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View Full Version : Reimagined EPCOT: 4 New Neighborhoods, Spaceship Earth Refurb, & Mary Poppins



Figment!
08-25-2019, 02:54 PM
Walt Disney Imagineering has shared their grand reveal for a reimagined EPCOT:




At Walt Disney World Resort, we’ve got big plans for our multi-year transformation of Epcot, with new experiences that will make the park more Disney, more family, more timeless and more relevant to the millions of guests who visit each year.

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The park will be unified with four neighborhoods that each celebrate a unique aspect of what makes Epcot so special. World Showcase will continue to celebrate culture, cuisine, architecture and traditions from around the world. And where Future World currently stands, three new neighborhoods will spring up: World Nature, World Discovery and World Celebration.

At World Celebration in Epcot, Spaceship Earth will remain the park’s grand icon but the journey will be transformed with new scenes reflecting the universal nature of the human experience. A new guide and all new narration will focus on the storytelling that brings people together.

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As you exit Spaceship Earth, you’ll discover a breathtaking new view of World Showcase from Dreamers Point. World Celebration will also feature a new statue celebrating the legacy of the original dreamer, Walt Disney, plus beautiful natural environments and global design elements filled with Disney magic and surprises, including a wishing tree in an enchanted forest and a story fountain celebrating the power and music of iconic Disney storytelling.

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A new pavilion at World Celebration will be the home base for Epcot’s signature festivals, providing a stunning view of World Showcase and an ideal spot to witness the park’s nighttime spectacular. This three level structure will have one of the most remarkable designs at any Disney park and will fast become a new icon for Epcot.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot will feature the first reverse launch into space! This thrilling, family-friendly attraction will feature a never-before-seen storytelling coaster that rotates to focus on the action – wherever it may be. The adventure starts in the “Galaxarium,” a planetarium-like exhibition that explores the similarities and mysteries of the formation of Earth’s galaxy and Xandar. You will be invited to learn more about the treasures Xandar has to share – until the moment when the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, and adventures across the cosmos ensue. The attraction will feature a new innovation from Walt Disney Imagineering – a storytelling coaster that rotates 360 degrees to focus your attention on the action, including the first reverse launch on a Disney coaster.

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Also at World Discovery in Epcot, an expansion of the Mission: SPACE pavilion, the new restaurant Space 220, will open this winter as an out-of-this-world culinary experience with the celestial panorama of a space station, including daytime and nighttime views of Earth from 220 miles up.

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PLAY! pavilion at World Discovery is opening in time for the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. In this digital metropolis, you’ll discover an interactive city bursting with games, activities and experiences that connect you with friends, family and beloved Disney characters – both real and virtual – like never before. As part of this new pavilion, you’ll have the chance to help legendary fashion icon Edna Mode on her quest to rid the world of uninspired style, or make a splash competing in a water-balloon fight hosted by Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby.

In World Nature, The reinvention of Epcot will include Journey of Water, Inspired by “Moana.” This first-ever experience inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios hit film will let guests interact with magical, living water in a beautiful and inspiring setting.

And the Land pavilion’s new film “Awesome Planet,” which showcases the spectacular beauty, diversity, and dynamic story of the planet in World Nature, will begin welcoming guests in January 2020.

In the China pavilion, “Wondrous China” will take guests on a spectacular journey across China, filmed and presented in a completely seamless 360-degree digital format.

Also at World Showcase, the film “Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360” will debut in January 2020 in the Canada pavilion with new scenes and a new story.

World Showcase at Epcot will also welcome the first attraction inspired by Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, which will join the United Kingdom pavilion as an entirely new neighborhood!

Following the limited time run of Epcot Forever at Epcot, a new nighttime spectacular called HarmonioUS will be the largest ever created for a Disney park. It will celebrate how the music of Disney inspires people the world over.

You’ll be able to visualize these exciting plans for Epcot when doors open Oct. 1, 2019, for Walt Disney Imagineering presents the Epcot Experience in the Odyssey Events Pavilion. You’ll discover engaging and interactive exhibits that showcase the relentless innovation, energy and excitement driving the park’s future throughout this unprecedented period of transformation.

Fangorn
08-25-2019, 04:20 PM
I'm really liking the direction this is going. Can't wait for my birthday (Oct 1) to get here and see the preview area at the Odyssey.

Steve

KODABEAR
08-25-2019, 04:30 PM
Thanks for the up to date info!! Love having new experiences to see and enjoy.

texas211
08-25-2019, 05:33 PM
Sounds interesting, except touching Spaceship Earth.. I may not ever come back to WDW. If I do, maybe one more time.

paragon
08-25-2019, 05:34 PM
Probably still won't change my mind about this park. Didn't like the original on opening week, haven't liked it since and even less in past few years.

azcavalier
08-26-2019, 08:27 AM
Ho. Ly. Cow.

I was reading off all of the announced changes/updates to Epcot to my wife, and we were both blown away. Epcot has always been my favorite park, and I'm so excited for all of the love that it is getting. I can't wait to see an updated Epcot! We will be going to WDW in April 2020 for our 25th anniversary, and it will be the first time we will have been in almost three years (which is a really long time for us). Some of these things will be open, but most will still be under construction.

Giggy
09-20-2019, 01:25 PM
It sounds ambitious, I am looking forward to the end product, put together it sounds like a new life being breathed into Epcot whilst still retaining the spirit of learning about the planet.

We are planning a visit in April/May 2020, I am sure that is too early for most of this to be anywhere near ready so I just hope there is enough of the park open for us to visit! The future looks bright though. :mickey:

WDW1985
09-20-2019, 04:40 PM
I'm still trying to figure out why the changes are so drastic. I know FW needs to be updated, but wow these changes are big. The changes to my beloved SE sound fairly drastic. They say SE will be closed early 2020 for 2 and 1/2 years! Is that true and when is it closing? I'm going in February and would love to get in one last time. Hopefully they won't change the great golf ball into anything having to do with Marvel. (said with great sarcasm :beat:)

:mickey:

DizneyFreak2002
09-21-2019, 11:33 AM
I'm still trying to figure out why the changes are so drastic. I know FW needs to be updated, but wow these changes are big. The changes to my beloved SE sound fairly drastic. They say SE will be closed early 2020 for 2 and 1/2 years! Is that true and when is it closing? I'm going in February and would love to get in one last time. Hopefully they won't change the great golf ball into anything having to do with Marvel. (said with great sarcasm :beat:)

:mickey:

Rumors are SSE will close sometime 2020, January or February time frame... And no Marvel... As of now, rumor is no IP.... But Chapek, lover of everything IP, we never know...

WDW1985
09-21-2019, 05:37 PM
Rumors are SSE will close sometime 2020, January or February time frame... And no Marvel... As of now, rumor is no IP.... But Chapek, lover of everything IP, we never know...

Well if Bob decides to add some Marvel and take away the classic scenes from SE you can be sure to have a few fans show up and chain themselves to a few animatronics! I'll be first in line. :gangster:

DizneyFreak2002
09-21-2019, 07:19 PM
Well if Bob decides to add some Marvel and take away the classic scenes from SE you can be sure to have a few fans show up and chain themselves to a few animatronics! I'll be first in line. :gangster:

Expect to see classic scenes change... Maybe not drastically, but they will change... And as far as anyone knows, no IP so no Marvel... But, we all know, things can change and will... Just be prepared...