Report Fresh from Epcot's 25th

DisneySaint

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Couple of quick hits for you guys on this morning's happenings:

- People began lining up around 6-6:30am. Turnstiles opened at around 7:30 at which point masses of people ran like lightning to get to the merchandise at Pin Central and its neighboring cart. Within seconds the line was backed up well past the Innoventions East entrance.

- The Figment plushes were a pleasant surprise; they were very limited and featured Figment in the Dreamfinder outfit with all the old school pavilion logos on it. Those and the shirts were off the shelves within an hour.

- When the rope dropped everyone then crammed into Mouse Gear to clean out their supply.

- Commemorative maps and buttons were handed out; very cool stuff. The maps featured the current map plus a replica of the original Epcot map from 1982 on the back.

- The Epcot historic walkthough exhibit was amazing. It was located in Innoventions West near the Character Spot. There were tons of models of the pavilions, especially World Showcase and dedications to each of the original pavilions. The Horizons one had the vaccum guy on the right of this pic. One of the workers there said that the Imagineers who decorated this room happened upon this guy as he was being loaded into the dumpster by the warehouse wherever he was kept. Take it for what you will.

- The rededication ceremony at 10:01am was very cool and TONS of people went. There were representatives from each country in the Showcase as well as each pavilion in Future World ... all wearing their respective costumes. They did the whole "water from different countries" thing again. Erin Wallace, Jim McPhee, a Disney ambasador, and Marty Sklar were there.

So, before you say it, yes I did forget my camera as I usually do so I don't have pics but I'm sure they will be up by other folks in minutes if they aren't up already. All-in-all a fun day but really nothing out-of-the-ordinary except for lots of merchandise, lots of Disney nerds, and lots of people mumbling and grumbling about Spaceship Earth. :wave:
 

SirNim

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the report.

I take it there was no new fountain sculpture rushed out from backstage late last night and glued into the SSE entrance fountain for this morning... :lol:

Suppose that'll come when they reopen SSE in November or whenever...

(or not at all!)
 

XSTech

New Member
Great report! I also just got back and will be returning to Epcot later for the fireworks. I'm working on compressing a video of the rope drop, rush to Mouse Gear, and full re-dedication ceremony now. I'll have it up by the end of the day.

The day has been fantastic so far! The re-dedication was great. It is always a treat to hear Marty Sklar speak and having Cast representatives from Future World and the World Showcase really embodied the spirit of unity found within Epcot. It was a true re-dedication ceremony without being cluttered by announcements or any fluff at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Adam Roth has done an amazing job organizing the Celebration 25 events. He's still there running around Epcot with the rest of the hundreds of folks who showed up. Everyone posed for a group photo with the WDW Ambassadors and Jim McPhee, which I'm sure will show up online very soon.
 

CrashNet

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the report...now this was opening where all the fans were there early for obvious reasons. The question is, what is the park like now...far more crowded than usual or standard capacity for an October Monday?
 

mousermerf

Account Suspended
Thanks for the report...now this was opening where all the fans were there early for obvious reasons. The question is, what is the park like now...far more crowded than usual or standard capacity for an October Monday?

As far as i saw, the park itself was very busy. More then i expected to see, easily busier then Sunday.
 

DisneySaint

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I overheard them saying they were expecting 30,000 but that the number could be higher. Lots of people were still coming in as of an hour and a half ago.
 

mousermerf

Account Suspended
Yeah, they were parking the 3rd of the 4 main lots (with the early morning lot full too) when i was getting my car back to BW.

Oo - they were also unloading the tram in the tram unload area instead of the pickup area! Miracle of miracles!
 

PeoplemoverTTA

Well-Known Member
The Epcot historic walkthough exhibit was amazing. It was located in Innoventions West near the Character Spot. There were tons of models of the pavilions, especially World Showcase and dedications to each of the original pavilions. The Horizons one had the vaccum guy on the right of this pic. One of the workers there said that the Imagineers who decorated this room happened upon this guy as he was being loaded into the dumpster by the warehouse wherever he was kept. Take it for what you will.

Does anyone know if this is supposed to remain during the 25th? I mean, it's not like keeping it there would add very much to budget...and it's not like there's not a dozen empty, air-conditioned buildings in EPCOT!

I would absolutely love to see this exhibit next week....I hope it stays!

EDIT: According to a post in another 25th thread, it is believed the exhibit will be going on through Christmas. If anyone can get confirmation on this, though, that would be great!
 

XSTech

New Member
The Epcot 25th exhibit will be there at least until the end of the year, most likely longer. Some 25th signage will remain around the parks for the next 12-15 months.
 

Mr. Toad

Active Member
We were at the International Gateway entrance at 8:30 and were able to get the shirts and the Figment at the store over there. Seemed like they were just putting them out when we got there since the cast member handed me two larges as he was hanging them on the rack. This worked at nicely since we didn't have to rush to Mouse Gears and fight the crowds.

When I went back to the Beach Club around 2:30 they still had some of the shirts but I think the Figments were gone.
 

CrashNet

Well-Known Member
I overheard them saying they were expecting 30,000 but that the number could be higher. Lots of people were still coming in as of an hour and a half ago.
Scarily enough, the estimate was lower than that. I have a feeling, based on lot 3 and 4 being filled and having worked there in the past, your looking at 35-40K easily. To put it in perspective, 4th and New Years run around 55-60k, with the largest crowd ever around 80k.
 

Tenny317

New Member
Does this mean all the retro shirts are gone already? I will be at Epcot on Saturday and would like to buy a retro shirt. Does anybody know?
 

Foolish1

New Member
Scarily enough, the estimate was lower than that. I have a feeling, based on lot 3 and 4 being filled and having worked there in the past, your looking at 35-40K easily. To put it in perspective, 4th and New Years run around 55-60k, with the largest crowd ever around 80k.

I don't suppose you would recall when that was, would you? Just curious.
 

XSTech

New Member
The limited edition retro shirts sold out early this morning. The others are still available. The limited edition Figment plushes sold out as well.
 

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