Only a small portion of Innoventions West is still standing at Epcot. A lone section of steel framing is all that’s left of the original structure. Crews have gradually removed the framing over the past couple months, and now the demolition is wrapping up.
The views from within Epcot show there’s not much left.
The only structural frame remaining of Innoventions West. pic.twitter.com/PJXHbBNZuG
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) March 13, 2021
Epcot purists need to say their last goodbyes.
View of EPCOT monorail station through last remaining frame of Innoventions West. pic.twitter.com/ckFwAn7jpK
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) March 13, 2021
The demolition of Innoventions West began in 2019 when Disney announced they were overhauling Future World. Crews tore down half of the original Epcot structure before moving on to the second portion in early 2020. Work was delayed when Walt Disney World closed, but has since resumed and is nearing the finish line.
It remains to be seen what Disney will do on the former footprint of Innoventions West. Originally, they announced a large Festival Center that resembled a coffee table and the Journey of Water, a fountain area featuring Moana. The Festival Center has since been described as a “festival area” and it’s unclear how Disney will modify their plans.
Ideally, it would have been nice to see Disney refurbish Innoventions West and build on Epcot’s history. There was a way to accomplish all of Disney’s goals, specifically a new festival space, without tearing down the building that balanced the front of Epcot. But we digress.
We’ll have to wait and see what Disney will actually do now that Innoventions West is gone.
