Greetings, World Travelers from another beautiful day here at EPCOT! We’re soaking in the last few days of the longest International Food & Wine Festival ever, and having all of our favorite dishes one last time before the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays starts next week. We found some fun new things while we were browsing around World Showcase, so let’s get started!
With so many new limited edition pins being released recently, we headed straight for Pin Traders upon entering the park to see what was new. We didn’t find any new pins, but we did find this rather out-of-place item behind the counter. Normally found in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, this Data Storage Unit USB themed flash drive has a 32GB capacity and comes preloaded with content. It’s available at Pin Traders for $34.99.
Nearby at the Main Entrance East Restrooms the construction walls have been removed, but the Restrooms were not available for use yet.
Fresh paint and new signage was in place to match the theming of the other Restrooms nearby.
Earlier this week at the former location of the Art of Disney, we saw a shattered window from what appeared to be impact from inside. Today we saw that that window pane had been removed completely, and the object which had contacted the window from the inside had been removed as well.
Next we headed over to Mouse Gear to check out what new merchandise we might be able to find. We spotted this whole rack of new themed hand sanitizers, a constant companion in today’s world. At least if you have to carry one it can have Mickey ice cream on it, right? These hand sanitizers retail for $9.99, and have been popping up all across Walt Disney World as well as at Mouse Gear.
Next we found this linen dish towel featuring the classic “Home” image with the castle replacing the “O” with the little “hidden” Mickey at the bottom. The back features the castle with the “hidden” Mickey. Disney-themed homeware fans will recognize this design from a bolster pillow that came out a while ago, and has been very popular. You can now accessorize other parts of your home with this popular design. This dish towel retails for $19.99.
Since you can never have too many things with The Child on it, we found this journal featuring The Child and the Mandalorian.
Like the storybook journals, each lined page has small illustrations in the corner. This journal retails for $19.99.
Our favorite find of the day were these themed oven mitts, which are sure to make your next culinary adventure more magical. These two glove-style oven mitts retail for $14.99.
This round style, which can double as an oven mitt or trivet, retails for $14.99 as well.
Moving into World Showcase, we saw two locations seemingly preparing to reopen, one in the Italy Pavilion. Il Bel Cristallo and La Gemma Elegante share a joined space in the Italy Pavilion, and will now be sharing an entrance and exit as well.
Social distancing markers and entrance and exit signs have been installed outside the shops and on the doors. The entrance will be on the side of the building closest to the front of the Pavilion, and the exit will be on the opposite side.
While in the Italy Pavilion we found a late-comer to the new merchandise line. This spatula has the latest merchandise designs on each side, with “Buon Appetito” on one side and “Cucina Italia” with Mickey and Minnie on the other. This spatula is available at La Bottega Italiana for $14.99.
In the France Pavilion we found the second location preparing to open. Aux Vins de France still has seating set up in front of the door, but social distancing markers and entrance and exit signs have been installed.
Work has continued on the murals in the France Pavilion expansion. We’re excited to see what these become!
Later on in the evening, we saw the Ratatouille sign at the entrance to the France Pavilion expansion illuminated. With an opening time frame recently announced we are looking forward to finally walking under this archway hopefully sometime soon!
In the World ShowPlace Pavilion, a second stage has been added at the rear of the Pavilion near the seating. A Cast Member told us that the piano would be moved here during the International Festival of the Holidays, and the pianist and JOYFUL! would take turns performing from their respective stages throughout the day. We are looking forward to this new set up and entertainment for the Festival!
We had a wonderful day at EPCOT today, and we hope you enjoyed coming along with us. Have a magical day!