The one constant in theme parks is change and no place has that been more true recently than Walt Disney World’s Epcot. The park has been undergoing a major transformation over the last couple of years, and while the work is far from over the area of Epcot that had been dedicated to the transformation is now being replaced itself, as The Epcot Experience is now closed.
The Epcot Experience was located in the Odyssey pavilion. It was a 360 degree video experience that walked guests through all the various changes that were planned for Epcot. Since several of the major expansions, the Space 220 restaurant, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and the Harmonious nighttime spectacular, are now open to guests, and another, the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster, is only a couple of months away from opening, it was felt it was time to end the show. Walt Disney Imagineer Zach Ridley made the announcement on Instagram and promised something new in the space in the future, but without a hint of what it could be or when we might see it.
That’s not to say there isn’t more coming to Epcot that hasn’t yet opened. A Moana-themed attraction called Journey of Water, that we know remarkably little about, is currently under construction. We’re also expecting the construction of a statue of Walt Disney but we don’t know yet when that will arrive.
Seeing a removal of the Epcot Experience rather than updating the film, certainly gives the indication that nothing beyond what was in the film most recently is expected to be added to the park in the short term. When Epcot reopened after its pandemic closure the film had actually been updated to remove a couple of elements that had been planned to be part of the current update, including a new Mary Poppins themed attraction in the U.K pavilion and an update to Spaceship Earth.
It’s been unclear if these projects were postponed or dead, though Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently spoke about the Mary Poppins attraction and said there was hope funding could be found to move forward on it in the future. Whether we’ll see the long expected, but even longer delayed, major renovation of Spaceship Earth is still a mystery.
The Odyssey Pavilion isn’t a major attraction space so we shouldn’t expect anything too significant to replace The Epcot Experience. In the past the space has been an art gallery or just a location to include elements of whatever seasonal festival is currently going on in the park, and that is likely what will happen to it. Maybe some other sort of film presentation could be created to go in the space. It will be interesting to see what’s next for this part of the park that continues to change.