As part of the ongoing work taking place for the Epcot arrival experience, guests will soon be able to bypass the Epcot monorail “double security screening” that has been an annoyance for over two years now. Before we take a look at the solution, let’s revisit the problem.

When Disney changed the location of the Magic Kingdom bag check back in April 2017, they put both the Magic Kingdom monorail loop and the Epcot monorail loop within the “security bubble”. Disney also moved bag checks to all of the Magic Kingdom area resorts, ensuring that the entire length of all monorail routes would contain guests that have already gone through a security screening. That meant that guests getting off at the Epcot station would be considered “secure”, but the exit would put guests outside of the Epcot entrance security bubble. That meant that every single guest that would arrive at Epcot by monorail would have to go through security screening twice before entering the park. That has been a pain point for guests for over two years now, but it will soon be fixed.

As we see in our latest photo update of the work taking for the upgraded Epcot arrival experience, new tables have been set up for the bag check security screening to move to the former parking lot tram drop off area under the exit to the Epcot monorail station. Here’s a look at the latest progress for the project and then a closer look at the new security screening area that will fix the “double security screening” annoyance when the new area opens.

First, we’re quite impressed with the progress the project has made in just the last few days. The vast majority of the concrete has been poured and it’s likely that Disney could open this area before Halloween if they wanted to.

As with previous photo updates, we start with a walk up the Epcot monorail station ramp and take a look down at what will likely be one of the main exit walkways from the park back to the new parking lot tram drop off area. We’ll take a closer look at it in a few photos, but you can see some new fencing on the left side of the image that represents the new security bubble. Straight down the pathway we see some low gates.

As we said earlier, the progress is impressive, with a lot of the big concrete pours out of the way. An interesting shift in construction walls suggests that Disney might open this area before all of the work is done.

Here’s a better look at that construction wall and some of the work that might be in a “phase two” opening of the area a few weeks after the first phase. Keep in mind that Disney is aiming to get the entire project done by the end of the year.

Finally, we’ve reached the part of the photo update that will show off the new security bubble. Much like Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this vast area will be used for guest queuing to reach the soon-to-open, new security screening area under the monorail station exit platform. Guests walking on the platform will be considered inside the security bubble when the new area opens.

As we continue to exit from the monorail platform, we can see how the fencing will enclose the exit platform and exit ramp, keeping guests inside the security bubble and fixing the double screening.

While the arrival experience project may recede in convenience by having a parking lot tram drop off area that is technically a few hundred feet further away from the park entrance, the big improvement in security screening process should benefit guests in the long run, just like what we saw at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com for the latest photos and news of the Epcot overhaul project and much more from around the Disney Parks!