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In his State of the Company address during The Walt Disney Company’s Annual Meeting of the Shareholders, CEO Bob Iger seemed to all but officially confirm that the leaked Mary Poppins-themed attraction would go into the wastebasket rather than EPCOT’s UK Pavilion.
Credit: Disney
Originally announced at the 2019 D23 Expo as part of an ambitious revamp of EPCOT for the Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, it was to be part of an expansion of the UK Pavilion within World Showcase, but no concept art was revealed.
As Walt Disney Imagineering’s construction projects and the 50th Anniversary as a whole were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, several of the dreams for the new EPCOT were indefinitely postponed, including the Mary Poppins expansion. Recently, concept art of the fabled attraction was leaked, and Disney fans the world over realized how awful it was going to be.
Credit: Damon Pressman
Read More: “Postponed” Disney Park Attraction Defines Cheap “Chapek-Era” Imagineering
Many fans did not hold back in sharing their thoughts about this would-be attraction that was, in the words of this reporter, the definition of “Chapek-Era” Imagineering and a half-backed experience recycling aged ride designs. And it seems that their cries and hopes have been heard and answered.
Iger: EPCOT’s Revamp Ends with Moana
Credit: Disney
Related: Disney Announces New Live-Action ‘Moana’!
When Iger addressed the shareholders, he said the completion of Moana: Journey of Water, as well as the rest of the construction occupying the World Celebration and World Nature neighborhoods, would mark the completion of EPCOT’s 50th Anniversary Revamp.
This announcement suggests that any other originally planned project that has not yet broken ground would not become a reality after all, fueling hope that the UK Pavilion will be saved from this embarrassment.
It should be noted, though, that there has not been a blatantly overt confirmation that the plans for the UK Pavilion are canceled, and other projects, such as EPCOT’s PLAY! Pavilion are still expected to be developed.
We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on Disney Parks news and stories as more developments come to light.
