Celebrating Epcot's 30th

October 1, 2012 is a big day in Walt Disney World history... Epcot celebrates it's 30th anniversary. We got hints of a few Vinylmation customs, but today the Disney Parks Blog finally showed us some pictures of these inspired pieces.

Noah will have a few 9" and 3" customs with this design scheme. No word on numbers or prices. The 9" will come on a stand with a print back drop. That Epcot print will also be available for purchase.

Artist Unknown

Artist: Javier Soto

Artist John Henselmeier (who created the greatest pin set known to man, see below) designed the above set of customs for the event as well. All of these items will be released at MouseGear starting at park open on October 1. No Disney production piece Vinylmation announced. Now, if you are also into pins, you may have seen all the Epcot 30th pins that will available on October 1. We covered them extensively on the Once Upon a Pin podcast and have them all in a photo album on our Facebook page, but here is a quick look.

That is the John Henselmeier designed pin set I was talking about. It is Spaceship Earth, it is innovative, it has multiple Donalds... it is the coolest thing I have ever seen.

I also love the above double hinge, triple circle pin. Below are a few more Epcot pins that will be released on September 28. All LE pins come out on October 1, but some open editions come out a few days earlier.

Also from the Disney Parks Blog:

On Monday, October 1, we will release several “day of” items including three shirts that have “October 1, 2012” and the “Epcot 30” logo, as seen in the first image above. For those who can’t attend that weekend, those three dated shirts and the 11 World Showcase shirts will be sold via the Disney Parks online store from September 28 through October 4.

One of the more interesting items is something new called “Cover Your Ears.” This Spaceship Earth-inspired cover will fit over a regular Mickey Mouse ear hat. Additional special ear hat embroidery will be offered at Mouse Gear through October 1.

Now here, again from the Disney Parks Blog, is a schedule of events:


Throughout the day on October 1, guests can attend Epcot history presentations in World Showplace courtesy of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. These presentations are included in park admission and are limited in seating.

1-2 p.m. – Designing the Future – Past and Present: A panel of Disney Imagineers remembers 30 years of building tomorrow!
4:30–6 p.m. – Epcot: How it Changed the World with Marty Sklar
6:30–8 p.m. – Epcot: How it Changed the World with Marty Sklar

Guests can also attend an anniversary moment at the America Gardens Theatre at 3 p.m., which will feature appearances by Disney leaders and include performances by Mariachi Cobre and Voices of Liberty. (Seating for this presentation is also limited.)

That evening, the October 1 presentation of “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” will feature a special 30th anniversary tag.

I'll see everybody there! What time will you be arriving?