EPCOT After the Overhaul: What Looks Safe and What Could Be Rethemed
Trade coverage identifies festival infrastructure as the park’s anchor over the next decade.
Overview
- EPCOT’s transformation officially concluded in 2024, adding CommuniCore Hall and Plaza and Journey of Water, with CommuniCore now positioned as the year-round festival hub.
- World Showcase remains the park’s stable core, with its eleven country pavilions expected to persist even as smaller upgrades inside pavilions may occur.
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, opened in 2022, is widely viewed as a long-term fixture due to its popularity and cutting-edge ride system.
- The Play! Pavilion was canceled in 2023, leaving the former Wonders of Life building dark with no announced reuse, a situation frequently cited as EPCOT’s most at-risk space.
- Mexico’s Gran Fiesta Tour is often rumored for a Coco retheme, while Spaceship Earth’s previously planned refurbishment was shelved and the attraction is still considered an untouchable icon.