Epcot Update: It’s the End of Future World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
We’re back for what’s essentially the first part of a ‘before and after’ Epcot update, as we witness what’s essentially the end of Future World as we know it…and I feel fine. In this Walt Disney World construction report, we’ll take a look at the construction walls already up around Epcot, what’s not up yet, plus a quick recap of everything that has been announced for the future of Epcot.
As we’ve said before, there’s a lot on the horizon at Epcot. Much of this is already happening as the park approaches next month’s “big date” when a bunch of stuff permanently or temporarily closes in Future World. With each visit to the park, it feels like we see a new construction wall–no joke.
After two years of feet dragging on the central spine project, it now appears that Walt Disney World is chomping at the bit to kick the Epcot overhaul into high gear. As you probably know, a lot of Future World will be permanently closed on September 8, 2019. See our Closing at Epcot: Club Cool, Starbucks, Electric Umbrella, MouseGear, Fountain of Nations, Etc post for full details as there’s truly too much to list here…
September 8 is Sunday, which is a busy time for Epcot now that we’re in Food & Wine Festival season. As such, we’re anticipating all of those things will be closed come Sunday, but the sea of construction walls won’t go up until overnight after Epcot closes on Sunday, impacting guests for the first time on Monday morning.
Whether this means Fountain of Nations will still be operating come Sunday remains to be seen, but we don’t want to risk that–we’ll be going tonight to say our goodbyes. That’s really the only thing about this whole Future World extinction/overhaul that we’ll miss.
Don’t be surprised if Art of Disney and, more importantly, the fiber optics pavement don’t close this weekend. The stores in this building are now showing “winter” closing timeframes instead of this weekend.
That would make sense if the demolition is going to be done in phases, and would be consistent with the closure for Electric Umbrella (although, again, that building will not be demolished). It would also, at least theoretically, allow Walt Disney World to delay closure of the Innoventions Breezeway until after the busy holiday season. We’ll see whether that happens, though.
As for the “I feel fine” part of that title? While I have a lot of nostalgia for the old EPCOT Center and we made some great memories at some things that still exist, like Club Cool and Fountain View, it’s beyond time for them to go. The current disparate styles of both contribute to the hodgepodge of Future World.
We’re ready to move on with both those things, and literally everything else that’s closing. We’ve been likening this area of Future World to a dead mall, and we really think that’s apt. There are the parts stuck in the past that fizzled out years ago, elements from the 1990s and early-aughts added in a feeble attempt to revive the area, and then the new ‘anchor’ tenant added in what was quite obviously a ‘too little, too late’ move.
With that said, I can empathize with anyone who is upset this weekend about ‘losing’ the old EPCOT, or the version with which they grew up. I’ve grappled with these feelings for years, something I’ve previously covered (and linked to ad nauseam via Why We Can’t Let EPCOT Go post).
Between the release of concept art for Epcot’s future neighborhoods (names I’ll bet are never adopted by the general public–I wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World quietly drops them) and the closure of so many things all at once, it certainly feels like this is a turning point for Epcot. Accordingly, I can understand the mourning. Personally, I just got that out of my system a while ago.
Nostalgia and emotion aside, removing Fountain of Nations and not removing Innoventions East feel like the only two potentially ill-advised moves of this overhaul. Even then, we’re willing to take a wait and see approach, observe how things play out and look when finished, and not prematurely judge the project.
The core of what’s currently Future World needs desperate help, and has for two decades. We’re ready to move on, and are cautiously optimistic about what’s been presented for the overhaul thus far.
Speaking of which, above is a refresher of the final-form concept art presented for the new look front of the park. This should help you better visualize what’s going to change as we take a tour of the construction.
Below is a closer look:
In essence, the new three-level festival center and Moana: Journey of Water will replace Innoventions West while Dreamers Point and other place-making replaces the Fountain of Nations. This area will become World Celebration, one of Epcot’s 3 New Neighborhoods Replacing Future World.
Anyway, let’s take an aerial tour of what’s already happening in Future World at Epcot courtesy of the Highway in the Sky, pre-September 8, 2019:
It’s hard to ascertain the progress that has been made at the redesigned tram drop-off and security area since last month, but a bunch of dirt has moved, so there’s that.
As I’ve said before, I really hope security is moved outside the monorail station, and I assume that’ll happen. I’ll probably repeat this several times between now and this finishing, as I’m reminded of this annoyance whenever I park hop from Magic Kingdom to Epcot, which is almost always how I’m doing this updates with photos from the monorail.
Entering Epcot, the other half of the Leave a Legacy monolith removal is now finished.
More importantly, we can see that the pavement has also been removed over here, which suggests that this side will be totally converted to the new park entrance reflected in the concept art, before the other side is walled off (again) and that side is finished.
If it wasn’t clear before, it should be obvious now that this front fountain will remain.
