A sign outside the former Merchant of Venus gift shop has been changed recently to remove the outdated branding. The gift shop hasn’t been in use as a gift shop since before the COVID-19 closures. The Merchant of Venus opened in June 1994, replacing the Space Port. The shop became themed to Stitch with the opening of Stitch’s Great Escape! in 2004.
Merchant of Venus Signage Removed
First, here’s a look back at the Merchant of Venus signage prior to its recent removal. The Merchant of Venus was a character in the Tomorrowland backstory. The character was a collector and proprietor of the shop. In some sense, the Merchant of Venus was related to The Collector from the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT attraction at Disney’s California Adventure. Both characters were collectors of things, and both had dealings with the fictional X-S Tech corporation, but we’re getting lost in the lore.
Here’s a look at the signage as it appeared until recently.
Prior to COVID-19, the Merchant of Venus was a gift shop. It mostly sold Stitch-themed items, but it was transformed into a spot to purchase Incredibles merchandise during the Tomorrowland Expo of 2018.
Here’s a look at murals that were found in the gift shop, showing aliens from the Lilo & Stitch franchise taking over parts of Tomorrowland.
Back to our visit to Magic Kingdom today, you can see that the Merchant of Venus signage has been removed. The physical sign itself remains standing, so maybe Disney will do something interesting with the space in the future. The space currently functions as an indoor seating area. Other Merchant of Venus branding remains on the building.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!