Howdy! Today, I spent the morning in EPCOT before resort hopping. I found new limited edition pins, The Seas lost a few construction walls, and there were a few weird and even fun finds throughout the day.
Monorail Mornings
Good morning from the Walt Disney World monorail. I stand by the fact that a quiet monorail ride in the morning is the perfect start to a Disney day. I took a roundtrip ride on the EPCOT line this morning.
Along the way, I noticed crews finally working on the damaged World Drive sign. In August 2024, a tall truck hit the sign, damaging the bottom right corner screens. This is located closer to the Magic Kingdom toll plaza, but in the opposite direction as if you were leaving Magic Kingdom.
On the ride back to EPCOT I noticed that things were fairly quiet at Test Track. I didn’t see any crew in the front, but there was certainly work going on inside. When I was inside EPCOT this morning I saw ride testing, which was super encouraging. I am really excited for this ride to reopen. I’m hoping we get our crash dummy back in some way.
Good Morning from EPCOT
I was sorta surprised by how quiet the park was this morning. I was expecting with the World Cheer Championships wrapping up over the weekend that this place would be popping, but I guess the kids had to go back to school eventually. I’m not complaining, it was a nice surprise.
Creations Shop Sales!
At Disney World, any sale is hard to beat because everything is expensive. In the real world, I can’t imagine spending $40.00 on a small bag with a bee on it, but in Disney World, it’s a Spike the Bee bag and it’s ONLY $40.00. Good marketing Disney, or brainwashing.
Club Cool
As Tiana once said, “Almost there.” Club Cool is still missing one flavor in one machine. I say this is a moment of celebration. Especially given that the missing flavor is Beverly, if you know you know, and it’s only missing in the last machine. This is the first time in weeks that I have seen all the flavors available at multiple machines.
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
In the Seas, the walls around the left escalator have disappeared. It feels so much brighter without the walls, and the bottleneck into the manatee exhibit isn’t something I dread anymore. There weren’t any obvious changes made, and the escalator is still not available. There are curtains in the tunnel on the left side now, but if it’s anything like the right side it won’t last long.
STOP! WARNING!
I felt that I needed to prep you before you scrolled further. Here’s your palette cleanser for what you are about to experience if you so choose. You have been warned. What you are about to see below is a cuttlefish hunting for a shrimp. The cuttlefish was not successful.
YOU WERE WARNED
Pretty cool though. Hopefully the cuttlefish caught breakfast when I wasn’t looking later on.
Pin Tuesday!
This is the final week of April, and we got the final two pins for the month.
- Teacher’s Day 2025 Pin featuring Sorcerer Mickey and Yen Sid
- Limited Release
- $19.99
- Mother’s Day 2025 Pin featuring Lady and Her Pups
- Limited Release
- $19.99
I can’t choose a favorite from these two this week. Let me know if you have a preference in the comments below.
Mexico Pavilion Construction
The Mexico pavilion is currently under some seriously slow refurbishment. Every visit I expect a project to have been started or completed, instead just more projects popping up.
A few months ago the scaffolding on the left side of the pyramid showed up, but nothing has happened since. A few weeks ago concrete scoring, the cuts made in the concrete, started. Then a few chunks were themed, but still so much is left cut up around the pavilion.
Now today’s visit, there’s a giant wall in the small space between the Mexico and Norway pavilions. Weird. What is going on here?
Gelatoni
Even if you are not a fan of the Duffy and Friends collection or story, you still have a favorite. I won’t lie, I am not super invested in Duffy. I am, however, a fan of Gelatoni. He was gifted to me by a friend in 2015 and he’s been part of my life since he literally lives on my car seatbelt and has since he was given to me. That is my connection, silly as it is.
German Plant-Based Gummy Packs – $5.99 each
In the Germany pavilion, I found two new snacks. There were Strawberry Alligators and Cherry Dolphins, but the catch, they are plant-based gummies! I am not a vegan or vegetarian but next time I’m in EPCOT with one of my friends who is we have to try this.
German Tiny Village Drama Update
This week’s drama is much more tame than it has been. It’s mostly the children that I’m worried about, but let me not get ahead of myself.
Let’s start with the weirdly faded picture of the lady sitting in front of the home. I don’t know what happened to this picture. There are no filters it just came out this way which made me a little sad for her. What’s her story? Is she waiting for someone? How long has she waited? Someone sit with her!
The man still sits on a stoop outside the blue house with the baby on the bench, and the two girls by the door. There is a new child this week. A little boy sits on a suitcase now. What is going on here? Is this man running an orphanage? Is he collecting these children? I don’t like it.
Just behind the blue house, there is a green house, not the plant kind, just a house painted green. This man has seemingly fallen over or maybe he’s cloud watching and I’m being too judgy. Can’t tell.
My tiny friend on the tower still waves her white handkerchief holding to her teddy bear. We wish you well tiny girl figure. Big conversations were happening in the town square, but I was intrigued by whatever this woman was reading that this man was so nosey about.
Final observation. Why is there always one human in the crew who can’t jump in and help? See the man in the black shirt surrounded by others with tools in hand. Meanwhile, he stands with his hands in his pockets watching. Infuriating, where is the tiny supervisor?
Super Mario Snacks – $2.99
In the Japan pavilion, I found this Super Mario snack which made me double-take only because EPIC Universe has my reporter senses on high alert. Upon further exploration, I discovered this is a challenging snack. So if you enjoy playing with your food this is certainly worth a shot.
Canada Gets a Bathroom
I seriously do not remember this bathroom ever being available in the Canada pavilion. Let me know in the comments below if you do, and I’m crazy. Well, crazier than I already know I am. It’s a symptom of a never-ending Disney vacation. I’m not complaining.
These are a bit strange. It’s single stall rooms one for men and one for women. This restroom is located just across from the new DVC Welcome Home Center.
Stormalong Bay Gets WATER!
I left EPCOT to see if there had been any progress made at Stormalong Bay at Yacht Club Resort. Last week I saw that crews had started to add sand to certain areas of the pool. This week they have added water to that area. This is a huge step in the right direction for a pool refurbishment.
I also noticed that the crews were doing the finishing touches to other areas prepping for the sand to be added. This project has been really steady.
Skyliner Ride
I am not about heights, but I am about efficiency, and dag nabbit the thing is efficient. Before going back into EPCOT to finish my day I decided to head out to Caribbean Beach for a quick vibe check.
Caribbean Beach Finds
Caribbean Beach Resort has some fresh new merchandise. I especially like the squishy cup. I could totally see drinking a Bahama Mama or a slushy Margarita out of this thing in a pool. Stay tuned to our website for more details and more items from this collection.
HeiHei Takeover
Tell me how I missed that I was parked in the HeiHei lot next to a car full of HeiHei’s. Blame it on the dehydration, but if the person this belongs to sees this somehow thank you, you made me laugh alone in the parking lot like a weirdo. Here’s to a great week ahead!
I hope you enjoyed our day around EPCOT and the resorts. My favorite moment of today was seeing and even capturing the cuttlefish hunting a small shrimp. Let me know in the comments below what your favorite moment was.
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