PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 1/30/17 (Festival of the Arts, New Merchandise, New Bands, Etc.)
Our latest photo report brings us to Epcot for the Festival of the Arts, new merchandise, and more!
It’s a Zoo Out There
A slew of new open edition pins were released recently, including Zootopia and compact mirror designs.
There is no actual mirror in these pins, but the silver works sort of like one. I don’t know, these seem kind of dumb to me…
This one actually has a mirror, which makes sense.
The last piece of history pin for 2016 was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, so I had to have it.
It has been out for a few weeks now, but the new Mickey Mouse Bubble Glow Wand is proving popular with guests.
And now, some ducks.
Security at the Speed of a Sloth
Since December, the security screening at Epcot has been a disaster, with everyone going through the metal detectors. Guests with bags now have their bag inspected while they go through the detector, which is some cases takes 1-2 minutes per guest. I hate to say this, but the Universal Orlando process where bags go through a screening machine (I believe Disneyland Paris has this as well) works a million times better than this. Safety is obviously important, but it shouldn’t take anyone 30 minutes to get into a park.
Epcot turnstiles are often mess as well, as never quite enough seem to be open at peak times. The annual pass holder entry lines are a mixed bag, more often than not being longer that the regular lines, especially in January.
Here is the line for guests with bags to go through security from another day.
And here is an annual pass holder entry line on a Festival of the Arts weekend…
Around Our World
Work continues on Choza Tequila outside of the Mexico pavilion, which will open sometime this year.
A new group called Wies N Buam is now performing in the Germany pavilion at Epcot.
The new Dixie napkin holders are suddenly appearing everywhere around the resort.
I finally decided to try to the flavored popcorn at the cart by Imagination! on a recent visit to the park.
I ordered the Buffalo Bleu Cheese…
It was really great, I will be back for more!
Someone I was meeting up with said they would be there in 45 minutes, so I wanted to waste 45 minutes…
WHAT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES, BOB?
It was about 30 degrees outside and these were on…
Our latest photo report brings us to Epcot where a ton of new park-exclusive merchandise can be found. It is also a time of great change for the park, with Innoventions closing, construction in Mexico, and other projects around the park starting to take shape. Let’s take a look: Muppet Mobile Labs is now wrapping up its one month stint at Epcot. It is likely to move to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but there has been no official word as of yet. Due to theft, limited edition pins are now being enclosed in glass cases at all store locations. This was unnecessary for the first 17 years of the hobby. A ton of changes happened in MouseGear, with all of the merchandise being reorganized again. There is also a slew of new items for sale. A variety of Tsum Tsum clothing is now available. A new line of Epcot merchandise focusing on vintage logos and World Showcase was recently released. There is quite the variety of items available. My personal favorite is this sweatshirt which features the original World Showcase logo icon with each country’s flag. There is now a coaster to match the cup and plate featuring Spaceship Earth. A new plush Figment hat for sale. New shortbread cookies for sale, not sure why these are a thing but they are in most major stores now. The Star Wars section has moved down to the other end of the store. Moana merchandise was recently released at the parks. The Maps of the Disney Parks book is available in MouseGear. The LEGO Cinderella Castle is back in stock now. The Canada pavilion recently started selling merchandise for the Le Cellier restaurant downstairs. You can see photos of the entire line in a separate post from a few weeks ago. A new Margarita stand and a food stand are supposedly being constructed on the opposite side of the Mexico pavilion. Walls are up on both sides leading us to believe it could be two stands. The new Disney VISA Cardmember Exclusive meet and greet recently opened at the Imagination pavilion. It is open daily from 1 PM until 7 (yeah, seven) PM. Colortopia remains the last functioning piece of Innoventions. Both sides, east and west, are now boarded up. Goodbye Epcot, see ya’ real soon! I visited Epcot on Sunday afternoon and have some newsworthy photos from my trip to share with you today: Welcome to Epcot The now-pulled Epcot Starbucks mug was on shelves when I visited Sunday And it was never seen again… A mug with a different