While losing Fountain of Nations is a big blow, keeping this fountain and having the lucite prism pillars reinstalled in front of Spaceship Earth does feel like a small victory of sorts.
The same type of exterior work we saw last month continues on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
I haven’t had much in the way of positives to say about this attraction, but I actually do like the Cosmic Rewind name.
Even more work is visible inside the old Universe of Energy show building.
At the D23 Expo, concept art was released for the pre-show that’ll happen in this area. It looks promising, and I really hope every effort is made to tie this attraction in with the mission and spirit of EPCOT. Even at its best, it’ll be a tenuous connection, but hopefully it’s better than “Peter Quill visited EPCOT as a kid.”
Continuing around Innoventions East, where there are already a ton of construction walls up, including around these restrooms.
As a reminder, this is the side that’s not going anywhere. It’s tough to tell what’s happening here, as this area appears mostly as trees in all of the new concept art.
Here’s a wide view showing just how much is walled off.
It’s possible that they’re widening the pathway back here, or perhaps all of those concept art trees are being installed! (I’m kidding…although this area could use more trees.)
In a race against the clock, the new wider pathway opened in time for Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival last week.
These wider paths will likely be crucial for crowd flow while Innoventions West is demolished.
Don’t expect any of this to be permanent, though.
These pathways likely serve a short-term purpose and will themselves be torn out (at least in part) once demolition is completed and work starts on the festival center.
Throughout Future World, there are a lot of other random walls up all over the place. Above is one by Guest Relations. There’s another huge area of land being cleared between Innoventions West and the Living Seas pavilion. (Sorry, my photo of that had a ton of glare from the monorail window.)
That wraps up this construction photo update, showing what’s already happening in Epcot. We’ll be back with another update in the next day or two once the rest of the construction walls go up, to show the scope of the current work, and how things are likely to look if you’re visiting Epcot in the next year or more.
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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 the various things closing this weekend? Looking forward to seeing Epcot transform over the next few years, or dreading visits to the park while it’s an active construction site? 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!
They really should move the security outside of the monorail, as of now you can go from Epcot to TTC and bypass any security to get into Magic Kingdom.
Will Figment be closing ? i may have missed this on your thread.. we’re from the UK and just back from an amazing 3 week hol over there – your info was always v helpful ! Our kids (10 and 5 ) would be gutted to see Figment go !!
No, there are no known or expected closures or major changes coming to the attractions and pavilions around the edges of Future World any time soon. In the next few months, The Land will get a new movie and the new restaurant will open at Mission:Space, but that’s it. Nothing at all (that we know of) is happening at Imagination/Figment, The Seas/Nemo, or Test Track.
In the meantime, Universal plods ahead to develop their 4th park in Orlando, that essentially twice what they have now in terms of space. Revenue must be alright over there. Disney needs to step up with all of these renovations/reimaginations. The company overall can afford it. However, with all of the price increases in various areas of the parks business, one has to wonder if it may back fire.
Agreed. Universal is finally starting to be a force to be reckoned with, when you consider the popularity of Harry Potter, Volcano Bay, and the upcoming expansions. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out, in terms of how each company might adjust pricing.
Sad to see Club Cool go but with them mentioning they intend to bring it back in some form, I am theorizing that it could end up in that new festival pavilion. Thematically, the “sodas around the world” concept makes more sense associated with world showcase than it ever did in Future World. But I’m just being optimistic because I really like some of those sodas…
Of course, venue changes usually have positive aspects. However, what we’ve all learned over the years is that, in spite of the magic we crave, revenue is the driving factor behind whatever Disney does. The free sodas from around the world was a freebie. People were impressed with that…”Wow, they’re giving me something for free!!!”. The frigid “cool” station that you walk through on a sweltering day was such a pleasure. Disney probably viewed these items as losers because they didn’t generate any revenue. It’s too bad. I’m sure that whatever replaces these (so-called) worn out venues won’t be free. Who knows, maybe they’ll have soda dispensers that charge a dollar an ounce. Maybe they’ll have fountains that you’ll be able to see but without any coordinated music in the background. You’ll have to rent headphones to hear the music that plays as the fountains do their show (kind of like a “silent disco” arrangement_. And at business meetings, the Disney imagineers gleefully chant,…”Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, Never let those tourists leave with any money in their pockets!
Club Cool was the result of Disney’s longstanding corporate alliance with Coca-Cola.
Disney has already stated that it’ll be back in a new venue.
After all EPCOT stands for: Every Pocketbook Comes Out Thinner
Looking at the concept art, with the vantage point of having Spaceship Earth at its center, the remaining Communicore building throws off the symmetry of what was once a very balanced look. I feel the same about the remaining Contemporary wing and BLT. Makes the Contemprary look off balance.
Perhaps my observations say more about me than they do about Disney. (And that’s a conversation for another day).
Also, I just got back to frequenting the Electric Umbrella and now it’s going. It seems the only constant in my life lately is change.
