Pearl at Epcot

[CadiesMom]

I have heard about picking a pearl someplace in Epcot. Could anyone give me the details and location for this? DD9 would love to do this. Thanks!

 

[goofy4tink]

Dd and I did this in August '03. You can find the 'Pearl' shop in Japan in the WorldShowcase. The cost was around $15 but I could be remembering incorrectly. You look in the water and choose an oyster and the girl takes it out and opens it in front of you. If the pearl is over a certain mm they ring a gong and announce it. We got a beautiful (gong ringing) silver pearl that I had put into a pendent for my dd's birthday. You can have it put in a variety of setting right there or take just the pearl. We had the pearl set when we got home. Funny, but after my mother passed away last fall, when I was cleaning out her apt., I found 3 different pearls in their little plastic baggies. 2 from SeaWorld and 1 from WDW.

 

[pjlla]

My DD did it this past January and got a beautiful (gong-ringing) silver-blue pearl...very large and nicely round. I'm just saving it for her. I will probably get it set for her when she gets a bit older. It is a TERRIFIC souvenir! Something she will have for the rest of her life! (Versus a plastic toy or t-shirt). Just remember to bring your camera to record this event/purchase..... I left mine with DH while DD and I went to do this... and now I have no photos of it for the scrapbook!.................P

 

[HollyJoy]

Does every oyster have a pearl in it? Oh, and does anyone know the name of the store?

 

[beavismom]

It is the Mitsukoshi Department Store.

 

[tmq2766]

Yes every oyster has a pearl in it and they also have a stand set up in DTD.....

 

[HollyJoy]

Thanks!! This is definately on my list of things to do!

 

[QuickGold]

Be careful! This place is a hard sell on the "find your own pearl in an oyster" deal.

Basically you can buy a real oyster with a pearl in it. Fun, right? Well before you know it, they'll have you buying a mounting and chair for it and you'll end up spending a hundred dollars or so. They're very nice and very slick. A word of warning.

 

[pjlla]

Wow... we must have gotten lucky... we didn't have any of that. We had a very nice experience with a very pleasant Japanese lady! Sorry to hear it is not always that way.............P

 

[my3boys]

I love my pearl I got at Epcot (gong-ringing one!). I have it on a fine gold chain where the chain goes through the middle of the pearl - it sort of floats since the chain is hard to see. The chain I already had, so I only paid a small amount to have it made

I did watch a young girl get two black pearls in one oyster at Downtown Disney!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Yes, you can also do it at DTD. Last time i was there, it was a cart outside. Lots of beautiful jewelry for sale, too. They didn't seem as crazy cramped as the Japan store, in which there were loads of people around.

I think it's really fun, and a unique gift. Just wait to have it mounted back home at regular prices =)

 

[goofy4tink]

Funny that you mention the 'hard sell'. I never even realized that you could have your pearl set at all when we were there!!! The young lady just put my pearl in a plastic baggie, took my money and we left. Never any mention of settings or addtl. services.

 

[llij]

I never knew you could have the pearls set there either. We've done the pearl thing twice in the past year. Once, my younger daughter got "twin" pearls in one oyster. You should have seen the look on her face when they banged the gong on that one. It was priceless!

 

[Tinkerbell58]

We picked an oyster at The Pearl Factory in Downtown Disney. The pearl was $12.95. Some settings are a little pricey. My DD's pearl, chain, and dolphin setting cost about $150. You can, of course, have it mounted at a jewelry store at home.

It was fun, as well as educational. The employee told us some facts about pearls.

 

[CadiesMom]

Wow! Thanks for all the great info! I am excited now to do this for dd, she will love it and we will hope for a special "gong" worthy pearl!

 

[pjlla]

Originally posted by Aimeedyan
Yes, you can also do it at DTD. Last time i was there, it was a cart outside. Lots of beautiful jewelry for sale, too. They didn't seem as crazy cramped as the Japan store, in which there were loads of people around.

I think it's really fun, and a unique gift. Just wait to have it mounted back home at regular prices =)

Were you there during a busy time (school holiday)? We were in the store in January and it was EMPTY!!..............p

 

[Maridw]

When we were there in May, both my DD & I picked an oyster. I ended up with what they call "Twins", two pearls in one oyster. They were a little pink in color and 6.5 mm in size. DD got one and it was 6.75 mm in size. They ring the gong for twins too. I was the second set of twins in 5 minutes.

She had done it once before and got one that was 7.25 mm in size.

We still haven't gotten any of them set yet. But I figure I will eventually make earrings out of mine.

They did not even try to get us to have them set while we were there.

 

[melanie18]

We were just at the one in Japan last week and within 10 minutes a couple of people each got 2 pearls in each oyster! There's also a booth right outside the Beach Club near Stormalong Bay. But the one in Japan is a little more animated with the ringing of the gong with every pearl.

 

[VickiB31]

DH just HAS to get me a new peal for every trip I'm up to around 15 or so in the last few years. The Japan store is much less "hard sell" than DTD. I also think that there are more mid-range settings. You can get several in sterling silver. My nephews each bought a pearl for my sister and she had them made into a silver pendant.

Just a note though, not all jewelers will mount these pearls. I had a hard time getting my first one set (I wear a size 9 ring and they didn't have anything I liked)

Both stores change their stock of settings regularly.

 

[laurenk]

We have done this everytime we go to WDW at all three locations. My kids love it. The only place we had one set was at DTD. Maybe they push harder to have them set right there.