World Celebration Gardens opened at EPCOT in late 2023 as a centerpiece of the park's sweeping transformation, bringing a redesigned plaza behind Spaceship Earth complete with an elaborate in-ground lighting system along its pathways. Less than three years later, that lighting feature is once again hidden behind construction barriers — and its future is genuinely uncertain.
Trouble started almost immediately after the gardens debuted. Disney spent much of the following year trying to get the lighting to operate consistently. By December 2024 the system was finally working as intended, but by January 2025 the strips had already begun separating from the pavement, with deteriorating mortar allowing sections to pop out of the ground and create a tripping hazard. Disney's June 2025 fix involved screwing the loosened plastic strips directly into the ground — a stopgap that kept things secured without addressing whatever is causing the underlying deterioration.
Now rolling barriers covered in greenery have reappeared, blocking off roughly half of the central planter area. Retractable stanchions have also been set up along a nearby path. Guests can still use the open portion of the plaza and views of Spaceship Earth remain largely unobstructed, but no construction equipment was visible when the barriers went up, leaving Disney's intentions unclear.
Disney has not announced whether the current work involves another repair attempt or something more permanent. Removing the lighting entirely would be a notable move for an area that hasn't yet reached its third anniversary, but repeated failures and temporary fixes do raise a fair question about how much further investment makes sense. For now, what's behind those green-covered walls remains anyone's guess.
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This report comes from Disney Fanatic.
