Downtown Disney Update

Yesterday I had my usual weekly wander of Downtown Disney (soon to be Hyperion Wharf) to see what was new and changing. Crowds were medium on this cool and breezy day, and the churros were inviting.

• Construction walls have sprung up around Sosa, completely sealing off what used to be the Rock and Roll Beach Club and Motion plaza.
• Construction walls are still up near Fulton's Crab House on the new round cement pad and directly opposite as you take the walkway in past Ragland Road and Cooke's. Just a guess, but these sound like a small stage and lighting trusses respectively.
• There was an artist signing work at Art of Disney, but I didn't catch his name. The line of people qued through three switchbacks suggested he was pretty popular.
• Some of the Vinylmation artists were on hand to autograph figures or whatever you had on hand. Luckily I had a couple vinyls with me for possible trades. Got them signed and chatted with the artists who were having a lot of fun creating, as well as marvelling at the fan following Vinylmation figures have gained.
• Holiday 2 Series officially released this day along with the Vinyl and Watch combo sets. The Steampunk Vinyl and matched pocket watch limited edition was even more impressive in person. Saw a Jack Skellington pocket watch near the back registers that was also enticing.
• The Duncan Yo-Yo Professionals were outside World of Disney showing off random, smooth as butta, tricks to passers by. Got to meet the 2005 yo-yo champ and talked with he and his top whirling counterpart for a bit. The letter fellow gave me a short lesson on the origins of battling tops. Years ago, kids would take wooding tops and drive nails through them, then sharpen the nails on the ground. The tops were then let loose inside an overturned Frisbee. Whoever won, stayed in the Frisbee, while the looser had another chance to knock over the winner or break the still spinning top. Sometimes, as told by the Duncan pro, those wooden tops would split in two. I'd never heard of this before and found it very interesting.
• Caught a quick glimpse of the new multi-flavor Coke and Fanta machines in AMC Theatre's recently revamped lobby. Did not go in this time, but will hit a movie there in the coming weeks to see these machines do their thing.
• Stopped into Ride Makerz and noticed they had several car assembly workstations with pull-down mini screw drivers that resembled air wrenches. Never realized just how many detailed options can be put on those custom radio controlled cars. Grills, pipes, NASCAR, everything. Had a good time talking with the staff, and though I'm bad with names, hello to you all if you're reading this.
• Lunch and dinner saw a double dose of Buffalo Wild Wings. Cross Pointe (Apopka Vineland) and International Drive both delivered the usual great service. Oh, do I ever LOVE wings!
• One last thing, slightly unrelated, but I noticed new cement pillar rebar forms being made at the former Race Rock Cafe site. Don't know what they're building, but it's always good to note such things.

Hope everyone is doing well and recovered from Black (and blue) Friday. My thanks, as always for your time in reading this blog. :)