This week we all said goodbye to IllumiNaitons Reflections of Earth. For nearly 20 years the spectacular nighttime show lit up Epcot each night from the World Showcase Lagoon. I watched a fuzzy livestream from my Ohio apartment and still found myself tearing up. Epcot is truly a beautiful story… “a story old as time itself, but still being written.” If you’ve been having trouble keeping track of all of the changes coming to Epcot, not to fret, we’ve done the work for you.

Epcot is just at the start of its multi-year bibbidi-bobbidi-boo level transformation. According to The Disney Blog, Epcot will be “more Disney, more family, more timeless, and more relevant to the millions of guests who visit each year.” Starting this October guests will be able to experience all the exciting plans at the new Walt Disney Imagineering presents the Epcot Experience in the Odyssey Events Pavilion. Here guests will engage and interact with exhibits that allow them to step inside the innovation, energy, and excitement of this transformation. The park will be unified through this transformation by four neighborhoods. We all know World Showcase already. World Celebration, World Nature, and World Discovery will replace the current Future World and join the Epcot family.

World Celebration will offer new experiences that connect us to one another and to the world around us. Including the Epcot’s entrance plaza, World Celebration will pay homage to the origins of Epcot with a reimagined fountain, new pathways, and new green spaces.

Spaceship Earth will remain a voyage through time as the journey transforms to reflect the power of storytelling as a uniting factor in human experience. Guests will follow a magical “story light” with new narration and a new music score through moments and ideas that define our story. Spaceship earth will also feature a new exit that brings guests to Dreamers Point. Dreamers Point will feature lush gardens, a wishing tree in an enchanted forest, an interactive story fountain celebrating iconic Disney storytelling, and a new statue celebrating the legacy of Walt Disney.

World Celebration will also feature a new pavilion (currently unnamed) that will house Epcot’s signature festivals and live events. This three-level structure will have a plaza level, a middle expo level, and a park on the top level. This is where you’ll want to be for the park’s nighttime spectacular.

World Nature will be dedicated to understanding and preserving our natural world. It will include The Land and The Seas with Nemo & Friends Pavilions, along with welcoming a new attraction and feature film.

World Nature will house Journey of Water Inspired by Moana. Opening January of 2020 this area will allow guests to interact with magical, living water in a setting inspired by the film Moana. This child friendly trail will lead guests towards The Seas with Nemo & Friends.

The Land will bring a new film, “Awesome Planet” also opening January of 2020. This film will be housed in the Harvest Theater (which formerly housed the “Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable) and will feature environmental scenes, in-theater effects, and leave guests will a resonating environmental message.

World Showcase will remain a celebration of cultures around the world, though many pavilions will be seeing changes in attractions and restaurants before the 50th Anniversary.

The United Kingdom pavilion at the World Showcase will welcome its first attraction inspired by Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane. Guests will stroll down Cherry Tree Lane, past Admiral Bloom’s house, and enter into Number 17, home of the Banks family. Mary Poppins’ first feature attraction can’t be anything short of practically perfect in every way.

The France pavilion will show that “change is nature” with two new attractions and a new restaurant! First to debut will be Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along in January 2020. The attraction is directed by Don Hahn, who produced both the animated and live action versions of Beauty and The Beast. Summer of 2020 will bring La Crêperie de Paris. The new restaurant will offer both table and quick service options featuring a menu from celebrity chef Jérôme Bocuse. Summer 2020 will also finally bring Disneyland Paris’ Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure to Epcot. Rumored to be “very similar to the original ride,” the Paris attraction is a trackless ride where guests shrink down to Chef Remy’s size and race through Gusteau’s restaurant.

World Showcase will also debut two new Circle-Vision 360 films. Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360 will open in January of 2020 at the Canada pavilion with new scenes and a new story.

Wondrous China will be the second of the newly installed Circle-Vision 360 film. The film will feature a journey across the entire country of China. It is unclear when Wondrous China will debut in the China pavilion.

Epcot Forever, opening October 1, 2019, will share the story of Epcot from a “spark of imagination” that it started as. Get to Epcot now, because this show will only run for a short time and personally, I really want to know how the kites fit in. Then, starting in 2020, HarmonioUS will debut as the nighttime spectacular at Epcot. It will celebrate Disney music and how it inspires people all over the world. HarmonioUS will feature artists from all over the world and their reinterpretation of famous Disney songs. This spectacular is slated to be the largest ever created for a Disney park featuring massive floating set pieces, custom-built LED panels, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics, lasers, and more.

At World Discovery guests will see stories about science, technology, and intergalactic adventure come to life. This world will show us just how far humans can reach.

The new PLAY! Pavilion at World Discovery is slated to open in time for the 50th anniversary. This new pavilion will be an interactive metropolis where guests will discover a city full of games and experiences that allows them to connect with friends, family, and various Disney characters. Guests will be able to help fashion icon Edna Mode eliminate uninspired style, or have a balloon fight with Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby.

Also, at World Discovery, an expansion of the Mission: SPACE pavilion a new restaurant Space 220 is expected to open this winter. This panoramic space station will include daytime and nighttime views of Earth from 220 miles up.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is the ride we’ve all been waiting for. Since the tearful closing of Universe of Energy in 2017, that corner of Future World has been a mystery. This attraction will be Disney’s first reverse-launch coaster and will rotate into focus on the action. We should be able to hop into space with the Guardians of the Galaxy by the 50th Anniversary.

We are seeing many changes occurring throughout all the parks at Walt Disney World in preparation for the 50th Anniversary in 2021, but it seems that Epcot’s makeover is one of the largest! Make sure if you’re planning on visiting in the coming year, to check out what may or may not be open yet, or check with your travel consultant to ensure you’re seeing your must-see attractions.

Larissa Papas is an independent, contributing Blogger and Writer for Wanderlust Journeys LLC. All information, views and opinions are not affiliated or shared by Wanderlust Journeys, it’s employees, contractors or suppliers.

EPCOT Prepares for wdw’s 50th anniversary