EPCOT's lead Imagineer talks more about the new World Celebration plans

May 06, 2022 in "EPCOT"

Gallery / 7 Photos
2022 Concept Art for EPCOT World Celebration

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Posted: Friday May 6, 2022 12:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Following yesterday's unveiling of the new plans for World Celebration at EPCOT, lead EPCOT Imagineer Zach Riddley has today taken to Instagram to offer some more details on the plans.

Wide view looking towards the south of World Celebration

Zach begins by talking about lighting and how the new nighttime experience established at the main entrance and on Spaceship Earth will extend into the park and to World Celebration.

"World Celebration will be a can’t-miss destination for evening activations at EPCOT. Designed with over 12,000 individually controllable lighting fixtures, the reimagined nighttime experiences in this new park neighborhood will create a dynamic environment that will transform the area every night."

He continues, "We know our guests loved the fiber optics embedded in the pavement at EPCOT, and we’re excited to share that we’re bringing back new illuminated paving designs in World Celebration. These features pay homage to EPCOT’s past, while incorporating updated technology and controllability to deliver some fun new lighting capabilities. As you can see in this image, at the central planter in the heart of World Celebration, the rings of the EPCOT logo will come to life with light and color in an inviting and dynamic celebration of unity."

World Celebration during Food and Wine Festival

"We’re creating new spaces for “hero” features, large-scale décor, topiaries, lighting and artistic elements that mark the seasons. Here, we see an artist’s vision for the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, where light becomes a unifying element of global holiday celebrations – and our points of light across Spaceship Earth provide a fully in-the-round experience throughout all of World Celebration."

World Celebration during Festival of the Holidays

"In the final image we see a glimpse of the newly announced CommuniCore Plaza. This large area will be purpose-built with flexibility to host a variety of entertainment and performance activations. Here is a glimpse of the smaller of two stages that has the ability to host performances for guests on multiple sides, activating the adjacent gardens with dedicated areas to sit and relax."

CommuniCore Hall stage during Festival of the Arts

"Our Imagineering team has been very thoughtful about the legacy and stewardship of the EPCOT aesthetic, and in many cases, we’ve been able to reach back in our history to leverage some key themes as we bring this new design into the future. The name “CommuniCore” itself goes back to the earliest days of the park."

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MisterPenguin5 days ago

When I was there two weeks ago, the solid green was working, and so was the solid blue. The solid pink, however, had a few light green spots.

Disgruntled Walt5 days ago

Maybe Merlin infected them?

Cmdr_Crimson5 days ago

tparris5 days ago

Ground lights look awful at the moment. They’re all working, but at least half of them have incorrect colors and random blue spots on them. For reference, all the lights are supposed to be green in these photos. The lights by Communicore hall are off again as well. The lights themselves seem to be holding up very well, as 100% are still lighting up (aside from the ones by Communicore) so this seems to be completely software/instruction related. All because they were too cheap to install things reliably I’m assuming.

DreamfinderGuy7 days ago

Yeah, you could. It was designed around that. The current building goes all the way to the center of the old breezeway, killing that view.

mysto7 days ago

I think the DJ show would be more tolerable if the volume were lower. Not just easier to ignore but also less jarring and overbearing if you like the show. It would intrude less on the other goings on. Never let a teenager control the volume at a party, up up UP! Oh the police are here, how did that happen? The person on the dial of the Encanto show is likely more mature, contributing more to the enjoyability of the show than many realize.

Chef idea Mickey`=8 days ago

Those things are hideous and unlike if they were situated where Journey of Water is then it would been even more significant why it was like recycled for the Island Tower at Polynesian in the same color!

Chef idea Mickey`=8 days ago

One unique thing I did liked about the demolition and construction was able to seeing the Imagination Pyramids, The Land building (maybe) and Spaceship Earth from Creation's. Also from the monorail station you can now see The Japan Pavilion which I don't think or know if you couldn't prior before with the Innovention's West building.

Epcot82Guy8 days ago

I actually really enjoy Luminous, especially because of the music selections and original creations. But, ANYTHING GAVIN... Now, if Pinar and Gavin paired up to write new pavilion music and helped restore some classics (*cough*cough* One Little Spark, Fun to be Free, Tomorrow's Child...)

Cmdr_Crimson8 days ago

*paging Mr Greenaway..Mr Gavin Greenaway your needed at World Showcase lagoon to fix an abysmal show*

Epcot82Guy8 days ago

To take the cue from Luminous, it feels like an orchestra without a conductor. And each section was told to play a modern version of a Disney song. And somehow that was going to gel. Epcot (as with all parks and hotels) needs an empowered conductor. And that's where WDI seems to have failed most recently (or has been set up to fail, perhaps).

trainplane38 days ago

I'll agree with this. The Encanto show is fine and it's not obnoxious. The DJ that takes the stage is the problem for the area. It's fine for NYE but not for daily operations. I just have to laugh at the umbrellas all throughout the CC area though. You'd think they would have a larger overhang. I also like the acrobat group that performs in the gardens. They're fun, weird, but very good and entertaining. A good fit in the area and I'm glad they're still there. Edit: I just realized you can hear the DJ in my video of the ground lights:

Bocabear8 days ago

seems like the answer is "Yes" But we are not in the loop of what actually happened... I imagine it was a death by a million cuts with lots and lots of daily changes that bit by bit veered this project completely off course... but there should have been some with enough authority to have steered that ship back on course at some point....which they didn't do. Hopefully sometime in the mid to late 2030s they will decide it is time to clear things out a bit and create a better plan and vision...