A permit filed today with the Orange County Comptroller seem to indicate that work is underway on the new nighttime spectacular at Epcot.
The permit describes the work as:
Installation of four new mooring dolphins, permanent anchors, platforms and bollards.
Location for the work is in the mooring lagoon for the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth barges. This new infrastructure seems to indicate that there is a need for more docking space, which would be the case if barges and such for a new show was coming soon.
Disney has yet to formally announce the new nighttime spectacular that will replace IllumiNations, but all signs point towards it debuting before 2021.
One source suggests Reflections of Earth will shut down this Fall, the lagoon will go silent for a few months, and a new show possibly debuting for next summer. (And there is said to be some sort of “temporary nighttime entertainment” during this time. No idea what it might be.)
This may help to fill the gap during a time when resort bookings are said to be quite soft in the period before Star Wars opens late next year.