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World Showcase |
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Walt Disney World ›› Epcot ›› World Showcase
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A trip around the world is a daily experience for guests visiting
World Showcase at Epcot. Awaiting guests is exotic cuisine,
entertainment, artisans, cultural ambassadors and scenic wonders of
Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, Italy, Germany,
China, Norway, Mexico and The American Adventure.
Adding to the magic is the fireworks spectacular “IllumiNations:
Reflections of Earth” and “Tapestry of Nations,” a moving
spectacle of more than 120 larger-than-life “puppets.”
The journey begins around a 40-acre lagoon beyond Future World. World
Showcase nations, in all of their majesty, dot the shores of the lagoon
as recreations of landmark architectures and historic scenes familiar to
world travelers. Built with finite attention to detail, the villages
have buildings, streets, gardens and monuments designed to give Epcot
guests an authentic visual experience of each land.
A must is The American Adventure, a 108,000-square-foot
Georgian-styled structure featuring perhaps the most impressive Epcot
theatrical performance. Sponsored by Coca-Cola and American Express, The
American Adventure presents a 29-minute drama of 350 years of our
nation’s history, utilizing elaborate three-dimensional settings and a
new generation of Disney Audio-Animatronics® characters. Host figures
Mark Twain, who carries a smoking cigar, and Benjamin Franklin, the
first Audio-Animatronics character to walk, narrate the progress of
America from the era of the Pilgrims to the present.
Cuisine? L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante, designed in rich
Florentine style, and Chefs de France offer world-famous dining
experiences. There’s also a version of the San Angel Inn of Mexico
City and the Mitsukoshi Restaurant of Tokyo, plus authentic dining and
cooking styles of Germany, the United Kingdom, Morocco, China, and
Norway.
Motion pictures? Both Canada and China present spectacular versions
of Circle-Vision 360 films. Disney filmmakers gave new mobility to
cameras that captured such grandeur as the Forbidden City in China,
seldom-seen Tibet and Inner Mongolia, and views of the ancient silk
route once followed by Marco Polo. The full-circle “O Canada!”
production even takes viewers on a rip-roaring buckboard ride in the
famous Calgary Stampede.
Visitors to France see a 200-degree screening of “Impressions de
France,” a spectacular airborne travelogue set to classical music, and
shown in a replica of a Paris theater.
Live entertainment? World Showcase presents artisans, artists and
performers dressed in traditional costumes. In the United Kingdom,
Cockney buskers entertain with sidewalk comedy. Visitors can enjoy a
strolling mariachi band in Mexico, a high-energy troupe of student
acrobats in China and much more throughout the other World Showcase
nations.
World Showcase is designed to entertain and inform visitors as well
as provide a two-way cultural exchange for nationals working in the
showcases. Each showcase is staffed with young men and women from that
country.
The cultural ambassadors provide a unique opportunity for Epcot
guests to become “caught up” in celebrations of holidays and
festivals from around the world. An entire slate of “World Showcase
Celebrations” let the ambassadors celebrate special days just as they
do at home.
Each World Showcase experience is based on concepts chosen for their
contributions to social, cultural and architectural heritages. Following
is a summary description of the patterns involved in the design of each
showcase.
THE AMERICAN ADVENTURE
From the late 1790s to around 1830, American public architecture was
designed from a mixture of styles, including English Georgian --
developed during the reign of King George III --which captured the
spirit of the American Revolution. The American Adventure combines
Georgian-style classic buildings in what is intended as a people’s
mansion and includes examples from Williamsburg, Independence Hall,
the Old State House in Boston and Thomas Jefferson’s home,
Monticello.
CANADA
The Canada showcase includes examples of buildings and scenes found
throughout the nation. The romantic 19th-century French Chateau-style
hotel is replicated in the Hotel du Canada which houses a gift
boutique. A waterfront area is designed to reflect the look of the
Eastern Seaboard, while Victoria’s Butchart Gardens were the pattern
for a West Coast look.
Near the Hotel du Canada is a rugged stone building, modeled after
a famous landmark near Niagara Falls, which reflects the British
influence in Canada. A Native-Canadian village with totem poles
signifies the culture of the Northwest, while the wilderness of Canada
is presented in a setting complete with steep mountains, waterfalls
and a tall northern forest.
UNITED KINGDOM
Time, materials and styles were compressed into a single combination
of city, town and rural atmosphere for the United Kingdom. Included is
a pub in a building reflecting a cluster of periods and different
facades. Viewers traveling an informal street will find a 1500s-style
thatched-roof cottage, a four-story timber and plaster building, a
formal square with a Hyde Park bandstand, a pre-Georgian plaster
building and a formal Palladian exterior of dressed stone. A city
square with classic formal facades copies a look found in London and
Edinburgh. On other streets are found a regency multi-porched row
building, a town gate and clock tower representative of York, a 1400s
brick-style house, and a plaster and stone great hall. A promenade
shows an exterior facade similar to Hampton Court.
FRANCE
The showcase reflects the ambiance of France between 1870 and 1910, a
period known as La Belle Epoque, or “the beautiful time.” This was
an energetic period of art and literature, grand exhibitions,
inventions and science, and a time when a spectrum of styles formed
the character of Paris boulevards and architecture. Within the
showcase are: a book shop, reflective of art nouveau; a perfume and
designer accessories shop styled after the chateau look of an older
Paris, a theater pre-show facade copied from a classical portico; and
a post-show interior modeled after Les Halles, the busy garden market
of Paris.
