Even when there’s no festival going on, Epcot still has plenty in store for even the most seasoned park-goer. Let’s check it out, shall we?

Construction / Maintenance

The entrance to the park is under a major refurbishment at the moment. You can read more about it right here.

It looks like they’ve laid the groundwork for some new lamp posts.

They’ve been doing a lot of digging recently too, probably for electrical work I would presume.

Inside the park, at The Land pavilion, while we wait patiently for “Awesome Planet” to open, I noticed they moved the curtain up closer to the rope. I guess they got tired of me peeking in.

This escalator has been out of order all week. This is the one closest to the Soarin’ entrance, too, which causes some problems early in the morning. It was just last month one of the elevators was also broken for at least a week.

There’s been a hole in the ceiling for several days now, too. The whole place feels like it’s starting to fall apart.

Minor construction update at the site of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: they put some roofing on (what we think is) the new restroom building.

No more exposed steel beams for this structure.

Meanwhile, over in the American Adventure, they’re still working away on replacing all the concrete. I noticed today they had shifted the Pin cart onto the main path so they could get at the bricks underneath. Looks like it should be a quick job.

The cart is just to the right, now.

New carpet alert! The Seas with Nemo and Friends is getting a flooring upgrade.

The new carpet is a flat, patternless dark grey. Not sure if all the carpet will get this new look, or if it will just be certain areas.

It extends all the way down the ramp into the underwater viewing area.

This area is one of my favorites, by the way. Some of the best views of tropical fish you’ll ever find are right in this building.

Food and Wine 2019 Prep

The Food and Wine booths, much like the swallows to Capistrano, return like clockwork every year. With the latest batch, I’d say they’re about halfway done.

Next time you’re in the France pavilion mid-day, make sure you watch the “Serveur Amusant”. It’s a nice mix of comedy and impressive balance skills.

Over in Germany, the much beloved beer booth has once again arisen from the ashes. Once Food and Wine starts, you won’t be able to see it because it will be obscured behind a large queue of thirsty guests.

This booth nearby is one of the few that stays open year-round, regardless of festival. It will convert to festival food soon enough.

Also in Germany are these weird little gnome figures.

…and Magnets…

…and decorative plush. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.

Surprises, Et Cetera

For some reason, the current band playing on the stage in Canada gets the honor of their photo on the sign.

They play early afternoon into the evening, and they’re not half bad. I must say, though, bring back Bodh’aktan!

I had the honor of running into the Shadow Man himself, Dr. Facilier, near International Gateway today. It was quite the surprise and a really nice experience!

Shortly after though this squirrel tried really hard to get into my backpack. Epcot squirrels are crafty and have no shame.

Last but most certainly not least, a sleepy Figment plush has joined the army of other Figments at Mouse Gear. He’s somehow the cutest of the bunch, as well. Check out our full post and some cute pictures right here.

That’s it for today from Epcot! I’m going to go make sure my new Figment doesn’t oversleep…