color monorail will eventually be made If you look closely, you can see construction vehicles out behind The Land at Epcot, rumor has it additional Soarin’ theaters may be constructed The “healthy” food cart between The Land and Imagination! recently got a new menu In Canada, the Lumberjack show is making some modifications for a log rolling act The seating area from Brazil at the Food and Wine Festival was kept as a nice spot for guests to relax The new group in Morocco was out as I passed by Some walls are up in the gardens in Japan New Disney villains pins recently were released Also, this really neat Dug pin The front section of the Puffin’s Roost, which was once the Frozen meet and greet, is once again shop space No visible progress on the Frozen attraction The future site if the Frozen meet and greet building Walls up outside of the Mexico pavilion for some reason Several new shirts can be found at MouseGear This Minnie Mouse shirt was in the men’s section, which might be a first Kid’s shirts Several new iPhone 6 cases were released, all in new, slimmer packaging The old packaging can still be found Figment iPhone 5 case I’m not certain, but these princess pillows looked new A new popcorn bucket featuring Test Track is now available I made a visit to Epcot during the day on Wednesday and found a few newsworthy items around the park, so let’s take a look at what’s new: The store at the exit of Test Track now has a name: The After Market Shop I haven’t seen fish like this in a long time at the Seas with Nemo and Friends… it was because it was feeding time They are growing a Mickey made of hops on Living with the Land We think it might be for the Food & Wine Festival in the fall The loading area was modified at Journey Into Imagination this week The loading area was pushed way back from the loading platform The Norway waterfall is behind walls again New, larger restrooms are being constructed at the American Adventure, near where the festival booths are set up each year Work continues on L’Artisan des Glaces, the France ice cream parlor A lot of work to be done before the June opening New Grumpy shirt in Mouse Gear
While visiting Epcot on Monday to see the Three Caballeros, I managed to take pictures of a few other newsworthy items around the park, so lets take a look: The “toothpick holder” set was updated with a retro Figment shot glass now included Some new shirts out in Mouse Gear Work continues on turning FountainView into a Starbucks location Work is just getting started on Spice Road Table in the Morocco pavilion The latest Good Luck/Bad Luck pin has Yoda, which is interesting because the set until now has consisted of classic Disney characters
A new retro Journey Into Imagination keychain came out recently I recently visited the Walt Disney World Resort (just last week) and I have a ton of newsworthy photos to share with you, so let’s take a look at all of the changes happening around the resort right now: They got a new banner, too bad they only have a few months left… They added some “blood” red carpet in the queue at the Haunted Mansion… sorry, it’s dark in there The backside of the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train appears to closely resemble the rock-work on Under the Sea After a month, it appears the construction of the third bus loop at the Magic Kingdom is still in the early stages I see you Grand Floridian Villas… Over at Animal Kingdom, banners are still up for the 15th anniversary We can already see posts for a marquee going up where the new Festival of the Lion King entrance will be in Africa The Anandapur Ice Cream Truck is gone, so you can only get soft-serve at Camp Minnie-Mickey right now With Planes coming out this August, there are some character planes clothes for kids coming out I particularly like the Dumbo jumbo jet… Taking a look at the Villas at the Grand Floridian from the Polynesian Beach The trademark red roof is starting to appear Monsters University merchandise can be found everywhere More Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train construction A few weeks ago, the Gaston’s mug was updated with new artwork featuring Gaston and LeFou Sorry for the blurry pic, but you get the idea More MU stuff in Mouse Gear Some new Villains watches have come out Scar and Chernabog Queen of Hearts and Maleficent Scar The Monsters University display recently added some gargoyles despite the fact that the event is ending soon Some banners describing the film were also put up Touch-point entry was finally installed at International Gateway There are now Mickey and Minnie handset phones for mobile phones for sale Mickey and Minnie mini-speakers for sale I tired the chili cone queso at Downtown Disney… it’s the same as Cars Land… The Droid Factory has now opened inside Once Upon a Toy The four stations really help out with lines Some new magnets for sale The Boardwalk Bakery re-opened on Friday at Disney’s Boardwalk It looks a lot different You should probably wear a shirt to the bakery… The expanded kitchen added some pre-made sandwiches to the menu They also have soup Mmmmmm MMMMMMMMMM FastPass testing for Fantasmic! going on now The American Idol Experience store now sells Star Wars stuff… Yes… They added a seafood platter to the menu at the ABC Commissary…. Yum? The oscars are back at the Magic of Disney Animation from filming for Saving Mr. Banks the last several months
