Although World Showcase in Epcot isn’t exactly like a trip around the world, it’s probably as close as some of us will come to jetsetting across continents and seeing the sights! The folks at Disneyworld have created a place where we can experience the sights, sounds, cuisine and feel of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada without actually traveling there.
Walt Disney World has done it’s best to create an authenic look and feel to the country’s pavilions. You’ll board a Viking boat in Norway…experience a pyramid from Mexico…see the Eiffel Tower in France…walk among sprawling street vendors in Morrocco…in every country there is authentic food (you have to try the French pastries), shops, and people. Yes…people. Disney has instituted the World Showcase Fellowship Program, where students from each country come to Florida and take part in a work-study curriculum.
World Showcase was one of my favorite places in Disneyworld. True, it doesn’t have exciting, high concept rides…but there’s so much to see and learn and experience that you could spend days wandering around soaking it in. Even my kids enjoyed World Showcase, thanks in part to the Kidcot Fun Stations. Each country staffs a Station where children can stop and do some kind of craft or activity related to that country. Disneyworld also offers “passports”, containing stickers for each country and a place for the Kidcot staffers to write a greeting. I found the Kidcot employees to be creative and willing to write fun things, often in their native language. Passports aren’t free, but they’re not that expensive, either, and they’re available at any Epcot store.
World Showcase has something for everyone, and the best way to experience it is just to wander around and let yourself get lost in the illusion. After all…most of us won’t actually make it to somewhere like Morocco, so we might as well experience the next best thing!