New permits filed for Project G in World Celebration at EPCOT

Oct 22, 2021 in "EPCOT"

Posted: Friday October 22, 2021 12:45pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has filed new construction permits for work on the remaining areas of EPCOT's World Celebration.

Part of Project G, the permit covers foundation work on the former Innovations West building in the area of the old Club Cool.

The permit has the description of 'Project G 217 Foundations.' Interestingly, the permit references the location with its old name of Pasta Piazza which closed in 2001. (Thanks to danlb_2000 on the WDWMAGIC Forums for identifying the permit)

The permit is assigned to long-time Disney contractor, The Whiting-Tuner Contracting Company, a partner that typically works on major construction at Walt Disney World.

The general area was to become home to the new elevated festival center "table," which was scrapped during a re-evaluation of the project. It remains unclear what will take-shape in the area, but Disney has said it will be a festival area with details to come.

With Creations Shop and Club Cool now open, all attention is on completing the food & beverage areas, Journey of Water, and reopening the central spine of EPCOT.

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SoFloMagic14 minutes ago

Seriously. They put all this nice soft lighting and music loop in the new hub, but then put a dj playing 2000s club hits with harsh lights next to it. I blame the morons who spend their time watching the dj instead of exploring world showcase. Paying all that money for an experience they could get for free at Disney springs. Or a local bowling alley

mysto1 hour ago

"Lighting Lane". Genius!

vikescaper1 hour ago

If they are going to put up stanchions to block off the planter area, they may as well put up construction walls to build a nice little fountain in this area instead. If they start now, they could have it finished by EPCOT’s 50th in 2032.

Disstevefan12 hours ago

What a sad failure. I really want to hope all the future projects do not go this way and this was just because they were rushing to open something, anything.

Ayla2 hours ago

O M G

dmc4932 hours ago

Ok stanchions are gone but the area is still poppin’ (out)

FigmentFan822 hours ago

Big brain stuff right there

Skibum19703 hours ago

Pretty soon, you'll need a Lightning Lane pass to see the lights.

ToTBellHop3 hours ago

What the actual fudge.

dmc4933 hours ago

A lot of the lighting seemed a tiny bit popped up so idk if that’s newer or how it’s been for a while. There was only one or two egregious pop-outs. This is technically early entry but I can’t fathom the reason why they’d rope off this area

dmc4933 hours ago

They’ve cracked the puzzle. No one can complain about any of the plaza lighting if you’re not allowed to walk on any of the plaza

Disstevefan13 days ago

So todays Disney cant even do walkways. This is sad.

monothingie3 days ago

May I present to you the new official mascots of Epcot Center! Stanchy the Stanchion! They're all over the place in Epcot! In the middle of walkways covering up broken concrete. In the middle of the centerpiece covering up tripping hazards caused by poorly designed lighting. Directing people to kiosks to purchase delicious overpriced alcohol!

WoundedDreamer3 days ago

I finally visited the new Future World area (I can't remember the names of the new "lands" so Future World it is... World Celebration is one I think). The star of the show was Epcot's old Communicore east building. By removing the purple paint and adding transparent windows this building was catapulted decades into the future. Besides Spaceship Earth, I think Communicore may be the most timeless building at Epcot. I would not have made that argument years ago. It was only thanks to the subtle improvements that I was able to really begin to value this building. Lots of buildings conceptualized in the late 1970s are not exactly beloved right now. There's a theory that as buildings age they hit a period where they are neither new or historic. They engender neither excitement for the future nor nostalgia for days gone by. It is in that window when buildings face their staunchest criticism and possible destruction. I believe the Communicore east building should fall right in this time period. And yet, the building feels like one of the most "futuristic" buildings in Future World now. I was stunned at how well this building worked. I had seen it years ago during the renovation, but within the complete context of the new Future World it really shines. There's a tasteful simplicity to the sculpted pillars. Compared to some of the new buildings that are much busier, I think most people would prefer the simplicity of the Communicore east building. The architects/imagineers who developed Communicore should be proud. They made a building that stood the test of time. As for the rest of Future World... It's alright. Navigating through the center of the plaza was a little unsettling. It's not that I hated how things looked, but it felt a little off. Future World and World Showcase are all about the grand walkways linking the pavilions together.* It's their bread and butter. The central plaza subverts Epcot's norms and abandons these big walkways. There are dead ends and winding pathways. I think the architects threw that in as a way to contrast with the rest of Epcot. I can sort of see why they did this, but it ultimately was flawed thinking in my view. The central plaza is the exact place where the efficiency of Epcot's circulation methods are most needed! If you're traversing the heart of the park, you don't want to face dead ends or get disoriented. You want to move from point A to point B. Abandoning Epcot's core design language in the core of the park seems like bad strategy. Again, I don't hate how the individual features look, but within context I don't think it works. I think the criticism about the dearth of water is right. A successor to the Fountain of Nations or a water channel like the one that existed in the park's original iteration would have done wonders for the central plaza. Interesting stuff! *Tokyo Disneyland actually had a similar design language in its original park. I find it to be a little bit of a wonky park, mixing the Magic Kingdom and Epcot into one. Of course, many of those original features are being redeveloped.