Greetings, World Travelers, from a festive day at EPCOT! We’ve officially reached the week of Christmas, only four more “sleeps” to go, and we don’t know about you, but we’re excited! Crowd levels have gone down at Walt Disney World recently, and we are enjoying the momentary additional elbow room while we can. We found lots of fun, new things at the park today, so let’s get started!
When we entered the park, we have to admit, we thought we would be seeing a different view than this. With work seemingly done on the entrance fountain, we expected to see the construction walls removed and were looking forward to finally getting a good look at this beautiful, much-anticipated fountain in person, but it was obvious that we were going to have to wait just a little bit longer.
When we went by Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, a construction worker was in a man lift working on the facade of the building.
Work has been continuing on the Play! Pavilion slowly but surely. Today we saw a worker in a man lift near the skylights at the Pavilion’s base.
We checked in on the World Showcase Lagoon, but didn’t find anything new there. We’re hoping another Harmonious barge will be brought out soon!
Over at Innoventions East, reconstruction inside the building’s shell continues, with work actively happening in the ceiling most days.
One of the windows in the large salt water tank in The Seas Pavilion is still closed for maintenance. No updates yet on how long it will remain closed.
Finally, in the France Pavilion, the metal grates surrounding the trees have been removed and replaced with painted wooden discs. Hopefully the grates will be returned at some point soon.
Back at The Seas Pavilion, we found another tank all dressed up for the holidays. This tank was in the Nursery section, and was really in the traditional Christmas spirit.
We found a fun holiday week exclusive treat at Sunshine Seasons in The Land Pavilion. This Melted Snowman Cupcake was a visual delight. His perfect candy carrot nose was our favorite part! For more pictures and our full review, check out our article here.
In the World ShowPlace Pavilion, the photo opportunity that was just outside, which we saw removed last week, has returned, this time inside the Pavilion. It’s been well lit with spotlights to make picture taking easy, and it seems the trees and props faired alright in the move. We’re glad to see it back!
Also in the World ShowPlace Pavilion at the Holiday Hearth booth, we found the Salted Caramel Spaceship Earth cookie had gotten yet another makeover this week. It seems that this cookie will be looking different every time we go to get it. It is now decorated with an assortment of sugar figures, including angels, Christmas trees, stockings, and holly. We don’t care what they look like as long as they taste the same!
Plume et Palette and La Signature, the two perfume shops and the only two shops still closed in the France Pavilion, reopened today.
A champagne and beer bar has opened in the Morocco Pavilion on the patio of the temporarily unavailable Tangerine Cafe. We saw this area set up last week, and now know what it is for. For more pictures and information, check out our article here.
We also noticed that the sign at the entrance to the Morocco Pavilion inviting guests to “Explore Morocco” and visit the shops within the Pavilion had been removed.
Nearby, the Holiday Market in between the Morocco Pavilion and the Japan Pavilion, which had been full of Christmas merchandise, has been restocked with 2021 merchandise. Out with the old and in with the new!
The Olaf in American Adventure for Olaf’s Christmas Tradition Expedition has been relocated. We won’t completely give away his new location, but he is looking mighty festive in his new spot!
Even we were impressed with how long the line was today for Frozen Ever After. When we went by at midday, the line stretched all the way out of the Norway Pavilion, zig-zagged through the China Pavilion, and ended on the bridge to the Outpost. At this point the posted wait time for the attraction was 50 minutes. We’ve seen the line be shorter for a longer wait time, so we’re not sure why it was so inconsistent today.
We found some new merchandise for you today, and we got a head start since Mouse Gear opened early today.
We found a new collection of costume jewelry featuring Mickey, Minnie, and the Princesses.
We also found some new addition to the “hidden Mickey” Homestead merchandise line that debuted last year. These salt and pepper grinders retail for $39.99.
We found this candle inside a lovely ceramic jar with a wooden lid, complete with Mickey stopper. This candle retails for $14.99.
Lastly, we found this large bowl, which matches the other bowls in this collection. This bowl retails for $39.99.
While in the newly reopened Plume et Palette, we finally got a good look at the “Bonjour Belle” line of merchandise that we had been seeing through the window for some time. For more pictures and information, check out our article here.
We had a great day at EPCOT, and we hope you enjoyed coming along with us. Have a magical day!