PHOTOS - Center of Future World now closed and eastern bypass walkway opens

Feb 16, 2020 in "EPCOT"

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Gallery / 17 Photos
Future World East bypass walkway

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Posted: Sunday February 16, 2020 9:54am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The center of Epcot's Future World is now completely closed off as the final locations in that area close and a new eastern bypass walkway opens to guests.

Guests are being directed to use the newly created walkways on each side of Spaceship earth, with the right hand-side leading to The Seas, The Land and Imagination!, and the left-side walkway between Guest Relations and Gateway Gifts leading to Mission: Space and Mouse Gear.

Along with large signs around Spaceship Earth, Cast members are holding signs and advising people on the best walkway to take.

Future World East bypass walkway

Heading past Gateway Guests, the new concrete design is in place on the ground - replacing the pink color with a stone concrete.

Future World East bypass walkway

Guest Relations is as far as you can go before hitting a row of walls.

Future World East bypass walkway

A sharp left turn takes you towards the Guardians of the Galaxy construction site.

Future World East bypass walkway

The walkway ultimately puts guests by the new Mouse Gear and into Future World East.

Future World East bypass walkway

The old breezeway is walled off.

Future World East bypass walkway

New FastPass+ kiosks have been installed by Test track, and near to Nemo in Future World West.

Future World East bypass walkway

With the closure of Electric Umbrella, Sunshine Seasons offers burgers, the Epcot Experience now serves chicken nuggets and salads, and the Taste Track kiosk will offer burgers and fries near to Test Track, although this is not yet open but expected soon.

Click the gallery for more pictures of today's Epcot Future World changes.

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dreamfinding1 hour ago

Perfect time to do it - especially since the finale needs to be reshot.

mattpeto1 hour ago

They gotta be doing something from Brazil. Maybe we will get a new Soarin scene.

Sirwalterraleigh1 hour ago

This Again?

SoFloMagic1 hour ago

Sweat & Sangria fest?

BrianLo2 hours ago

I think Rise was in that ballpark. Though no, probably nothing major is on their docket to that level quite yet. I’m not sure if they are desperate for any park to have a new ILL quite yet. Though the Avatar ride at DCA may be a candidate.

UNCgolf2 hours ago

The existence of ILL definitely shifts the accounting, but I still think Disney would prefer to have spent $250m on two E ticket attractions (or $200m for a D and $300m for an E) rather than $500m on one. That would be a much better ROI. Rise of the Resistance is another good counter example -- although I don't think we've ever heard a final cost, the highest estimates have been roughly $450m. Rise feels like it should have cost triple what Cosmic Rewind cost, if not more.

BrianLo2 hours ago

I don’t ‘like’ how high their budgets have gotten. But I’m just calling into question the standard belief that Cosmic Rewind spent too much money to meet their metrics of success. We’re also overselling how expensive those Hagrid scenes are. It’s a lot of simple props and outhouses. It’s not exactly Pirates of the Caribbean. I agree, Everest was an absolute steal. But Hagrid’s betrays Universal Creative Spending has also escalated. If they tried to pull off Cosmic Rewind, their pricing would largely be in line. Which is fine to think it’s just not worth the money. But the accountants at Disney would disagree, it’s been a great return on investment for them. It’s why they keep leaning into only expensive e tickets all the time mantra. They are easier to get a clear ROI from.

dreamfinding3 hours ago

Maybe a pump room for all of the water features? Maybe a storage closet (but that seems awfully large for that purpose).

vikescaper3 hours ago

I was looking at early construction photos of this section and there doesn’t seem to be access to the utilidors.

Sir_Cliff3 hours ago

Must say, it does look like the new space is at least keeping people entertained.

MaximumEd3 hours ago

I can’t wait until they remove cornhole and connect 4 to install the Rose Walk Cabanas! Just $299 per day!

dreamfinding3 hours ago

I wonder when someone will address the drainage problem in Future World.

ToTBellHop3 hours ago

I think the bigger surprise to me is that they wouldn’t cover enough for this to run during rain. Perhaps they won’t actually use this for the concerts at Festivals since those need to run regardless of weather due to dining packages. So I guess they’ll still use America Gardens for those and have smaller shows here. Like others, I’m struggling to fully comprehend Communicore’s purpose. It seems rather redundant in this park. Epcot has no shortage of huge buildings.