What's On, What's Cancelled Walt Disney World: Weekly Disney Rumor Update

Evening Star Cinderella Castle Happily Ever After Disney World

Given that Walt Disney World has been closed for months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the future of nearly every project, from the Tron coaster to the Epcot Future World retheme has been up in the air. But now we are finally starting to see some updates on what is going to happen, and unfortunately what isn't.

As the parks look to reopen next month we are rebooting our weekly rumor updates for the Disney Parks. This is going to be a more extensive series than the old one, exclusively focusing on the Disney Parks, coming out weekly every Friday starting next week. This is a special Tuesday edition

We had stopped providing rumor updates during the coronavirus pandemic due to the pandemic as simply there were not any credible rumors. Disney itself didn't know what to do for much of this. But now plans are beginning to solidify. To look at any past rumors be sure to go here although do not take any them as currently accurate.

We are going to run down what we know and what is rumored about currently in-progress projects at Walt Disney World. We will not be discussing anything Disneyland this week.

Tron Lightcycle Run

Tron Lightcycle Coaster Construction Disney World

If there is any single project Disney is going to prioritize, it is going to be this. It is the new E-Ticket attraction being added to Disney's flagship park in anticipation of its 50th anniversary on October 1st 2021.

If Disney is only able to get one of the many attractions initially planned to be open for this anniversary open in time, it will be this.

Tron Lightcycle Ride Vehicles Display Magic Kingdom

It is relatively far along, and incredibly high profile, as the first major attraction, added to the Magic Kingdom in nearly a decade since New Fantasyland in 2012. 

It being a clone helps, with most of the major problems having already been figured out in Shanghai. Disney will likely be restarting construction here before many other attractions and speeding it up as fast as possible.


Disney typically builds at an incredibly slow pace so this is going to be something interesting to watch.

What's Happening With Epcot's Spine

Epcot Concept Art Overview 2019

One of the biggest questions left in the wake of the coronavirus at Walt Disney World is what is going to happen to the center of Epcot, specifically the former building of Innoventions West and Club Cool.

The part of the building that was formerly home to Fountain View and Club Cool has already been demolished, but the other half, formerly home to Innoventions West, still remains intact. This leaves the question of what is going to be done, and how it affects the future of Moana Journey of Water and the currently unnamed new Festival Center.

There is a couple of competing rumors right now. One is that construction will simply restart, but that is unlikely at least immediately. Another is that what is left of Innoventions West will be altered to make it usable and turned into something new for the park, likely a Festival Center.

We are going to be paying attention to which way this goes as we will probably not get a formal announcement in this regard. Disney doesn't announce when they cancel things, as a rule, so we are going to have to make judgments based on vague changes to the website and how construction is proceeding.

Spaceship Earth Refurb Delayed


The one thing we have gotten official information on, the Spaceship Earth redo has been indefinitely delayed

There is still a chance of this happening, but judging based on past Disney history, indefinite delays tend to mean that projects never end up happening, or the project is something else entirely when it happens.

The best example is probably the second half of Pop Century which was delayed after 9/11. It would be built in a manner similar to what was originally planned, but not as Pop Century, but as Art of Animation.

I would say a Spaceship Earth renovation will happen, but it may not be the one that was intended by the time it actually happens.

One possibility is that the refurb will start when Ratatouille opens, as it is believed was initially intended. But it is unclear when that will happen.

This also may provide hints as to Disney's thinking on other projects that hadn't started construction yet, notably the Mary Poppins attraction. Its a lot easier to cancel something that hasn't started yet.

Problems With Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

The Guardians of the Galaxy attraction may face some serious delays that have nothing to do with construction.

As you might know, the live-action scenes for the first Guardians attraction, Mission Breakout, were filmed along with the second Guardians of the Galaxy film. The plan was to film the Epcot scenes with the third Guardians film. The problem is that film has now been delayed.

This could potentially delay the ride as it can not open if film portions have not been completed.

It is still early and Disney could prioritize the ride scenes when they are allowed to film, but this has complicated the completion of this ride more than most.

Harmonious

We don't know what's going to happen here. Rumors had this as opening roughly around October (which would obviously be delayed now). But with fireworks canceled indefinitely, I can see Disney not prioritizing this given the uncertainty of when fireworks will be able to return.

General Notes

This is going to be a developing situation and we are going to be covering it in real-time throughout the week, with a full article summary every Friday starting next week. Things may change on a daily basis so be sure to check back regularly.

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