EPCOT Entrance Renovation Construction Update | February 2021

(UPDATED 2/9/20: This is a construction update for the EPCOT Entrance renovation for February 2021. Disney announced its plans for the new Epcot Entrance renovation last year and construction is now well underway.

Almost all of the new entrance plaza is now open and we’re going to take a look at that and all the latest updates about the new Epcot entrance.

(Updated 2/9/21): Disney has just released new photos and info about the Leave a Legacy project and new panels have been installed outside EPCOT.

Scroll down for the latest construction photos of the EPCOT Entrance, Leave a Legacy demolition, and the majestic new fountain installed at the park’s entrance…

Also, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter. There we bring you the latest EPCOT updates as well as our best Disney vacation planning tips. You can sign up here: Join our E-Mail Newsletter!

What is Changing?

Disney shared the details of this project back in 2019 and we found out that the “Leave a Legacy” monoliths were being removed from EPCOT, and the plaques with the families’ names are going to be relocated outside of the Epcot entrance.

That’s not to say guests won’t be able to see their “Leave a Legacy” photos anymore. At some point in 2021, they will be relocated to a new display which will have them looking “better than ever.”

In addition, Disney has added way more green to the area with trees dominating the scenery. This coincides with the expansion happening on the other side of Spaceship Earth with the Fountains of Nations and Club Cool disappearing from Epcot’s Future World. Bye-bye Beverly.

Disney also shared its plans for that section and they’re adding a park area with a beer garden, a new festival center, and other things, though those plans might be changing after the latest round of budget cuts. We’ll keep updating you more on those details when they come out.

Many thanks to @Bioreconstruct who takes amazing shots of all the construction projects happening around Disney World and most of all the awesome aerial shots giving us an overhead view of all the ongoing projects. Be sure to check him out!!

Before we look at what’s happening at the Epcot Entrance plaza, be sure to read all the EPCOT Future World construction updates where we show you all the individual projects happening inside the park.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for our FREE Weekly E-Mail Newsletter. There we bring you the latest updates on all the newest additions to the park as well as vacation planning tips.

You can sign up here: Join our E-Mail Newsletter!

Let’s take a look at the construction underway at the Epcot entrance now…

(UPDATE 2/9/21) New Leave a Legacy Panels Installed Outside EPCOT

When the Leave a Legacy monuments were taken out of the EPCOT entrance, we knew Disney was moving them to another location, and today they have just released some exciting new details about the project.

Starting today, the first section of the new Leave a Legacy wall is now open in a new location just outside EPCOT park.

This is a completely different monument, much taller and wider than the previous ones, and it includes a bright new color scheme of yellow, blue, pink, purple, and orange.

All of the old Leave a Legacy photos have been saved and transferred over to these new monuments. That’s right, these panels are just the first of many that are being installed outside the EPCOT entrance.

One of the cool things is a new QR code feature which makes it easy to find your photos. Just use your smartphone to scan the QR code on the Leave a Legacy display. This will open of the finder function which will help you find you family’s tile.

If you have any problems finding it, you can visit Guest Relations for help.

These new panels are a great addition to the entrance, and we’re happy that guests can still go and see the old photos, without having those old monuments right in the entrance plaza to the park. It’s a good compromise.

(UPDATE 12/22/20) New EPCOT Entrance Fountain Complete

After many months of waiting, another huge step is complete in the renovation of the EPCOT entrance as the new fountain is now finally finished!

Disney has now lowered the “progress walls” around the fountain and has now revealed to guests what they have been imagining up over the past few years and what will be one of the new symbols of EPCOT.

The new fountain is visible from almost all angles of the entrance and can been seen standing in front of Spaceship Earth through the winding and lush pathways.

Once you make your way in front of Spaceship Earth, you can get an up-close look at the reimagined fountain.

If it looks familiar to you, there is a good reason. The new EPCOT fountain takes its inspiration from the one standing in front of the park on opening day in 1982.

Disney Imagineers worked hard to work in the original geometry while at the same time, making this one unique.

The fountain has 3 acrylic pylons, each standing over 16 feet tall and featuring the EPCOT logo on the top. They are a perfect addition to the park, tying in both classic EPCOT and the next generation of the park’s evolution.

