Hallo from EPCOT on another lovely autumn day! We’ve got a packed day filled with loads of new World Showcase merchandise, as well as our regular construction updates, and a sprinkling of Disney characters throughout the day. Let’s check out what’s new in EPCOT.

First thing in the morning — well, the EPCOT morning — we found half a dozen new 2021 items which included a hat, pins, lanyards, and more. We fully expect the 2021 merchandise to roll in pretty heavily now that the first handful of items like a MagicBand and ornaments have arrived over the past two weeks.

Shifting gears to the myriad construction projects around the park (don’t worry, there’s plenty more merch to come), Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has had quite a bit more wood paneling added to the solar panel mounts on the roof. The first of the wooden panels went up only days ago.

Nothing has visibly changed at the Play! Pavilion lately, with a few roof panels still apparently awaiting replacement. If you’re excited about the Play! Pavilion, or perhaps a fan of the old Wonders of Life Pavilion, you may be interested in the posters which were just released.

We spent a few minutes at the EPCOT Experience checking for any changes, and the Play! Pavilion segment is alive and well, which hopefully means the project is still on track.

Neighboring Space 220 has also been relatively quiet since the installation of the entrance sign about three weeks ago. An opening date still hasn’t been announced as the restaurant is a year behind schedule.

The demolition of the Innoventions buildings continues at a slow pace, though work has picked up recently. Above, the former site of Electric Umbrella has been gutted down to the steel beams.

At Innoventions West, significant work only recently resumed after the half-leveled building sat fairly stagnant for most of the year.

Journey Into Imagination had some downtime early in the day, but eventually resumed normal operation.

Outside of the Imagination Pavilion, Joy and Winnie the Pooh were in their normal rotation, though both have a few “accessories” with which to interact now.

Now it’s time to head into World Showcase, the site of most of today’s action where the Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays is in full swing.

Over at World Showplace, a few Chanukah items arrived just before the start of the festival on December 10th. One such item is this serving tray — check out our full post full details on all of the items.

Also appearing at World Showcase are these “Fröhliche Weihnachten” hoodies and serving trays. While these two items are new today, they are part of a much larger collection for which we’ve detailed every item (including these newest ones).

Circling back to the France Pavilion, we stumbled onto this upcoming “Bonjour Belle” line which includes this shirt and purse. As of now, the line is comprised of six items which we’ve listed out in their own post.

In the France Pavilion expansion, home to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the area is in essentially what will be its final form, save for a few minor details.

Those “minor details” are where we see the majority of the work happening, such as murals and accent art near the entrance, and weathering to buildings and walkways further in.

Back out in the original portion of the France Pavilion, we caught Mickey & Friends World Tour moving through the walkway, with the characters wearing their blue holiday costumes.

In the Japan Pavilion, we ran into Santa’s cavalcade, complete with the ribbon dancers and Santa himself.

In the Italy Pavilion, Delizie Italiane has had nearly all of its merchandise refreshed with a few new lines. This “love at the first bite” joins other pizza-themed “Cucina Italia” items such as the pizza Minnie ears headband and Mickey pizza slice purse.

As we headed towards the East side of World Showcase, we ran across this display of dolls. Cute shop or nightmare fuel? You decide.

At the Norway Pavilion, Frozen Ever After was up to a 105 minute wait in the late afternoon. It seemed like guests were staying in the park longer on account of the pleasant weather.

In The Fjording, the “Ski Norway” line has been further expanded, joining the initial limited edition MagicBand and later items like a Tervis, ornament, and mug. The newest additions include several shirts, a zip-up hoodie, and wooden luggage tags.

From the outside of the Mexico Pavilion, EPCOT’s Christmas tree can be seen standing tall at the entryway to World Showcase.

We wrapped up our day as the sun was making its way down to eventually set behind the Morocco Pavilion — from this viewpoint, at least. While the clouds moved in during the afternoon, we were still able to enjoy a cool (and dry!) day in the park.

We hope you enjoyed our trip around EPCOT and the world today! Do you have a favorite new piece, or entire collection, of merchandise that has recently rolled out? Let us know in the comments!