Fridays with Jim Korkis: Connections Café and Eatery at Epcot
By Dave Shute
Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.
CONNECTIONS CAFE AND EATERY
By Jim Korkis
Epcot’s Electric Umbrella was transformed into a new location that opened April 2022 featuring two distinct experiences: a quick service restaurant on one side called Connections Eatery serving lunch and dinner menus, and Connections Cafe and pastry shop on the other open all day long.
This large new dining location is meant to represent how everyone in the world is connected.
Connections Café sponsored by Starbucks is a colorful showcase of how various cultures enjoy their favorite drinks with displays supposedly sparking guests’ curiosity as to where each tea or coffee pot comes from originally.
In the area, there are three original floor inlays inspired by Walt Disney’s 1966 “Florida Project” site plans, where EPCOT was to serve as the literal and conceptual “center” of Walt Disney World and feature a radial design.
Imagineer Zack Ridley explained, “Drawing inspiration from Walt’s Florida project master plan, Imagineers designed a flooring inlay for Connections Eatery at EPCOT which would infuse the original DNA of the resort into this new location within World Celebration.
“These designs are created with a sustainable bio-polymer material which is 3-D printed to provide an intricate template. That line work is then laid out by skilled craftspeople to create inlays in the poured flooring material, with the final design revealed through rounds of sanding and buffing, where classic and cutting-edge techniques meet.
“Many guests may not know the origin of this design. But these details, big and small, matter to the work we do – reflecting our own history and bridging our past to our future. Walt dreamed of a place that would connect the world through ideas, wonder and inspiration. And we are honored to reflect his vision in our design for World Celebration and for Connections Café and Eatery.”
The original pavilion logos from Epcot’s earliest years can be found on colored etched glass walls, as well as glass-topped tables flanked by seating for guests.
Ridley’s team produced a hand-painted mural that stretches over 160 feet along the back wall of Connections Eatery, the new quick service restaurant, with three show kitchens and some menu offerings lightly “inspired by” international countries like France, Asia and Italy.
That original piece, titled “Global Gathering,” is a celebration of various food and beverage staples from around the world, and how we are all connected by enjoying a meal together. Walking past the entire mural, the scenes blend seamlessly from sunrise in the east to sunset in the west and are filled with multiple Hidden Mickeys including in the serving plate, Mickey cacti and the grapes.
Highlighting eight distinct regions of the globe, the mural depicts people cultivating food or gathering around it, such as potatoes from the Andes Mountains in Peru, or black pepper from the Malabar Coast of India.
Ridley said, “The piece also evolves from sunrise in the east to sunset in the west across the full span of the eatery – culminating in one of the largest art installations Imagineering has created. That scale and stunning vibrancy celebrates global diversity with a simple, universal concept: the moments we have in common around food, meals, traditions and memories.
“The creative concept for this piece was developed over the last few years, with consultants from around the world. It was then hand-painted in a series of panels and installed by our site teams at EPCOT. Final touch-ups were made after the installation.
“Seeing this stunning mural come to life and now find its home in EPCOT speaks to the global story of connection that’s always been at the heart of this unique park.”
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Thanks, Jim! And come back next Friday for more from Jim Korkis!
In the meantime, check out his books, including his latest, Off to Never Land: 70 Years of Disney’s Peter Pan and Final Secret Stories of Walt Disney World!
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