Plus, they look awesome in front of Spaceship Earth!

The fountain works as the centerpiece for the new EPCOT entrance plaza and was designed to balance the surrounding greenery and water, and inspire optimism and possibility among its guests.

Not all the work on the EPCOT entrance is complete, however, and Disney still has more work to do even though new features like planters, pathways and lush landscaping have all been installed.

Disney is still working on a vibrant new color palette for the entrance which will tie into the four new neighborhoods of EPCOT: World Celebration, World Discovery, World Nature, and World Showcase.

One of the most amazing features of the new fountain is the brilliant light found at its center between the 3 pylons. There you will find a liquid-cooled fixture that will change colors and light the fountain in unison with the new lighting coming to Spaceship Earth and World Celebration. That should be awesome to behold!

You can visit EPCOT yourself and see the new fountain up close. Let us know what you think of it in the comments below. Also, be on the lookout for more changes coming to the entrance soon.

(UPDATE 8/23/20)

It’s been a while since our last update since construction was halted for quite some time on the EPOCT entrance during the park closure. Things are moving along once again and the majority of the entrance is complete, with only the centerpiece remaining…the EPCOT entrance fountain.

We knew that the fountain would be a showstopper and recently Disney installed three majestic new pylons which will sit atop the fountain when finished. This is by far the most exciting moment of the entrance construction so far, and it brings out all the nostalgia for the EPCOT of old that fans love.

Let’s take a look…

Here you can see an aerial shot of the fountain under construction in the center of the entrance with the walls still up.

The new fountain sits in the same location as the old one and is positioned directly in front of Spaceship Earth.

If the design of the new acrylic pylons looks familiar, it’s for good reason. The design of the pylons harkens back to classic EPCOT and imitates the design of the original fountain when the park opened in 1982. This should put a huge smile on the face of any fan of the classic EPCOT Center and give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

Walt Disney Imagineering Zach Riddley released several official images of the fountain and had this to say about the project:

“I’m excited to share a first look at the pylons we installed last night as we continue to reimagine the EPCOT main entrance fountain, which has anchored this area since the park opened in 1982. Our design team took special interest in looking back to the original geometry for inspiration and infusing new features with a little bit of added magic to bridge the past, present and future of EPCOT. These majestic pylons also draw your eye upward toward the sky and perfectly frame views of the iconic Spaceship Earth attraction. I can’t wait to reveal the completed look for this fountain later this year!”

The acrylic pylons themselves are 16ft tall and weigh more than 4000 lbs each.

You also no doubt noticed the original EPCOT Center symbol at the top of each pylon:

That glossy effect you see on the surface was made possible by a special process, creating the reflective effect.

The best time to see the pylons is at night when they come alive, reflecting the vibrant colors from the nearby Spaceship Earth. This makes for some great photos and seeing Spaceship Earth in the background is truly amazing.

When the pylons were first installed, a metal brace was set up in the middle to hold the pylons together.

That brace though has since been removed and the pylons locked in place.

Here is a video showing the installation of the pylons:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CD3uU68D-YL/

Honestly, we couldn’t be happier with the decision of the new fountain being inspired by the original EPCOT fountain. Just looking at the shiny new pylons with the original EPCOT symbol makes us all warm and fuzzy inside as we pass through the entrance to the park.

It’s the perfect way to introduce guests to a park which has drastically changed in the last 40 years, yet still give it something that fans love from the 1982 version. We know that many fans don’t like many of the decisions that Disney has made for the park, however, this lets us know that at times Disney still listens to what we want, and gives some hope that some of the spirit which we love so much about EPCOT may be still alive moving forward.

Stay tuned for more updates to the fountain and on the EPCOT entrance in general.

(UPDATE 2/17/20)

In our last update, we looked a little at the new bag check on the East side of the Epcot entrance. Now it looks like that structure has risen significantly since just weeks ago:

There already is a new bag check on the West side, but this one will serve the guests coming on the tram and from the parking lot there.

Just a couple weeks ago, this was the scene in the last portion of the Epcot entrance plaza:

Workers were busy tearing up the old pavement and flattening out the ground for the new one.

Now it looks like they are ready to begin pouring the concrete for the new pavement shortly, as the forms are already in place on the upper right hand portion of the image.

