EPCOT Magazine

By Lou Mongello
Sunday, May 25th, 2008 No Comments »

EPCOT Magazine was a 1980s television series on the Disney Channel that was broadcast from EPCOT Center. It was known as Your Daily Adventure into the World of Great Ideas! Hosted by Michael Young (remember from Kids are People, Too) and had a special guest star co host each week. It was a half hour [...]

Empress Lily Riverboat (Closed)

By Lou Mongello
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 No Comments »

The Empress Lilly was a riverboat restaurant located in the Lake Buena Vista shopping district. It later became Fulton’s Crab House, run by Levy Restaurants. The Empress Lilly is replica of a paddle steamer riverboat, and is 220 feet long by 62 foot wide, and was located on Village Lake. She was built in 1976, [...]

Copperfield’s Magic Underground

By Lou Mongello
Monday, December 24th, 2007 No Comments »

In 1996, David Copperfield announced plans for “Copperfield’s Magic Underground,” an interactive magic-themed restaurant to be located in WDW, with another to be built in Times Square in new York City. He and Disney proposed to take patrons to “the secret underground lair of David Copperfield” on a magic adventure where they would actually “experience [...]

Toys Fantastique (Closed)

By Lou Mongello
Sunday, November 25th, 2007 No Comments »

The Walt Disney World Village’s toy store was recognizable from the exterior due to the beautifully-crafted sign shaped like a rocking-horse. Many of the toys inside were also handmade, and came from both America and Eurpoe. There were stuffed character plushes, model kits, die-cast collector cars, tin toys, trains, Madame Alexander dolls and teddy bears [...]

Character Shop (Closed)

By Lou Mongello
Sunday, November 25th, 2007 No Comments »

Believe it or not, but when the Walt Disney World Village shopping area was being developed there were NO plans for a Disney souvenir store! That’s right – when the Village first opened, there was no location to buy character merchandise. However, as the demand grew, Disney opened the Character Shop, which sold plush figures, [...]

Gourmet Pantry (Closed)

By Lou Mongello
Sunday, November 25th, 2007 No Comments »

One of the most unique shops to ever be found in Walt Disney World, the Gourmet Pantry was just that – a place where Guests could buy groceries from the simple loaf of beard to more unique items. What made this store unique from other locations on property where Guests could get some cereals, snacks, [...]

Port Of Entry (Closed)

By Lou Mongello
Sunday, November 25th, 2007 No Comments »

The Port Of Entry was a store located in the Walt Disney World Village in the early 1980′s which could be considered the predecessor to Epcot’s World Showcase. Here, merchandise from around the world was sold, including items from Europe, Mexico, India, Guatemala, Asia and Africa. European items included Delft (Dutch) goods such as windmills [...]

Lillie Langtry’s Old-Fashioned Photo Studio (Closed)

By Lou Mongello
Sunday, November 25th, 2007 No Comments »

Lillie Langtry’s Old-Fashioned Photo Studio was similar to the Camera Center on Main Street, USA and Lefitte’s Portrait Deck in Adventureland in the Magic Kingdom, in that it allowed Guests to sit and have old-time, sepai toned portraits taken on them. Guests could dress in Victorian-era clothing and Edwardian suits that were movie-studio quality.