‘Walt the Dreamer’ statue and gardens debut Dec. 5 at Epcot, no word on CommuniCore Hall

Guests can find the “Walt the Dreamer” statue behind Spaceship Earth shortly after entering Epcot. Disney calls this spot Dreamers Point, itself one of several new gardens in Epcot’s World Celebration neighborhood.

Earlier this week on the Disney Parks Blog, Walt Disney Imagineering Communications Manager Will Baggett wrote:

This new statue, entitled “Walt the Dreamer,” represents Walt later in his life when he was dreaming up the overall Florida Project and the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. He sits with a sense of fulfillment, enjoying the beauty of his realized dream: a park that represents pure optimism and truly celebrates the magic of possibility.

“Walt the Dreamer” was first announced at D23 Expo 2019 by Bob Chapek, Disney Parks Chairman at the time.

“You all know that Epcot was Walt’s dream,” Chapek said onstage at the Disney Parks panel that year, “and we imagine him along with us, looking out from this very spot.”

Guests at D23 Expo 2022 could see “Walt the Dreamer” up close, over a year before the statue’s arrival at Epcot. Signage near the statue’s display stated the company hopes that the statue’s installation at Epcot “inspires this global community to always keep dreaming of a better tomorrow.”

Also Opening Dec. 5, 2023: “Luminous” and World Celebration Gardens

Joining the reveal of the “Walt the Dreamer” statue will be the first performance of Epcot’s new fireworks spectacular, as well as the opening of the park’s re-imagined central plaza.

“Luminous: The Symphony of Us” will debut at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2023 in and above World Showcase Lagoon. The show will feature familiar Disney songs, as well as new music composed by Pinar Toprak, who also wrote Epcot’s instrumental anthem that debuted several years ago.

“Epcot Forever,” the park’s current nighttime show, will perform for the final time at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2023.

Disney revised several of its plans for Epcot’s transformation after the company first announced World Celebration in 2019. This included the area surrounding Dreamers Point, which Disney is now officially referring to as World Celebration Gardens (still acknowledged as part of the greater World Celebration neighborhood).

Dreamers Point will be one of several gardens part of World Celebration Gardens, though what else the area will feature — and which parts of it will open with Dreamers Point on Dec. 5, 2023 — remains to be seen.

Disney shared the concept art below in May 2022. Though Disney had publicly changed course from its original ideas by that time, it’s unclear if these concepts will be part of the completed area when it opens next week.

Simultaneously in May 2022, Walt Disney Imagineering Communications Manager Jeremy Schofield wrote on the Disney Parks Blog:

Filled with ample seating and shade, you’ll be invited to connect with one another and the nature around you in this lush new area. Each of these gardens will have their own identities, and they’ll change along with the festivals throughout the year. At night, the gardens will take on a whole new life, as you can see here. They’re designed to be enjoyed in the round, where lighting immerses you in the nighttime experience that will evolve through the seasons.

Still More to Come

Missing from Disney’s communication this week about the unveiling of Dreamers Point and World Celebration Gardens was any update about CommuniCore Hall. The newly-built nearby structure will house activities for Epcot’s seasonal festivals, as well as a new permanent character greeting location for Mickey and friends.

Yhe three-floor CommuniCore Hall was initially announced in 2019, and Disney revealed its most recent batch of concept art for the building in March 2023. Though stated at that time to open by the end of the year, CommuniCore Hall does not currently have an opening date.

DisneyWorld.com currently lists appearance times for Mickey and Minnie through Dec. 31, 2023, at their current Epcot location, the Imagination Pavilion. However, the website displays the same cut-off date for Epcot’s other character greetings (like Figment and Pooh, for instance), which aren’t expected to be going anywhere. For now, Dec. 31, 2023, should be interpreted as simply the most up-to-date listing of Epcot’s entertainment rather than an indication of moving day for Mickey and Minnie.

What Did Dreamers Point Replace?

The “Walt the Dreamer” statue and the surrounding World Celebration Gardens replaces a former central plaza that featured a large pin-trading stand and the Fountain of Nations. Guests may remember the area’s fiber-optic tiles on the ground and triangular canopies draped above.

Dreamers Point within World Celebration Gardens is the latest addition in a gradual unveiling of World Celebration at large. One of three neighborhoods rezoned from the former Future World (the other two being World Discovery and World Nature), World Celebration covers the space occupied by the park entrance and continues through the park’s center spine before its zoning takes a sharp turn west to include the Imagination pavilion.

Following the closure of the previous central plaza in 2019, Disney revitalized World Celebration with Creations Shop (Epcot’s new flagship gift store, replacing MouseGear), Connections Eatery (the park’s largest quick-service restaurant, replacing Electric Umbrella), Connections Café (a chic, new Starbucks), and a relocated Club Cool (where guests can taste international sodas).

“Walt the Dreamer” Joins Long Lineage of Disney Statues

“Walt the Dreamer” isn’t the only statue in Walt Disney’s likeness to be revealed in 2023. Earlier this year, Hong Kong Disneyland welcomed the “Dream Makers” statue.

These follow in the footsteps of such statues as “Partners” with Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse holding hands, “Storytellers” of a younger Walt and Mickey arriving in California, and “Sharing the Magic” featuring Roy O. Disney and Minnie Mouse on a park bench.

Elsewhere around Epcot, guests can still gaze upon gold statues of Figment, Olaf, Bruni, Rocket, Groot, Miguel, and Dante. They were installed in 2021 as part of the “Fab 50” statues throughout Walt Disney World, commemorating the resort’s 50th anniversary celebration.

The “Walt the Dreamer” statue, “Luminous,” and World Celebration are part of what Disney is calling the “completion” of Epcot’s multi-year transformation. For a look at how we got here — and a few of the ideas Disney announced for the project, but never built — check out our recent story: