New Palms Planted at EPCOT Entrance, Changing the Framing Around Spaceship Earth

Overview

• Park crews planted replacement palms beside Spaceship Earth in mid‑July, returning trees to the entrance after the queen palms were removed in May following winter cold damage.
• Photos and onsite reports describe the new trees as thicker-trunk, fuller-frond palms that look different from the previous specimens and may be date palms or other cold-tolerant varieties.
• One outlet reports the count dropped from five palms per side to three per side, a detail not widely corroborated by other coverage and therefore currently provisional.
• The plantings sit in the planters flanking the main walkway near the meet-and-greet mural and wheelchair rental station, while recent work also removed trees from the central planter and the fountain in front of Spaceship Earth remains inactive.
• The swap reflects a horticultural decision to favor more cold-hardy trees at EPCOT and will change shade, sightlines, and the visual framing of the park icon that longtime guests have watched evolve.