See ya in September for Part 2 of this video. Hopefully it's improved when Food & Wine makes it's way in to EPCOT.

Disney: tears down Innoventions Also Disney: immediately rebuilds Innoventions and renames it back to Communicore Absolutely genius way to waste money

Communicore Hall looks like the food court at a mall that isn’t doing very well.

“It’s fun to do the impossible” - Walt Disney. “It’s profitable to underwhelm” - Bobby Iger.

I swear, I’ve been in Holiday Inns that have better theming than CommuniCore.

At least in 15-20 years we can get a huge Epcot overhaul.

The way it just kind of looks like a refurbished conference hall you could find at any university, definitely had slightly higher hopes lol

The argument that you need to see Epcot at night (or during a festival ) to fully appreciate the renovation is a cop out. It should look stunning both day and night, just on its own. This is Disney, and they charge ultra premium prices for their product.

I think it says a lot about Communicore Hall when I have asked myself multiple times, “Wait, what’s that for again?”

Can you even imagine a fountain like the Fountain of Nations in the center of World Celebration that dances and syncs with the lights and Spaceship Earth? That would be amazing.

As someone who loved Epcot as a kid in the late 80s-90's this is an abomination. These new spaces are soulless. 😭

I've said this before but I love how you always analyze what could be improved rather than just ranting blindly; the fact that you can be both positive and critical really makes each of your opinions feel genuine! not to mention that listening to constructive criticism is just more entertaining than people ranting lol

A mix between a college student union building and an Apple Store is the best description I’ve seen of Communicore Hall so far. It’s very lackluster so I’m waiting to see how it looks during Food and Wine to make a full judgment. I will say that it’s promising the furniture isn’t nailed down and there’s theatre lighting on the ceiling. But we’ll see!

Can you imagine if they had used the space as a History of EPCOT exhibit? They could still use it for festivals and tie in the history of the festivals to the standard displays.

We really needed an inventions replacement, more games and stuff. Communicate hall is just a shopping mall.

It's just crazy how all the Disney vloggers r like 'tHiS is GrEaT' and then proceed to show an airport ass building

I appreciate this guy's constructive & optimistic take on the new Hall of Tables & Chairs attraction. But unfortunately, guests spend a small fortune on a trip to the mouse. So there should be ZERO excuses for a subpar experience. The "better luck next time" or "would've should've could've" response just doesn't cut it. Between this empty disaster & Tianna's Chia Pet Mountain, the mouse has clearly been dropping the ball.

I think my wife has the right idea. They just opened it at the wrong time. They should have waited until a festival so we can see it as it is intended.

I just feel like in my heart that you can do any kind of ride that you want to or attraction but really what a lot of this Epcot current day is missing is the component of education. Even as a kid, I enjoyed so much that I got to learn stuff and have a good time in these dark rides.

Don’t forget they tore down that great fountain too

It's Diet Epcot regardless. Also, we can't keep giving Disney a break because Covid happened. It happened an eternity ago in terms of theme park timelines.

I'm surprised they don't have a sad looking cast member handing out 3 jelly beans to people as they enter or exit

Thanks for the glass half full vid. *sigh* is anyone else starting to wonder if it is worth the price of admission to enter an area that is increasingly becoming a fair ground or indoor-outdoor convention hall? In Epcot the 'entertainment' is increasingly to spend more and more money to buy food and drinks...it looks like these 'improvements' are designed to expose guests to more opportunities to spend additional money on food and drinks - with a few side shows and a couple meet and greets. OK - then reduce the park ticket price...or...split the front and back halves of the park into 2 separate parks like universals 2 parks, they are right next to each other and you can pay for 1 or the other or both.

Disney took about 5 years to build a mediocre convention looking center, while in the same amount of time universal built 65% of a whole new park. I dont know what is going on but thats just pathetic.

I grew up going to WDW, it has always been my favorite place to vacation. My family of 4 had a 10 day trip booked for March, and just last week we decided to cancel. Just couldn't get excited for it , which has never happened to me before. Planning our first ever trip to Universal for Christmas 2025 instead.

We were just in Epcot this past week and I couldn’t remember what communicore hall was for. When I finally made it there, I literally thought I went to the wrong building. I was so confused at what it even was.

