A dedicated Festival area is coming to Disney World’s EPCOT to serve as the new “home base” for EPCOT’s seasonal Festivals and live events! CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza will be housed in EPCOT’s World Celebration (which is slated to reach completion in December 2023), bringing EPCOT International Festivals “to the center of Walt Disney World,” according to Disney.

UPDATE: According to a press release from Disney, CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza will open in 2024. 

(Before we “zoom in,” you can see the new area in the bottom left of the concept art above.)

EPCOT hosts four seasonal Festivals throughout the year: the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts (the first Festival of the calendar year), Spring’s EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival, the original EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival, and the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays.

The new spaces will play an integral part in these events, which are highlights for Walt Disney World guests throughout the year!

CommuniCore Plaza

CommuniCore Plaza will provide an outdoor space where guests can come to relax and experience all that the Festivals have to offer.

The (literal!) spotlight will be on an area that can host large-scale concerts or an intimate performance that extends out into the gardens nearby. Concert Series held throughout the year currently include the Disney on Broadway Concert Series (for the EPCOT Festival of the Arts), the Garden Rocks Concert Series (for the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival), the Eat to the Beat Concert Series (for the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival), and the Candlelight Processional (for the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays).

Communicore Hall

CommuniCore Hall will be housed within the plaza, and will be the first fully-purpose built structure in Festival programing!

Designed with flexibility in mind, this hall will be able to host a wide variety of experiences with food, art, live music, and more.

 The hall will boast a demonstration kitchen, a mixology bar, and exhibition and gallery space. It will also help extend the festival experience and give presenting chefs new ways to connect and experiment.

In March 2023, Disney shared a sneak peek at what we can expect from the inside of CommuniCore Hall!

Disney also offered the following quote: “CommuniCore Hall will also be the home of a dynamic exhibition space that will transform with each festival throughout the year, as you can see here in one possibility imagined for EPCOT International Festival of the Arts. Playing with light, shapes and reflections, the architecture of this building was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering to celebrate the legacy of EPCOT and the original CommuniCore buildings.”

And in August 2023, Disney World’s Cast and Community Facebook page provided a few different pictures of the new mural artwork that’s going to be part of the exterior of CommuniCore Hall when the space opens.

Disney said that the pavilion features “classic EPCOT pavilions, patterns, and shapes.” 

And, of course, beloved Disney characters will be showcased in the whimsical, colorful murals!

Mickey and Friends Meet-and-Greet

Throughout the year, CommuniCore Hall will also be the location of a new Mickey & Friends meet-and-greet!

In EPCOT’s now-closed Character Spot, the featured pals included Mickey (of course!), Minnie, and Goofy. We are not certain who the “and friends” will be at this new location, but we will keep you posted as soon as more information is revealed!

Festival Area Gardens

As the seasons — and seasonal Festivals — change throughout the year, this will be reflected in a World Celebration hub divided into several different gardens, according to Disney. In the center will be a planter based on the five ring EPCOT logo. The gardens will also evolve with the seasons! These gardens will offer plenty of shade and seating for guests, and each one will have its own identity, with the ability to change to go along with the Festivals throughout the year.

Disney shares that at night, the gardens will “take on a whole new life,” where lighting will immerse guests in an evening experience that will also change through the seasons.

The gardens will also offer exciting new views of Spaceship Earth!

Not only do we cover every aspect of each and every seasonal EPCOT Festival here at DFB… we also happen to be HUGE Festival fans, right along with you!

EPCOT’s World Celebration — which is the host neighborhood for Communicore Hall and Plaza —  is slated to reach completion in December 2023. We can’t wait to share more information on this new Festival area as it is revealed!