Howdy! Today I park hopped between Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and EPCOT (a lot is going on at Disney World). I spent my morning in Dinoland, found new Easter merchandise around the parks, and more topiaries popped up in EPCOT.
Good Morning from Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Happy President’s Day and good morning from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. There were crowds of guests this morning. It was painful getting through security and then the touch points, it honestly took an extra ten minutes getting into Animal Kingdom this morning. I had a hunch it may be busy given the holiday, but I wasn’t expecting this many people.
Merchandise Finds – Riverside Depot
In Riverside Depot I found a new Sorcerer Mickey Corkcicle tumbler available for $39.99. Disney also released some upcoming holiday merchandise including a Kermit shirt for St. Patrick’s Day and a Park Hopping shirt for Easter. Each shirt is available for $29.99 or $25.99 when you buy two, which is perfect if you like both.
I also found a new Mickey Mouse plush and a new Minnie Mouse plush for Easter available for $29.99 each. Each of them is wearing a multi-colored bunny onesie and it’s pretty adorable. Let me know what you think of these new finds in the comments below.
Dino-Rama Extinction is Imminent
The Dino-Rama sign has officially been removed from Dinoland U.S.A. I saw some lights hanging from the bottom of the Dino-Rama dinosaur’s stomach. It’s all very sad, there are a lot of memories in this space, and it wasn’t until the sign was removed from the carnival game area that it really hit.
Grand Floridian ART!
I took a bus ride to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. When I stopped into M. Mouse Mercantile on the second floor of the main building I found the new Disney Art Desk. One of the other reporters found this earlier last week, but now there is Grand Floridian art available for purchase.
Most of the art is similar to the teaser image of Tiana. They are very well-done, and demure images of Princesses and other Disney characters.
Good Morning from Magic Kingdom
I arrived at the Magic Kingdom just in time to catch the fireworks of the castle show, Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire. Unfortunately, it was just as busy in Magic Kingdom as far as guest attendance goes so I bolted for Box Office Gifts.
Chernabog Light-Up Figurine – $200.00
A Chernabog figurine is available in Box Office Gifts for $200.00. I will warn you since nobody warned me his wings just rest in a small cutout in his back. The wings are not fixed onto the statue at all. I know because when I tried to get a better look at his back the whole thing fell apart and I had a spotlight moment in the middle of the shop. Not good, embarrassing.
Embroidery Update
In Curtain Call Collectibles next door the Cast Members pulled me to show me the most recent update to their embroidery offers. Cast are now able to embroider the straps of the character bags that have been super popular. Donald and Daisy Duck are the most recent to join the character tote bag collection. Price will vary based on your choices.
Springtime Easter Shirt – $29.99 for 1 or $25.99 for 2
I found another Easter shirt in the Emporium available for $29.99 or $25.99 when you purchase two shirts. I love this pink shirt featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse sharing an Easter basket.
MEEKO Plush – $34.99
I can’t believe ‘Pocahontas’ is celebrating a 30th Anniversary, and I can’t believe this cute large-footed plush of Meeko is how I found out. I love that he is made with recycled materials which feels appropriate for such a nature-based movie. I’m excited to see what other merchandise might be coming to celebrate the nineties princess.
Carrousel Popcorn Bucket – $30.00
The very popular Prince Charming Royal Carrousel Popcorn Bucket is still available in Magic Kingdom, but only in the Hub carts on either side of Cinderella Castle.
Cinderella Fountain OFF
When I first started reporting Cinderella Fountain in Fantasyland was in refurbishment. That was almost two years ago. Today I noticed that the fountain was not on, but stay tuned to see if this was a minor temporary downtime or something more.
Happy President’s Day
Always disappointing when The Hall of Presidents is closed for President’s Day. I can’t tell you how many people I overheard mentioning this was their next stop.
Big Thunder Mountain Crane Gets Patriotic
I took a boat ride on the Liberty Belle to see what might be going on at Big Thunder Mountain. I was excited to see that the construction crew added an American Flag to the crane. Nothing exciting was happening as far as Big Thunder goes though.
Monorail Monday
On my way out of Magic Kingdom, I decided to take the Express Monorail directly to the Transportation and Ticket Center, so I could easily transfer to the EPCOT monorail. Mission accomplished flawlessly.
Good Afternoon from EPCOT
The parking lot of EPCOT looked packed but it’s such a large park that you couldn’t feel it. I imagine it was worse for those getting food from the festival booths or shopping for the incredible art available.
Passholder Magnet Change
Recently Disney announced that there were no more Ray magnets available for passholders. The Minnie magnet they are giving now is a returning magnet, but please visit our website for more details on the recent switch. I’m not mad, if you did manage to get a Ray magnet it seems you can also get the Minnie Mouse magnet as well. This is what I did because I missed the Minnie magnet during its original release.
More Topiaries Emerge
In EPCOT even more topiaries have popped up in preparation for the upcoming Flower and Garden Festival. Be sure to visit our website for more details on these three topiaries. Phineas and Ferb, Miguel and Dante, and Groot are returning from previous years.
I hope you enjoyed our day of park hopping. My favorite favorite moment was seeing Phineas and Ferb’s topiary return after years of being gone. Let me know in the comments below if you are looking forward to the Flower and Garden Festival this year.
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