Walt Disney World has announced two new lounges coming to the parks, including one inside Spaceship Earth at EPCOT. This post shares details, concept art, and everything we know about the plan–plus comprehensive commentary about more bars at WDW and whether we think these are potentially good or bad additions for the park.
This news was announced during the “Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase” or Parks Panel presentation during the 2024 D23 Expo at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro offered a sneak peek at concept art for the future in addition and teased what was to come in a few years.
This was just one of several announcements for Parks & Resorts at Horizons, during which D’Amaro revealed several ‘shovel to soil’ projects that will come online in the next 5 years, including over a half-dozen additions that will debut before the end of 2025. He and head Imagineer Bruce Vaughn followed through on their promise to deliver concrete details and not just tease more ‘Blue Sky’ possibilities.
In fact, there was so much news during the D23 Parks Panel that Josh called in friends Darren Criss and Skylar Astin for I guess wha you’d call a rapid-fire montage song of smaller-scale updates before continuing on with the show.
Set to some catchy and thematically appropriate tunes, the duo announced a brand new lounge at EPCOT and shared new details (and concept art) for a previously announced tavern, both coming soon to Walt Disney World Resort!
Here’s what else you need to know about this lounge news:
Set course for the Magic Kingdom! First announced at Destination D23 last year is the Pirates of the Caribbean tavern at Magic Kingdom. This rambunctious watering hole will offer a welcoming haven for all pirate-kind, big and small, and everyone in between.
Inside this PotC tavern, bandits and buccaneers-to-be from every corner of the seven seas are welcome to join together and raise a toast to the pirate life! In the newly released artwork, X marks the spot for a sea-worthy selection of grogs and grub inside this tavern location coming to Magic Kingdom.
In case you missed it, we just had a major update on the Pirates of the Caribbean tavern a few weeks ago. I’m not going to rehash all of that, but the major points are that Walt Disney World filed a few construction permits, put up walls inside the existing exit gift shop for Pirates of the Caribbean, and moved merchandise over across the promenade to what’s now Tortuga Treasures. That temporary merchandise spot was previously a seasonal counter service restaurant, and might still be in the future.
Officially, Walt Disney World still has not announced where the Pirates of the Caribbean tavern will be located. Our incredibly strong suspicion is the former Pirates League, expanded into what’s currently the Pirates of the Caribbean post-exit gift shop. Hence the construction walls. From the beginning, we heard credible rumors that this tavern was slated for Pirates League.
However, we have not heard anything recently and some fans believe the gift shop construction is unrelated, and that the Pirates of the Caribbean tavern will take up residence in the larger Tortuga Tavern (tavern is right in the name!). That makes sense given that it already has a kitchen as well as ample seating space. We think Tortuga Tavern is too large and strategically valuable in the long-term, especially as Magic Kingdom will need more dining capacity on this side of the park once the Cars rides replace the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island.
The bottom line is that we’re still not 100% confident in location, but the strongest signs point to Pirates League. Even with ‘tavern’ in both names and a kitchen, this would be a misfit for Tortuga Tavern. That space is currently underutilized–and would be again if this lounge goes there–but it’s strategically very valuable in the medium term. Putting the Pirates of the Caribbean tavern in there would not be the best use of that space. It’ll go into Pirates League…and rival Oga’s Cantina or Space 220 Lounge in terms of Advance Dining Reservation difficulty!
Speaking of Space 220, another ‘space’ lounge is soon coming to EPCOT…
For over 40 years, Spaceship Earth has welcomed visitors to EPCOT as a shining beacon of optimism and hope. This just-announced lounge is inspired by the stories, shapes, and enduring legacy of this timeless icon.
Taking inspiration from the geometric sphere, the zen space to gather and enjoy refreshments will be draped with rich textures and warm metallic tones, giving it a mysterious and elegant intimacy.
According to Walt Disney World, both the Pirates of the Caribbean Tavern and Spaceship Earth lounge will open sometime in 2025.
For those keeping score at home, this was the only brand-new EPCOT news during the D23 Parks Panel. Test Track was also touched upon during the above-referenced update song montage, and those were the only two EPCOT projects discussed at all.
I’m honestly not surprised. Walt Disney World has told us in no uncertain terms that the EPCOT overhaul is finished. But my response has been: you sure ’bout that?
CommuniCore Hall and Plaza are a massive disappointment, World Celebration is an underwhelming placemaking project at best, and there are several rides in need of refurbishment after Test Track. And that includes Spaceship Earth, which was overdue for refurbishment in 2020, when it was slated to close for reimagining. (Concept art below is for that shelved Spaceship Earth reimagining, NOT this new lounge.)
More than any other project, EPCOT’s overhaul was a victim of the COVID-closure. The changes and cancellations made as a result of that massively scaled back the scale and scope of that transformation, and we’re just now seeing the ‘fruits’ of that.
With the benefit of hindsight, I’m guessing no one at Disney is happy with how the overhaul turned out–especially when a simpler placemaking project (like the front entrance–which is comparatively fantastic) would’ve been cheaper, faster, and maybe even better.
The good news, I guess, is that EPCOT attendance is continuing to languish. So even if Walt Disney World has declared the EPCOT overhaul over, they’re going to need to do something else. This cannot be the status quo through 2028, more reimaginings and smaller scale projects must be on the horizon. And not just low-capacity lounges. But I digress.
Back on topic, this new lounge inspired by Spaceship Earth looks like a promising addition. In case it’s not clear, this is going to be located in the sponsor lounge inside Spaceship Earth that was formerly occupied by AT&T and Siemens. It’s the glass windows above the Walt the Dreamer statue in the photo above.
I’ve been in this lounge a few times over the years, and it’s fairly sizable. Not as big or cool as the General Motors lounge above Test Track, but I hope that one never becomes a public space because GM is the most valuable sponsor to EPCOT, and without that company, there’s no way we’d be getting Test Track 3.0 this decade. (I guess it means that Disney Corporate Alliances has given up on a new sponsor for Spaceship Earth, which doesn’t exactly bode well for the reimagining.)
Nevertheless, all of these corporate lounges are fairly small relative to demand. This lounge has just enough elevation and a location to make it perfect for sweeping views of the rest of the former Future World and back to World Showcase, meaning it’ll offer a great perspective on Luminous: The Symphony of Us.
My prediction is that Advance Dining Reservations for the Spaceship Earth lounge instantly become the #1 most difficult ADR in all of Walt Disney World, dethroning the Space 220 Lounge in the process. Even though this should have slightly higher capacity and less in the way of themed design, the view and novelty of being inside Spaceship Earth will be like catnip to Disney diehards.
As for the interior style of the lounge, it’s whatever. Reminds me of the rooftop restaurants at Gran Destino Tower or the lounges on the Wish-class of the Disney Cruise Line ships. That’s not really a dig. I think those spaces are classy and elegant and, in the case of Gran Destino, the main draw is the views.
A similar approach with the Spaceship Earth lounge also makes sense. There are design details that evoke the geometric panels on the exterior of the geodesic sphere–that’s pretty much perfect. Showcase the big views and let those be the highlight, with a vaguely futurist and luxurious sensibility to the style. That should hopefully discourage guests from taking off their shoes in the lounge (looking at you, DVC members in the Imagination lounge.) Ah, who am I kidding–that’s wishful thinking!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited for the Spaceship Earth lounge at EPCOT or Pirates of the Caribbean tavern at Magic Kingdom? Or are you disappointed that Disney is adding more bars and lounges to the parks? What plans from the 2024 D23 Expo have you most and least excited? Anything you’re hoping does not end up coming to fruition? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
