LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (February 25, 2019) – Our friends at the Disney parks Blog broke the news last Friday of new plans for a new park entrance and a new use for the old Wonders of Life Pavilion that, aside from use as a “festival center” during Epcot’s annual International Food and Wine Festival, has been largely dormant for years.
Touted as a “first-of-its-kind play pavilion” in the old Wonders of Life, the new area and a new park entrance will be among the many parts of Epcot’s historic transformation.
As reported in the Disney Parks Blog: “As many of you know, we’ve got BIG plans for our multi-year transformation of Epcot, with new experiences that’ll “Wow!” guests while keeping true to the original vision of the park. Today, we’re excited to share even more of what’s to come.
“The ongoing evolution of Epcot includes plans for a play pavilion that’ll be unlike anything you’ve ever seen at the park. This new space will be devoted to playful fun and feature an innovative city that’ll come to life under the dome of the un-named pavilion previously known as Wonders of Life. The pavilion’s city will be bursting with interactive experiences, your favorite Disney characters, hands-on activities and engaging entertainment when it opens just in time for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort!
“This innovative, new pavilion is beyond anything we’ve ever created and is completely unique to Epcot,” said Zach Riddley, portfolio executive, Walt Disney Imagineering. “Built on the power of play, it introduces an immersive and interactive ‘city’ where you can explore, create, and interact with some of your favorite Disney characters. This is an experience worthy of our bold vision for Epcot – and another signature element of our transformation.”
There will also be exciting changes to the way you come and go at Epcot! As you can see above, changes are coming to the Epcot main entrance, where the plaza will welcome guests with new 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.
As part of the new entry experience, Leave A Legacy photos will be moving into a beautiful setting just outside the park’s gateway. Additional significant redevelopment will begin between Spaceship Earth attraction and the World Showcase Promenade. More details about the transformation of this area will be announced at a later date.
And if you’re as excited as we are about these upcoming projects, you’ll soon be able to look into the future with us at a new Experience Center coming to Epcot later this year. The Experience Center will be located in the Odyssey Events Pavilion and feature interactive exhibits to help visualize park projects throughout this unprecedented period of transformation.
Here are some of the other exciting Epcot experiences we’ve shared:
- Guardians of the Galaxy-themed roller coaster in Future World
- Epcot Forever, a 2019 limited-time nighttime experience over World Showcase Lagoon set to classic Epcot tunes, followed by an all-new nighttime spectacular debuting in 2020
- Space-themed table-service restaurant adjacent to Mission: SPACE
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure attraction in the France pavilion, patterned after the number-one family attraction at Disneyland Paris
- Circle-Vision 360 film for the China pavilion and updated O Canada! 360-degree show
- Signature Dining experience inspired by the natural beauty of Japan
- Beauty and the Beast” sing-along in the France pavilion, showing in addition to the pavilion’s current film, Impressions de France
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