First Look: Original EPCOT Concepts Featured in the Design of Connections Cafe

EPCOT is currently undergoing one of the most extensive reimaginings of any Walt Disney World theme park, and with that comes new attractions, shops, restaurants, and unique experiences for Guests to enjoy. One of the new restaurants coming soon to EPCOT is the Connections Cafe and Eatery, which follows a classic EPCOT theme while bridging connections between the more futuristic sides of the park with new nature-focused areas and attractions. In keeping with the EPCOT theme, Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley just shared a new behind-the-scenes look at how the restaurant will feature tributes to the original concept for EPCOT in its design.

Take at Riddley’s original post below:

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As Riddley points out, innovation is at the center of what makes EPCOT special, and in looking back at original concepts for the park it will surely be exciting for Guests to see some of this original artwork included for the first time in person while visiting this Disney park.

Credit: Zach Riddley

Walt Disney‘s original intention for EPCOT as a planned city (and really for all of the theme parks, too) was that it would never stop evolving. New technologies would constantly be arriving and the entire area would always ‘keep moving forward,’ and for Imagineers working on the park’s redevelopment, one way to honor this legacy will be to include some of EPCOT’s original plans in the design.

The design inspired by original blueprints for EPCOT as the ‘Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,’ will be spotted in the flooring of the new Connections Café and Eatery once it opens to Guests. Including these design elements in the restaurant’s flooring will help bring together the overarching theme of connecting all of the different areas that make up the EPCOT we see today.

Credit: Disney

As for the flooring itself, Riddley explained that it is made with a “sustainable bio-polymer material which is 3-D printed to provide an intricate template.” Walt Disney World history fans are sure to appreciate this small detail to the new restaurant’s design, and we can’t wait to be back with details on how you can see this in person when the restaurant is ready to open!

In addition to the new Connections Cafe and Eatery, EPCOT was recently broken up into new neighborhoods, including World Showcase, World Celebration, World Nature, and World Discovery, a redesigned Club Cool, and the Disney park opened the new Creations Shop by the end of last year. Coming soon to the park will be the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction, the statue to Walt Disney at Dreamers Point. Walt Disney Imagineering has been regularly sharing concept art from the park, so we will share additional updates as we have them.