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…
A pretty neat new line of merchandise is available in the Italy pavilion featuring Mickey and Minnie.
Festival of the Arts
The Epcot International Festival of the Arts rolls on…
The mural in Future World is coming along nicely…
Noah signing some of his art in World Showcase.
O Canada!
The new totem poles were installed recently at the Canada pavilion, and artist David Boxley and the Git Hoan Dancers came to dedicate them.
Be sure to check out our video of the full ceremony:
This and That
I don’t often get artsy, but this shot was calling me…
A new quarterly pin series started this month called Recollections, and it features the old-school castle from the film openings on the card.
Some Figment art for sale at the event.
A new couples mug set featuring Beauty and the Beast for sale in MouseGear.
I see the prices for the buttons…
How much are the Starburst?
One of the best parts of the Festival of the Arts is being able to watch the artists in action.
The new fusion band in Morocco draws quite a crowd, I thought they were a vast improvement over previous entertainment here.
The Disney on Broadway concert series has been pretty wonderful. In case you haven’t seen it yet, here is the Kerry Butler & Kevin Massey concert which began this weekend:
More mural progress…
More anti-theft measures are being installed at MouseGear.
I have been saying for a while now that the variety of items at the Art of Disney store is dwindling, well now they have cheap garden accessories and ceramic banks you can buy elsewhere in a glass display. Why?
Star Wars: The Last Churro. It could be plural though.
Many guests thought the the Festival Showplace was at the Odyssey, so Disney had to put signs to point them in the right direction.
The France pavilion Princess artwork can now be found on mugs as well as shirts.
Figment finally got some nighttime lighting… it makes him look really creepy though…
Goodnight Epcot!
That duck in front of the pouring teapot is too precious. And yes, they need bag scanners to quicken the security process. It’s too bad bags can’t be scanned while the people walking through the person-scanner holds them. What will happen to those nice murals when the festival ends? Will they be put somewhere permanently?
Why yes, it will be placed permanently in a landfill. Jk, they’ll throw paint thinner on it and reuse it next year.
Why is there a guy in the “Guest without bags” line with a huge backpack??!!
I bought that bird house at 75% off at the outlet in December. The Cheshire Cat keyhider was there too. Are they really selling them at Art of Disney for full price still?
Are there Christmas decorations, still up? Why does that teapot look Christmas-ey?
Glad the popcorn bucket and for length of stay refills is still going on. I didn’t notice on Friday as we never buy for a half day visit but look forward to it for our 4 day visit next week.
I’m going bagless this week.
The culinary arts part of the Arts Fest is pretty disappointing. Food is mediocre at best and portions are too small considering the prices.
My friend, and Disney Fine Art artist James Mulligan painted the Figment piece. It’s a piece of his “speed art” black paint drawn on a back background, then glitter is thrown on to the wet paint and the glitter sticks. It’s all done in 2-3 minutes from beginning to end. He should be doing more demonstrations this weekend and next weekend, as well as signing his fine art pieces. Go check him out if you go back to the festival! He’s based out of California so he’s not often here in Florida, so it’s a good opportunity to check out his work.