Temporary Locations at Epcot

The transformation of Epcot is well underway, and there are plenty of construction walls in the front of the park. There have been some closures, but not everything is really gone. A couple of popular places have opened in temporary locations.

I will start with Mouse Gear. This fun store is currently under refurbishment, but you can still find many of the items. A temporary location has opened that is not far from where the permanent store is located. It’s not as much fun as the regular store, but that’s okay.

You’ll find many of the same items as the regular store

The new Mouse Gear is in kind of a strange place. It’s behind Electric Umbrella, but that does not really tell you how to get there. If you’ve just entered the park, head like you want to go to the original location. Walk past that, the empty Mouse Gear will be on your right and Electric Umbrella will be on your left. Pretend that you’re going to ride Mission: SPACE. Once you’re through the breezeway you will find the temporary Mouse Gear on the left. It is fairly far over, and it is tucked in behind Electric Umbrella.

Is it too early to start Christmas shopping?

The new store is a lot smaller than the regular location, but it’s larger than I expected it to be. It still carries plenty of Epcot and Walt Disney World merchandise, everything from toys to T-shirts. When I was in there it was fairly empty as far as guests. Even though it is simple to find the new location, you do need to be looking for it.

This shows the length of the new space, and how few people have found it so far

Months ago it was announced that Electric Umbrella was going to close, but it is still open. I have not heard how much longer the counter service location will be in operation. My guess is that it will stay open until Regal Eagle opens in the American Adventure pavilion, but that is conjecture on my part. The Walt Disney World website lists it as “scheduled to close this winter”. The original closure date was November 23, 2019, but that obviously didn’t happen.

The other temporary location that I wanted to mention is Starbucks. When Fountain View closed, people had to look elsewhere for their caffeine fix. Disney promised that a temporary location would open, and it has. You can find it at the entrance to World Showcase on the Canada side. It is located right before Refreshment Port if you’re headed into World Showcase. It is a walk up kiosk, and there was a fairly long line when I walked by. The new location is clearly marked, including where you need to go to get in line. I would not be surprised if it moves again at some point, because it is right on the edge of the construction.