There’s always something changing at Disney World.
Wonders of Life becoming Play! Pavilion
Whether it’s brand new attractions or hotels popping up, or complete overhauls of the parks. there are a lot of projects to look forward to. Sometimes, however, Disney has announced projects and then those plans seem to disappear. Speaking of which, there’s this abandoned building in EPCOT that Disney had grand plans for, but we haven’t seen any of them come to fruition yet,\. So let’s talk about the Play! Pavilion and break down all that we know about it!
The Play! Pavilion in EPCOT was set to arrive before the 50th Anniversary Celebration at Disney World but was never completed. The interactive play area was set to reside inside the Wonders of Life Pavilion behind the Mission: SPACE gift shop.
Play! Pavilion (behind Mission: SPACE gift shop)
It would be a digital metropolis with interactive games, experiences, entertainment, characters, and more in both a virtual and real setting. Examples of experiences Disney touted for the pavilion included helping fashion icon Edna Mode from The Incredibles “on her quest to rid the world of uninspired style,” and competing in a water balloon fight hosted by Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby!
©Disney
However, in early 2023, after the experience hadn’t opened for three years, it disappeared from the park map entirely. But, that’s not the end of the story. There have been three announcements that we think could mark the beginning of a comeback for the pavilion.
First, Disney announced Holo Tile technology. Disney describes the Holo Tile floor technology as the “world’s first multi-person, omnidirectional, modular, expandable, treadmill floor.” Basically, all those tiles you see rotate and move to keep any object in the center of the floor, and multiple people can be on the floor moving in different directions simultaneously.
©Disney
What this means is that it could allow virtual reality games and experiences to feel even more like reality. It will allow you to physically “move” through the experience and have your brain thinking that you’re moving along with what you see in a VR headset or on a screen — but you’ll actually never step off the titles no matter how much distance you cover.
Next, on February 7th Disney announced a collaboration with Epic Games to bring more Disney experiences to the online gaming platform. It’s a $1.5 billion collaboration meant to build out a Disney universe that will be for gameplay, entertainment, AND shopping, and according to Disney, “represents our biggest foray into the game space ever.”
©Disney/Epic Games
This has everyone wondering if Disney is coming to Fortnite, will Fortnite come to Disney? There’s a definite possibility, and we think it could happen in the former Play! Pavilion, which leads us to the next point.
Lastly, Disney collaborated with Apple for the Apple Vision Pro. Disney announced that “fans will be able to experience Disney’s iconic stories like never before with Disney+ on Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s revolutionary spatial computer, offering Disney+ subscribers with a Vision Pro device a new way to stream entertainment at no additional cost.” All of that to say, if you can do that at home, you surely would be able to do something similar at a Disney Park, right?
©Apple
Now, we’re purely into speculation land, but we think that Disney could put the Holo Tile technology in the pavilion, and then partner with Apple to bring Apple Vision Pro to the Pavilion. Then they could have Holo Tile and the VR headset to work together, and then, here’s the final piece, visitors could explore the all-new Fortnite realm using those technologies.
PLAY! Pavilion Concept Art ©Disney
That’s all we know at the moment. Hopefully, Disney will surprise us with some announcements in 2024. We’ll be looking out for anythign new, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
NEW UPDATE: The CommuniCore Hall Festival Area Is One Step Closer to Opening in EPCOT!
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Helix is better than Apple vision and no device needed to be worn. Let’s hope that would be something going forward. I can’t imagine wearing a headset like Apple has, funding for 100’s of units, and then a process to clean them between wearings.
The floor concept is fascinating, though.
I wish they would update and reopen this facility as an educational exhibit on Life. The Cranium Command attraction was a family favorite! “Hormones!” LOL. All the exhibits in the original exhibit were great. Why did Disney abandon it, rather than keep it maintained?
They need to repeat its original pavilion, updated…was always fun! I’m tired of them tearing down once iconic places and leaving them in perpetual construction sites or replacing them with blah attractions compared to what was once their. Glad to see the trend to change Test Track back to World of Motion concept!