If everything goes well we could see this open in the next couple of weeks.

Let’s look over at the element of the new entrance I am most excited for, the fountain!

As you can see on the left of the photo, they are adding a totally new facing to the fountain, which will soon wrap around the entire thing.

It looks like foam panels which will be used for staging are being added, and the new fountain face is now covered.

Disney hasn’t given a date for when the whole entrance project will be finished, but we expect it to be sometime in Spring 2020.

That’s it for this time, but stay tuned for more updates soon to the Epcot Entrance here at Ziggy Knows Disney. Also, keep scrolling to see previous progress on this project!

(UPDATE 1/27/20)

In the last few updates we’ve seen a lot of work done to the pavement and surroundings of the Epcot Entrance Plaza, but today we have some interesting updates about the new fountain that will greet guests as they enter.

A look at the base for the fountain shows a triangular-shaped wooden form in the center:

What is that for you ask? That is being used as a guide to cut through the concrete in the form of the new centerpiece for the fountain.

The Epcot Entrance Fountain is going back to its roots and will have a centerpiece consisting of three glass spires pointing upward toward the sky. A close look at this photo of the old fountain shows those bases were triangular:

Looking back at the current construction you can see that the triangular form has already been used to cut footholds for the new spires.

This confirms the new spires will have a very similar base as the old ones did.

Disney hasn’t given a date for when the whole entrance project will be finished, but we expect it to be sometime in Spring 2020.

That’s it for this time, but stay tuned for more updates soon to the Epcot Entrance here at Ziggy Knows Disney. Also, keep scrolling to see previous progress on this project!

(UPDATE 1/20/20)

Welcome back to the latest look at the Epcot Entrance Plaza construction!

Last time we looked at the Epcot Entrance, the East Side bag check was just starting to get the concrete forms put in. Now there are full columns that have been freshly poured in place:

Just days after the columns were being held in place, the forms were removed and you can see the two long rows of concrete!

If you thought that was a lot, get a look at the pavement being torn up on the West Side of the entrance plaza:

In order to get the new pavement in, the old one must come up. Machinery is used to cut through the pavement, and then it’s pulled up section, by section.

New electrical conduit and other utilities are also being run underneath the plaza like on the other side which will be used for special effects there.

Of course, the main feature of the entrance plaza is the fountain. Recently Disney added stones to the side of the fountain face to see what a cascading effect would look like:

Since then, however, those stones have been removed from the fountain. It’s unknown at this time if they are getting put back or they just didn’t like them.

A really cool effect though is the sparkles built into the new pavement on the other side of the fountain:

They look like little fragments of glass and other shiny objects which will be perfect for a cool lighting effect around the fountain at night!

We can hardly wait to see what this all looks like when done and how the fountain will be too!

(UPDATE 1/4/20)

We’ve had a bunch of changes at the Epcot entrance in the last few months and just recently the first half of the completed new entrance was finished. Now the other side is back behind construction walls again too. Let’s take a look:

From this aerial image, we can see the entirety of the Epcot Entrance. In the bottom right is the entrance plaza which is already after you go through the tapstiles. On the middle bottom is the monorail station and the West Side bag check.

And up near the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster is the East Side bag check which is still in the early stages.

Here you can see a good look at the entrance plaza which is going to be a lot greener as time moves on:

Just outside the West Side bag check, new landscaping is being put in with trees and other plants:

The other bag check on the East Side isn’t quite as far along, and you can see the base for concrete forms starting to be installed:

Over in the plaza, the West Side is back behind construction walls.

First, it was the West Side for the Leave a Legacy demolition, then it moved over to the East Side for the same, and then the new pavement and flower bed installation. Now we’re back to the West Side again as they will have to tear up the old pavement for the new one.

Keep watching as more updates are on the way.

(UPDATE 12/21/19)

How much can change in just a week! In our last update, we told you the East Side Epcot entrance was almost complete, and now it is. The first half of the new Epcot entrance is now open to the public and on display.

Let’s take a look:

This section of the Epcot entrance had been behind construction walls for months now, so it’s refreshing to see it finally finished.

Right away you’ll notice the large amount of space available for guests to wander through. This has improved guest flow in and out of Epcot drastically.

