Pearls at Epcot

[FenwayGirl]

Need some information about the pearls that you can buy at Epcot. #1 need to know where you can buy them (which country...I think it is Japan). Also need price information. My 10 year old wants to buy a pearl and maybe have it made into some kind of jewelry. She is saving money for this now, want to make sure she is setting a realistic goal for herself.

[Hayden's Dad]

You can but the pearls at the Japan Pavilion about halfwaythrough. You pick your own oyster for I want to say $18.00. You are guaranteed a pearl they tell you the size and color and then if you like you can pick a setting for it in silver or gold, obviously silver will be less expensive. We love doing this and we have made it a tradition to get one every time we go. We even got twins one time. That was awesome two in one oyster. We have never had them set though, but they do drill a whole so you can have it set later if you want. We have also done this at the CBR but that was several years ago Idon't know if they are still there or not. If I remember right they were a little less expensive there and there was more show involved you got to welcome your peal into the world by yelling BOMBINI and they told you if it was a girl or a boy. This is where we got the twins he was just as excited as we were. It's fun and if she picks a silver setting I think that it will be within her reach. Have fun

[SBETigg]

You can find the pearls in World Showcase's Japan and also in Downtown Disney. I'm not sure but I think the pearl is in the $15 range and the settings run the gamut in pricing, but she should be able to set it affordably. I think the settings will start at $25 or so and can go up into the $100 range. If she's saving for it, she probably wants to target $45 or so for the whole experience, on the low end.

[The Flying Dutchman]

The oysters were 14.95 and settings started right around 15 dollars too. The Mrs got a nice pearl set into a necklace slide for a total of $32. The slide was sterling silver (gold is an option but of course more expensive) and the chain is not included in that price, but since she has plenty of chains at home that she can put the pearl on, we figured it wasn't worth the extra money to buy the pearl, set the pearl, AND buy a chain to put it on.
Hope that helps!

[martinfamily5]

I agree with FlyingDutchman. I did this 2 years ago after years of saying when I got home, I wish I'd gotten a pearl from Japan. I did exactly what Mrs. FlyingDutchman did. Chose my pearl, had it mounted on a slide and bought the chain at home. I didn't really like the chain choices that they had and I figured they were more expensive. I love my pearl and am so happy that I did it. It was so fun.

[MsMin]

I wasn't thrilled with the settings and neither were my dd's. Not any in the under $100 price anyway.
Not that they are bad but I just know it would be nothing I would wear so here is what we are doing.
Get the pearls drilled and then build a necklace for each trip. Kinda like an add a pearl type necklace.
It's easy to string pearls and you can have them set with a pin to add a chain and slowly add more pearls w/ less chain. It's a fun tradition to start and memorable. Of course the pearls will not match in size or graduate in size but it's the symbolism of the trips not the symmetry of the necklace. If you get it drilled you can also add other types of stones while you are waiting. We have a great bead shop here in town to work with our pearls. I got twins too... and look forward to getting another pearl NEXT WEEK

[MMouse6937]

My mom got a very nice one two weeks ago in Japan. My dad said the pearl was about $14.00 and they found a cute setting that was only like $10.00. It was just a cheap fun thing.

Btw, the funny thing was when we did the pick a pearl a couple days later in DTD. The back story is when I was about 13 or so we were at a touristy place in FL called the Shell Factory that had the pick a pearl and my mom wanted to do it. She asked me to pick her an oyster and as an afterthought told me to pick her a black one. Well I did, it was a huge black pearl. She had it mounted on a ring and still loves it 20 years later. Well a couple weeks ago when we were in DTD my mom wanted to pick another one and she told me to pick it since I'm so lucky. So they make this big deal out of opening the oyster, then the girls gasps and says, it's a blue pearl!!! Which is the second rarest pearl ever, behind a black pearl!! HAHAHAHA it was so funny. My mom brought it home and had it mounted on a necklace.

Anyways, it's fun and kinda a tradition in my family. Hope you DD has fun! Take care

[tinksmom02]

DD(then 4) did this on our last trip. It was $15 for the pearl, and we picked the simplest sterling setting, and the cheapest chain. I think it was just about $40 total.

I wanted to do it for myself this trip, but the area was just too crowded. Oh, well, something to look forward to next time!

[EPCOT84]

One of the great things about the pearl counter at the Japan pavillion is the entertainment aspect. They way the person explains it, presents it to you, and if you're lucky, they announce it to everyone with a mini-taiko drum roll. That makes it even more valuable to the child, the parent - even more than the pearl itself. Live the culture while there !

[Here we go again...]

We have purchased pearls at DTD, the kiosk at Beach Club and in Japan.

I must say that purchasing your oyster in Japan is the best experience. They make it fun. My DD and I started collecting them when she was about 8. She loves the way they "ooooh" and "aaah" over the pearls in Japan. It makes her feel like she got so much more.

Japan also has the most choices for settings, and the best price range. We have had rings set for about $25 and earrings made for $12 in sterling silver.

Have fun! This is a tradition that my DD and I look forward to every time we go. Now that she will be bringing friends on the trips I guess we will have to share our fun.

[FenwayGirl]

Thanks for all of your info...

She is going to love this!

[k_reile]

I just did the pick a pearl at Japan on 09/27. My pearl cost me $14.80. I got a 7 1/4 MM white pearl. I ended up having it mounted on a ring setting that cost around $46.00. It looks really nice....even though I tried to pick the ugliest one because I heard that is a good way to get a black pearl...but they all were ugly so it was hard to tell...

