 By: Bill and Donna |
 Finally after more than a month of renovations, the Arribas Brothers new Digs on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom are up and running. And, according to the two Glass Artisans I spoke to today, it was well worth the wait. The new shop, adjacent to the old one in the Bakery on Main St. is brighter, larger, has much more storage space than the old place and the traffic flow is much lighter. There is also room for larger and brighter display cases (See photos) and in the rear of the new shop, there are two stores down the alleyway that are not in use, and there are plans to expand into those unused stores. As of now, it is in the planning stage, but I am told is should be ready by late July.
As what else will be in the back of the store is not known yet. They are talking about having a glass Artisan in the back blowing glass through a long tube like it has been done for centuries, and maybe a glass lathe machine, showing how many odd shaped pieces are designed and made. Again, only time will tell, so stay tuned to the Mickey News for further developments.
Please see the Magic Kingdom Photo section for more photos from Arribas. |
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The Arribas Brothers are the sole designers working for the Disney Company, crafting beautiful crystal and glass ornaments, licensed Disney Characters, Castles, Dolphins and anything else that comes to the imagination. Although the Company is considered what is know in the Disney parlance as a "Participant" i.e. a company who is contracted by Disney to perform a specialized service, their Artisans are still considered Cast Members and go through all the training any Disney employee does. The Arribas Brothers began their relationship with the Disney Company in 1962, when the owners, Alfonso and Tomas (Now deceased) met Walt Disney himself at the Seattle World's Fair, the rest is history.
Now as the renovations at the Arribas Brothers new shop is complete, the vacant shop in the Bakery on Main St. will now be put to good use. Always popular for it's pastries, cold and hot drinks and decadent desserts the Bakery had one problem: Limited seating. Now with the Glass shop next door, hopefully in a few more weeks we will see expanded seating which will make my favorite coffee shop in the Magic Kingdom a lot easier to enjoy. As of now, there is a wall between the Bakery and the new Glass shop. But there are plans to remove the partition and make a walkway between the shops, making it more accessible for the guests to have a coffee and stroll over and view all the new glass treasures the Artisans have come up with!