BAY LAKE, Fla. – One of the final pieces of EPCOT’s historic transformation is preparing to be unveiled to theme park guests.
On Monday morning, park executives, alongside Disney legacy cast members and ambassadors held a dedication ceremony for “Dreamers Point” and its new “Walt the Dreamer” statue.
The statue looks out on the brand-new World Celebration neighborhood.
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“I am thrilled to be here at Dreamers Point with all of you celebrating the company’s original dreamer, Walt Disney. The view of this new space and beautiful statue of Walt contemplating one of his biggest dreams, means so much to transformation, and all that EPCOT represents,” said Kartika Rodriguez, vice president of EPCOT. “Walt Disney’s vision for EPCOT was to create a beacon of innovation and place the possibilities and somewhere where individuals from all walks of life can come to work, to play and to learn.”
Disney Imagineers said the statue represents Walt in his later years, as he conceived the Florida Project (Walt Disney World) and the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT).
“Here, you will find Walt at the end of his career, thinking about his legacy and thinking about how he has changed the world and how many people he’s inspired,” said Scott Mallwitz, Walt Disney Imagineering. “As you walk around this beautiful expansion and sector of the park, you’re going to see many details that are driven up from some of those early planning documents, some of the early architectural and original pavilions, the materiality, pattern, color and shape. It’s all intrinsically EPCOT. You’re in no other place, but in the heart of that.”
After several years of construction, Dreamers Point and World Celebration will officially open to guests on Dec. 5.
“Really it does not become a park till you have the park goers, and until we have our guests come in and our cast members who live and breath and bring our parks to life,” said Brianna Post, art director with Disney Imagineering. “We’re going to be waking up tomorrow, and we’re going to be alive tomorrow for the first time - we have transformed. I’m looking forward to see how it evolves over the years after we have given it over because that is truly what we hope happens.”
World Celebration will also offer a beautiful hub divided into several different gardens, with a central planter based on the five-ring EPCOT logo.
The neighborhood is already home to favorites including Connections Café and Eatery, Club Cool and Creations Shop. In the future guests will get to explore CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza, a multi-use facility and outdoor event space.
Dreams Point and World Celebration are opening on the same day that EPCOT plans to debut it’s new nighttime spectacular, “Luminous The Symphony of Us.” The new areas and experiences join other transformation additions including Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and the recently opened, Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana.
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