So, that’s it, I started off with a simple recollection post about EPCOT World Showcase at Disney World, Florida and then I took off around the World to compare Disney with the real places that I have visited.
I have taken a look at the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Norway andMorocco but I can’t post about Canada, Mexico, China or Japan because I haven’t been to those countries yet.
In the course of writing, dragging up memories and doing some research I started to think more deeply about World Showcase and became intrigued by the rationale behind the concept, design and construction and in particular the reasons why these eleven countries in particular were chosen for inclusion in the park.
This is partly explained by the fact that the Walt Disney Corporation, strapped for cash, tried to find sponsors for the showcased countries and failed in all but one attempt – Morocco. This in turn explains why some of the Pavilions are so disappointing, the absence of rides and attractions and the over reliance on shops and restaurants all designed to get visitors to part with their money.
But the failure to attract government sponsorship or private sector investment still leaves us with almost a dozen countries and no explanation why these eleven so I have been giving the matter some thought and whilst at first the inclusion appears to be rather random I think there is a credible reason for almost all of them.
The United States is of course obvious and requires no explanation for its inclusion or for the fact that it occupies the prime position on the World Showcase Lagoon and is the biggest and the most lavish and expensive of all the Pavilions.
Canada and Mexico are easily explained. It would be rude I suppose not to have your nearest neighbours ( it would be like EPCOT World Showcase in England without Wales and Scotland) but there are some important statistics that reveal that it is not just about being neighbourly. In terms of tourism by international visitors these two countries make up over half of all travellers visiting the United States and according to official data in 2013* Canada with over twenty-three and a half million visitors provided 34% of all international visitors and Mexico with fourteen and a half million contributed 21%. Way behind in third place was United Kingdom with 5.5%.
The inclusion of Mexico is even more easily explained by looking at population statistics that reveal that the second highest number of foreign born residents in the United States (by a very long way) is Mexican.
It is easy to see therefore that the inclusion of these two countries makes obvious commercial sense. Strange however, and this is just a personal view, that the two Pavilions provide the contrast between the best (Mexico) and one of the worst (Canada).
And so we move on to Europe with five of the eleven Pavilions coming from the second smallest continent – but why these five, why not Spain or Greece, Poland or Sweden and once again I am rather easily convinced that it is based on US ethnic ancestry and visitor numbers.
In terms of ancestry the top ten European nationalities (in this order) are Germany, Ireland, England, Italy, Poland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland and Sweden. Germany (at 17%) genuinely surprised me and explained immediately why it is at World Showcase but (at almost 11%) why no Ireland? Why Norway and not Sweden? I suppose Poland, at the time of construction, was part of the Warsaw Pact alliance and that might have ruled it out but why not Holland because surely all of those windmills and canals would have made a great attraction.
Visitor numbers also explain why these countries are here because four of the five (but not Norway) are in the top ten of international visitors to the United States.
Japan and China must be explained by visitor numbers. After Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom Japan contributes the fourth most visitors to the United States and China is also firmly in the top ten. Conversely, in the top ten but not represented at EPCOT are Brazil, South Korea and Australia.
Of all the countries at the EPCOT World Showcase I suppose the easiest to explain is Morocco and this is in part due to the fact that the Pavilion was the only one in which the country’s government aided in the construction and they did this so that they could retain some measure of Islamist control over the design of the mosaics and to ensure that everything was as authentic as possible in the representation of the Muslim faith.
I cynically conclude that any country could potentially be included if the government of that country was prepared to stump up the cash.
So who is missing? Well, there is nothing from South America but the United Kingdom itself provides more visitors to the USA than the whole of Latin America combined so perhaps there is a clue there? And apart from state funded Morocco there is nothing from Africa which might be considered surprising when 13% of the US population are of African descent but (and here is the crucial commercial factor) visitor numbers from the African continent are the smallest of all at only three hundred and twenty-seven thousand in 2013.
There is a small African Trading Post and Disney excuses the omission by pointing out that there is an entire African themed park at the nearby Animal Kingdom.
Finally, I have been giving some consideration to an alternative World Showcase and here are my suggestions:
First, Australia with an IMAX film narrated by Mel Gibson and Kylie Minogue and a ride based on the theme of the World’s deadliest snakes. Then Russia because now the Cold War is ended there must surely be space for Red Square and the Kremlin and a Moscow Metro ride. Next, Brazil, with a ride based on the Rio Carnival and then Peru because Machu Picchu would be a good replacement for the Mexico Aztec pyramid. After that, Egypt with a Nile Cruise ride; India and a train journey ride to visit the Taj Mahal and the Golden Temple of Amritsar; Equatorial Africa, which was once suggested but abandoned. And from Europe: Greece with a visit to Mount Olympus to meet the mythical gods in an animatronic show; Spain and the legend of El Cid and the Conquistadors and the Netherlands with a cruise of the Amsterdam canals (leaving out the red light district as not being entirely appropriate for children).
And finally, wouldn’t it be fun to include the World’s smallest sovereign state – The Vatican – with a roller coaster ride around St Peter’s Basilica!
Whoops, Sorry, I nearly forgot Ireland, lets have twelve countries (it’s my list and my rules) and let’s have a visit to the Cliffs of Moher (sponsored by Guinness).
