Diving Into EPCOT's New Neighborhoods
As of October 1st, EPCOT officially divided into new neighborhoods. Gone are Futureworld West and Futureworld East, and gone are the Communicore and Millennium Plaza. EPCOT now consists of four "World" neighborhoods. Read about each neighborhood below as well as existing contents and attractions to come.
There is a load of concept art in today's post. All are copyright Disney.
World Showcase
Remains the same World Showcase we know and love, with some additions that will either be open by October 1st or will open in the next few years. The most major work appears to be happening in the France pavilion where Remy's Ratatouille Adventure opens October 1st. Additionally, a new dining location that will be both table an quick service, La Creperie de Paris will open October 1st. These join the already existing Impressions de France and Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along, and other dining locations. And of course there are several other countries to visit and the new fireworks show HarmoniUS.
World Celebration
The central part of the former Futureworld, including the entrance plaza, now becomes World Celebration. When finished, this will feature a new entrance plaza fountain with new music and new lighting. Spaceship Earth has already received its lighting makeover meant to resemble stars in the night sky after dark. A new Creations shop will replace Mouse Gear (and we're not sure how we feel about this. Mouse Gear was one of our favorites!).
There are a lot of construction walls right now in this area because being without attractions, aside from Spaceship Earth, we speculate it is the last to be worked on thoroughly. Future plans are to build a large garden area with a Walt Disney statue, surrounded by shops and dining locations. There will also be a large structure called Dreamers Point that will offer spectacular views of World Showcase, according to official literature. We think this is what has become of the Celebration pavilion that was to be built, as that was conceptualized as a three story building with a plaza on the first floor, retail on the second, and a park-like area on the top floor.
World Discovery
Moving right along! Futureworld East is now World Discovery, filled with science, technology, and intergalactic adventure. Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind will live here in the old Energy Adventure pavilion and will be a "rotating 360 degree rollercoaster" with Disney's first reverse launch. A Play! pavilion will open where Wonders of Life used to be and will be an interactive city where guests can interact with Disney characters. The Space pavilion hosts Mission:Space as it has for a while now, but as of last week now also hosts the signature dining experience, Space 220. And then there is Test Track, smudge upon the land in my opinion, but loved by many.
One interesting note: Although Disney has spoken of the Play! pavilion quite often up to this point, the opening was delayed from 2021 to 2022 at this time. Additionally, Disney makes no mention of the Play! pavilion in their description of the World Discovery neighborhood which has the rumor mill all atwitter. We don't know if there is meaning behind the omission or not but either way, it doesn't seem this pavilion was ever meant to be an e-ticket attraction.
World Nature
World Nature is what the former Futureworld West will be called. It includes the Living Seas pavilion as it always has, and the Land pavilion with Soarin' and Living with the Land as it always has. In the future, it will also include the Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, which will be an exploration trail where guests can interact with water that seems to have a personality of its own an learn about protecting the natural water cycle. "See the line where the sky meets the sea - IT CALLS MEEEEEEE!"
Yes, we are excited about this too, mainly because we love Moana and we love exploration trails. Our only concern is where it seems to be. Aerial photos show heavy excavation right between Innoventions West and the Seas pavilion, extending into a path between Innoventions and the Land pavilion. Will it interfere with crowds rushing to Soarin' at rope drop? Is that in fact Disney's intention? Or will traffic continue to flow as it did before? This is yet to be seen. Disney maintains Journey of Water will open sometime in 2021.
And there you have them, EPCOT's new neighborhoods. It's going to take us a while to update our vocabulary. Which EPCOT developments are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments or over on our Facebook page where you can follow us to see when new posts appear each week. Until next time...
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