I had hopes for this EPCOT overhaul. But I think they got it so fundementally wrong from so many parts. But I do like some changes still. Spaceship Earth Lights, Pylon Fountain even Connections was a great change imo. I do think they were good ideas but they just couldn't get it done with the everchanging budget. Hoping the Imagination Pavilion gets better treatment (assuming it is given a chance to change anytime soon) :(

The open "doctor's Office" hall is obviously set up so Disney can sell group and convention facilities, just like the open hall they had in that same space, the one that stunk for some reason. They can use this space every single night for groups who have fireworks show space reserved; for wedding receptions ; for annual passholder events; and anything else they can dream up. The tunnel with kitchen access is directly below, and it has easy access to world showcase's numerous group reservation spaces.

I do think that they’d have less of a violently negative reaction if they’d opened this event space with a, y’know, event? To fill it? But either way despite Epcot really being a festival space above all else nowadays, acting like this building (with SUCH A DOWNGRADE FEOM THE CONCEPT ART) was going to be something super exciting for people the way a new ride or interactive space is was a bold move from Disney. But in general it just looks like a high quality convention space and that’s true for a lot of the new stuff Disney is dropping. I wish they weren’t afraid to get weird again

It looks sad, I can't wait for your Epic Universe video

If anything, CommuniCore Hall needs a number of huge wall monitors to help liven up the cavernous space. The space is so stagnant, that it’s not very inviting, except when it’s 110 degrees outdoors. Each monitor would ‘communicate’ the different Epcot/DisneyWorld offerings, and events, within the park(s)/resort(s). And/or some sort of kinetic/interactive art. Add individual audio connection capability, per monitor, per viewer to avoid a cacophony of noise, and allow those who just want a quiet space, to have that quiet time. Sort of like Vegas sports-book areas.

Admittedly seeing Communicore hall this way does help make more sense of it. I'm just not sure I see the logic in having what's essentially a convention center in the middle of busy theme park that's *un-themed* most of the year, but still accessible to parkgoers when there isn't some event going on. For most visitors, Communicore hall and the rest of the old Innoventions wing is just going to be this weird outdoor mall in the middle of EPCOT with a character meet-and-greet and nowhere near enough shade or air conditioning. Pretty from the outside, sure, but barren and sterile on the inside. If they don't want it to feel like a civic center operating a food court on the main floor, they're going to need some kind of permanent exhibit that they can shuffle in and out of there whenever they have these other events, preferably something appropriately themed to Communication, or something that calls back to Innoventions. Keep it simple but lively, like the shows on the stage outside. Something to make it not feel like they wasted five years moving dirt around, as Poseidon Entertainment would put it.

Hey should have Epcot museum items in between the festivals. They should have a mural or a statue or a fountain in there or something. Or they could do little displays for older Epcot attractions high up on the walls like the Disney stores.

It's a picture frame without the picture.

I'm a customer. I have ZERO obligations to pay a 160 billion dollar company pats on the back for doing anything right. They don't want negative comments? Stop creating cheap cookie cutter crap. Start acting like the lead dog in theme park experiences. Here's the thing. They aren't the top any more and they know it. As a consumer it's my right to complain. Disney deserves no leeway. If they do something positive they won't get complaints doesn't mean they are deserving of compliments. This is business 101. Customers are more likely to describe negative experiences rather than comment on positive ones which SHOULD BE THE DEFAULT unless your experience goes far above and beyond default which in that case compliments from guests flow like wine. Just good is not good enough.

C'mon bro. YOU KNOW DEEP IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU, I and Justin Scarred need to be hired as lead Head Designer Imagineers.

I have mostly bleh feelings about Communicore Hall, but the gardens… I have so many feelings about gardens. I think they could do something really cool with World Celebration Gardens by creating some sort of cohesion with World Showcase. Possibly theming different pieces of the garden to each nation represented in the showcase. Adding in an educational aspect- each plant could have a placard giving a description, where they’re found, why they’re culturally important to said nation, how they’re used, etc.. I would personally love that. I know that might feel more like a “Land” thing but I think it could add more meaning to the garden area.

We need to talk about the empty space on Tiana's Bayou Adventure next 😂

A mural depicting all the festivals would be real cool I think. Less “abandoned convention center”

I’ve been looking forward to you covering this! Happy Sunday D!

Times are tough, Communicore Hall probably went to the lowest bidder for truck-stop bathrooms.

