The new EPCOT ride-share loop looks nearly finished at Walt Disney World, with great visual progress since our last update.
EPCOT Ride-Share Loop Construction
Guard railing has been added to the loop and the neighboring road to the right. The railing extends down the length of the road to the right and its adjoined right turn, but the railing is only present at the top of the loops for the ride-share area.
Directional paint on the road has also been added, informing guests which lane to take for guest pick-up only, return lane, and exit. The barrier posts toward the center of the frame are now white; yesterday, the white covers were not yet installed.
Here’s a look at those barrier posts from yesterday, September 6, before their white covers were installed.
Now that the new sod is completely installed, the drainage points for this area are clearly defined, both in the loop itself, and the grassy area in front of it. You can see the white drains slope into the center of the loop on both sides.
A great deal of new landscaping has also been installed, from sod and decorative rocks in the actual loop area, to various trees and shrubbery. These yellow delineators on the left have also been added since our last update in August.
EPCOT Ride-Share Loop
Work first began on the EPCOT ride-share loop in February of this year. It’s located near the HeiHei parking lot, part of the recently renamed Earth lots.
The new ride-share loop at EPCOT is one of the final projects done in conjunction with a years-long park refresh. As part of the overhaul, EPCOT was divided into four neighborhoods — World Nature, World Celebration, World Discovery, and the long-present World Showcase.
Several new attractions came to the park as part of the reimagining; Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure opened at the back of the France Pavilion in late 2021. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened inside World Discovery in May 2022. Journey of Water Inspired by Moana, a walkthrough attraction based on the 2016 film, has been hosting its latest round of Cast Member previews, and we got a chance to go check it out; the attraction is scheduled to open in “late 2023.”
Several projects are still under construction as well. CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza, named after the science-and-technology-based pavilion that was present at EPCOT Center on opening day, are in the works, with an EPCOT easter egg-filled mural for the former that was revealed last month. While we don’t yet know exactly when the project will conclude, we do know that CommuniCore Hall and Plaza will not open before Disney starts celebrating their 100th anniversary at EPCOT on September 22.
Dreamers Point, a location near Spaceship Earth that will host the Walt the Dreamer statue that was introduced at D23 Expo in 2022, also remains under construction but likely will not open in time for the start of Disney100 celebrations.
What do you think of the progress on the new EPCOT ride-share loop? Will you be utilizing it once it opens to guests? Let us know in the comments.
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