Walt Disney World has responded to a report that two longtime Epcot pavilions, The Land and The Seas, would be demolished.
The original report came from WDW News Today on May 28. The story, which was labeled in the headline as a “rumor,” said the two Future World pavilions “would be closed forever sometime between 2024 and 2026.” WDW News Today attributed the information to “internal documents.”
A day later, the official Walt Disney World Twitter account responded to a fan who linked to the original article.
There are big plans for Epcot, Kaz. We do have new pavilions joining, like the play-themed pavilion and the Guardians of the Galaxy-themed roller coaster, but The Land and The Seas with Nemo & Friends are planned to be with us into the future.
— Walt Disney World Today (@WDWToday) May 29, 2019
WDW News Today stood by its original story in a series of tweets on June 3, arguing that a tweet from the official Disney World account wasn’t how Disney has disputed its rumors reporting in the past.
Some clarification: no entity in the Walt Disney Co. above the @WDWToday account has made a statement regarding The Land and The Seas Pavilion. If a rumor is incorrect, we are always contacted by someone actually in the know in their various PR departments.
— WDW News Today (@WDWNT) June 4, 2019
Orlando Rising asked public relations at Disney World for further clarification. In an email, a Disney spokesperson said “our official statement was put out on Twitter,” linking back to the May 29 tweet that said the two pavilions “are planned to be with us into the future.”
WDW News Today has been a source for rumors that have later come to fruition, such as reporting Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway would replace The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Other rumors it has shared, however, have not come to pass. These include an April 2015 report that claimed Universal Orlando would close its Incredible Hulk coaster and Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall attraction before the end of that year and an October 2013 story that said Disney was about to announce a deal with Warner Bros. for the theme park rights to “The Lord of the Rings” franchise.
Epcot is currently undergoing a major overhaul ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary. The additions include “Awesome Planet,” a new film set to debut in The Land pavilion.
One pavilion in Future World is indeed seeing a massive change, as the former Wonders of Life building will be repurposed into a new interactive “play pavilion.”
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