You’ll also see that the flower planters are complete and filled with new trees, plants and flowers.

There are 11 beds total, adding a significant amount of greenery to the entrance, making it a much warmer environment than the harsh granite that was here before.

Of all the planters, you’ll notice the biggest one in the center has returned, which will continue to give guests a preview of the various Epcot festivals held here throughout the year.

Walking up further, however, you’ll see that one important icon at the entrance hasn’t been completed yet…

The Epcot entrance fountain is still behind construction walls. In fact, workers put up a new set of walls surrounding just the fountain, until the retro-styled addition is completed in 2020.

If you ride on the monorail you will get a much clearer idea of the layout for the new plaza and see all the space available.

Even though the East Side of the entrance is now finished, this is only one half of the project. We should start to see construction walls going up on the West Side pretty soon which will take a few months and revert traffic to the newly opened part.

(UPDATE 12/14/19)

Even though we just posted an update one day ago, things are moving so fast at the Epcot entrance, we’re back already! Let’s see the latest.

Here we have the walkway next to the new Tram drop-off which is being prepared for a concrete pour:

Once that is finished it will open up some space in front of the Monorail station and make reaching the bag check easier.

Now let’s move up to inside the park and check out the progress of the paving inside the Entrance plaza:

Lots of concrete has been poured in the last few days, and it almost reaches up to the fountain!

The flower and garden beds are being prepared and we even have some greenery ready to be planted inside the beds:

Here you get a better sense of how close the concrete has gotten to the fountain. This whole area should be completely covered with the new concrete in a matter of days:

A perimeter is going around the fountain, where there will be a different design in the concrete:

Seeing all these changes happen so fast is exciting and makes me hopeful for the speed of the project!

(UPDATE 12/13/19)

In our last update, we saw the new Epcot bag check-in place, as well as the paving starting in the Epcot entrance plaza.

We start out by looking at the new tram loop and drop-off point on the West Side:

It looks great and brings guests right up near the bag check:

Speaking of the bag-check, this is where it is located, right underneath the Monorail station. Guests arriving by bus or from the parking lot will walk directly under here to the left and start heading in:

This looks like the new footings are being installed for a structure near the monorail station, but no word yet on what this is:

This is where guests arriving from the buses will enter. The bag check is right underneath here:

It’s also so a huge improvement that if you get to Epcot on the Monorail, you don’t have to wait in any bag-check line, you can proceed right to the turnstiles!

Ok, now let’s take a look at the actual Epcot Entrance Plaza in its current state:

Last time we saw the concrete was ready to pour here in the plaza, and now we can see that some concrete has already been installed towards the front of the East Side:

There are two distinct colors on the pavement. From the concept art, it looks like they will be light grey and a brownish-red color:

There is still a long way to go, but you can see that front part is making progress:

Notice the Guardians of the Galaxy building in the background:

Keep in mind this is still only one half of the Epcot entrance plaza (East Side), that’s the part currently behind the construction walls. The West Side is open right now for guests to enter the park. However, once the East Side is complete, construction walls will shift to the opposite side:

Notice the difference in progress that takes place in only a few days. This next photo shows the middle of the plaza, and up near the fountain. Notice the concrete forms are only starting to be created:

This next photo was taken just days later with forms in place and even some concrete already poured:

Now let’s look over at the fountain:

Part of the old fountain in the Epcot entrance plaza has been demolished already and we are left with just the base:

Unlike the Fountain of Nations over inside Future World which was totally destroyed down to the ground level, it looks like Disney is not going to totally destroy the base for the entrance fountain. So far they have left it in place.

In fact, if you look at the 3D model in the Epcot Experience, it shows what the new fountain looks like:

If you look closely, the top is different, with three vertical pieces going upward from the center, but the base of the fountain looks like it will be the same as it is now:

Of course, it will be touched-up a bit with a new finish, but the structure of it should stay the same.

That’s it for this time, but stay tuned for more updates soon to the Epcot Entrance here at Ziggy Knows Disney. Also, keep scrolling to see previous progress on this project!

(UPDATE 11/25/19)

In our previous update, we looked at the new tram drop-off point, the new bag check and the other various changes happening at the Epcot entrance. Today we are going to look at preparation for paving once entering the park.

