PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 7/10/17 (Choza Tequila, Mission Space, Figment, T-Shirt Sale, Etc.)
Our latest photo report brings us to Epcot for the first time in a while, although I think the D23 Expo should bring us some news that will make trips to the park a lot more frequent for these reports…
The Calm Before the Storm
Vera Bradley has released an Alice in Wonderland collection at Disney Parks.
Dooney and Bourke has a new version of the Sketch design for sale, a good upgrade on the old, IMO.
Some new phone cases for sale. Disney seems to be favoring these hard plastic cases now, rather than those with the rubber borders.
There’s been so many new mugs released recently that it’s kind of hard to keep track of them all.
New to the parks is the “Love is Magical” collection, which bolsters some of the existing wedding related items.
Cars 3 merchandise is available at the exit of Test Track now.
This pretty neat souvenir cup can be found at various food and drink stands around the park.
A Trip Around the World
There have been a lot of construction walls around the planters and railings at the Odyssey for a while now. Some still look pretty battered like above, but some already have new floor lights in place.
Some of the grates over the lights aren’t even painted yet.
Some are finished. Either way, it’s nice to see them paying attention to this forgotten corner of the park.
Work continues on the heavily delayed Choza Tequila outside of the Mexico pavilion.
The exterior of the pavilion is still being repainted, I’m not sure how I feel about the darker colors…
The bottom portion likely givers us a taste of the finished product for the whole facade.
Another look at Choza Tequila.
A peek under the wall reveals what should be a rather pleasant bar.
I’m woefully behind on dining reviews, but I have one for San Angel Inn that I hope to have out soon.
For whatever reason, they laid a slightly updated map of Shanghai Disneyland over the old one. It’s not all that different, but maybe slightly easier to see because the overall image of the park is larger.
The Outpost in Africa is back now selling jewelry made from seeds and other natural ingredients.
I didn’t notice the “no photography” sign until I after I took this, but how will a picture of the jewelry hurt the sale of it? I understand pictures of art and then you could print them out, but this seems odd.
As we reported a few weeks ago, it seems likely that Club 33 at Epcot will go above the American Adventure.
The front section of the Mitsokoshi store in Japan was remodeled.
It’s very “kawaii.” I learned that from my hipster friends who have been to Japan. I only go to theme parks, so I never learn things like this.
It’s just preparation for the Food and Wine Festival at this point, but this is the future home of the Ratatouille ride between Morocco and France.
Lots of Ratatouille merchandise can already be found in France.
Meanwhile, the U.K. now has a bunch of character merchandise for sale.
They also have all of the Disney related teapots for sale.
This and That
Heading back to Future World…
This awesome Figment journal is now for sale!
Our latest photo report brings us to Epcot, just days before the Food and Wine Festival takes over for its longest run in park history. Crowds are light now, but things are just starting to heat up… Soarin’ Around the World was posted at a 5 minute wait, so I decided to time it… We edned up walking straight into the pre-show, a total wait of 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Crowds were light most of the weekend, but should pick-up very soon. If you haven’t heard about the floor in Imageworks, check out my post from over the weekend. A new open edition Princess mystery pin collection is available. Is it art? Loving this bottle opener available at the Germany pavilion. A fairly new Germany t-shirt. Looks like America has a new booth for the Food and Wine Festival. Morocco does as well, noticeably nicer than the predecessor, With the success of the ceramic Chip mug, there is now a plastic version for children. A new series of bags featuring Mickey and Minnie can be found around the resort. Over the last year, I have noticed a lot of guests wearing the MU hat from Monsters University. I guess Disney noticed this too, because it is now available just about everywhere… La Cantina de San Angel has discontinued the recently introduced breakfast service as the Mexico pavilion no longer opens at 9am along with Norway. Lunch service here now begins at 10am. The Sum of All Thrills inside Innoventions will close on Tuesday. Stormstruck in Innoventions is also closing on Tuesday. Colortopia will be the only existing exhibit as of next week (and that weird Nanooze thing I guess). A new Frozen shirt available at the exit of Frozen Ever After. Alberta Bound is back playing the Mills Stage in Canada for a limited time. Some Cutter spray could be found alongside the bug repellent lotion at some kiosks around the park. Some new Disney Boutique shirts available inside MouseGear. On October 1st, Jim Shore will release a Hatbox Ghost statue at Disney Parks. Guests can pre-order this now online.
