EPCOT finished its massive transformation project back in 2024, which brought new names to the sections at the front of the park, new lighting for Spaceship Earth, a new entrance fountain, a new dining spot, and more. Part of that massive project included light-up sidewalks and a glowing EPCOT logo on the pavement near Spaceship Earth that was meant to sync up with the Spaceship Earth lighting show.
The light-up pavement
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the light strips embedded in the pavement continued to have technical failures, while the plastic covers on the lights warped in the Florida heat. The strips even popped out of the ground occasionally and became tripping hazards. Disney finally decided it just wasn’t working out and began replacing that pavement. Well, now, that pavement project is complete.
Yes, the EPCOT pavement lightning looked cool when it was working properly, but apparently, its problems were just too much for Disney to try to overcome. Now, the pavement has been replaced. The new pavement has the same curved design that formed the EPCOT logo, but it has lost the lightning effects. So it will look more or less the same during the day, but different at night.
The new pavement
However, Disney did add reflective flecks to the replacement concrete, so they can catch light and sort of do something other than just look flat at night. So you’ll still get a little bit of the effect at night, but, again, it’s going to look totally different.
The design is the same
Although that project is complete, some more work is coming to EPCOT soon. At this year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, we learned that the big Spaceship Earth update that was abandoned during the transformation project is now scheduled to happen sometime in the future. The new version of the ride will focus on human connection. Disney has not yet announced when the changes to Spaceship Earth might happen, though.
©Disney
But that’s not all. Disney has also shared that Journey Into Imagination will soon be changing, too. The company is bringing back a classic character to the ride, Dreamfinder. Disney said, “We are taking a new journey into imagination at EPCOT with Dreamfinder and Figment!” So the two will be reunited again. Again, Disney has not yet revealed a timeline for this change.
©D23
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more EPCOT changes and more changes in Disney World, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
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What do you think about the new pavement? Let us know in the comments!
