Why Every Disney Adult Is OBSESSED With These Before and After Photos Right Now

Okay, when it comes to Disney World, you have expectation, and then you have reality.

We have to give Disney some credit, though: often the reality far exceeds the expectation. This is the case with rides like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Rise of the Resistance. However, there are some situations where the reality did not meet expectations (like some of the canceled projects of the EPCOT transformation), and it’s never more evident than when looking at that project’s original concept art.

So when Disney releases concept art, it’s usually a general idea of what they have in mind for whatever it is they’re creating, upgrading, etc. But sometimes, we can’t help looking at the concept art and noticing what’s missing from the finished project.

CommuniCore Hall and Plaza

Some of the biggest differences between concept art to final design happened with the EPCOT transformation. For example, the concept art for CommuniCore Hall’s interior is drastically different from what we got. The concept art shows a gallery space with a massive Figment statue with all kinds of fun decor hanging from the ceiling.

This is what we got. As you can see, the interior looks drastically different, with a lot more empty space. Now we don’t know if that space will eventually be filled when festivals are going on (which is how Disney originally described CommuniCore Hall and Plaza), but this is a huge difference. This was also during an event to debut the hall to the press, so things are pretty crowded, but you can tell that Disney might have changed their mind about this interior.

The concept art for the exterior also shows that some things have changed since the idea for CommuniCore Hall was originally conceived. Here’s the concept art. We have to admit that the basic concept of CommuniCore Hall was pretty well done.

Here’s the exterior of CommuniCore Hall. There’s a Mickey and Friends meet and greet on one side, plus a Festival Favorites counter where you can order some festival foods year-round.

The stage is part of CommuniCore Plaza, which is a space Disney said would be used for some festival entertainment as it can accommodate both large and smaller events. Right now, an Encanto singalong can be viewed there.

Let’s look at the concept art for CommuniCore Hall and Plaza as a whole. We’ll have to admit Disney seemed to have more trees in mind at the time this was drawn.

So let’s just say there are some trees, but maybe not as many as we’re seeing here. But overall, the basic layout of everything is, more or less, the same.

We’ll have to see how Disney utilizes this space during EPCOT’s next festival, the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival.

Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point

Disney Cruise Line revealed concept art for its new island destination, Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point, in early 2023. This is what that concept art showed us.

When we visited Castaway Cay, it looked a little smaller, but it’s hard to judge distances in concept art vs. what you see with your own eyes. However, the basic design is still the same.

Here’s another piece of concept art Disney released of Lookout Cay. Granted, the scale of the canopies looks bigger in the concept art.

Although the real thing does look a little different, it’s not a HUGE difference, is it?

The Junkanoo Rush Out, though, was every bit as colorful in the concept art…

…as it was in reality.

Of course, the concept art didn’t outline the long pier that you’ll have to cross to get from your Disney cruise ship to the island.

Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana

In looking at the concept art of Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana, we don’t see a lot of deviations between the original artwork and what Disney originally visualized.

When it was being constructed, it was almost like seeing the concept art come to life. We noticed new details during construction from the initial concept when we took the EPCOT Monorail to get an overhead view.

Much of the attraction’s reality matched the concept art almost perfectly, like this particular feature.

Here’s what that looks like in reality.

So sometimes, it seems Disney does generally stick with its initial vision, but more often than not, concept art is just that: a general concept to give us an idea of what something may look like. However, we don’t always get every detail from the concept art, but it’s interesting to see how things change as projects move forward and evolve.

Check back with AllEars again soon for more.

5 Ways EPCOT’s New Attraction Has Disney Adults Confused

What do you think? Are there any particular Disney concept art details you think should have made it into the final project? Let us know in the comments!

Post a Comment