Here we can see the latest look at the section of land once you go past the turnstiles and into Epcot:

Construction workers are preparing the ground to be paved around that big planter. This planter is located pretty much in the center of the entrance and will have trees, bushes an flowers when it’s done.

As for the ground, looking at the concept art at the beginning of the article, you can see there are two colors: grey and a light maroon/reddish color. They form long strips of color, which you can see being done in the construction photo above.

(UPDATE 11/5/19)

How quickly things change even in a couple of weeks. Since our last look at the Epcot entrance construction, we’ve see the new Tram drop-off open and a new, much more convenient bag check appear on the scene. Let’s take a look…

Here we can see an overview of the Epcot entrance starting with the East and West parking lots on the right, monorail station in top middle with the new tram drop-off to the right of that and the park entrance to the left:

Probably the thing I’m most excited for with this whole Epcot entrance update is the faster bag check when getting into the park. Before it would take forever to go through, especially at midday. Now however the Epcot bag check has moved under the monorail, greatly speeding up the whole process:

This is working for whoever comes by monorail. No more double bag check if you arriving by monorail! 🙂

Next, we see the new Tram Loop open at the entrance:

The tram loop is opening in phases and this is the West loop now functional. The East loop is being worked on next and will still take some time.

Here is the front of the West tram loop which you can see has recently been finished. Look at that shiny new pavement!

Now if only they would update the trams a bit to look more modern…

Wondering how to get to the new tram? Here is a look from above at the loading area for the West tram. If arriving in tram you can’t get to the new bag check yet, you have to still use the one indicated by the middle arrow:

Now that we’re past the bag check, let’s move into the park. Here is an aerial of the inside of Epcot, just past the ticket turnstiles:

As you can see the East side of the entrance is still behind construction walls for the transformation that it’s undergoing. Last time we saw the footings being poured for the foundations and that work has progressed nicely:

To the left of the above picture, you can see the preparation for the new pavement is being lain. The old one was a more reddish color while from the concept art the new pavement looks part white and part grey. We’ll have to see when it gets moving along.

A wall is being built around the monorail support, and again from the concept art, we can see there are triangular boxes in that position filled with flowers and plants which should look beautiful when finished.

In another part of the Epcot entrance, we can see conduit being run under the ground which will be used for utilities (lights, water) throughout the entrance once complete.

For the amount of work that needs to be done for this project, I’d say things are going along pretty smoothly. Work only started in May and they’ve already pulled down all the Leave a Legacy monoliths, and are at a good point with this half for the new pavement.

That’s it for now, but keep checking back for more updates from the Epcot entrance project and all the construction currently going on at Epcot.

Keep scrolling down to see the various phases and progression of the Epcot Entrance construction.

(UPDATE 10/22/19)

It’s been about a month since our last update for the Epcot Entrance construction and a lot has changed since September. Since then much progress has been made on the new tram loop, plus work on where the garden areas will be at the entrance. Let’s take a look:

The monorail is a great place to see all the work in Epcot, and right under the monorail we see the construction fence which goes around the perimeter:

All under and around the monorail station are new pathways being laid and new trees planted. Here are some new trees being put in by the Monorail exit:

Disney has a nursery which grows all the plants, trees and bushes that are planted on property, and these look like they’ve been growing for a while now:

From the monorail we get a glimpse of the new tram turnaround and drop-off area just outside the entrance to Epcot:

This one serves the main and west side of the parking lot. Notice the fresh concrete surface:

Moving up closer to the entrance this is right in front, and will be the main entrance for guests arriving from the parking lot:

Lots more trees being planted here too:

The most beautiful part of the new Epcot entrance will be the gardens that greet you once inside the park. Here we can see a couple of weeks ago, concrete forms being prepped for some of those gardens:

Here is some concept art from the Epcot Experience exhibit, which shows what those gardens will look like. Look down towards the bottom:

You can see those boxes being built:

Now a couple of weeks later, those areas are starting to take shape even more with a triangular one around the footing for the monorail, and a larger one in front of that:

This side will still take months to complete, and when it is finished workers will then wall off the other side and start over there.

