Epcot, when first built, was the largest construction project on Earth. The concept of Epcot revolves around the potential future of the world. EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It was built after Magic Kingdom as the second of the four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. It made its debut on Oct. 1, 1982 and was made to look like it was set in the 21st century. Now that we are living in it, what is Disney’s plan?
Walt Disney had originally intended for Epcot to be a functional utopian city run by Disney. He believed that cities were dirty and transportation within them was complicated and that if he had built his own city, he would be able to fix all these problems. Unfortunately, Walt Disney died even before Magic Kingdom was open to the public. His idea for Epcot ended up being too extreme, so the project was pushed aside. Disney has recently announced that, sometime in 2023, World Celebration (a land in Epcot) will be completely open. There will also be a new Moana-inspired attraction called the Journey of Water as well as the new Epcot nighttime spectacular, too. A new Epcot firework show is said to debut sometime in late 2023. Since Epcot is no longer a future world, it is undergoing a massive redesign towards the front of the park. The Future World is being eliminated and being replaced with three new neighborhoods, which will most likely be done by late 2023.
Recently, there were rumors that Disney’s Animal Kingdom would shut down due to its “poor financial state”. There were also rumors that Mickey Mouse was being replaced due to legal issues. Figment, a purple dragon, was what was supposedly replacing Mickey Mouse. These rumors were spread on TikTok, which is the primary reason they got blown out of proportion. Both rumors were later confirmed to be false.
Other additions are constantly being added to these parks, so here are a few that everyone should be expecting soon. The firework show in Magic Kingdom recently changed due to the 50th anniversary, but it resulted in a mixed response from the public. Many Disney fans argue that the show (titled Enchantment) didn’t celebrate the park’s history and especially didn’t celebrate the man behind the mouse. Twitter user and avid Disney lover Lacy Lovick shared her opinion on this topic.
“Enchantment is very underwhelming to me… I’m sure the new intro is great but when we were there a month ago I was not impressed with the new show. It didn’t make me cry like Happily Ever After did” expressed Lovick.
Disney has recently announced that Happily Ever After will be returning. The show is expected to have a few enhancements and altercations. There is no set date for it yet, other than that it is coming out sometime this year. TRON Light Cycle Run Roller Coaster is now being built behind Tomorrowland and is expected to open in spring 2023. Coming not so soon, in late 2024, the Princess and the Frog reimagining of Splash Mountain will be opening at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This ride was the reason why Splash Mountain was closed on Jan. 23 of this year. Some attractions that might be coming in the future are a Moana Mini-Land at Animal Kingdom that could possibly replace Dino-Rama. There is also a possibility of a Zootopia Expansion for Animal Kingdom. These were all ideas released by Josh D’Amaro, the Experiences and Products Chairman at Disney Parks.