Holidays In Epcot

One of my favourite Walt Disney World parks during Christmas is actually Epcot. I adore the Magic Kingdom - especially Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - but Epcot is a fascinating place to be during the Holiday Season. With their Holidays Around the World celebration, it is a great place to learn about how Christmas is celebrated in other countries - or what we, in the UK, call 'Christmas'.
I was lucky enough to work in Epcot during the Christmas season of 2004, where I was also lucky enough to be involved in the Tree Lighting Ceremony. This involved riding the Epcot Bus with characters, and other Cultural Representative Cast Members (at least one from each Pavilion in World Showcase), to help Mickey and Minnie Mouse turn on the Christmas Lights at Epcot!

And one of the most beautiful sights to behold: well, it was the turning on of the Lights of Winter holiday archways. These lights danced, flickering on and off in time with the music as you walked under it. Unfortunately, these lights have been retired this year due to obsolete technology. But it is still nice to admire the lights of Christmas past.
The Christmas Tree is decorated beautifully, with Christmas baubles depicting each country in the World Showcase, as well as slogans with "Happy Holidays" in their languages - or the country's seasonal message.

World Showcase At Night...China

One of the most beautiful pavilions in World Showcase at night is the China Pavilion. If you have the chance to travel around the pavilions in Epcot at night, especially during Extra Magic Hours, you should. I really feel it shows each country in a whole new light.

Today, let's have a look at China, and see what the Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot has to say about this mysterious land.

The dominant element in the skyline of our China is the Hall Prayer for Good Harvest. This striking tower is an imperial prayer temple, where the emperor would go to pray for a good harvest or give thanks for one that had already passed.

This agricultural theme prevades the detailing of the hall's interior. Note the four columns in the center, each representing one of the seasons of the year. The twelve exterior columns are indicative of the twelve months of the year and of the twelve year cycle that the Chinese live by. In Chinese design, circles define the heaves and squares stand in for the earth - used together they form the universe. This motif repeats itself throughout the building. The red and yellow that are found all around represent happiness and the emperor, respectively. The original hall was built solely with interlocking pieces of wood - no nails or fasteners.

Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot [p86]

World Showcase at Night - Japan

Today's World Showcase Pavilion is Japan - one of the most beautiful pavilions in the whole of the the Showcase! My picture is only a small part of the pavilion, but I thought we should look at another excerpt from the Imagineering Field Guide.

In order to evoke the serenity and drama of traditional Japanese settings, WDI designers drew heavily upon the underlying principles of Japanese design. Among these are balance, harmony, simplicity, formality, and delicacy. The pavilion is laid out in such a way as to place all of the major elements within view of the central entry point, from the symbolic gate on the lagoon to the massive walls of the feudal palace to the soaring majesty of the protective pagoda. The arrangement of all of these elements serves to tie the space together and connect the viewer to his or her surroundings.

Choices were made in the selection of references in order to maintain that distinctly Japanese sensibility. For instance, the original design of the pagoda was deemed by our Japanese advisors to reflect more of the Chinese influence, dating to the time before the Japanese had adapted their pagoda designs to suit their own preferences. So, it was changed.

Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot [p104]

World Showcase At Night...Morocco

Continuing with our wanderings through Epcot's World Showcase in the evening, our next stop on this journey is Morocco - one of the most immersive pavilions, in my opinion.

Let's see what the Imagineering Field Guide can tell us about this Pavilion:

Our Morocco takes inspiration from the cities of Casablanca, Marrakesh, Rabat, and Fez. It is drawn from the traditions of Islamic architecture. The pavilion, like most Moroccan cities, is divided into two sections - the ville nouvell, or new city, and the Medina, or old city.

The gateway to the city - the Bab Boujouland Gate from Fex - defines the entrance to the Medina. Such gates were typically part of the protective system of the old cities, and were therefore not very welcoming. Ours has been tweaked and given a more pleasant context so that it will work better for our purposes.
The Nejjarine Fountain to the right of the restaurant is also from Fex, and is representative of most of the villages in Morocco.

The minarets, or prayer towers, that form our Moroccan skyline are replicas of the Chella minaret from the capital city of Rabat and the Koutoubia minaret from Marrakesh. [p.108]

If you would like to get your own copy of the Imagineer's Field Guide to Epcot - and it is a must have! - you can find it at Amazon's US Site or their UK Site.

World Showcase At Night.. The American Adventure

Let's continue on our little journey around the World Showcase at night time. It really is a beautiful place to wander - and our next focus is delightful at night.

