The ongoing transformation of Epcot will see Mouse Gear be unseated as the park’s flagship merchandise location this summer.
In a Disney Parks Blog post, Disney Imagineer Zach Riddley wrote that the new Creations Shop will have murals of Mickey Mouse lining the walls. It will also offer more natural light than the warehouse-esque Mouse Gear.
“It will be an open, bright, welcoming environment with huge glass walls that allow sunlight to pour in and make you feel like you’re in touch with nature even while indoors,” Riddley wrote. “We are using color, materials and light in new ways with some unique Epcot touches that connect back to this park’s storied past while looking to the future.”
Epcot diehards may be more excited about the returning favorite next to the new shop. Riddley said that a revitalized Club Cool will also open this summer, once again allowing guests to taste Coca-Cola drinks from around the world. No word if that new soda lineup will include the bitter Beverly soda once sold in Italy.
The original Club Cool closed in September 2019 as Disney started revamping the central area of Future World. Those renovations have been altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the planned multi-level “Festival pavilion” at the edge of Future World being removed from Disney’s concept art for the reimagined Epcot.
Epcot’s other major 2021 addition will be Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, a trackless dark ride imported from the Disneyland Paris Resort, that is set to open on Oct. 1.