Elsewhere are a sidewalk cafe and a restaurant, which is a
scaled-down version of a 19th-century building with rolling mansard
roofs and elegant ironwork. Also a provincial street reflects the
village atmosphere of France, complementing the formal tree-lined
streets of Paris. The one-tenth replica of the Eiffel Tower was
constructed using Gustave Eiffel’s original blueprints.
MOROCCO
Across a wide promenade, the Koutoubia Minaret (a detailed replica of
a famous prayer tower in Marrakesh) stands guard over the entrance to
this showcase. In the center of the rectangular courtyard is an ornate
fountain lined with thousands of multi-colored tiles. Like most
Moroccan cities, the showcase is divided into two sections, the Ville
Nouvelle (new city) and the Medina (old city). The entrance to the
Medina, the thriving marketplace of Moroccan cities, is usually
through an arched gate. Guests pass beneath pointed arches and the
swirling blue patches of Bab Boujouloud Gate, a replica of a gateway
in the city of Fez. Just inside the gateway is the Fez House, a
replica of a traditional Moroccan home.
In the Medina, a reproduction of the Chella Minaret in the capital
city of Rabat rises above the shops and shoppers. There also stands a
reproduction of the Nejjarine Fountain in Fez, representing the
traditional village fountain.
JAPAN
Architecture and landscaping meld exquisitely in this showcase. Rocks,
which in Japan symbolize the long life of the earth, combine with
water, symbolizing the sea, which the Japanese consider a source of
life. These, with a variety of trees and other plantings, blend with
the Japanese architecture to produce an authentic Asian experience.
A pagoda which stands prominently in the showcase was modeled after
an 8th-century structure in Japan. The torii gate near World Showcase
Lagoon is similar to the one in Hiroshima Bay. The structure which
houses the Mitsukoshi Department Store on the first floor and a formal
Japanese restaurant on the second was inspired by a portion of the
Gosho Imperial Palace in Kyoto.
ITALY
Architectural elements of Venice stand at the showcase entrance,
including the Doge’s Palace with elegant decoration, and a
scaled-down version of the Campanile (bell tower) of St. Mark’s
Square. Complementing these buildings are Venetian bridges, gondolas,
colorful barber poles and a sculpture of the Lion of St. Mark atop a
column. The promenade paving is patterned after St. Mark’s. Other
buildings are composites of architecture found throughout Italy.
L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante is reminiscent of the
Florentine style; the stairway and portico adjoining the Doge’s
Palace are typical of Verona; and the town hall overlooking the
promenade is reflective of Northern Italy. The garden wall enclosing
the piazza is typical of Rome and Florence. Sculptures include a
heroic version of Bernini’s Neptune Fountain, based on the original
in Florence and the Fountain of Trevi in Rome.
GERMANY
Building styles represent different periods and locales, but rely
heavily on the romantic, fairy-tale architecture of Germany. The
atmosphere of a biergarten is derived from the 16th-century town of
Rothenberg. The Platz (plaza) includes a dynamic sculpture of St.
George and the Dragon. The facade of an art and book shop was inspired
by the Kaufhaus, a 16th-century merchants’ hall in Freiburg in the
Black Forest. Statues on the building recall the rule of the Hapsburg
Emperors. An exterior facade was copied from a 400-year-old town hall
in Romsburg Square in Frankfurt. The high wall serving as a backdrop
for the showcase was inspired by the Eltz Castle on the Mosel River
and Stahleck Castle on the Rhine.
CHINA
The gateway of the showcase is based on the beautifully styled main
gate at the summer palace in Beijing, which also provided the
inspiration for the half-size Temple of Heaven, the most visually
prominent feature. The Temple of Heaven, through which Guests pass
into a Circle-Vision 360 theater, symbolizes the Chinese universe. A
public marketplace, designed to encourage socializing, includes
facades borrowed from an elegant home, a school house, a city gate and
shop fronts reflecting European overtones. The art gallery features a
“Lotus Blossum” gate and a formal saddle-ridge roof line. Gardens
and reflecting ponds within the showcase simulate those found in
Suzhou and symbolize the order and discipline of nature.
NORWAY
Your first glimpse of the Norway showcase is that of a striking wooden
structure. This stavkirke, or Stave Church, is styled after Gol Church
of Hallingdal, built around 1250 A.D. It houses an exhibit of Norse
artifacts. Forming a backdrop for the showcase and a romantic exterior
for the restaurant is a Norwegian castle which was styled after
Akershus, a 14th-century fortress that stands in the heart of Oslo’s
harbor. Gift shops and a tourism information center are located in
quaint houses with reddish-brown roofing tiles typical of homes found
in Bergen and other coastal areas.
MEXICO
Fronting the World Showcase Lagoon is a quaint, colonial-style
building, reflective of architecture in Central and Southern Mexico. A
Mayan pyramid dominating the entranceway expresses the proud
pre-Columbian heritage of the country. Inside the showcase is a
gallery displaying artifacts from various periods in the history of
Mexico. Beyond the gallery, visitors enter a formal portico, modeled
after a mayor’s mansion, and then a typical colonial plaza where an
evening at the market and a festival atmosphere prevail. Beyond the
plaza, visitors begin a boat journey past a smoking volcano for a
close-up look at the colorful heritage and attractions of Mexico.
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