BABE WAKE UP NEW OFFHAND DISNEY VIDEO DROPPED

There is a Swiss artist named Jean Tinguely who made amazing Rube Goldberg like sculptural machines. These can be seen in a fantastic museum and an outdoor fountain in Basel, Switzerland (and can be seen here on KZfaq). The gardens at Epcot should have been filled with these types of kinetic machines and fountains (with a more colorful family-friendly look than Tinguely), with creative references to Epcot's past. It would delight guests and feel very appropriate to Epcot. That center fountain you want returned could be an "effect" event that is triggered every few minutes when a certain large chrome ball reaches that part of the gardens, making crowds cheer. In fact, the aesthetics could be inspired by Rolly Crump's Tower of the Four Winds that was at It's a Small World at the New York Wold's Fair. This would be appropriate as the New York World's Fair was where Disney was testing out Disney style entertainment on the East Coast pre-WDW and Epcot.

The Catholics have a phrase, "Ordinary Time", referring to the part of the year that isn't some special liturgical period like Lent, Advent etc. "Diet Epcot" makes me think of that.

What they basically did was to rebuild that seating area that was behind the old Starbucks and the meet and greet. The building facing the land. And as a single mom I really appreciated that old space bc it was quiet and a great ac spot and an area for kids to relax a bit. Epcot sorely needed that lounge and I’m glad it’s back.

I think Communicore Hall needs, most of all, *something* to justify it's existence outside of festival season. have some entertainment or educational kiosks, Food carts, little Shops, *anything*. As is it just looks like a College cafeteria.

I'm just so done with Disney at this point. The leadership is so clueless and they keep churning out disappointment after disappointment after disappointment and its gotten so old.

You know what they could use it for when there is not a festival going on? Foot massages. EPCOT almost did me in the last time I was there.

Good coverage (and opinions). I think the "hall" should always have some sort of focal exhibit (history of Epcot, animation, robotics, science fiction films in general) even when there are no active festivals to "theme" around. In fact the contrast would be welcome when surrounded by food or wine or flowers. And for Walt's sake, bring back a central fountain, possibly even surrounded by smaller water features. They cool the place off and kinetics do matter. I think descending waterfalls in front of the Walt statue would be unique to Epcot, enliven the area no end and provide even better photo ops. Yes, all this costs money. What I spent on a recent visit should cover it.

You are legitimately hilarious. Even your ad spot is funny. Well done!

i think the issue is that people had a lot of anticipation for what was coming, only for it to be some pretty generic style buildings. I think you nailed it when you mentioned when they try to go for a modern or futuristic look. There definitely need to be more trees in teh parks or covered areas for shade. i love how you almost always mention living with the land. that ride inspired me so much as to what i want to do if i have a homestead

The one show I really miss is Off Kilter. Those guys were so good.

I was there the week that Epcot opened. If memory serves there were a lot of tech displays there to use interactively. So the cost cutting has really influenced it over the years.

I actually agree that Connections is a pretty good space and should be the overall vibe for World Celebration. It’s “modern” in architecture but brought back the natural light of the old Communicore windows. It’s filled with cultural artifacts and that beautiful mural. A lot of World Celebration gardens does this well too, but some stuff, especially Communicore Hall, just looks “too mall.” You’re one of the only people I’ve seen on KZfaq to bring up the Gensler connection, which I think was a big influence here. Oh well. Hopefully some more trees are put in the middle of EPCOT, with a fountain, and some of the weird planters and grating is removed. That would make it marginally better. And maybe one day we’ll get an actually cool Festival Center… but I’m not holding my breath 😫

So early I’m helping set up the chairs

Where's the kiddy pool ballpit? 😂😂😂

Festival space and meet and greets are needed. It looks similar to 80’s Communicore, just add more references or some actual classic Communicore exhibits to the space. SMRT-1 meet and greet!

The inside needs to have more OG Epcot vibes

On a positive note I love connections tbh. (Not as good as the ufo thing) but there’s so much room and I love sitting by those huge windows and people watching in the AC I do wish communicore at least had a mural like connections has.

Look at concept art versus what happened. Supposed to have statues of figment and more colors and lights. Instead they opted for airport terminal or college cafeteria vibes. Like huh.

@OffhandDisney, I love all your videos. You are awesome! I am a major Disney fan myself! I love watching all your videos. Keep up the great work! You rock!

Inoventions music slaps. Its one of my go to Disney parks music to listen when doing homework or chores.

Congrats on 300K subscribers!!!

I missed the old hallway where I drank my club cool slushy, glad we got it back

I am not a fan of the new design and architecture they've been using that is so generic and not at all magical. But I feel like the Communicore Hall looks like a convention hall because it really is made to be a flex space. So I am excited to see how they use it during festivals.

So to correct you, the old Innoventions West was completely demolished. Nothing was kept. They actually tore down the whole Southern part before the Northern section. I'm not sure if the basement stayed or not tho.