Cool new baseball cap
WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios last week and has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look: The Kodak sign is still up, too bad the waterfall isn’t… Just imagine it is there This seating area in Innoventions is now being used as office space as far as we can tell Segway Central hasn’t changed since closing Probably should take this down Monsters University merchandise in Mouse Gear MU iPhone cases Scare Pig plush Art plush Open edition pin Kids shirt Ummmmm…. Graduation Duffy! AHHHHHH! Moving to Studios, there is a Monsters University billboard in the parking lot Kodak letters gone from the Darkroom facade, but are still on the sign FastPass test for Fantasmic! ongoing We are in the final days of the old Monsters Inc. meet and greet in the backlot Soon we will be going back to college… Monsters University billboard near PIXAR Place A Lone Ranger billboard up as well MU banners in the Animation Courtyard Inside the Magic of Disney Animation, Monsters University artwork has been added The Gallery exhibit was updated as well WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited Epcot and the Magic Kingdom on Sunday and has a TON of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look: Great chocolate art at the Festival Center at Epcot It’s dark, but nice to see them use more of the pavilion space Work continues on Test Track as we race towards December 6th The IBM Runtime game is now closed inside Innoventions, it opened back in 2008 Rumor is that IBM Smarter Planet is getting some updates I hope so because it wasn’t really working… The seating area that was formerly Rockin’ Robots is now walled off as well Some scaffolding inside Still nothing going on at the former Segway Central Habit Heroes is still closed… The Epcot 30th display remains at MouseGear What remains of the merchandise is on display A lot of generic Epcot merchandise has filled in some space Moving to the Magic Kingdom, the Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train construction is picking up An Orioles hat… how cute… 😉 Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid The now completed Storybook Circus I love these seats… That is some fancy lighting for an outside tent… Let’s go to Pete’s Silly Sideshow! The calliope is from Disneyland PAris’ Main Street U.S.A. Reference to a classic Disney animated film by the same name Into Pete’s mouth! Meeting Minnie and Daisy The theming is insane… the walls are labeled for easy construction, insinuating that the Circus moves from town to town Goofy and Donald A look up at the ceiling It’s a tent PANORAMA! ANOTHER PANORAMA! AMAZING! Minnie trains trick Poodles… It looks much better when Adam doesn’t use the world’s brightest flash… Awwww… Daisy Daisy will see you now! Looks very “Museum of the Weird” like the Madame Leota cart Exit Into Big Top Souvenirs Very fitting that they sell Popcorns Vinylmation here Everyone loves this carpet! The “Under the Big Top” series is also available My favorite display A close second is the Penguins cage holding the cold drinks The strange tiny MousekeEars are also available here A look at the new food carts in the area I’m in love with a food cart… Usual cart food though So much time and energy spent on such little details I love the striped curtain for when they are closed Let’s go back in Those random doors look themed… THEY ARE! GOOFY! He crashed his motorcycle Donald is a snake charmer ANOTHER PANORAMA! ASTOUNDING! Could have been a sign, but it is a material banner I wonder if someone could go in that booth… I hate to say this so soon, but I love Storybook Circus. It is simply 2 small rides, meet and greets, and shopping, but it is so well done. Kudos to Disney on delivering with a land that was rushed in as a replacement in the expansion. If Storybook Circus is that cool, I can’t wait to see this… Another new cart near the entrance Not listed, but they have roasted almonds too Another look at Mine Train A look at what will be Princess Fairytale Hall The former Skyway site which will now be restrooms and maybe something more… They are still working on Village Haus Another piece of track should be lowered into place shortly