Keep scrolling down to see even more of the previous construction progress, especially the Leave a Legacy demolition. Stay tuned for more updates soon…

(UPDATE 9/20/19)

Lots of new stuff has been going on with the construction of the Epcot Entrance area including the Leave a Legacy monoliths demolished, the entrance fountain refurbished and the new bus area arrival. Let’s take a look:

We start out in the front of Epcot where work is being done on the Epcot tram drop-off:

This is the new turn-around where the tram will bring guests up to the entrance to the park:

Looks like the ground is getting smoothed out and getting ready for paving.

The construction continues up to under the Monorail station:

This whole area is getting a new floor. Could this be where the Leave a Legacy plaques are getting transferred to? It will be just outside the entrance, but we will have to wait and see just where…

This is the new floor being installed on the bus side of the entrance:

Cement is being poured here:

As we look down underneath the monorail station the ground is still being prepared:

Guests from the trams and buses will pass through here:

Conduit and piping are still being run through the beginning section:

Outside towards the buses bulldozers are preparing the land for further construction, though this part is a bit further off:

Some tubes which look like they are for water:

Now let’s take a look inside the park at the Epcot entrance:

The left side when you enter is still totally behind construction walls and you can see the Leave a Legacy monoliths are no more:

New piping is being installed underground to support all the plants in the new entrance which will be like a garden:

The flower bed that used to greet guests has also been torn up in the middle of the entrance:

While the rest of the floor is torn up too. This is different from the other side that left the old floor in place and just took out the monoliths. My guess is that they are replacing this whole side and preparing it for how it looks in the concept art and leaving the other side as the walking path until this side is done.

Then you’ll see the walls go back to the other side to do the same:

Heading toward the fountain you can see it’s been turned off and stripped:

A look around the opposite side reveals more tubing in the distance and trees behind the walls:

Heavy machinery is in use with bobcats and bulldozers hard at work:

That’s it for now, but stay tuned as we’ll keep updating this post for more progress on the new Epcot entrance soon!

(UPDATE 8/3/19)

The West side Leave a Legacy monoliths at the Epcot entrance have been down and covered over now for well over a month without any action on the project. However starting next week the last remaining Leave a Legacy monoliths on the East side are going to be demolished.

Work on the demolition of the last Leave a Legacy monuments is starting August 6 which are located on the left side of the Epcot entrance when entering the park.

No word yet on how long the demolition will take but if it’s anything close to the other side that took about one month to demolish the monoliths and safely cover over the holes for pedestrian traffic to pass through easily. Expect these last ones to be finished by the end of the month/early September before the demolition of Innoventions starts (September 8).

Guests won’t have to worry about ECV, stroller or wheelchair rentals as the rental area will still be available during the construction.

Stay tuned for more updates next week as the construction gets underway…

(UPDATE 6/24/19)

In our last update, we saw the “Leave a Legacy” monoliths totally demolished on the West Side of the Epcot entrance. The construction hasn’t started on the East Side monoliths yet, but the construction walls are down around the monoliths from the West Side and guests can freely walk over the top of them.

Let’s take a look:

Here is the West Side of the Epcot entrance with the construction walls now down and the area where the Leave a Legacy monoliths were is totally free:

The only remnants of Leave a Legacy are the concrete-filled holes where the monoliths were. it’s kind of ironic that everyone always called them tombstones and now it does look like something was buried there….hahahaha!

But that is only one half. Many are wondering when the Leave a Legacy monoliths are going to be demolished on the East Side of the Epcot entrance. It may still be a little while because there are no traces of construction walls up yet around the remaining monoliths.

We’ll keep you updated as soon as construction on this half of the Epcot entrance begins…

Meanwhile just outside the entrance of the park, big work is going on to get guests to the park entrance smoothly. Here is a latest look at the construction there:

Disney is working on major upgrades to the entrances of all 4 theme parks before the 50th anniversary in 2021, so improving the accessibility is a must:

That’s all for this week about the Epcot entrance construction progress. Keep checking back regularly for more updates and scroll down to see some of the previous looks at the Epcot construction:

(NEW PHOTOS 6/24/19)

So last week we showed you the demolition was going on with the “Leave a Legacy” monoliths on the West Side of the Epcot Entrance, now we’re going to look at when they are getting started on the East Side.

