My husband has had a theory ever since they announced the closure of the Disney Parks due to Coronavirus. Could Disney keep EPCOT shuttered longer than the other parks since it is under heavy construction? (Of course this is an OP-ED article.)

At first I thought his “tin foil mouse ear” theory was a bit ridiculous, but as more and more information came out, his theory made more and more sense.

Of course nothing official has been announced but there are some reasons why we feel this could be a possible outcome.

1. Disney cancelled the College Program and is sending those individuals home. They also made some changes to the Cultural Exchange Program as well.

I’m sure some of you are thinking, but The College Program cuts came from all the parks. Yes, but what we are hearing is that the displaced EPCOT cast members can be temporarily relocated to other openings left by the cancellation of the program while they would close down EPCOT.

2. Cast Members got to ride Spaceship Earth after the park closed on the final day before the temporary shut-down.

Cast Members were allowed to ride Spaceship Earth with the lights on from park close to 10:30 tonight. pic.twitter.com/c42ATrM3W2

— DreamfinderGuy (@DreamfinderGuy) March 16, 2020

Why that attraction? Of all the EPCOT rides available, why would that attraction be the one they kept open? Because it’s slated for refurbishment closure on May 26, but if the park isn’t opened for a few months, that date would be past. Plus, if it’s already shuttered they can work on it sooner if they wanted to.

3. Cast Members are talking that they are hearing that EPCOT will remain closed from 6 months, and some heard longer.

Several hours after we mentioned it we got a bit of confirmation when another account mentioned hearing the same thing.

So… internal projections have Epcot closed for a minimum of 3-6 months….

— Sam Eagle (@Epcyclopedia) March 15, 2020

4. They cancelled four prominent Epcot, World Showcase shows including: Sergio the Master Juggler, Matsuriza Drummers, The British Revolution, and Serveur Amusant. 

Why would they cancel shows, some that have been there 15-25 years, for just a two-week closure. Even if the parks were to stay closed a bit longer, cancelling these shows seemed a bit extreme. But if the park will be closed for months and / or they are going to make more changes to EPCOT, this would make more sense.

5. The savings over-all

Walt Disney World is losing a lot of money every day, and it could save a lot on operating costs, to temporarily close EPCOT down. Sure they would lose the money that EPCOT would bring in, but right now a lot of people are avoiding EPCOT due to all the construction going on.

Some will argue that the festivals still bring in guests, yes, that is true, but after Flower and Garden there isn’t a festival until Food and Wine in the fall. The rumored down-time for EPCOT would put it possibly re-opening in the Fall, just in time for the festival.

Plus, having the construction walls bottlenecking the front of the park, if they opened Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure during the construction it could make the main entrance worse than normal. If it was shut down, at least long enough to get some of the Spine changed sone, they could alleviate one of the biggest issues.

I’m sure that no matter what there will be cuts coming to EPCOT. With a shut-down like this there is no way there aren’t going to be cuts across the parks.

At the end of the day this is all speculation and nothing has been announced. It could turn out to be completely baseless, and personally, that’s what I’m hoping for. But there was enough potential “evidence” that I thought it was worth mentioning. I, as many others, don’t think Walt Disney World is going to re-open in two weeks either. Might as well throw that one in while I’m at it.

What do you think? Comment and let us know.