Disney Just Listened to Fans and Saved This Original EPCOT Attraction

Would most Disney fans recognize EPCOT as the Park was on its opening day, October 1, 1982? With the exception of some major recognizable structures like the icon of this Disney Park, Spaceship Earth, and the original countries of World Showcase, to name a few, perhaps not.

The second theme park to open at the Walt Disney World Resort has undergone several major changes over the years, including the closure of select attractions, like Ellen’s Energy Adventure which is now the site of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and areas like the Wonders of Life Pavilion, plus a handful of overhauls that have left some fans disappointed (like the current version of Journey Into Imagination With Figment.)

EPCOT is currently in the midst of its largest renovation project to date, bringing with it Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, and several other new experiences. To make way for anything new at a Disney Parks, some attractions must sadly close permanently. And while this seemed like the direction that one original EPCOT attraction was heading, Disney just made a change after listening to its fans.

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EPCOT is made up of four distinct neighborhoods, each with its own sets of attractions, restaurants, and shops. World Showcase has remained a staple of this Disney Park since opening day, while the area originally known as Future World has been split into World Celebration, World Nature, and World Discovery.

Rides in World Showcase only include Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros in Mexico, Frozen Ever After in Norway, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in France, as the rest of this neighborhood’s attractions are comprised of shows.

World Showcase has largely remained true to how it debuted more than 40 years ago, however, IPs and modern Disney characters have slowly been making their way into some of the pavilions (notably in all three ride attractions, as well as in place of one of the Park’s original shows.)

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EPCOT’s France pavilion is actually home to three different attractions, Impressions de France (an opening day attraction), Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along which also operates out of the Impressions de France theater.

We recently reported that showtimes of Impressions de France had been cut back further than ever before, with the original 18-minute widescreen film only running for a couple of showtimes in the morning, ending at 9:30 a.m. to have Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along play for the rest of the day. Disney fans were not happy with the change, with many taking to social media or to Guest Relations if they happened to be in EPCOT this week to share their thoughts.

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It seems that Disney has taken Guest feedback seriously, as additional showtimes have been added to the Resort’s official website and the My Disney Experience app for Impressions de France.

According to today’s update, Impressions de France is now running 9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m. (and 8:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. for Early Entry), as well as 7:00 p.m.-8:45 p.m. The previous update removed all showtimes except for the morning hours. With this morning’s change, Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along continues to play in the Impressions de France theater throughout the remainder of the day, but it is encouraging to see Disney put some showtimes for the original show back on the schedule after Guests responded negatively to the change.

As of this writing, Disney has not shared whether or not we will see more showtimes for Impressions de France in the future, but this change is certainly an exciting one. You can always find showtimes for this and other shows around EPCOT during your next trip in the My Disney Experience app (and if you don’t find the show you were hoping to see, it never hurts to politely let Disney know!)