The American Adventure is a beautiful building, patriotic in nature, with an historical and informative attraction within. Although I am not an American, I would like to think that Americans are very proud of this being their pavilion. In my opinion, it very much reminds me of a culmination of buildings from Boston and similarly historical cities.

Let's have a look at the Imagineering Field Guide's detailing of this building:

Our building's edifice is an example of English Georgian architecture, prevalent during the 18th-Century reigns of King George I through King George IV, and therefore common in colonial America as well. This style expresses itself in the Greek-revitalist porticos, the stone-quoined corners implying strength and solidity, and the characteristic clock and bell tower above the roof. This look carries over to the American Gardens Theatre, designed as a fitting compliment to the main building.

The colour palette at the American Adventure is very tightly controlled. One can see in all of the concept art throughout its development that this was always on the minds of the design team. The red, white, and blue colour scheme repeats itself throughout the pavilion. We see a red promenade, white pilasters on the marquee, and a blue-tile fountain. We have 110,000 red bricks, white architectural trim, and the blue sky backdrop. The flowers are always planted in red, white and blue groupings. And there's always a layer of banners and buntings declaring the patriotic learnings of the place.

The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World [p.95]

A Look At...The United Kingdom Pavilion

With it being 4th of July weekend across the United States of America, I thought what better time than to talk about the United Kingdom Pavilion. After all, it is a weekend to celebrate ridding the British out of America!

Of course, I am from the UK and the Pavilion is a place I hold near and dear to my heart. I have talked about it many times before on this blog, but today I thought I would take you on a whistlestop tour of the place I called home for almost 12 months.

You start walking along High Street, passing the Rose and Crown pub on your left, but we're going to take a right turn into Tudor Lane, just when we reach the Tea Caddy.

As you walk along Tudor Lane into the heart of the Pavilion, the buildings you pass on either side represent different time frames of the United Kingdom. Predominantly illustrating English design, we pass by the Tea Caddy which is of Shakespearean Design, as well as the Sportsman Shoppe which is of Tudor and Victorian time-period.

As we travel toward the Toy Soldier - where you can usually meet Winnie the Pooh and friends - we reach a more Georgian design (if I am not mistaken). Why is the street, however, called Tudor Lane? Because it predominantly showcases Tudor architecture. For those of you unaware of it, the Tudors were a Dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of England from 1485 to 1603 (not just a television show!).

We follow the Lane round to Upper Regency Street and the Hyde Park Square. Upper Regent Street is a well-known street in London, which is where I believe the Imagineers got the idea of the Street from. The park is one of my favourite areas in the whole of Epcot's World Showcase, and you can see the popular Beatles tribute band, the British Invasion (or the BIPs as we used to call them!). There is also a beautiful, traditional British hedge maze that you can try your hand at. Just don't get lost!

One of the things I love in this area is the detail that has gone into the architecture. For example, have you noticed the brickwork on the chimney stacks on top of the Georgian buildings? I wonder if Bert can dance okay up there with the other chimney sweeps?

And don't forget to check out the Pavilion at night - just after Illuminations, the streets and the square get quieter and you can almost feel like you're in the United Kingdom...all we would need, would be some rain...

Taking Some Time

Sometimes our lives are so hectic - the days we are away from the Parks can feel quite depressing, especially when we are overloaded with reality. Recently I have been quite busy with 'real life' and it doesn't allow me to sit down and enjoy the small things in life.

I have to confess that there have been some times I am sitting down, knowing I should be updating DF'82, but I don't. I just want to sit, and drift away into my thoughts...I apologise for this - I hope you all know how much I love this blog and aim to update it as much as I can. But I thought that this evening, whilst I am sitting here needing to recharge my batteries after a long day and weekend, I would take you to my laughing place.

Well, almost! It's one of my favourite places in Walt Disney World - it reminds me of home, of the days I spent working in the Magical Place on Earth. It reminds me of music drifting along the streets, fireworks going off in the distance, and - bizarrely enough - tea. Welcome to Princess Fee's Peaceful Spot: The United Kingdom Gardens.

Happy Birthday Norway!

Continuing the International Flavour to DF'82, let's take some time away from Japan and look to Norway. No, not Norway, Scandinavia, but Norway, Florida.

Today is the Norway Pavilion in Epcot's 21st birthday! Yes, 21 years ago today, the Pavilion - the 11th in the World Showcase - opened it's doors to the public. I think it's only appropriate we take some time out to appreciate this pavilion. Not only does it have the Norway film (which, let's face it, we all have to do at least once in our lives) but it has the Maelstrom. Arguably the best thrill ride in the World Showcase - I know it's a must do whenever I visit Epcot.

