What to expect at EPCOT for the rest of 2023

Maybe the best news from Destination D23 today: We know those awful green construction walls at EPCOT will finally be gone before the end of 2023.

The final part of EPCOT it’s 4-year construction nightmare reimagining, a central hub known as World Celebration, will open to guests in December. Disney has previously said the area would open before the end of the year, so they’re just coming in under the wire.

World Celebration will unite the front of the park, tying together the other two new EPCOT neighborhoods, World Discovery (home to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind) and World Nature (home to the Seas with Nemo and Friends and Living with the Land).

Here’s what guests can look forward to at Epcot for the rest of this year:

Sept. 10: Figment will start meeting guests at the Imagination! pavilion. The new meet-and-greet was announced a year ago at the D23 Expo.

Sept. 22: Soarin’ Over California returns for a limited time. We’re hoping when Soarin’ Around the World returns it will have a new ending, so we can glide to a landing over the newly completed Epcot World Celebration.

Oct. 16: The walk-through attraction Journey of Water: Inspired by Moana officially opens, and Moana herself will meet guests nearby.

Dec. 5: The new nighttime spectacular, “Luminous: The Symphony of Us,” will debut. The new show will feature fireworks, fountains, lasers and lighting effects.

December (no firm date): We’re hoping the scheduled debut of Luminous on Dec. 5 bodes well for the construction walls around World Celebration being gone by Dec. 5 too, but no promises. The new central hub of Epcot, World Celebration includes:

• Dreamer’s Point, where guests can sit next to a statue of Walt the Dreamer.
• CommuniCore Hall, which is described as an exhibit and gallery space (and maybe a place to bring back the cooking and mixology demonstrations that used to be central to the Food & Wine Festival). This will likely also include space for character meet-and-greets.
• CommuniCore Plaza, an outdoor concert and event space that will also be central to Epcot’s festivals.
• World Celebration Gardens, the lush landscaped space built around a central planter sitting on top of the five-ring Epcot logo.

The Festival of the Holidays at Epcot starts this year on Nov. 24, so perhaps we can hope for a Christmas miracle and have things wrapped up by then.