Disney today unveiled what appears to be the completed EPCOT Entrance plaza (minus the upcoming 50th Anniversary Spaceship Earth lighting package) with new flags, music, and an updated LED light strip.
Here’s what Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley had to say:
“Today our @WaltDisneyImagineering EPCOT project team raised flags featuring six original EPCOT icons on 12 new flagpoles flanking Spaceship Earth as we celebrate finishing touches at the new entrance plaza. These icons go back to the original design philosophy of the park and represent pavilions and attractions in a vibrant new palette that is inspired by the new EPCOT neighborhoods.
In addition to the flags, a color-coordinated light ribbon around the entire rim of the plaza is debuting tonight in connection with our recently revealed fountain lighting and a new main entrance soundtrack brings energy and optimism to the revitalized architecture, lush landscape and flowing fountain of the re-imagined guest entry experience.
While we still have some small details to button up in this area, I think we can say the reimagined entrance plaza is now truly a welcoming area that brings together people to celebrate the magic of possibility found within each other and the world.
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This week we debuted new lighting in our main entrance plaza at EPCOT and I wanted to share more behind our design for this nighttime programming. At more than four football fields long, this light ribbon has been present since opening day, but was originally lit by hundreds of fluorescent tubes in solid colors. Now we’ve updated it with highly energy-efficient, programmable LED lighting with nearly 3,000 individually controlled points of light that blend together to create color gradients and patterns.
Color gradients have always been a part of EPCOT’s design legacy from the tiered amber, blue, and purple lighting of Spaceship Earth to the bands of color on the Energy pavilion, to the new color palettes of World Nature, World Discovery and World Celebration, and you’ll see all of that reflected in this new lighting design we’ve created for the main entrance plaza and it’ll continue through the new areas of the park.
And for the first time ever, the main entrance plaza and Spaceship Earth will be unified with dynamic lighting this year. The newly color-coordinated light ribbon around the entire rim of the plaza connects with programming on the new fountain lighting and together will shine in concert when the new Spaceship Earth lighting debuts with the Beacons of Magic for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort.”
