02/27/2019
Walt Disney World has announced several new things for Epcot, including the ‘Play Pavilion’, which will replace Wonders of Life, a reimagined main entrance, and an Experience Center showcasing the park’s future. Changes are coming to Epcot’s main entrance, where a new plaza will welcome guests with redesigned pathways, sweeping green spaces, and a newly reimagined fountain. This new design will pay homage to the original park entrance with “fresh takes on classic elements.” Most importantly, Leave a Legacy will be removed, with the photos relocated to outside Epcot’s turnstiles.
Next up is the Experience Center in the Odyssey Events Pavilion. This will offer interactive exhibits that showcase the future of Epcot as it enters an “unprecedented period of transformation.” We’d expect this to be like the Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar at Disney California Adventure during that park’s overhaul, which in more ways than one Epcot’s reimagining will mirror.
The significant redevelopment will also begin between Spaceship Earth and World Showcase Promenade, which is the “Central Spine” project that was first announced nearly two years ago at the D23 Expo. In today’s release, Walt Disney World indicated that more details about this aspect of the transformation will follow at a later date.
Finally, Walt Disney World recapped other new developments on the horizon at Epcot including Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and the Beauty and the Beast sing-along in the France pavilion, a new Circle-Vision 360 film for the China pavilion and updated O Canada! The 360-degree show, Signature Dining inspired by the natural beauty of Japan, Space-themed restaurant adjacent to Mission: SPACE, and Epcot Forever in 2019 followed by an all-new nighttime spectacular in 2020.