Before we do that though, let’s jump in and take a look at the sidewalk expansion that connects World Showcase to Future World over by the Journey Into Imagination side of Epcot:

This has expanded tremendously since last week and you can see the size and scope of this transformation. This isn’t a simple sidewalk expansion but it’s easily going to be almost 10x as wide as it was before:

Disney hasn’t shared the exact plans for this project, but it looks like that whole side is getting a major renovation which who knows how many dedicated food kiosks and seating areas being installed.

They have to have all this done by August 29 when Food and Wine opens up so we’ll continue to keep an eye out on this moving forward.

Now let’s get to the Epcot entrance. This is where last week the demolition of the Leave a Legacy monoliths was going in in this controlled, fenced-in area. As you can see everything has been cemented over with only the lights on the floor remaining:

This area is on the West Side of the Epcot entrance and it looks like it’s basically safe now for guests to walk over. That means that in the next week this area should be back open to the public to walk on.

In the meantime it means that the demolition of the Leave a Legacy monoliths on the East Side of the Epcot entrance should be starting soon with that area closed off.

We’ll keep you updated on this over the following weeks. Scroll down more to see the evolution of this project…

(NEW PHOTOS 6/9/19)

It’s been a couple weeks since the construction at the Epcot Entrance got started but we’ve seen some big progress and the Leave a Legacy monoliths on the West Side are now completely gone!

Let’s take a look….

Here we have the center of the Epcot entrance, strange not to see any festival decorations up. We call this: “Clean Epcot” and something I personally wish we’d see a whole lot more.

As you can see above, the East Side Leave a Legacy monuments are still intact for the time being. Looking over at the West Side ones though is a different story…

Construction walls are up and not a monolith in sight! If you jump up in the Monorail that circles the Epcot entrance you can see over the walls and that the monoliths are really gone:

There is plywood in place on the ground covering up the massive holes that the Leave a Legacy monuments have left. Don’t want to fall in there! Also there is large construction equipment picking up the pieces:

Here you can get an actual look INSIDE the holes:

I’m pretty sure Disney isn’t going to leave them covered with wood! In fact this area will have new gardens and pathways winding through, so it will certainly be a sight to see!

There is another construction project that just started in Epcot and that’s the widening of the pathway going from the Canada pavilion to Journey Into Imagination:

This pathway is key during the festivals with various kiosks and a beautiful seating area being set up here. That whole area though is being leveled and re-imagined:

It doesn’t look like there will be so many traffic jams on this path in the near future which is great!

(PHOTOS 5/22/19)

Our first shot gives us an aerial look at the Epcot parking lot where some of the fences going up are starting.

The Eastern section of the parking lot is where the majority of the changes (at least at first) are going to be concentrated in.

Now we get our first look at the green fences up around the Epcot entrance perimeter:

Usually Epcot has two trams stops in this part of the parking lot, but the one all the way to the left is now left behind the construction fences leaving us with only one for now:

The fences are highlighted in yellow and serve as the approximate borders of the construction. The building in the center is the Monorail station:

It’s unsure what guests will have to do for security yet if arriving or leaving by monorail, but we’ll keep an eye on that for you!

Moving down to street level we can see the green fence up around the monorail station:

A look at Spaceship Earth behind the fences near the entrance. Guests are being re-routed a bit, but hey, we’re used to that around WDW aren’t we by now? ?

Lastly, we are going to check out the new water management being built along the monorail line:

Those are the updates so far this month, but obviously a lot more is to come soon as things are just getting started! Keep checking back here at Ziggy Knows Disney as we’ll continue to update the page…

Other Disney World Construction Updates

For more construction updates in Walt Disney World you can check out our reference page with links to all the major ongoing construction projects including new attractions and hotels.

• Epcot Future World Construction Updates
• Grand Floridian Walkway Construction Updates
• TRON Roller Coaster Construction Updates
• Star Wars Hotel Construction Updates
• France Pavilion and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure Construction Updates
• Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster Construction Updates

Your Thoughts:

I want to know what you think about the construction and demolition of the Leave a Legacy and the new Epcot entrance…

• Are you happy about this change?
• What would you like to see at the entrance?

Let us know in the comments section below!

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Photos: @Bioreconstruct