PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 7/4/19 (A Look at Upcoming Closures, IllumiNations Farewell Ears, and Construction Updates!)

Iain

PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 7/4/19 (A Look at Upcoming Closures, IllumiNations Farewell Ears, and Construction Updates!)

Welcome to Epcot! Big changes are afoot in the near future. I figured I’d take a lap around the park, see what’s new, and point out what areas are going to be changing or going away later in the year. Let’s go!

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Future World Changes

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One of the many locations scheduled to close on September 8th is the Camera Center, located just at the base of Spaceship Earth.

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Not surprising, as this is one of the lesser-visited locations in the park (unless you want a PhotoPass picture printed).

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Pin Central is also scheduled to close on the same day. This location has been a major pin spot for collectors for years. I’ll miss it, personally.

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Rumor has it a temporary pin shop will take the place of the Camera Center while construction is happening.

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Also scheduled to close (but to return elsewhere eventually, according to Disney) is fan favorite Club Cool.

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Say goodbye to what’s left of Innoventions, as well.

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I kind of liked Colortopia. It’s fun to do at least once.

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You would be forgiven for not remembering “Nanooze”, the only other existing exhibit in Innoventions at the moment.

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The famous “air conditioned hallway” of Innoventions West will ultimately go away, as will the entire building, per Project Gamma plans.

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I’ll miss these classic Exit signs.

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Although this one has seen better days…

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The Character Spot is one of the major losses for the near future. Mickey, Minnie and Goofy will be relocated throughout the park.

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Also moving is (at least) Joy. No word on Sadness joining her yet. Baymax unfortunately is being retired.

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This summer is your last chance to get a hug from everyone’s favorite robot.

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The Art of Disney is closing as well, but it will move sooner rather than later to, of all places…

World Showcase

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…The American Adventure! It will take the place of Heritage Manor Gifts.

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It should fit in here well, I suppose.

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All these announcements give us better context for these construction walls. I have a feeling Daisy, who is being moved from her gazebo, will end up over here.

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Also announced is the return of Pooh Bear to Christopher Robin’s room here in the United Kingdom pavilion.

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It’s all set up for Fastpass, as well. Whether they use it is another question.

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I noticed the door here had been covered up a couple months back. I guess it was in anticipation of Pooh returning!

Maintenance and Such

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Other things are happening in the park other than closures, though. They finally fixed the roof of this kiosk in Norway after over a week of it looking like a hurricane hit.

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Also (finally) fixed is this door handle in China. It had been missing for something like two weeks. Looks nice!

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Over in France, some progress is being made on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. You can see most of the changes here.

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They’re hard at work digging new foundations at International Gateway, as well.

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All these fixes and updates, but what’s this…

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…Derailment in Germany! Oh no! Someone help those poor tiny people.

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The mountainside in Canada is almost completely covered in scrim now. Big changes are underway for that pavilion as well.

Merchandise

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New ears! You can read all about it here.

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It was Wishable Wednesday, which meant new Wishables! Check it out here.

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There’s a ton of new stuff in Norway as well. Stay tuned for a full merch post!

That’s it for today! If you want to check out some of this stuff before it closes, you’ve got until September 8th for most of it. We’ll keep you updated on all the upcoming changes and projects at Epcot as they happen!

 

7 thoughts on “PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 7/4/19 (A Look at Upcoming Closures, IllumiNations Farewell Ears, and Construction Updates!)”

  1. My wife and I will miss the Epcot Character Spot. It was really convenient to be able to get photos with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy all in one place, one right after another.

  2. Good to see the miniature trains are still by Germany. With Brazil coming to that area, I hope they will keep the trains or relocate them. There are always people there who love watching them (like my wife and I).

  3. Great report! It’s sad innoventions couldn’t keep up with the technology of the times. I remember as a kid they had the “home of the future” exhibit and the latest on video gaming, and segway demonstrations when that came out. I really hope they keep Poppins’ carpet bag with Tiffany lamp in the UK, as she used to do sets there as well.

    • Riding a segway was fun. I also took the segway tour of Epcot, in which we rode a segway around a lot of Epcot, and that was fun.

  4. Should close all Epcot, move test track , mission space, and soarin to other parks Start over Get rid of the big ball. Get lots of food places Epcot is done

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