PHOTOS - Construction begins alongside demolition at the center of EPCOT

By WDWMAGIC Staff · Monday January 11, 2021 10:48am ET · "EPCOT"
PHOTOS - Construction begins alongside demolition at the center of EPCOT
Floor to ceiling glass windows are now in position on the new retail area.

Gallery / 12 Photos
EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021

EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021

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Alongside demolition at the center of EPCOT, construction crews are now working on rebuilding the eastern side of the central spine.

EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
Photo: WDWMAGICEPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021

After being stripped down to the bare steel, we can now see new floor to ceiling windows already in position on what will become the new retail store replacing Mouse Gear.

EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
Photo: WDWMAGICEPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021

We can also see framing for more glass units.

EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
Photo: WDWMAGICEPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021

And more framing on the interior of the building.

EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
Photo: WDWMAGICEPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021

Meanwhile on the west side, the structure still stands, but complete removal is expected in the near future.

EPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021
Photo: WDWMAGICEPCOT Central Spine demolition and construction - January 8 2021

Click the gallery for more pictures.

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monothingie4 days ago

I still can't find it.

ToTBellHop4 days ago

It’s not a complete failure. The planter is more informative than high school health class.

Disstevefan14 days ago

You can rush perfection. Or in this case, a complete failure. 😉

ToTBellHop4 days ago

When they lifted up the plastic panels, they found this underneath:

tparris4 days ago

Do we know why this process is taking so long? It cannot be that complicated to fill these in, unless there’s more to it that we don’t know about?

HMF6 days ago

I noticed that long before GOTG was even open in 2019.

Superman686 days ago

I hate that blue box! It ruins Spaceship Earth from so many angles! I’ve wondered if they were to wrap it in a way like the Disney Music hall if it would help!

Br0ckford6 days ago

I get that this is from a hotel and probably wasn't really taken into account at the time but oof...does that thing stick out

James Alucobond7 days ago

These aren’t really the same thing. Piston Peak will be fully themed in all directions, it’s just that the ride vehicles may be visible in places that some of us do not think they should be visible. Whatever happens will be intentionally onstage even if misguided, whereas with Cosmic Rewind, we’re just supposed to ignore the unignorable. Probably an unpopular opinion, but if I were in charge, I would spend more than is likely advisable mitigating the exteriors of Cosmic Rewind, TRON, Ratatouille, and Island Tower. They do more to detract from my general experience than any single aging attraction or show.

Dreamer197 days ago

Maybe this is somewhat unrelated, but since we’re talking about Epcot… I visited a friend at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista and she has a great view of the Walt Disney World panorama. It looks fantastic and was intended to - all of the distinctive features of the individual parks and resorts are visible above the trees. And thennnnn there’s Epcot. This is why I don’t have much faith in modern day imagineering. It started with sight lines and it continues with Cars in the frontier.

Br0ckford8 days ago

They should put a phone in his hand. 🤣

Casper Gutman9 days ago

I can look around WDW and find two dozen things that needed to be updated much more then EPCOT’s center. Heck, I think four of the Future World pavilions - possibly six - needed an overhaul more then the core did. Electric Umbrella needed an update, the smell in the store needed to be addressed, and the Imagineers needed to come up with something to put in the big empty carpeted areas in Communicore. It’s worth noting the big overhaul totally failed to address that last point. Given the landscaping mess, the removal of the fountain, the lighting debacle, the DJ blaring Fergilicious, the intensely bland store, Ol’ Poopin’ Walt, and the empty “festival space,” - yeah, what’s there now is considerably worse then what it replaced.

TrainsOfDisney9 days ago

Exactly. Haha

V_L_Raptor9 days ago

Potty Walt?
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