FastPass+ equipment was simply covered after the tests ended, so it might just be permanent now Cool popcorn bucket, but it must be pretty easy to spill… Going back to Epcot, we take a look at Test Track through a rainy monorail window Well, that was neat… I guess… Adam got to stuff his face at the Disney Dessert Discovery event as part of the Food and Wine Festival So much to eat and drink Live entertainment FLAMING DOUGHNUTS! IN 3D! WOOOOOOOAH! Fruit? We didn’t come to a dessert event for fruit! We came for flaming doughnuts! Gross… Thank you for the flaming doughnuts! Oh, and all these photos Adam… WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the Magic Kingdom on Friday and has a TON of newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look: Flower and Garden Festival in bloom at Epcot IF ONLY WE HAD XPASS!!!! Queue modifications are done… it’s a completely different queue experience now… Peacock Cool graphics on the Epcot tip board Enjoy Kim Possible while it lasts Habit Heroes and the VISION House now on the list inside Innoventions East Habit Heroes is still closed I’m offended… Work continues on the VISION House Habit Heroes now has a sign on the entry wall Goodbye VISION House will be added soon as it opens in April Phineas and Ferb now have an entire section at MouseGear AGENT P! The light-up Vinylmation lamps and Baseball figures now available Let’s Go Yankees! (Personal bias) These are buy 1, get 1 50% off Shouldn’t the Knicks be on the bottom? (I actually am a fan… but I’m realistic) Let’s go Dolphins! (Please pity me) 2012 dated Vinylmation Zodiac series Flower and Garden merchandise Cool magnets This is too cool… If your imagination features Captain EO, seek help Bambi’s Butterfly House is back The play area for this year’s festival is called “Let’s Get Moving” Chimpanzee is coming… before Earth Day? Can’t imagine why they are changing this… Exterior work continues at the Seas with Nemo and Friends A new entrance being worked on, possibly for Turtle Talk There’s a new path in the queue… It leads to Seabase The mural is surviving the work A new company has taken over the chromakey photo area at Imageworks It’s pretty empty right now Amazing Pictures (who you may have seen at Universal Studios) is now here Hey, why don’t we just start the demolition… On to the Festival Center The Flower and Garden, Food and Wine Festival? A touch-screen map of the Festival available Body Wars is back there somewhere The Odyssey has been painted blue Well, at least the roof This exhibit is weird… Tarps are now up for the Tutto Italia refurbishment FREE SAMPLES! Another play area Let’s take a boat over to Studios We can’t get enough of these The outline of Roger Rabbit has seen better days The entrance at Tower of Terror had some pavement replaced The Star Tours name is on some of the merchandise tags now On to the Magic Kingdom, Skyway demolition continues in Fantasyland The Tigger Bounce area being removed from the Pooh queue Yes, more Dumbo photos… Storybook Circus sure is something at night HA! I love restrooms… there, I said it… I’ll tell you what I don’t love… the Club 626 Dance Party A sad not to end on… WDWNT Reporter Robert Ashburn visited Epcot a few days ago and has some newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look: I LOVE this topiary This needs Xpass… Whatever queue modifications were done in the middle are complete PEACOCK See ya’ later Kim… Still closed… They are still testing with some guests though… The VISION House is coming in April to replace the former House of Innoventions The Festival Center is open once again I don’t think you can call most of those anymore… Another Disney Vacation Club booth sporting new signage Some awesome new shirts available at Mouse Gear They are still finishing up this sculpture The remodeling of Tutto Italia continues A temporary booth open while Tutto Italia is closed A Haiti exhibit open for Flower and Garden… doesn’t fit the festival very well It’s more of a Food and Wine booth that a Flower and Garden exhibit The Toy Story characters are at the American Adventure When was this menu changed? Southwest Blackbean Flatbread? Flowers being projected on to the monorail station
PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 11/1/16 (New Retro EPCOT Center Merch, Margaritas Are Coming, Innoventions Update, ETC.)
Muppet Mobile Labs
New Merchandise
The Margaritas Strike Back
VISA Character Meet and Greet
Innoventions
Tom Corless’ 1/30/15 Epcot Photo Report (Recalled Mug, Frozen, New Merchandise, ETC.)
Tom Corless’ 5/8/13 Epcot Photo Report
Tom Corless’ 5/6/13 Epcot Photo Report
Tom Corless’ 4/16-4/26/13 WDW Photo Report
Dirk Wallen’s 4/25-26/13 WDW Photo Report
Adam Roth’s 10/7/12 WDW Photo Report
Adam Roth’s 3/23/12 WDW Photo Report
Robert Ashburn’s 3/9/12 Epcot Photo Report