I agree, that center planter should have been a fountain, even keeping the same design, where parts are water, parts are still plants, and the tall light poles should have been constant water squirting to the center top fountain part.

It’s an odd place to meet Mickey. Maybe they could say - hey we don’t use this space much except to sell festival tickets and merch - but Mickey is there and he should only be in immersive locations. I’m flummoxed.

Communicore looks like a great spot to wait out a rain storm. That’s about it

I'm kinda glad the walls were still up when I was there last month. That definitely doesn't look interesting as it is. Hopefully future events will help rectify it. I do love new EPCOT overall. Had dinner at Teppan Edo and got to do Test Track 2.0 one last time before it closed down. Can't wait to see what 3.0 entails! Definitely agree it needs a fountain, though.

Yes to making the planter (that resembles female anatomy to me) into a fountain! Also, convert Polynesian planter to a fountain too! More fountains!

For Communicore hall I think that they could have some nice murals on the walls that could be utilized for festivals with projectors projecting projections themed to what will be showcased in the festival. I think that that would be cool. Also there could be some quick service/ food carts near or in communicore hall when there’s no festival happening, it could even have semi experimental foods or something.

The new outdoor space from Epcot is amazing. I think people are jumping the gun a bit

Commune-eye-soar Hall, :) Really interesting to see that the architecture firm actually has some really cool buildings out there. That throws a whole different dynamic into this then just blaming that company. I think with a little bit of money and a whole lot of creativity Disney can make this into something special. Disney needs to start running like Universal is chasing them....because they are. I'm hoping the realization that Disney actually has competition now will motivate some beautiful things to be made in the Disney Parks in the near future. Less new Star Wars shows, more amazing park stuff.

I’m with you. I think we need to wait to see how it looks when a festival is going on. I’m hopeful (maybe delusional lol) that it will be a lot better with Food & Wine and the proceeding festivals. That said, if they’re intending to keep it open year-round instead of seasonally when a festival calls for it, there needs to be something there. It’s a huge space with air conditioning. I’m sure guests would LOVE to go in if there was an actual reason for them to. As of now, it kind of exists just for people to cool off, which is fine, but not when you spent so much time and money creating this thing. Right now, it seems like it’s kind of pointless, until it has a point. And it really won’t take much to bring people in. Seriously, in Florida heat, people want every excuse to be inside.

Coming from a former southwest kid: As much as you adore water and landscaping features, it might be of interest to explore how Disney manages its water. While I've little doubt that Disney has more innovation, autonomy, and even legal leeway when it comes to their water management and resources, they're still in states that struggle with water management overall-Florida, less so, but the issue of CLEAN water, particularly in storm seasons is probably still a thing. And, as much as I like the 2019 festival hall concept, my brain is preoccupied with the logistical obstacle course of getting sod and sufficient irrigation (for such a large area) to the roof. That said, I'm sad they didn't take the extrapolation of the idea to a more obvious conclusion: a skywell over a smaller interior green space with a geodesic dome marking it (and/or accommodating an impressive tree canopy) on top and mirroring Spaceship Earth. Because, all in all, the biggest issue with the current exterior is whether it's capable of reflecting any appeal of a festival inside; the interior can be dazzling, but it can't drive organic traffic.

It reminds me of a college lunchroom space

It's giving... 'And for another $500, you too can get 15 extra minutes in the DashCon ballpit!!' vibes.

I’ll just put this out here: Revamped Wonders of Life Pavilion. Big Hero 6 taking over Body Wars and Inside Out taking over Cranium Command. With Buzzy cameo obviously. Improves capacity and keeps them away from the Imagination Pavilion.

Disney, please stop with the statues already! It’s giving a cluttered, museum feel, which is what Walt did not want. And he was right, perhaps needless to say.

Haven’t tuned into this channel in a bit, gotta say I love the hair!

The front half of Epcot has been broken ever since the 1990s. They had a decent bid to fix it, but they ran out of money halfway through for a variety of compounding reasons, and this is how it ended up. I guess Jenny Nicholson's now-famous Star Wars Hotel video made a case that you can even see the compromises in what they ended up doing to Hollywood Studios, though that was a far more complete overhaul than Epcot got. This isn't even the first time this happened. There was an elaborate plan to re-do the front half of Epcot in the 90s and it shrank down to very little, I think because of the Euro Disney debacle. Mission: Space and Test Track are the remaining bits of that in the same way that Guardians is a remaining bit of this overhaul. Maybe they'll get it at some point. It probably needs Disney to be in a very different situation at the corporate level though. To be clear, the problem is about money. Look at the Tokyo resort--I was just there--that's what Disney Imagineering can still do if someone is willing to spend the money. They have the vision, they just can't get it funded because contrary to popular opinion, Disney's pockets are not infinitely deep and right now they're stretched too thin financially.

