I’m now counting down the hours until the 30th Anniversary of Epcot on October 1. I’ve mentioned numerous times before how Epcot has played an important role in my life; World Showcase, in particular, has quickly become one of my favorite spots in any Disney Park (right next to the Enchanted Tiki Garden at Disneyland park). Interestingly, World Showcase was originally planned to be a separate area that would have been located near the current Transportation and Ticket Center in Florida. After several revisions to the “EPCOT Center Master Plan” in the 1970s, the area joined Future World, and has become the place where guests can play, dine and shop the world in a day. I spoke with Roger Dressen, product developer for World Showcase, about the 11 new T-shirts being released for this anniversary.
“For this milestone, we wanted something that would be a tribute to the heritage of World Showcase,” explained Roger. “We worked with artist Richard Terpstra to create these 11 designs that were based on original artwork from Walt Disney Imagineering created in the early 1980s.”
You may recall that Richard also created the artwork on the Dole Whip and churros T-shirts that were introduced earlier this year. I cannot find the words to express how much I love these World Showcase designs. The shirts have an outstanding, retro look and feel which Roger explained was intentional.
“The shirts are made from a tri-blend fabric which has a soft, lightweight feel that is popular in the marketplace,” continued Roger. “The images were distressed to give the shirts a worn, vintage look, almost like they came from a 1980s closet.”
These shirts will be released at select locations throughout Epcot starting on September 28. We will also carry them via the Disney Parks online store starting the same day through October 4. Each shirt will have a retail price of $24.95.
For those interested in purchasing all of the shirts (I think I’m first on that list), we are offering a special, for online orders only, of all 11 shirts for $225.00 (plus tax and applicable shipping fees). Please note: the online orders will ship in 6-8 weeks and unfortunately express shipping will not be available.
Find out how we’re preparing for the 30th anniversary of Epcot in the posts below:
Comments
Steve – Please beg the powers that be to reopen the sale of the World Showcase t-shirts! I wanted them but I wasn’t aware they were only for sale for such a limited time. I saw them one day online, thought about it, then went back to buy them and they were gone. Obviously I’m kicking myself. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Steve — I just discovered your blog and am so happy to read all about the EPCOT anniversary but so sad that I missed it! I was under the mistaken impression that the celebration would continue through the year like so many of their other anniversaries. We visit every year at Christmas for the Candlelight Processional and around Easter for the Flower and Garden Show but I would have altered my plans if I’d known the anniversary was a one-time deal. We are DVC members and have been going to WDW since it opened! Now I’ll have to scour the shop racks during our Christmas visit to find anniversary merchandise! Thanks for your posts!
Steven,
The Spaceship Earth attraction poster-inspired shirt that I keep talking to you about sold out before mail order could fill orders. Given the 30th anniversary just started and it is not an Oct 1 “dated” shirt, would you please tell me they will be ordering more of this style?? Still disappointed it was not offered online.
Steven this post is awesome! I ordered the Epcot 30 shirt and the American Adventure shirt as well. The American Adventure is my favorite attraction at Epcot, because of the huge production value and because I could listen to The Voices of Liberty a million times over (it’s my dream to sing with them)! Thanks for your posts, they are always my favorite!
I’d love to see merchandise for the various restaurants around WDW. A Le Cellier cheese soup air freshener, a Crystal palace t-shirt, maybe even a pin collection.
Yeah.. sorry.. I didn’t think my posts passed “moderation” what with disagreeing with the change in mail order policy for “special events.” (They never came up as saying waiting for moderation, which is why I didn’t think they were accepted.) 🙂
@Jonathan – No worries! 🙂 I added the item number to the comment above. I found it today when I was at MouseGear. Hope this is helpful.
Oh wow, I LOVE these! I need to not justify spending $200+ on tshirts though! I’ll be there on Oct. 1!
I echo the others– how long will these be at Epcot? I arrive in late October, but will order online if they won’t be around then. Also, where is the park will they be sold?
@Cassie and Kylie – That’s a great question. Sadly, I don’t have a time frame as they will continue to be sold until sold out. Yet, these shirts aren’t considered limited edition. If they are popular, then the development / planning teams can place reorders. The online deal is pretty sweet if you wanted to get all 11 shirts. They will be sold in a variety of Epcot locations including MouseGear. I believe they will also be found in World Showcase.
Let’s hope these shirts stick around, this is the kind of merchandise we all want all the time…
How long will they be available at Epcot? We get there on the 11th and I definately want to grab a couple.
How does the fit of the shirt compare to the dole whip shirts? I found that the dole whip shirt ran small and had to order a size up. Sounds like the world showcase shirts are made of different fabric.
@Daniel – That’s a good question. I know that the Dole Whip shirt was made of a different material. I found the new World Showcase shirts to be more like the shirts found in the lead image of this article (to which I got a medium): https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/12/shirts-showcase-the-world-at-epcot/
I’m so excited to see more of his designs become reality! I love the UK shirt. I hope to see more of his designs on shirts and other items in the future.
Can’t decide if I like Mexico or Norway more . . . much like the pavilions themselves. I think I’ve discovered my i-completed-the-wdw-marathon present to myself!
OK so how do I order this set of all the tshirts?
@Alan – The shirts will be released at Epcot starting September 28.
@Jody – I invite you to visit – http://www.DisneyStore.com/Epcot30 – from September 28 to October 4 as we will hold an online sale of the 11 shirts (and there is a special bundle deal if you purchase all 11).
What dates will they be available to purchase in the parks?
I follow Richard’s blog DesignerLand religiously and I love that these shirts will finally be available for purchase! He does such amazing work.
I like the Spaceship Earth attraction poster shirt the best. Do you have a sku for that shirt since it won’t be available online?
I really still like the Spaceship Earth attraction poster shirt the best.Do you have a sku for that shirt, and will mail order accept calls?
I really still like the Spaceship Earth attraction poster shirt the best…go figure the one I REALLY want won’t be available online…can we change that, please?? I’ll wait 6 weeks for delivery on that! Do you have a sku for that shirt, and will mail order accept calls?
Can we go back to the old mail order policy on “special events” as well? 🙂
@Laurence – I will have to check with the development team (who are out of the office today). Stay tuned.
@Jonathan – I’m guessing you also wrote questions #5 and #6. 🙂
I will have to check on the item number when the developers return to the office. Here is the item number for the shirt you reference – 400006849069. Mail order will accept calls yet they may not have access to the items until later next week. Access to items is a key reason why they may not be able to assist with “special event” merchandise. I’m sorry for your frustrations and know that feedback has been shared.Those are fantastic shirts. I love when Disney uses retro logos for merchandise. By the way will these shirts come in anything bigger than a 2X? I hope they do because I’m always dissapointed when I see a new shirt design I can never get because of a lack of larger sizes. I know I’m not alone in this thinking.
I wish I had money. I want all of these. These are some of the best designs that I have ever seen in Disney theme park merchandise.
@Erica – I’m delighted to hear your feedback! I thought you would enjoy them. 🙂
@Ryan – Agreed! Next to the Orange Bird items earlier this year, these shirts are on the top of my list of favorites. Okay, I also liked the Droid Factory … and the Oswald plush … maybe I have a few more favorites than first thought. LOL!
Yay!! Hooray for EPCOT Center, hooray for Richard Terpstra! What an AWESOME collection! I’ll be getting mine this weekend. 😉 Thanks Steven!
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