A ride on the monorail from Magic Kingdom to Epcot was a new experience for us and we loved the aerial views of the park. We made our way to World Showcase again starting today with the first in the line-up of countries around the lagoon – Mexico. The pavilion here is a huge pyramid, dim and dark representing twilight and incredibly crowded inside. Everything in Mexico is housed in this building, we meandered around the big marketplace and looking at the plethora of Mexican goods on sale – everything from pottery to pinatas.
A cute little boat ride through a whole series of Mexican scenes accompanied by Donald Duck was tame but fun, then we headed back outside to watch the very entertaining Mariachi band – sipping frozen margaritas while we watched got the thumbs up from me.
Next was Norway and unlike Mexico, this place was virtually deserted. Quite quaint and laid out like a town square in Norway there is a replica fortress and a Stave church. I remember in the past a fun little ride with a backwards plunge past a troll – not thrilling but loads of fun. Unfortunately that seems to have gone and some kind of new Frozen ride was a work in progress during our visit.
We looked in the church and found a small but interesting exhibition on that movie and how the film makers were inspired by Norway. Having never seen Frozen I nonetheless found this very interesting, Son would agree to differ on that one.
Last but by no means least was China – entering through that impressive arch leaves you in no doubt which culture and country this represents.
We wandered for a while in the evening sunshine. One part of this pavilion has a big shopping area and restaurant and seemed to be extremely busy. The other side though was peaceful, quiet and very scenic with a lovely little pond and bamboo walkways.
The dragon acrobats were unmissable and we had front row positions for their wonderful show.
We made our way inside the (half size) Temple of Heaven building to watch the 360 degree film – Reflections of China. Very impressive they have rails you can lean against while you take in the sights of China on the vast screens all around you. Captivating and interesting but also, we found, a great place to cool down and get some respite from the sun.
Outside we had a look at the replica Terracotta Army and of course, a browse in the very intriguing shop.
Seems a whole lot of fun. Very innovative and colorful
These pavilions were a lot of fun and like you say very colourful, great attention to detail too, we just loved them and did have loads of fun.
So all around the world in Epcot! Very colourful; the Chinese performance especially.
The Chinese show was amazing – wonderful acrobats and tricks, a great pavilion there too but the show was the icing on the cake.
I wish you would stop these posts about World Showcase – they make me want to go back even more!
I thought I wouldn’t be so bothered about going back again for a while, now writing these posts and sorting through the pics has had the same effect on me!!
Your photos are so tempting..what a holiday fun with the kiddos. I wanna be there too!
It is such a lot of fun for the kids (and the adults!!). So many great shows, experiences and things to see – highly recommended!!
Yeah I got what you mean..going to places that both the kiddos & the adults have a blast are the perfect holidays..Thanks for sharing this.
I want to bring my daughter here someday 🙂
The colour in countries like China, Malaysia and India is astounding. They seem to have captured some of that in the China section. Fun.
Unfortunately I’ve never been to any of those countries (yet!!) but it did seem like they had done a good job with China here, it was so vibrant and colourful and just a completely different experience. One day we’ll see the real thing… hopefully!
They’ve done a wonderful job in recreating China. The arch (my guess inspired from a temple in Beijing) and Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an look truly authentic.
The whole Chinese area seemed to be really well re-created – so much attention to detail and all the little things done so well.
The pavilions really do seem to give you a feeling of being transported into the different countries and being able to watch the Chinese dancers must have been spectacular.
That was one of our favourite shows – right in front of us and watching them so close up was amazing.
what an amazibg blog. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for visiting and commenting too!
ill be back soon 🙂
with pleasure.
Great showcase of three countries! Thanks for sharing, Joy!
It’s pretty fun to be able to sample a little bit of 3 very different cultures all in the same afternoon Pam!
What an amazing photos. Thanks for a great report
!
It is a great place to visit – so much colour and things to see.
Did you have a favorite country in Epcot, Joy? Favorite food?
I thought they were all lots of fun George but maybe Morocco or China were my favourites. We actually didn’t dine at any of the restaurants in the pavilions but just feasted on food from the temporary trucks as part of the Food and Drink Festival – I couldn’t pick a favourite there, it was all just wonderful.
I find the Terracotta Army captivating, it’s history is very intriguing.
Me too, would love to see the real thing one day!
Your descriptions of the pavilions took me on a walk down memory lane…especially the details you described about the Mexico pavilion. Mr. GeoK and I visited Epcot for the first time when we were on our honeymoon trip back in 1989 and I remember we “splurged” on dinner at the Mexico pavilion. The little pottery owl we bought in the marketplace sits on our kitchen counter even today. Thanks for the reminder of that special time.
The first time we visited Epcot we were newly weds too – not quite our honeymoon but not far off!! I remember having a meal at Mexico as well then and loving it all, it was so great for us to revisit with our son this time!
Brings back lots of happy memories! I should dig out the eons old photos- but I won’t 🙂
You should do Jo!!
Looks like they do a great job replicating famous monuments, that’s really impressive!
They have such amazing attention to detail and it’s all done so well, really gives you a flavour of the different countries.
The attention to detail is amazing Joy! The replica “Terracotta Warriers” are superb! Sipping margaritas watching the musicians sounds an excellent idea to me and the chinese dragon acrobats’ show looks wonderful too! Hope you have a very happy Easter and safe travels if you’re going anywhere too 🙂
Margaritas in the sunshine feels like quite a distant memory now Rosemary!! We have had some sunshine today though so that’s a positive start to the Bank Holiday weekend. Hope your Easter is a lovely one too. We’re off to Lisbon, weather forecast not looking too promising but fingers crossed….
Oh dear Joy yes the Uk weather is not normally conducive to margaritas in the sun! Hope you have a wonderful trip to Lisbon though and that the weather stays fine! Lisbon is on my wish list so will be interested to hear how you get on. My cousin has been there and showed me all his photos – he is a seasoned traveller and loved it plus our younger daughter Mlle has been there a couple of times. Last time she stayed with friends out at Sintra (think you can get a tram up there from the city centre). She loved Sintra as it is up in the hills and has a castle with a lot of fascinating history. It also looked gorgeous in her photos! Safe travels and a very happy Easter! 🙂
We are all very excited – planning to visit Sintra on Monday so good to hear it gets great reviews Rosemary, just fingers crossed for sunshine!
Looks like a beautiful place! I’m sure it was a lot of fun. I can see it in your words 🙂 Enjoy your day!
Thanks Lucy, we had such a lovely time there, a great experience!
I wonder why Norway was so quiet? All the better for you though. The terracotta army is a brilliant replica – it’s so impressive how they make this so authentic for visitors. I also like the sound of frozen margaritas… liking your style Joy!
A frozen margarita in the sunshine – yum!!