Hello from EPCOT during the second-to-last weekend before Christmas! We’ve got a busy start to this Saturday, with the return of a gift shop in Morocco now that Disney has taken over, the looming presence of a Harmonious barge in World Showcase Lagoon, as well as some new merchandise around the park. Let’s check out all of the happenings at EPCOT.

First thing in the morning we headed to World Showcase. Now that we officially have the Morocco Pavilion (Under New Management), the first reopening has occurred since all shops and restaurants within the pavilion closed two days ago.

Today, Souk-Al-Magreb reopened with a small selection of merchandise — including items from a not-so-surprising Disney animated film.

Next door, Spice Road Table was preparing for its quick reopening with furious cleaning of the outdoor patio, as well as the addition of small visual touches.

While making our beeline to the Morocco Pavilion, it was hard to miss the monolith anchored out in World Showcase Lagoon.

The first of five large barges was put in place yesterday for the upcoming Harmonious nighttime show, though for the foreseeable future the structures will be little more than eyesores until they are providing actual entertainment.

Conversely, one water feature that actually adds value to the park but has no resources given to it, the largest fountain within the Imagination Pavilion was off and mostly drained yesterday, giving us hope that it may be receiving some much-needed maintenance. Unfortunately, today we found the fountain operating normally and in the same shape as it was previously — which is to say bad shape.

The nearby Innoventions Plaza has been getting love as of late, though, as Innoventions East has shifted from demolition to construction and additive work has begun to the framework.

Similarly, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind sees a steady amount of construction work which is slowly bringing the structure closer to its goal of being a functional attraction, the latest of which has been the addition of wood paneling which may finally be the precursor to the return of solar panels to the former Universe of Energy building.

Over at The Seas Pavilion, a section of aquarium glass remains blocked off and covered as maintenance is performance to that section.

Circling back to World Showcase, but remaining on construction, work on the Italy food location for which permits were recently filed has finally gone vertical, with a block structure beginning to peek over the walls.

Work is also happening over in Canada, though much more minor in the form of refurbishment work to a section of stairs in the pavilion.

Finally, the France Pavilion Expansion shows the greatest amount of progress, and today we observed Remy’s Courtyard fountain in full operation. Recently, a merchandise kiosk was added as well as other small aesthetic details.

Elsewhere in the France Pavilion, some things were not operating quite as intended.

At the nearby World Traveler shop within the International Gateway area, some colorful new 2021 youth apparel made its debut.

Heading back to the Canada Pavilion, the JAMMitors continue to perform on the Mill Stage, merging percussion and humor in their own unique way.

At the Port of Entry shop, a new Soarin’ magnet was cleared for landing, which matches the design of a tumbler that was released over the summer.

Over in the Norway Pavilion, Anna has returned to making physically distanced meet and greets with guests. Her appearances have been sporadic to date.

In the Italy Pavilion, the line for the Tuscany Holiday Kitchen and its lackluster food offerings was as long as ever, with guests waiting over twenty minutes for the booth’s offerings.

Wrapping up our day, additional new “Fröhliche Weihnachten” Christmas merchandise has joined the initial collection of items within the Germany Pavilion. These items included an apron, tea towels, and a wooden ornament.

Thanks for coming along on our worldly adventures today at EPCOT! To stay up-to-date with all of the most recent happenings from Walt Disney World, be sure to download WDWNT: The App 2.0 for notifications on all of the major news from the parks.