'Apricot Lane' and the future of Hyperion Wharf - what does it mean?

Jul 01, 2011 in "Hyperion Wharf"

Posted: Friday July 1, 2011 10:53am EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff
The news came in yesterday that the speciality boutique store "Apricot Lane" will be moving into the retail location recently vacated by Harley Davidson. This has a lot of people questioning why this is happening, and what it means for the future of Hyperion Wharf. Looking back to the released concept art, the retail location in question is right at the center of Hyperion Wharf, so why place another retail store there, when it appeared Harley Davdison was being moved out to free up this space to be used as premium dining space?

There are a couple of possibilities to explain this somewhat unexpected move. As we know from recent times, Disney have followed the retail trend of "pop up" stores, which can quickly move in to a space, and begin selling without a huge amount of work taking place in the store. If things work out, they can then be relocated into a permanent home elsewhere. This has been the case with both Ridermakerz and Little MissMatched at Downtown Disney, so could be the path that Apricot Lane is taking. The second possibility is that Apricot Lane is in fact a new permanent addition to this location, which then brings things onto the big issue. What is going on with Hyperion Wharf?

A lot of internet discussion on forums and blogs continues along the lines of Hyperion Wharf begin canceled. While it is certainly not moving ahead at a visible pace we were expecting, there could well be a very good reason for this, and something very different from it being canceled and the doom and gloom that is being talked about in so many places online. As with Fantasyland, and it's recent round of changes (ie. moving in the Snow White Coaster in place of the enhanced meet and greets), there is a real possibility that Hyperion Wharf is going through a redesign. As we know from Fantasyland, reworked designs can often bring a better final outcome.  Disney are determined to make the new Downtown Disney a success, so let's see what comes in the next few months - perhaps a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised with how this new Downtown Disney develops.

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