So, happy birthday Norway - or, as they say in Norwegian, Gratulerer med dagen! Now you're old enough to drink around the World.

Memorabilia Monday - EPCOT Centre

A couple of Mondays ago I shared with you some more of my number plate collection - and on this week's Memorabilia Monday I'd like to do the same! Hopefully you're not too bored of this...

Anyway, this time I'd like to share with you some of my EPCOT plates that I've collected through the years. Can any of you guess when they are from? It's easy to tell that the top one is from my first visit to WDW - but the rest? Even I'm having difficulty.

Oh and the 2000 one? We didn't visit Florida in 2000 so I'm guessing I got that from 2001!

Memory Monday

Taking a small break from memorabilia Monday, I thought I would share with you a memory - making today Memory Monday.

I've been scanning a lot of old photos recently onto the computer - creating digital copies of everything I can. It's been an experience, reliving holidays and adventures I'd almost forgotten about.

As I've said before, I don't usually share personal items on this blog, but I wanted to share this picture.

Taken in 1992, during our summer holiday, it was our 2nd trip to Orlando. And I remember how quiet the parks were back then, compared to today (going in the middle of July!). And I just love this picture - how peaceful it looks and how 'cool' I'm trying to act. And one of my favourite things? Spaceship Earth as I remember it from my youth. I can't wait to see it back to all it's 'naked' glory when I get out there later this year.

Happy Birthday EPCOT!

Today is Epcot's 25th birthday - as I was also born in 1982, I feel a real closeness to the magic of Epcot, but I'll explain more about that in a minute.

Although, there has been so much debate around the Disney blogs and forums as to what to call the 25 year old theme park... It was originally EPCOT Centre, and that is really how I remember it. My family and I first visited Walt Disney World when I was 8, in 1990, and it was EPCOT Centre then - I still have the memorabilia from then. So part of me wants to call it EPCOT Centre - capitals and all. But the most memorable 12 months of my life were spent working in the UK Pavilion in Epcot, 2004. So, for purposes of this article, I'm going to call it Epcot.

As I was saying earlier, I share some very magical moments with Epcot. After my first trip to Disney, I had a dream of working there. Whenever anyone asked me what I would do when I leave school, my answer would be 'Work at Walt Disney World', no hesitation or anything. Then, after finishing University, I was lucky enough to be selected for the International Program. So, September 2004 (just over 3 years ago) I made my way out to Florida to spend a glorious 12 months working for the mouse in the UK Pavilion. This was where I noticed how special Epcot was.

Unlike a lot of Disney Fans, Epcot was one of my least favourite parks growing up - it didn't have very many things for 'kids' and 'teens' to do, and I found it a little boring. I didn't want to walk around shops all day - I wanted to go and see characters, or go on roller coasters, or proper rides. But then I grew up, and - especially when I worked there - I appreciated the aesthetics of the park. The layout is beautiful, the details in the World Showcase a marvel, and the educational aspect interests me now (what left of that aspect there is, nowadays). It's sad that I didn't appreciate it more when I was younger, when there was Horizons and Wonders of Life (a pavilion I remember walking around but never actually doing anything in!) and World of Motion.

Now, I'm not a 'purist' in the way that I wish everything was how it was - how Walt envisioned it. I like Epcot as it is - I love Mission: Space and I really enjoy Test Track. But what truly excites me is, that now Epcot is a quarter of a century old, the changes that are happening in the park now. For a long time, and even while I worked there, I felt like they had forgotten about Epcot. They made such a big deal about bringing in Soarin', but I felt like that was it. The changes they did with The Living Seas was good, but I also felt they'd thrown it all together 'just because' Nemo was so popular...my perception was that changes were being made just so people would come to the park; so they could change the guidemap front cover.
Maybe it's because I'm older - and maybe it's because Epcot's older - but I am so happy that they are making such major changes with Spaceship Earth and the 'golf ball' (yes, I know we're never supposed to call it that, but I've called it that since I was 8...). Whilst I enjoyed the wand, it was time for it to come down. Get back to the Retro EPCOT, so to speak. And the changes that are being made inside the attraction - that I definitely can't wait to experience! I just hope that these are the first of changes that are being made...next on the agenda has to be Imagination - surely?!

Anyway, to cut a long 'waffle' short, Epcot is growing up. It took me 12 years to fully appreciate the wonder that is Epcot, I just hope it doesn't take that long for the Disney Company to fully realise the amazing potential of this wonderful park.

Happy Birthday Epcot - here's to another 25!