When Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens in Late Fall 2019, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will blow past every park that isn’t Magic Kingdom, leaving Epcot in dead last. With Toy Story Land opening this summer, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is very likely to close that gap. If TEA numbers are to be believed (and we’d encourage a healthy dose of skepticism), Epcot is now the third-most attended park at Walt Disney World, with Animal Kingdom having surged past it thanks to the opening of Pandora last year. Knowing that’s really unlikely, I’d compromise with a similarly original (non-IP) soundtrack, and drones forming the shape of characters, or something like that.įinally, there’s the matter of attendance. Personally, I’d love to see something abstract and authentically cultural a la IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Now, there’s some inconsistency about whether that’ll be the case. At one point, their integration was rumored to be a sure thing. One thing we don’t know is to what degree intellectual property and characters will be featured in the new show. (Separately, we’ve heard that other effects, aside from drones, originally planned for Rivers of Light that didn’t work out will be integrated into Windows on the World.) Second, there has been a precipitous spike in chatter about the IllumiNations replacement in the WDWMagic thread about the rumor, with many insiders chiming in to corroborate both the accelerated schedule for this project and the detail about drones being used. Logistically, it’s not clear how this staging area would work in light of those restrictions (assuming they’re still even in place). I haven’t kept track of whether there have been other waivers further easing these restrictions, but even without that, it was long-assumed that World Showcase Lagoon would be the ideal location for a drone show because of the clearance the center of the lagoon provided away from guest areas. One such waiver was predicated upon the drone’s having flight paths 100 feet away from guest areas at all times, that they would primarily fly over water and restricted areas, maxing out at 150 feet above the ground. In terms of using drones, Walt Disney World has gone back and forth with the FAA to receive waivers on its own no-fly zones, which Disney generally has received upon showing a plan to mitigate risks. (Those same type of drones were used to much greater effect at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics.) As you might recall, there was a drone show at Disney Springs for Christmas two years ago, which was largely considered a proof-of-concept test at the time. On Episode 165 of the Disney Dish Podcast, Jim Hill indicates that this land clearing will be used as a staging location for drones in the new IllumiNations show. Check out this photo of where the cleared area is located. Your first reaction might be that this is for the Japan pavilion’s new high-end restaurant, but that’s definitely not the case. First, for the last few weeks, land clearing has been occurring south of the Japan pavilion at Epcot. There are a few bases for the surge in this new rumor. As other high-profile projects have been announced, that news has taken center stage, but an IllumiNations replacement has remained in the cards. While many of the specifics of that plan have changed, the scope and scale were accurate, and so to was the rumor of an IllumiNations replacement. Three years ago, when we first reported on the plans for a $3.5 Billion Expansion of Walt Disney World, that was one of the specific plans. This rumor is not even new as of this year. Well, it would appear that the timeframe has been moved up on the IllumiNations replacement significantly as the rumor mill has gone into overdrive the last few days concerning the replacement, which has been dubbed IllumiNations: Windows on the World (it’s unclear whether IllumiNations will be in the final name). An interim show prior to then would be of necessity, with a smaller-scale offering enabling necessary infrastructure before the debut of the replacement nighttime spectacular. We shared vague rumors about this a few months ago, which focused on the possibility of a new show in 2020 with an interim fireworks show prior to then due to the recording of soundtrack demos for the new show.Īn IllumiNations replacement has been rumored for ages, but we previously expected the new show to debut simultaneously with the substantial completion of Epcot’s re-imagining in 2020 or Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary in 2021. We’re back with another Walt Disney World rumor this time, an update on the IllumiNations: Windows on the World nighttime spectacular coming to Epcot.
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