With the subtitle “Gifts of Future World,” Centorium was 2-level gift shop inside CommuniCore East. The first floor of Centorium sold typical EPCOT and Walt Disney World merchandise, such as clothing, jewelry, books, and plush toys. The second floor, accessible only by an elevator from the first, initially sold more unusual items such as electronics, though over time became a location for “Team Mickey” gear and Art of Disney merchandise.
In 1999, about 5 years after CommuniCore became Innoventions, Centorium was moved to a temporary location in CommuniCore West while the original location was gutted and rebuilt into a new store: Mouse Gear. Once Mouse Gear opened, the temporary Centorium location was closed.
Mouse Gear was a single level gift shop selling typical Epcot and Walt Disney World merchandise, separated into departments. While the second floor was no longer accessible to guests, the elevator remained in place and in use by Cast Members to reach what was now an office and storage area above the store. Hidden by clever shelf placement and décor, the occasional lucky guest could catch a glimpse of the elevator in use as seen in this Twitter post from @DreamfinderGuy.
Mouse Gear contained a host of Hidden Mickeys throughout but, an eagle eyed guest could also spot a very special piece of history hidden in plain sight in the store. One of Dreamfinder’s airships, from the opening sequence of Journey Into Imagination, could be found in the apparel section of the store, toward the ceiling. Given the store’s general “steampunk” décor, it fit right in and most guests were unaware of just how close to a piece of EPCOT Center history they were.
In 2020, as part of large changes planned to EPCOT’s Central Hub, Mouse Gear was (somewhat ironically given its predecessor’s history) relocated to a temporary location in Innoventions West while its current location was “reimagined.”
In April of 2021 it was announced that the store known as Mouse Gear would not be making a return. Instead, the new “flagship merchandise location” for EPCOT would be known as “Creations Shop.”
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