Things I’ll miss the most: the fiber-optic sidewalks (both the color-changing ones and the white ones near Spaceship Earth), the Innoventions loop, and the Fountain of Nations. I can only hope that the loop will exist somewhere still, and that someone at Disney sees how much kids (and 30-something adults) ove the sidewalks and they either keep them or replace them.
Do you think Epcot (specifically FW) is still worth a visit later this fall, in its current state? Or will it become a sea of construction walls and not really be worth the time that could be spend elsewhere? Thx for this update!
That’s still a big question mark. We’re heading back on Monday when, presumably, all of the construction walls are up. On Tuesday we should have another update, and will either address that there, or do a standalone post on the topic.
Thank you! Really appreciate your coverage of things like this.
It’d be great to have a stand alone on the topic (in my opinion).
I know you are a huge EPCOT fan, but based on what I’ve seen and read I think a family with kids aged 8 and 6 might have a better day sleeping in and doing a half resort pool day, and hitting EPCOT late afternoon for a half day given the state of things…
It’s important to note that there are NO attractions impacted by all the construction shown and discussed above. There are a lot of walls and a lot of torn up walkways, yes, but nothing has actually closed attraction-wise except for the Chracter Spot (which relocated) and the last couple remaining (LAME) innoventions exhibits.
Whether or not Epcot warrants a visit by your family is a valid question, but don’t think that all this construction means that rides or shows you want to see will be unavailable.
While I enjoy Epcot for what it is, I’ve advised infrequent guest to spend there 1 Disney day somewhere else as Epcot has been woefully neglected in so many ways. From the 80s shopping mall look, to the decades old movies. They’ve gotten by on nostalgia, and festivals for far too long. It’s sad that the original concept is going to disappear and I’m sure I will look back at my old resort maps out of curiosity and reflection once the new Epcot emerges. I’m just hoping that this truly is a complete makeover and not just an effort comparable to Toy Story Land.
If they follow through on the concept art, it should be a fairly complete effort (or close to it). I personally think they should demolish both sides of Innoventions and start from scratch, but that would be a colossal undertaking. I guess we’ll see!
I dont think any of those closings will hurt like the closings World of Motion, Horizons, original Journey into Imagination, or Maelstrom.
I wonder if they will continue to play the Innoventions loop/background music during or after the construction. If the music is replaced, I will miss it. If there is new music, hopefully its instrumental versions of EPCOT Center era attractions theme songs similar to Tomorrowland with Miracles of Molecules, Timekeeper, Best Time of Your Life, and If You Had Wings.
“I wonder if they will continue to play the Innoventions loop/background music during or after the construction. If the music is replaced, I will miss it.”
I’d imagine it’ll be replaced, but hopefully the old loop is still played in a restroom somewhere, a la the old JII loop.
I get the general agreement about the 90’s deco feel to future world being ready for upgrade into the 20’s… technology as come along so far in the past 30 years and anyone with a knowledge of Moore’s law will understand that as soon as the refurb is complete it will be 2 or 3 years out of date. WDW have to be mindful of balancing the modern with the timeless, they, to their credit have this down pat in World showcase…yes, the movies in the 360° theatres around the showcase have been in dire need for renewal (didn’t bother watching them this summer) but for me Epcot will always be in my heart and my mind’s eye the best park at WDW as a bit of a techy nerd I can’t wait to see the next installment but I’m not sure that I will because I am already wrestling with the fact that the next time I travel the 4000 miles across the Atlantic I may Just go and do the more tech savvy Universal parks and stick to a few days in DLP for my Disney fix.
Awesome title! I’m in total agreement that future world needs a revamp and some new energy. On the other hand I think world showcase needs slow incremental updates at the most. Don’t mess with the countries too much! Don’t “kiddie” it too much.
I’m ok with all the changes, though it did take a long ,long time for me to get over horizon’s. That was the biggest blow for me. Still a little bitter about it. . It will be interesting to see what epcot looks like during my next trip In Spring 2020
Any word on when Spaceship Earth will be closing for the 2 year renovation?
Disney hasn’t released a date. The latest rumors are late Winter/Spring 2020.
While there have been many aesthetic downgrades to the center of Future World over the past two decades (which made it feel harsher and less inviting), it’s still a shame to lose such awesome pieces of architecture, don’t you think? The structures themselves are cool. Anyway, I’m hopeful the knew area will have a pleasant, park-like setting.
I think Innoventions and the whole ‘core’ of EPCOT Center looked really cool up until the 1990s, and the symmetry was still nice.
However, so much ornamentation has been tacked on, bodies of water have been removed, and all sorts of other changes for the worse have been made in the last two decades, making it feel like a hodgepodge of eras.
Where will MouseGear be relocated? Sorry if I missed it in your post. It can’t be closed without replacing?
Disney hasnt released the temporary location yet.