In a post from Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley, he writes that “with the transformation now well under way” they have decided to close the EPCOT Experience and “make way for exciting new activities of the Odyssey pavilion to create a great experience for our guests.”
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Aerial look at the demolition of the “stargate” or center ring of the former Harmonious show. With Harmonious gone, Disney World Guests have been enjoying EPCOT Forever.
EPCOT's World Showcase Lagoon is now free of all the Harmonious show platform barges. Last night, the final two taco-shaped barges from Harmonious were removed from the lagoon and moved backstage to begin demolition.
2023 marks the end of its transformation with Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, opening Oct. 16. World Celebration will also be completed in December with a new statue of Walt Disney in an area called Dreamers Point and a new exhibition space called CommuniCore Hall.
Also, this offers ride priorities for Lightning Lanes via Genie+ and not Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL), which are pay-per-ride. At present, the only ILL attraction for EPCOT is Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
EPCOT Forever has been running as the nighttime fireworks spectacular and we're excited to say that the brand-new show – Luminous – The Symphony of Us – will begin on December 5, 2023!
EPCOT celebrated its big 40th Anniversary in 2022 with special snacks, unique entertainment, and merchandise (of course). One thing released on the 40th Anniversary was a new set of EPCOT-themed ears, but they had only been available online… until now.
July 16, 2023 Update: Spaceship Earth finally has a refurbishment scheduled after its multi-year refurbishment was delayed for multiple years! Hooray for this overdue announcement!!! According to Walt Disney World, Spaceship Earth will close on July 19, 2023 and will reopen… one day later, on July 20, 2023.
Let's get one thing out of the way: there has never been a country that was removed from Epcot. All the countries that were originally there opening day — or added later on — remain in the park. The closest we get to a “removal” is perhaps Israel and Africa.
Epcot Forever has returned to World Showcase Lagoon at EPCOT. This temporary show is a treat for Disney fans. Epcot Forever was a previous Epcot fireworks show that returned on April 4th, 2023, and is running in the interim while Harmonious barges and equipment is being slowly transformed out of the Lagoon.
The final two “taco” barges have been removed from World Showcase Lagoon, signaling the end of Harmonious at EPCOT. Harmonious was originally designed to be a long-term replacement for Illuminations, but the unsightly hardware for the show proved to be its downfall.
This show isn't perfect, but it's darn good. Right off the bat, the music of Epcot attractions of old pulls at your heartstrings with songs from icons like Horizons and the original Journey Into Imagination.
EPCOT Forever will return to Walt Disney World as an interim show on April 3 2023, following the final performance of Harmonious on April 2. The first version of EPCOT Forever which debuted on October 1 2019 featured fireworks and stunt kites.
Why are the fingerprints necessary? In Disney's words, “We offer the convenience of Ticket Tag at the entrance of many of our theme parks and water parks. Ticket Tag helps to facilitate ease of re-entry into our parks and helps prevent fraud.” They refer to it as a convenience and a fraud prevention measure.
Underneath that you'll see LL Disney Genie+ Not Currently Offered. This means that all of the available Lightning Lanes have been booked. Now, it is possible that a few will become available as guests' plans change and they cancel Lightning Lanes, but getting one of those takes a lot of luck and pixie dust.
Ultimately, the answer to the question, “should you skip Epcot?” is ABSOLUTELY NOT as of 2023. Navigating the sea of construction walls isn't really as bad as it might seem–and while it'll be a lovely environment once finished, there aren't any rides you'll miss in that Giant Epcot Dirt Pit.