New Concept Art Revealed for EPCOT’s Next Restaurant

Walt Disney Imagineering just shared a new look at the next dining location opening up during the ongoing redevelopment of EPCOT! The new Connections Café and Eatery will open as the park‘s latest quick-service dining concept in the location of the former Electric Umbrella restaurant in the area originally known as Future World. The new dining space will tie in the major themes of Disney Park‘s redesign while offering a unique look reminiscent of classic EPCOT.

Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley shared the latest concept art seen below:

As Riddley pointed out, this concept art shows a view of the new Connections Café from the south, nearby the already open Creations Shop on the other side of the breezeway. As the restaurant’s name suggests, the design of the new restaurant will celebrate multiple forms of connection.

Riddley pointed out how this concept of “Connections” will be illustrated in the restaurant when it opens, and how you can already get a glimpse of it in the concept art saying, “What I love about this piece is that it beautifully illustrates a few points of “connection” that we designed for our guests in this new space – how the gardens and greenery within World Celebration will complement the interiors, allowing our guests to harmonize with nature outside; how friends and family will gather together around a meal or beverage; and how show kitchens will provide a culinary experience for our guests within. The kitchen you see represented here will actually be responsible for making a variety of baked goods, which will be available at Connections Eatery.”

The open kitchen concept will certainly make the Connections Café and Eatery one of the park’s most memorable quick service dining locations as this is something typically seen in table service restaurants. Guests have also proven in recent years how more elevated quick service restaurants can be quite popular, (as seen with the mix and match menu options at Satu’li Canteen in Disney’s Animal Kingdom or with the table service-quality options at the Regal Eagle in EPCOT’s World Showcase, or D-Luxe Burger at Disney Springs.)

The Connections Café will not only bridge connections between Guests and nature in the World Celebration neighborhood, but it will also offer a beautiful transition from other nearby spaces designed during EPCOT’s redevelopment. The nearby Creations Shop for instance is serving as inspiration for Imagineers who are creating hand-painted murals in the new space and using the same floor-to-ceiling glazing Guests have already seen in the merchandise location.

Menus and specifics on the new food and beverage items available at Connections Café are still in the works, but we do know that the space will also serve as the new permanent home of EPCOT’s Starbucks location! Walt Disney World offers Guests a Starbucks location in each of the four theme parks, and with EPCOT undergoing this massive redesign project, this park’s Starbucks has been in a temporary location for some time, so it will be nice for the fan-favorite coffee shop to get a permanent space.

We will be back here on Disney Fanatic with more news on the redevelopment of EPCOT including the Connections Cafe and Eatery, and also the new statue of Walt Disney at Dreamers Point, and the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction as new details are revealed.