There were a lot of really exciting things announced for the future of several Disney Parks at the 2019 D23 Expo. The year 2021 is the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World, and a lot of preparation is in store before then. Although, no other Disney Park is getting as many upgrades as Epcot is. Construction for most of these changes began in late 2019. With all the changes and construction going on at Walt Disney World–especially at Epcot–in 2020, should you skip Epcot altogether? Let’s look at the pros and cons to figure out what is best for you and your trip.

What will be closed in 2020?

  • Character Spot
  • Innoventions
  • Club Cool
  • Electric Umbrella
  • Fountain View Starbucks
  • Leave A Legacy
  • “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth”
  • “Impressions de France” (until January 2020)
  • “O Canada”(until early 2020)
  • Test Track (until February 26, 2020)

The Pros of Going to Epcot in 2020:

  • Possible lower crowds: Think about it this way. If you are tempted to skip Epcot (or even Disney World altogether) this next year to avoid construction, most other guests are likely thinking the same, right?
  • Unique Photo Ops: Everybody wants pictures with the castle, the bubblegum wall, or the Tree of Life. But not many others will have pictures of the historical and unprecedented facelift of Epcot currently in progress. Yes, they might not be as pretty, but they will be unique and maybe worth something, someday.
  • Shouldn’t Negatively Impact Epcot Festivals: If you are a fan of Food & Wine, Flower and Garden, Festival of the Arts, or Festival of the Holidays…don’t stress. These festivals are still happening and will still be as impressive as usual.
  • Most Rides & World Showcase is still open: All of the rides, except Test Track before February 26, will still be running unless they are under routine refurbishment.
  • Some Discounts: If attendance is lower, Disney will still want to attract guests and therefore might offer discounts. They don’t usually broadcast these so you have to look for them on the Walt Disney World website.
  • New Shows & Rides: The new, trackless Ratatouille-themed ride is supposed to open before the end of 2020. There are also new versions of “O Canada” and “Impressions de France” coming early in the year.
  • Epcot Forever: Epcot Forever is a new nightly pyrotechnics show on the World Showcase Lagoon that is only showing for a limited time.

The Cons of Going to Epcot in 2020:

  • All of the Construction
  • Same Price: Even though it may feel like you are not getting the same experience as usual, ticket prices will not go down to compensate for this. Yes, there may be some special offers on the website throughout the year like we mentioned earlier, but not what you might hope for when so much of the park is closed.
  • New attractions: Since 2021 is the 50th anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney World, Disney plans to have all of this construction completed by then. This means that all of these new additions, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Mary Poppins at the United Kingdom Pavilion, etc. should be open by 2021. If you have to choose between booking a trip for 2020 or 2021, and these new additions are important to you, maybe it would be worth it to wait.
  • If you skip it: If you do decide to skip Epcot this year, you may have time and money to do something else, possibly another day at another park or exploring the resorts and Disney Springs.

Well, should you skip Epcot in 2020? The choice is ultimately up to you. In a perfect world with infinite funding and minimal construction or crowds, we would always choose to go to a Disney Park rather than not (heck, we might still decide to go to a Disney Park despite these things!). However, for this situation, we recommend you look over these pros and cons to decide what works best for you and your party.