After several delays and changes, the years-long reimagination of EPCOT is coming to a close, but it’s not done yet. EPCOT construction is still an attraction of its own.
World Discovery Snack Stand
This snack stand in World Discovery has been completely surrounded by construction walls for weeks. There’s not much to see from the ground, but from the Monorail, we can see the stand.
It’s across from Connections Café, next to a Disney Vacation Club kiosk that opened earlier this year.
In April of this year, the stand was updated with the red and white World Discovery color scheme. We can see the red and white roof from the Monorail.
Still, we can’t see any significant construction on the stand, which has now been closed for about three weeks.
World Celebration Construction
For years, EPCOT construction has been focused on the center of the park, a.k.a. World Celebration. The new neighborhood is set to officially open in December. It also includes the entrance area of the park, the Imagination! Pavilion, and The Odyssey Pavilion, which have remained open.
World Celebration will offer new experiences that “connect us to one another and the world around us.” Behind Spaceship Earth will be Dreamers Point, home to the new Walt the Dreamer statue. There will also be gardens, a wishing tree, a story fountain, and other global design elements.
Our view from the Monorail shows that there is a lot of construction left to be done in the next few months, but sidewalks are more fleshed out.
Two new white column structures are in the center of the courtyard.
Here they are visible from the ground. They open up into a triangular shape with three horizontal poles across them.
They are currently wrapped in plastic, keeping them protected during construction.
Just barely visible past these columns are the raised white walls creating the giant EPCOT logo under construction in the center of the park.
Concept art shows the logo structure will be a series of planters.
The logo is surrounded by a different set of white columns, these slanted inwards.
They are similar to the columns at CommuniCore Plaza, also part of World Celebration.
CommuniCore Hall & Plaza
CommuniCore Hall and Plaza replace the originally planned festival center. They are named after the opening-day CommuniCore Pavilions that later became Innoventions.
Paneling is still being installed on the steel framework of the building. The orange nets around the roof are for crew member safety.
Last month, trees were planted around CommuniCore Plaza, between the white columns.
CommuniCore Hall will have a permanent Mickey & Friends meet and greet space, demo kitchen, mixology bar, and gallery space. Currently, Mickey and Minnie are meeting in their Disney100 outfits at the Magic Eye Theater.
CommuniCore Plaza will be an event space with a stage.
A round concrete structure is beneath this outdoor awning. It’s surrounded by scaffolding.
The white columns look more finished. They have lights mounted at the top of them to illuminate the stage and plaza.
On this side, we can see one wall of triangles inspired by Spaceship Earth, between yellow walls.
Above an entrance is black paneling with raised vertical and horizontal lines creating a grid.
The wall facing World Nature has been painted or primed with white.
CommuniCore Hall is behind the World Nature restrooms, which reopened in June after a year-long refurbishment.
A couple of the white columns that open into triangles are on this side of the building.
This wall is also covered in black grid panels.
Further down the building, we can see more of the Spaceship Earth-inspired pattern.
Journey of Water Station
Next to CommuniCore Hall is Journey of Water, Inspired by “Moana,” which has soft opened, but work continues around the attraction’s water station.
The station itself is operational, but crews are still clearing dirt around it.
A thin pathway lets guests walk between the water station and Spaceship Earth.
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The post PHOTOS: New Columns Installed in World Celebration, Spaceship Earth-Inspired Paneling Installed on CommuniCore Hall in EPCOT appeared first on WDW News Today.