This time, on JHP… We discuss some of the new offerings at the parks such as Frozen Ever After, Soarin’, Star Wars nighttime show, refillable popcorn buckets and why is the DLR 60 celebration still going? Zoe takes us shopping for Tsum Tsum, mugs, water bottles and other super cute things. Nick takes us through the Star Wars headlines and we play “Rouge One Character or Indian Food.” Brendt brings us up to date with all things Marvel. We keep you up to date on other merchandise like Pins, Vinyls and Disney Store limited release goodies. And as always, we share our Most Embarrassing Moments Since the Last Podcast. Reports are coming in from the Twitterverse that Patrick Warburton is indeed hosting the preshow at Soarin’ Around the World! Cheers of joy can be heard in this video clip posted by one of the first passengers this morning. @WDWNTNow @WDWNT I can confirm, I was one of the first riders let in this morning. pic.twitter.com/qtzMhfLuf7 — Skipper Cameron (@skippercameron) June 17, 2016 After a cryptic tweet from Patrick Warburton yesterday, it was unclear whether he would be returning when the ride reopened today.
Lotsa love. Nice work pal. Signing off…..#Disney #SoarinOverCalifornia — patrick warburton (@paddywarbucks) June 16, 2016
Many Disney fans were rather upset with the notion that Patrick might not return this morning. — WDW News Today (@WDWNT) June 17, 2016 It appears that the preshow is the same, with the only change being the “Soarin’ Around the World” appearing in the text. It is unclear whether Patrick Warburton’s tweet yesterday was simply saying goodbye to the original film, or whether he actually thought he was being replaced with a new flight attendant in a new preshow. My theory is that Disney never asked him to record a new preshow, so he just assumed that someone else was doing it. He may have assumed, just as most fans did, that there would be a new preshow. None of us really considered the possibility that Disney might just use the old preshow as-is with some minor text modification. But in hindsight, this makes perfect sense! Why replace something that isn’t broken! The Walt Disney World website is confirming that Soarin’ will be closed beginning January 4th, 2016 to change into “Soarin’ Around the World”. The new attraction will take guests flying over locales all around the world including the Great Wall of China, the Painted Desert, and more in crystal clear high-definition. The new Soarin’ attraction and 3rd Soarin’ theater are expected to open around May 1st, 2016, about the same time as the new FROZEN Ever After attraction in Norway at Epcot. With all of the announcements for Shanghai Disneyland last night, seemingly lost in the shuffle is the debut of a completely new Soarin’ attraction which will premiere in Shanghai first: Soaring Over the Horizon Anyone who has dreamed of seeing the world or soaring like a bird will enjoy the exhilarating experience at Soaring Over the Horizon, with an aerial tour of the globe never seen before. High above some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, Soaring over the Horizon will take travelers on a voyage of discovery that tours every continent. Starting from an ancient observatory nestled in the cloud forest, guests will soar and explore spectacular scenic wonders, with special segments for guests of Shanghai Disneyland overlooking Shanghai and The Great Wall of China. An ideal attraction for the entire family, it offers an original story, a new walk-through experience and a new aerial tour. The attraction is an epic re-mastering of the popular attraction at Disney California Adventure, in the United States. As part of the press footage revealed overnight, WDI released clips of the filming of the new Soarin’, which will cover exciting locales around the world: While it is unclear if the Great Wall of China will appear in the U.S. version when the time comes, we can finally be certain that a new version of Soarin’ has been filmed and should be premiering at Epcot and Disney California Adventure by 2017.
PHOTO REPORT: Epcot 9/12/16 (Hatbox Ghost, Innoventions Closures, New Merchandise, ETC.)
Immediate Boarding
ImageWorks
Around the World
A Chip Off The Old Mug
Monsters University Hat
La Cantina Says Adios to Breakfast
Obsolete Innoventions
This and That
Hatbox Ghost Jim Shore Statue
The Jedi, Hero and Princess Podcast – #16 – “I Can Make My Body in Tsum Tsum”
UPDATE: Patrick is Still Your Chief Flight Attendant in Soarin’ Around the World!
Soarin’ Around the World Will Open Summer 2016, Soarin’ to Close for 4 Months
Soarin Over The Horizon Announced, Expected in U.S. Disney Parks by 2017 np
