Disney finished replacing EPCOT’s glowing light-up pavement in World Celebration Gardens with flecked concrete. The lights had warped, failed and turned into tripping hazards since 2023.
Remember the light-up sidewalk behind Spaceship Earth? It’s gone. Disney has finished replacing the glowing pavement strips at EPCOT’s World Celebration Gardens with concrete, Disney Food Blog reported Oct. 28.
The new pavement keeps the same curving design. It just doesn’t light up anymore.
“The layout survives even though the lighting does not,” BlogMickey wrote earlier this month.
Here’s Capture The Magic’s look at the change:
What was the EPCOT light-up pavement?
It was part of World Celebration Gardens, the open area behind Spaceship Earth that opened in December 2023 as part of EPCOT’s big makeover.
Light strips were set into the walkways, and together with a central planter they formed the EPCOT logo, WDWNT reported. The idea was for the lights to sync with Spaceship Earth’s nighttime lighting, called the Beacon of Magic.
When it worked, it looked great. The problem is it didn’t work for long.
The gardens themselves were a big part of EPCOT’s overhaul. Disney rebuilt the whole middle of the park around new green space, CommuniCore Hall and a new entrance fountain, and the glowing paths were meant to tie it all together after dark.
Why did Disney remove the EPCOT ground lights?
They kept breaking. Sections went dark or fell out of sync with Spaceship Earth, WDWNT reported. The plastic covers “warped and cracked” in the Florida heat.
Some strips popped up out of the ground, Disney Food Blog said, and areas had to be roped off as tripping hazards. At one point, crews screwed the covers down to keep them in place.
Disney hasn’t put out a statement on the change. But a light-up sidewalk that trips guests is a problem you can’t really ignore.
Florida is tough on anything outdoors. Sun, heat, heavy rain and thousands of strollers rolling over the same spot every day add up fast, and plastic covers set into a walkway take the worst of it.
When did Disney start filling in the EPCOT pavement?
Here’s the timeline, per BlogMickey:
December 2024: the lights were briefly fully working again
January 2025: strips were lifting again
June 2025: covers were screwed down
Aug. 11, 2026: construction barriers went up
Aug. 18, 2026: concrete replacement spotted
Oct. 8, 2026: the first section was finished
By Oct. 21, about a third of the lights were still in place on the southeast side, WDWNT reported. Disney Food Blog says the project is now done.
What does the new EPCOT pavement look like?
It’s light-colored concrete with sparkly flecks, according to WDWNT. “Light-colored paving now fills the trough that held the lighting strips,” BlogMickey wrote.
So during the day, you’ll see the same EPCOT logo shape in the ground. At night, there’s no glow.
WDWNT noted during the work that it was “messy where the concrete meets the remaining plastic light covers.” That should be cleaned up now that the last strips are gone. If you visited this summer and saw the area half fenced off, the walkways should be fully open again, with no more taped-off stretches to dodge.
Is Spaceship Earth still open?
Yes, the ride is still running. Guests have been using a side entrance for days, though, because water dripping off the sphere made the main walkway slippery, BlogMickey reported Oct. 22.
Crews also finished installing new exterior panels to complete a refresh of the sphere, WDWNT reported. And Disney announced a reimagining of the ride at D23 in August, but hasn’t given a closure date or details yet.
Will the Spaceship Earth lights still sync at night?
The Beacon of Magic lighting on the sphere itself is separate from the ground lights, so the big ball still glows at night. You just won’t get the matching light show on the ground around it.
It’s a small loss, but it’s one of those details EPCOT fans loved, especially for nighttime photos. When the strips worked, the ground lights pulsing along with the sphere made a pretty great backdrop. Now it’s another “remember when” for the park, right up there with the old fountain.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
Disney Food Blog (Oct. 28), the finished replacement and the tripping hazards
BlogMickey (Oct. 8 and Oct. 22), timeline, new paving and Spaceship Earth entrance
WDWNT (Oct. 21), the logo design, failures and remaining lights
Capture The Magic (Aug. 2026), video
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