have there been any credible rumors about when Spaceship Earth will go offline for a long-term refurbishment? We’re visiting in early January 2020 and are hoping that it will still be up and running at that time. Thanks.
The closure timeframe that keeps popping up in online discussion is January 2020. That would keep the ride open thru the busy Food & Wine and Christmas seasons, and then have it closing as new offerings elsewhere (i.e. movies) are debuting.
I don’t know where that falls between “credible rumors” and “rational speculation,” though. That said, if it’s scheduled to close in January, we’ll find out within the next month, as it will be marked unavailable for those booking their FastPasses.
I’ll co-sign what Andy says here. The last credible rumor I heard was ages ago, and it put the closing timeframe in October/November, which cannot possibly be true at this point. Nor would it even make sense.
In terms of speculation, I think mid-January 2020 is most likely. I could also see Disney getting cold feet and waiting if there’s a belief too much is walled-off at the front of the park.
Thanks very much for your responses Tom and Andy!
Has there been any noticeable progress on the International Gateway entrance? I was hoping it would be less of an active construction zone with the Skyliner opening soon.
Yes! Actually, a ton. I can’t believe I forgot to post photos of it in both updates…
I am going in January and it won’t affect my plans to go to Epcot. I love world showcase first and foremost so I can deal with the walls at the front of the park. After all I have lived through the changes at Disney California Adventure.
Another thing I’d love to hear your thoughts on, should I book a quick maybe even 1-2 night trip in late 2020 for the sole purpose of booking a bounce back for fall 2021? Or possibly January 2022 assuming the bounce back extends that far. A lot of what if’s here but I LOVE what if’s.
I’d love for you to go into your thoughts on whether it’s worth it right into 2020. We’re visiting end of April-beginning of May and are trying to plan a basic itinerary for it. Mostly trying to figure out whether we should do a full day or just a half day or what. What might be most useful for everyone who reads the blog is a sort of month by month opinion. What’s expected in January and is it worth it? Then February and so on. Either way I’ll be keeping an eye on your blog for more updates.
This is the same time I will be going and I have been so excited for the Flower + Garden Festival, but I am definitely curious about what to expect for planning purposes at Epcot.
I have to say went last night had a hard time just finding my way in a park I’ve gone to endless time . It was late and dark, I assumed since it was open to 11PM the booths would still be open not the case. They did everything just like closing at 9 but not closing.
We’ve got a big holiday booked for August 2020, with a group who’ve largely never visited Epcot before. I’d have loved for them to have been able to experience it in the same way as we did on our very first visit in 2008, but alas it’s not to be.
What would be ideal, would be to know what the rough timeline is for construction through 2020 onwards? In other words, what should we/other people expect to see when we visit (even if it’s partly speculative). What will my family see when they walk through the gates in August 2020?
Definitely interested in 2020 thoughts. Would also love to see something like the best burgers in WDW? Maybe even charcuterie boards, fish, pasta? steaks… If these all exist already excuse my wandering appetite. We’ll be there next week and all your Food & Wine reviews I just read have me ready to burn those “free” DDP credits.
“Note that the “this winter” technically begins on December 21, 2019 and ends on March 19, 2020…which is a clever way of delaying the opening from late 2019 until early 2020 without actually saying as much.”
Tom, I feel like you’re not thinking “bendy” enough in analyzing the winter opening. My interpretation is that they are claiming it will open in “this coming winter”, rather than “winter 2019”. Since we failed to have ANY winter the past two years, and there is a high likelihood that we will continue to not have anything remotely like a winter (even by Florida standards), this gives then near infinite wiggle room for actual opening time. As an added plus, when they do finish the restaurant, they can crow about having finished it ahead of schedule, long before winter arrived. Devious…
I keep blowing hot and cold on the Epcot renovation. On the one hand, I entirely agree that with the original hands-on sci-tech exhibits long gone from the Innoventions buildings, and the buildings themselves looking dated and bland, something had to be done. On the other hand, I was hoping for some new sci-tech exhibits in remodeled/updated buildings (after all, we live in the age of the hands-on science museum for kids, seemingly a perfect fit for Epcot’s original vision) and the plans being pretty much just landscaping dashed that hope. On the third hand (how many do you have?) the concept art for the redesign looks really cool. On the fourth hand… and so on, and on.
My latest cold water dousing was the thought that the Moana attraction might turn out to be nothing more than an overlay to the existing leaping fountains near the Imagination pyramids. But it looks from your photo that the Moana attraction will be in a different spot than that? Hot and cold, hot and cold…
I suppose I’ll be flip-flopping like this all the way until the construction’s done and I’ve had a chance to visit it.
Have you gotten any information about Starbucks? Will they be relocating or will the possibility be a temp location till the new one is opened? Or are they scraping it all together which I can not see as they are all over Disney now.
I’m also interested in their plans for Starbucks. But haven’t seen anything on it yet.
What do you mean by “We’ve already experienced Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, so I’m comfortable including a recommendation for next summer,”… I think I am reading it wrong.
Between EPCOT being torn up *sniff* and HS going to one fast pass. I think you guys should all stay home and wait it out this year… 😉
Honestly though, if you don’t go all the time and can’t afford it usually, I’d definitely wait until this hot mess is done. They should be done by early 2021 for sure for the anniversary, right?
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a clone from an attraction at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. We’ve done the ride there numerous times, and as such are comfortable discussing whether it’s “worth it” to plan a visit to Epcot around that new-to-WDW ride.
We are visiting late August 2020. Do we think it will be open by then? This will be my 4th visit from the UK, I first came 30 yrs ago as I child and was excited to bring my family here too. Will be sad that Spaceship Earth will (potentially) be closed when we come next.
Ah. Got it! We’re going in Nov, and then will wait until late 2021 when everything else will be done. I’m excited for all this construction! It feel like nothing has been updated my whole life (though I know it has b/c I have maps with 20,000 Leagues and the gondola on them).