[cjb121879]

My boyfriend and I did this back in September. We visited Universal on this trip as well and they also had at least one pick-a-pearl kiosk. We watched a guy there pick an oyster that contained a lovely pinkish pearl (he said he was giving it to his mother).

I knew I wanted to do this and decided to wait until we were in Epcot to do it. I knew I was going to pick two because I wanted earrings. While we waited, I watched the girl in line ahead of me pick a largish white pearl.

When it was my turn, I asked the guy behind the counter if he had any advice and he said "no". However, the guy at Universal also told us to pick the ugliest one we could find. Like a previous poster said, they all seemed pretty ugly to me! I picked an oyster and I also got a largish white pearl. I then asked the guy whether they got black pearls there and funnily enough, he said that the kinds of oysters they stocked there did not produce black pearls. He pointed to the nacre (mother-of-pearl) lining on the inside of the shell and said that all of the hues there represented the colors those pearls could produce. Since black was not one of the color gradients, he said they would not produce a black pearl. He said that rarest color they got there were blue. So, I picked another oyster and to my surprise, I got a blue pearl! It was a pretty good bluish-gray color and the people at the counter made a big deal about it. The guy was so surprised that we were just talking about it and there it was! They clapped and banged the drum and showed it to everyone standing around.

The nice thing was that although I had two non-matching pearls, for people who want earrings made of their pearls, they will switch out whichever pearl they don't want and match the remaining pearl with one they have on hand. I of course wanted to keep the blue one and they brought out about 3 or 4 other blue pearls in the same size category. They let me pick the one that was the closest match and set them in a simple silver post setting within 20 minutes all for under 40$. It was awesome- we had such a great time and my boyfriend and I couldn't believe how fast it was done. We went to the back of the store to get some sake from the bar (very fun by the way, it comes in a souvenir cup and the bartender wrote our names in Japanese on the bottom) and by the time we returned, they were done!

All in all, a great experience and one I highly recommend!

[Mary Poppins fan]

FenwayGirl, your DD will love it. Last month my DDs(6 year old twins) did the Pick a Pearl in Japan and the CMs made a big deal over them. With their brother(13) helping, they both picked fairly large pearls (one white and the other pink). We had them set (I bought the chains at home) and they absolutely love them.
BTW, GO SOX!!!

[buzznwoodysmom]

We did this on our trip in Feb. and really enjoyed it. During this trip we celebrated both of my son's birthdays and my mother's birthday (DM came on the trip instead of DH, who was too busy with work). So we decided that Valentine's Day would be my day since I didn't have a birthday to celebrate. My boy's ( 7 and 5) each picked an osyter for me. One was a large white pearl and the other was a smaller blue pearl. The CMs made a huge deal out of the blue pearl and both boys got a drum roll and announcement of their pearls. Then I let them each decide what they wanted to make for mommy. The oldest wanted to make me a ring so we picked a ring setting together and the youngest wanted to make me a necklace so we picked a pendant together. I didn't purchase the chain there as I have tons of chains at home. All together it costs around $100.00, but everytime wear that jewelry I think about our trip and how happy my little men were to get mommy jewelry for Valentine's Day. I am sure that as my boys get older those pieces of jewelry will become more and more valuable to me for sentimental reasons!! We plan to do this again in about 6 weeks!!!!!!

[youngOx96]

Hey FenwayGirl. This will be a very memorable experience for both of you. The first time I picked a pearl was in Feb. of 1997. I wanted to get my wife a unique gift to commemorate our vacation. I picked a pretty good size white pearl, but opted not to have it set at the time - I think the wait was too long. Anyway, since I didn't have it mounted, they placed the pearl in a small plastic zip-loc bag. They also wrote the size of the pearl and the date of harvest on the bag. When we returned home from our time at the World, my wife decided to buy a puppy. In sort of a weird coincidence, the pearl I picked was harvested on the same day the puppy was born! Since we didn't have any children at the time, the puppy became a pseudo-child. It was only natural that we had the pearl mounted in a ring setting, which my wife now refers to her first Mother's Ring. Have fun and GO SOX!

[T_I_Double Guh_Err]

That is perfect for any girl
I am 13 and every time I go to Disney, I get at LEAST 2. They are awesome to have on jewelry, or just plain!
for pricing, the price is about 14, if not less.
Good Luck!

[Taja]

The nine-year-old lass in our group really, really wanted a pearl and she had enough money to buy it, so her mother told her she could if that was what she wanted. She also really, really wanted it set in a ring, so grandma (not me) agreed to have it set in sterling if they could find a setting to fit her. She is very small for her age--most people think she's about five or six until she starts talking. Then she sounds like she's 25 or 26!

Cut to the chase--there were only two setting that fit her, and the one they selected was about $40. A very simple band that nicely showcased the 7mm pearl and suits the young lady's hand.

[garymacd]

You can also get pearls at Typhoon Lagoon near the shark tank. Same price, probably the same settings

This has become a tradition with us. Each of our daughters and my beloved wife get one everytime we are there. We always get them at DtD and have them mounted right away.

This is imperative. The longer you wait to have it drilled, the greater the chance of the pearl breaking when it is drilled. So choose an inexpensive setting if you don't see one you really like.

[Disneymom4ever]

Wow, I think this sounds like a wonderful idea! I've passed by the one at Downtown Disney, but never really thought about doing it myself. Denise, I love the idea of having your boys each pick one out for you. My DS's are a little older, but I know they'd still love to choose one for me, and what a great memory I would have wearing it. I will definitely do this on our upcoming trip!