UPDATED: June 12, 2024
The EPCOT Transformation at Disney World officially reached completion at long last on June 10th, 2024, with the opening of CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza!
Spaceship Earth welcomes you to EPCOT… and to World Celebration!
One of the many big additions to the front of the park as part of the transformation is the new Moana-inspired attraction in the World Nature neighborhood of EPCOT, and here we are taking a look at everything new in World Celebration!
Again, the final touch to bring completion not only to World Celebration but also to the EPCOT transformation as a whole was the opening of CommuniCore Hall and Plaza in World Celebration on June 10th, 2024!
WELCOME to CommuniCore Hall!
The new area serves as a central location for EPCOT’s rotating festivals throughout the year, providing a communal space to celebrate — and to provide additional programs for the events.
EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival
Communicore Plaza is an outdoor space where guests can enjoy the festival offerings.
CommuniCore Plaza
Communicore Hall is a flexible indoor space which will be used to host a myriad of different things — food stalls, exhibition, mixology class, and so much more!
Inside CommuniCore Hall
Take a Photo Tour of CommuniCore HERE!
Along with providing dedicated spaces for EPCOT’s seasonal Festivals, CommuniCore Hall is also the location of a new year-round Mickey & Friends Meet-and-Greet!
Mickey’s Greeting Spot in EPCOT!
We initially saw Minnie and Goofy greeting with Mickey, but be aware that the “& Friends” in the space may vary, so be ready for a surprise!
Minnie
And rest assured that Mickey himself will always be present to SEE YA, PAL!!!
Check out Mickey’s NEW Meet-and-Greet Spot HERE!
As part of the CommuniCore opening celebration, a BRAND NEW Encanto stage show has made its debut! ¡Celebración Encanto! is a sing-along that includes popular songs — and characters! — from the film.
¡Celebración Encanto!
The show is running several times a day through September 6th, 2024 and takes place on the CommuniCore Plaza stage.
La Calle performing on the CommuniCore Plaza Stage
Oh, and in the evenings, you can still stop by and be entertained with live music performed by Latin bands!
See why we LOVE EPCOT’s new Encanto show HERE!
As the seasons — and seasonal Festivals — change throughout the year, this will be reflected in a World Celebration hub divided into several different gardensy. And in early December 2023, these areas started to open for guests to enjoy!
World Celebration Gardens
The planter above is based on the five ring EPCOT logo. The gardens will also evolve with the seasons! They offer plenty of shade and seating for guests, and each one has its own identity, with the ability to change to go along with the Festivals throughout the year.
Disney previously shared that at night, the gardens will “take on a whole new life,” where lighting immerses guests in an evening experience that will also change through the seasons. You can see the results of that work now!
Glowing sidewalks
Imagineer Zach Riddley previously took to Instagram to share more of his thoughts on these newer areas ahead of the completion:
Now that the EPCOT transformation is complete, if you are interested in learning about more major expansion projects in Walt Disney World, you can click HERE to find out about the Magic Kingdom Expansion and HERE to find out about the Animal Kingdom Expansion!
Click HERE to find out about the Magic Kingdom Expansion and HERE to find out about the Animal Kingdom Expansion!
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This is a wonderful announcement. I was disappointed when previous plans were shelved, but am thrilled it is coming back this soon. For those who visited the old Wonders of Life pavilion during festivals, it was a poor setting at best and completely lacked atmosphere. Nothing could have been more out of the way considering most of the festival activity occurs within or near World Showcase. Having something designed for this purpose should make for a great guest experience.
I am having trouble visualizing where this will be. The renderings are lovely, but where is this again? Lol can someone explain it to me in super simple terms. Thanks!