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

May 06, 2022 in "EPCOT"

2022 Concept Art for EPCOT World Celebration
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.

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."



"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."



"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."



"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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Andrew C14 hours ago

I think it’s weird to put a temporary stage as part of a festival, in the area they just redesigned for festivals. I would have figured their designs would be a bit more seamless and account for these types situations better. If it was their intent to always do a temp stage, I think that’s bad show and bad design for an area that was purpose built.

MisterPenguin14 hours ago

They do have a permanent stage. But also, two temporary acts. I don't understand this criticism at all. I thought more entertainment was what people here wanted.

Andrew C14 hours ago

I thought the whole point of the Epcot overhaul to include a new permanent stage and festival center would change all that. I mean, is it really a stretch to think that was going to be the case?

MisterPenguin14 hours ago

They've been setting up a secondary stage for Joyful for years now. Norway gets a stage for its Christmas storyteller. Extra stages for a festival isn't new. It's not like they should build out a dozen permanent stages all over the place in case they need them.

trainplane316 hours ago

Maybe they're learning how much of a bad idea it was having a stage right against the hub? I know it's temporary but it says something that they're spending the time and money to install a temp stage like 150ft away from the permanent stage.

tparris18 hours ago

For comparison, these are the similarly reflective new panels outside of Communicore Hall

tparris18 hours ago

Looks like @DreamfinderGuy was right- they’re now replacing the opaque panels with new translucent ones, similar to the new ones recently added to the ground lighting outside Communicore Hall. So far, all of the cross sections have the new translucent panels.

Andrew C19 hours ago

Wait, wait wait...so after all that, they did not build enough infrastructure to cover all festivals?

Nunu19 hours ago

Brian19 hours ago

Maybe they can do both Celebracion Encanto and Joyful at the same time. Throw in a Spaceship Earth light show at the same time and 🤌🏻 https://blogmickey.com/2024/11/second-stage-communicore-plaza-epcot/

Cmdr_Crimson1 day ago

Bocabear1 day ago

Dolores!!!!!

HauntedPirate1 day ago

… Mulva? 😝

Jayspency1 day ago

Regarding my actual thoughts on this, I'm glad Soarin got some TLC, but I don't like the new Eiffel tower scene where you just kinda look at it from a distance. There was just a unique feeling you had scaling the tower from the bottom. At least the bendy tower is no more lol.