Summer is here, and so are the crowds! We’ve noticed many changes happening around the parks in an effort to help accommodate the upcoming summer rush. Restaurants seem to be streamlining their menus for faster service, and gift shops seem to be making more room. While on a recent visit to Pandora, we were overwhelmed by all the new space inside of Windtraders in Pandora.

Windtraders, the gift shop located near the exit of Flight of Passage, is one of the most beautiful and themed gift shops in Animal Kingdom. It offers a wide variety of Navi-inspired items, from banshees to a Rice Krispy vein pods. The shop often feels crowded with the steady flow of people exiting the attraction among the shoppers. They seem to be making some adjustments around the store to help with this problem.

There are even new themed displays around the store. Most noticeable when we first arrived was a beautiful display that replaced the clunky wooden one in the center of the store. The display is much more condensed and features a lot of unique detailing. We wanted to fully appreciate the new display shelves around the store, so they got a full photo shoot.

There are paint markings and woven pieces covering the shelving. This design definitely fits in with the rest of the land.

On the other side of the store, you can see more of these new displays.

You can see much more room around the Banshee Rookery, too. This will give guests more room to bond with their new banshee before purchase.

Perhaps the most “awkward” display in the store is this stack of boxed banshees right by the store exit. At least they’re sitting atop a themed pedestal now.

We like the idea of having more space to move around. And the new shelving is very organized to display some of our favorite Pandora merchandise (including the utility suit figure!)

This will definitely make it easier to navigate your way through the store whether you’re shopping or just passing through after a ride on Flight of Passage. What do you think of the new layout of Windtraders?