I was just there a few days ago. It was weird being in Epcot at a non festival time. Hopefully it'll get better once festivals return.

As someone who is trapped in California, both by work and budget, I've only been able to vicariously experience Communicore Hall, and it is embarrassingly under-themed. Not quite what you'd want from a Disney product, but they kept both floors open of our Innoventions when they had NOTHING in most of that space upstairs, so it's exactly what I'd expect from them. That being said, I saw a post on Twitter of someone playing solitaire at one of the tables, and an artist had responded to that essentially saying "I'm going to plan a trip to Epcot JUST to paint in here all day!" So it's kind of interesting to watch some folks get angry at a COMMUNAL space in the park called "Experimental Prototype COMMUNITY Of Tomorrow." There's also the fact that, while Epcot is the chillest park on the planet, it's a space where folks can get away from the chaos (and the heat) outside if they get overstimulated.

I bet they’re holding back the theming and dramatic lighting for the festivals / exhibits. It really does match the concept art, it’s just empty with all the lights on…

It’s always refreshing to see your thoughtful comments and utilization of other Disney projects as examples for what could be better! PS: This is a message for Magic Candle Company. Please keep supporting Offhand because it’s working!!! I’m a universal pass holder and every time I see a MCC candle around universal it is always Offhand’s voice in my head reminding me how great y’all’s candles are 😂

Love the shirt. Good points too, not as good as the Points of Light but close.

It looks like a crappy knock off IKEA warehouse 😂

I don't mind Communicore Hall and the Future World retheme. In fact, I like what Communicore Hall is (a nice A/C space for people to chill for a half hour or so). But compared to the concept art and the construction timeline, I'll agree it's a bit of a disappointment. Still, I think there are numerous more pressing issues at WDW than this, such as the multiple abandoned stores in World Showcase, Animation Courtyard at MGM, the desperate need for increased capacity at the Magic Kingdom, and the general lack of clear vision for three out of their four theme parks in Florida.

Calling Runaway Railway an E-Ticket is being far too generous. It's B at best. Yes, adding a ride rather than removing something is always a win no matter how you slice it, but I do remember some articles claiming Disney could have changed a bunch of the ride since 90% of it is video screens and they just... didn't. I can't help but feel that's kind of lame because I think we need more unique experiences for each park and not so much parity between them all.

1:43 that freeze frame.. tell me what about that space says Disney World, Epcot, or theme park. That looks like a private middle school cafeteria

EPCOT is a prime example of Bob Iger overpromising and underdelivering, a business model Disney has been employing at least since Galaxy’s Edge.

This was definitely one of the funniest ad reads you’ve ever done lol 😅

It needs a phase 2 for sure, but I don't see it happening for a while. I see them sitting with it for a few years and update rides. After Test Track is done, I can see them making a big move towards a large scale update to Journey next, hopefully followed by Spaceship Earth. Bring back the descent ending!

5 years later and we got a ripoff apple park with a high school cafeteria. hopefully the lights on the ground get fixed.

it feels that CommuniCORE is suppose to be a blank canvas during the off seasons so it will be easier to chage for the festivals, and instead of it becoming another Wonders of Life, they just decided to keep it open year round. Should it have muarls? aye. but then it'd look too busy when the festival stuff comes in. The building is propbably housing a bunch of merch storage+culinary space in anticipation of the festivals.

They really made a mistake opening it without a festival going on. They should have just taken down the walls so you could see the outside but build up anticipation for the first festival. I really hope there's more festival stuff centrally located. Theres lots of room to sit and eat in Epcot central now so you dont have to eat on top of the trash cans. I do wish they would have kept the fountain. The fountain was central to Epcot when it opened with waters from all over the world being added. They really missed an opportunity to update it and have a grand re-opening with waters from everywhere being added again.

Digging your Little Lord Fauntleroy hairdoo...🤔

Communicore Hall is a place holder, feels like one, looks like one. I believe they were waiting for the 17 B $ they were working for. As for what to do to change? Take the earlier concept and build it.

Looking forward to seeing it this summer! But yep... looks nothing like the concept art! 😏🤦🏻‍♂️🙃