Oh, Disney. You keep us on our toes! Here’s the thing about Disney World: it is in a constant state of change. Not a single day goes by without us spotting some kind of new treat, new merchandise collection, or even a new concrete update. Even Disney experts can’t get too comfortable in the parks — there’s a lot to keep up with, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Now, let’s talk about the latest sneaky update we spotted in EPCOT. In case you haven’t heard, the 2024 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival is starting SOON (August 29th, to be exact), and there are some new additions this year! While there’s a lot to look forward to at this year’s festival, there has been one update Disney hasn’t officially shared. Yet.

EPCOT fans have had one thing on their minds ever since Disney announced a new “dedicated Festival area” at CommuniCore Hall: Food and Wine Festival Seminars and Demonstrations. For context, EPCOT used to host expert-led wine, beer, or cheese seminars during the Food and Wine Festival, and sometimes, Disney even brought in celebrity chefs to host special meals, book signings, and cooking demonstrations. These types of special events haven’t happened since 2019, though, and we’ve missed them.

When Disney previously announced all the details about its latest addition to World Celebration, CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza, this area was described as the place that would bring EPCOT International Festivals “to the center of Walt Disney World.” Sounds like a great place to host celebrity-led demonstrations, right?

Around this same time, Disney opened a new Festival Favorites area in EPCOT’s CommuniCore Hall. This simple, quick-service window serves an assortment of fan-favorite Festival food and drink items. This seemed like a great first step to bring the EPCOT International Festivals to World Celebration, but Disney still has not made any official announcements about what else will be available at CommuniCore Hall. We’ll admit it. We were starting to lose hope. It seemed like there was a very slim chance that Food and Wine Festival Seminars and Demonstrations would return to EPCOT this year.

But wait! During our visit to EPCOT on August 22nd, we noticed a suspicious new closure. CommuniCore Hall was CLOSED during our visit, and according to a Cast Member, the closure was due to “festival prep.” Hmm…what KIND of festival prep?!

The Cast Member hinted that the building would be closed until the Food and Wine Festival begins on August 29th, and the space would be used for demonstrations when it reopens. Note that Disney has NOT officially confirmed this update, so we’ll have to wait and see if they indeed are back for the 2024 season.

The good news is that both the Mickey & Friends meet-and-greet area and Festival Favorites are still open at this time.

OK, we’ll admit it. This little closure REALLY got our hopes up. Could this mean that Disney has more plans for CommuniCore Hall after all? Is the building just closed to add new decorations? WE MUST KNOW! We’ll be sure to let you know the moment we get an official update.

In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.

ALERT: Exclusive Perk Revealed for Three Disney World Hotels! 

What do YOU think this closure means?! Let us know in the comments!

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