Please let me know your suggestions, I would be interested in your views…
* US National Travel and Tourism Office.
Very good post. I always wondered why there were hardly any rides in that area.
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Thanks Rick.
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Interesting facts. I’ve heard that the ‘Arctic Experience’ part of “WS Norway” is being converted into a ‘Frozen’ themed attraction (to tie in to the film). I presume that this site has been chosen because, fortuitously, it has all the chilling and frozen-fog atmosphere equipment already in place.
Although Hans Christian Anderson was Danish, “WS Norway” is also a very appropriate setting for this attraction, as the ‘Frozen’ film & story is set, or heavily suggestive of being, mainly enacted there.
I like your ideas for new Showcases. An Indian one, with a decent restaurant attached, would be my choice.
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Thanks Gary, that is interesting information about Norway and Frozen!
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Apparently they are takin out the ride «Maelstrøm» is being replaced by a frozen themed attraction. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/09/frozen-attraction-coming-to-epcot/.
As Frozen is supposedly set in Norway (Arendelle is supposedly based on the Norwegian town Arendal). Norway is even getting quite a few tourist from around the world wanting to visit the country from Frozen
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Don’t tell my granddaughters, they will pester me forever to go see Frozen!
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A roller coaster in the Basilica. Well now that would be fun. 🙂 Since you rate Canada as the worst I suggeat we do a polar dip wiith live polar bears chasing visitors. That should liven things up.
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That would be a big improvement on an IMAX film!
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Do you suppose it is the same these years later?
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I did some research for this post and a lot of it looks very familiar. I think one or two of the pavilions have had a make-over but nothing drastic. If I go back to Orlando I’ll make straight for World Showcase and report back!
Where do all the Canadian visitors to the US go by the way?
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If you are meaning where do they go in the US a lot would be snowbirds who head south for 6 months every winter. Arizona, California and Florida. Throughout the year places like NYC, LA, San Francisco and Miami would get a lot of visits. No research to any of this just from experience. 🙂
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As always, it’s all driven by politics and factors of commerce. Interesting and thought-provoking post 🙂
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Thanks Spike.
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Epcot is always a disappointment to those who have been to the actual countries. Same with Animal Kingdom and anyone who has been to Africa or southwest Asia. I always assumed that they are what they are because they only develop an exhibit if they have corporate sponsorship, and what’s there is what corporations are willing to sponsor.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the World Showcase part of Epcot morphed into something else in for foreseeable future. I think that easy access to international travel makes it obsolete.
Funny you should post this now. I’ll be at Disney Florida on Sunday, at the Magic Kingdom. No plans to go to Epcot.
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Thanks. It would be interesting to see what Epcot might have been like if Walt hadn’t died when he did.
Enjoy your trip!
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When I visited, I had a six-year-old in tow, and remember little except for some of the rides that stood out for her. 😀
Interesting post, Andrew. I had no idea about countries represented at Epcot.
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Thanks Tess. These of course are only my personal theories.
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Still, they’re interesting because I wasn’t aware about this subject at all. 🙂
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Epcot felt hopelessly fake to me. I’m not sure I buy the idea that it makes sense to pick countries based on the number of visitors to the US from that country. If I live in country X I don’t need to go to Epcot to look at a fake version. And if I’m American but have been to country X, ditto.
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So what is your theory on the selection of the countries?
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Whichever were most interesting to the designers, or whichever they knew most about, or (most likely) were easiest/cheapest to set up. Or whichever they thought were most recognized by Americans. It would be interesting to know the breakdown in visitors between US and foreign.
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I much prefer your version to the real thing, though I haven’t visited that one either. The Disney experience does nothing to entice me. If I were to go to all that trouble, I’d much prefer to see the real thing.
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It is interesting to see the perception of life in the UK. It is wrong so all the others must be too!
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Your research is so interesting, and I feel like your conclusions must often be true: catering to numbers of visitors. I see your intelligent readers have commented that the real version is better, but I think when catering to the masses, the masses probably really do want to see a fake version of their own home. (Yes, I’ve got a cynical bent too)
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Oh, and I think your ideas for alternate countries are excellent! Holland, Greece, Egypt, Australia, Russia… now that’s what I want to see instead of the same old tired German and English stereotypical (and apparently all wrong) villages.
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I am sure that Disney could get any new ones wrong just as well!
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I don’t disagree with that – I wanted to see the UK that’s for sure. I’m just getting mean in my old age!
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Interesting analysis of why certain countries were chosen. I wonder if they will ever adjust/expand based on changing tourism trends.
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It could do with a refresh but after 30 years these countries still coincide neatly with visitor numbers. Thanks for the comment.
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Ha! What a great post, Andrew. WS has always been underwhelming to me, except for the restaurant in Mexico and the evening laser light show 😉 Certainly when the idea was conceived, international travel was much less common than today. Now, for those who have travelled, the attractions are pretty cheesy. That being said, for those who have only travelled as far as Disneyworld, I can imagine WS would be fun, no matter what the countries.
So how about France, with the Eiffel Tower and a “Tower-of-Terror-like” ride 😉
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Good idea. It could be based on that James Bond film when Grace Jones (May Day) parachutes from the top of the tower.
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