Imagineering took visual cues from the original Merlin’s Magic Shop for the new Merlin’s Marvelous Miscellany. The interior of the stuffed-to-the-gills small shop reflects the wizard’s stitched-together patchwork aesthetic.
“I wouldn’t say that Merlin is the most organized of tutors,” Dobrzycki said. “Everything of his is up in the rafters and in the windows, too. It’s like a really delightful jumble of his teaching and research materials.”
In the 1963 “Sword in the Stone,” Merlin stuffs his magic carpet bag full of spells, books and scientific tools before heading off to tutor the young King Arthur. Imagineering has unpacked the wizard’s magic carpet bag in Merlin’s Marvelous Miscellany for the backstory being told in the Fantasyland shop.
“When you’re in the shop, you’re going to see books lining the walls, little Da Vinci models of these great flying machines or tanks, chemistry sets that show his interest in alchemy, astrology and astronomy, star charts, homemade telescopes and armillary globes,” Dobrzycki said.
A jousting dummy with a bucket helmet and broken lance sits in the corner of the shop. Merchandise rests atop stacks of books. Zodiac and astrology charts line the wall behind the checkout stand. And, of course, there will be plenty of bird perches for Archimedes — Merlin’s owl companion.
“The whole upper quarter of the shop is just Merlin’s stuff jam packed and stacked in there,” Dobrzycki said. “It’s going to have a lot of nods to the movie. It’s going to be a pretty cool space.”
