Disney is giving Epcot a serious makeover at the Walt Disney World Resort. New details were revealed at this weekend's D23 Expo about the company's future plans for the iconic tourist destination, and they're going to bring some new attractions based on iconic properties such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast to Epcot, in addition to a ton of additional updates that will roll out throughout 2020 and beyond.
A wealth of new info was revealed at the Disney Parks panel. Epcot will be transformed with four neighborhoods that are each designed to "speak to important aspects of the world and its people." The new neighborhoods include World Showcase, World Celebration, World Nature and World Discovery. Each of these neighborhoods will be filled with new experiences, which is where the latest attractions based on these big franchises will come into play, with various iconic movies inspiring new experiences in one of the neighborhoods that suit it best. For example, the United Kingdom area will play host to the Mary Poppins attraction, which will take visitors down Cherry Tree Lane past Admiral Boom's house and the home of the Banks family.
The France Pavilion will also be bringing Pixar's Ratatouille to Epcot, with Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. Visitors will shrink to the size of Chef Remy and race through Gusteau's restaurant on a wild adventure. The attraction is expected to open in summer 2020, along with a new restaurant called La Crêperie de Paris. The France-themed area will also play host to the newly announced Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along, which is set to kick off in January 2020. The sing-along is directed by Don Hahn, who served as a producer on both the animated and live-action movie.
World Nature will play host to the recently revealed Moana attraction, Journey of Water. Over at World Discovery, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will invade Epcot with Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. The attraction stars in the Galaxarium, a planetarium-like exhibition before visitors have the chance to learn more about Xandar. Then the Guardians of the Galaxy will arrive, which kicks off an adventure across the cosmos. The attraction will feature a new innovation from Walt Disney Imagineering, a so-called "storytelling coaster" which rotates 360 degrees to focus your attention on the action. The ride will also feature the first reverse launch on a Disney roller coaster.
Over at World Celebration, the beloved Spaceship Earth will be getting an update, with new narration and a new score. Epcot's entrance plaza will also be getting a makeover. Other new attractions include an expansion of the Mission: SPACE pavilion, the PLAY! Pavilion, Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 and Wondrous China. Last, but not least, HarmonioUS, debuting in 2020, will become the largest nighttime spectacular ever created for a Disney park. Needless to say, Disney is dumping a whole lot of money to update Epcot for the future. Be sure to check out all of the newly revealed concept art for the updates below. This news comes to us via the Disney Parks Blog.
