The Epcot International Festival of the Arts doesn’t begin until tomorrow, but the fantastic Figment topiary behind Spaceship Earth is already up:
Stay tuned for more coverage of the first annual Epcot International Festival of the Arts, starting tomorrow.
Our latest photo report brings us to the Magic Kingdom for new merchandise, new alcohol, and much more.
In case you missed it, 2017 merchandise is now available everywhere around the resort.
Some new vintage-style Walt Disney World shirts have started to appear.
A number of locations are removing the “hanging” vertical napkin holders and replacing them with these.
Yes, I ate at Pecos Bill’s again.
And now, a few pics from Once Upon a Time.
Casey’s Corner is now offering a hot dog of the month,. The first one is a macaroni and cheese dog.
This new Mr. Potato Head mug is now for sale, depicting him how he once appeared in Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios.
He will return when Toy Story Land opens in 2018, this time located at the entrance of the attraction.
A really neat idea, Walt Disney World is now selling postcard coloring books.
There are also two additional versions, one with Princesses and one with PIXAR characters.
They retail at $9.99 each.
The new ferryboat sign finally arrived at the Magic Kingdom boat dock.
The Walt Disney World Railroad is closed for refurbishment currently.
The exterior of the Emporium is also under refurbishment.
The City Hall restrooms are closed again.
In what has to be seen as a sign of the times, Walt Disney World is adding anti-theft measures to some theme park stores starting this week. MouseGear was the first store to receive these devices which indicate if a guest is leaving the store with an item that still has an anti-theft tag on it. You undoubtedly have seen these devices at your local mall, but this marks a milestone for Walt Disney World. Much in the same vein as the annual Egg Hunt and Remy’s Hide and Go Squeak at the Food and Wine Festival, Epcot’s new International Festival of the Art has a paid scavenger hunt event. This particular one features Figment, the park’s mascot of the last nearly 35 years, in a hunt through pieces of artwork hanging around the World Showcase area. Maps are available at various locations around the park for $6.99 plus tax each. Various merchandise discounts are taken on this item, including the current 20% for Walt Disney World annual passholders. Basically, Figment is hiding in art all around the World Showcase countries, and you’ll need to spot him if you are participating. The map and stickers that one receives are very similar to the other hunt events that we mentioned above. As you find Figment in art, just take the corresponding art piece sticker and place it in the frame with the name of the country that you found it in. Above are the stickers that you can apply to the map, featuring the art without Figment as not to spoil the surprise. Upon completion, whether you finish or not actually, you can get a Figment art magnet. The is basically what you are paying $6.99 for, and there are four total that you can receive when you go with your purchased map to Disney Traders, located at the very front of the World Showcase promenade, just across from the Pluto meet and greet. It’s a pretty nice prize if you are a Figment fan and will probably have many of you purchasing four maps to collect them all. Overall, this was my absolute favorite of all of these hunts that I have done (and I have done all of them over the years). The paintings are not super-easy to find, and the creation of witty and cute Figment versions of each of these real-world paintings is the kind of Disney details that we all crave from the parks. Kids and adults alike will have a tremendous amount of fun doing this, and for $6.99, it offers one of the cheapest activities (and souvenirs) that one can partake in at Walt Disney World. I can’t commend Disney enough for putting this together so masterfully for a really wonderful festival offering. For those of you who won’t be making it out to the festival (or hate surprises), I have included pictures below of all of the art with Figment hiding in it. Please also note the amazing Figment frame that some of the art comes in! On January 20th, 2017, two new totem poles will be in place at the Canada pavilion at Epcot’s World Showcase. The process of replacing the original totems has already begun. The new totem poles are once again made by artist David Boxley, who produced the originals. The Git Hoan dancers (People of the Salmon) will perform in a dedication ceremony for the new totems on the 20th, before performing for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts on the 21st and 22nd. I have seen my fair share of outrageous guests at Disney World in the 28 years I have been visiting. I have seen inappropriate t-shirts, scantily clad women, grownups in full blown character costumes, and even a woman with a “service” squirrel dining with her at Katsura Grill, but nothing may have been stranger than the lady who brought a monkey in a diaper (traveling in a stroller) to Epcot this weekend. A pet monkey, not part of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts I think… Not only was this monkey being wheeled around in a stroller and wearing a diaper, but the monkey got to meet Pluto while at Epcot. Now, since I posted pictures and videos of the incident, we have been bombarded with angry feedback from guests who are upset that a service or therapy monkey was allowed into a Walt Disney World theme park. Technically, per the rules of theme park entry, this type of creature is not allowed in the Walt Disney World theme parks, even if they have certification for it. A monkey qualifies as a wild creature and for the safety of surrounding guests, simply should not be allowed in. Now, I did not try to get an answer from Disney on the situation (I doubt they would talk to me anyway), but it seems that the monkey shouldn’t have been allowed in, but some sort of special exception was made. I highly doubt that a monkey was smuggled into Epcot, especially with security procedures as they are now. What do you think? Should the monkey have been allowed in? The Epcot International Festival of the Arts is home to two art exhibits that celebrate two of the most famous and influential Disney artists of all-time, Mary Blair and Herbert Ryman. The festival certainly has a lot of offerings which I would consider to be pandering to Disney fans, and art exhibits featuring these two artists certainly fit that bill. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am overjoyed to see the work of Blair and Ryman on display, but it almost feels like a desperate attempt to draw in more annual passholders at the inaugural Festival of the Arts, especially after seeing just how small the two exhibits are. For as small as they are, I appreciate the effort, but I hope (should the festival return in 2018) that these types of exhibits will be expanded into a larger space next year. For now, they are relegated to rather small areas of the Odyssey Festival Showplace, on the left and right sides of the seminar area. The exhibits are open Friday-Monday now through February 20th, 2017 as part of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts. The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts South of the Border with Mary Blair – Epcot International Festival of the Arts A rather interesting new item appeared today in the Shop Disney Parks app… It’s a light-up totem pole representing the Rivers of Light nighttime show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The below picture shows the glow wan illuminated.
Why suddenly start selling merchandise for a show that has been delayed for so long? Well, we can only assume that the nighttime spectacular will finally debut soon at thew park, just a few weeks after cast members were the first to see it in late-November 2016. We expect a starting date announcement soon from Disney, but as you know with this show, something could always happen between now and then… In addition to the glow wand we posted earlier today, a selection of other items featuring Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom are scheduled to be released over the next few weeks. No release dates for these items are available as of yet, but their existence now seems to confirm that the debut of the show is at least within sight now. According to the official Disney World website: Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt No other details are available as of yet, but it appears that everyone’s favorite purple dragon will be hiding in art around World Showcase during the Epcot International Festival of the Arts. It is unclear if this will be a paid hunt with pin prizes like the Remy Hide and Go Squeak at the Food and Wine Festival or a free event.
PHOTOS: Walt Disney World Adding Anti-Theft Devices to Theme Park Stores
REVIEW: Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt – Epcot International Festival of the Arts
SPOILER WARNING!
Canada Pavilion Totem Poles Being Replaced
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Woman Controversially Brings Pet Monkey to Meet Pluto at Disney World
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Mary Blair and Herbert Ryman Art Exhibits at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts
The Future Worlds of Herbert Ryman
South of the Border with Mary Blair
Rivers of Light Merchandise Hitting Shelves, Show Debut at Animal Kingdom Seems Imminent
PHOTOS: Even More Rivers of Light Merchandise Coming Soon to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Figment Art Scavenger Hunt Added to Epcot International Festival of the Arts
Can you find Figment? Slip into sleuth mode while searching for clues that lead to the elusive little dragon—leave no painting in the World Showcase unturned!
