Epcot center is I believe the largest of all theme parks, the park is known for its magnificent display of different countries, their cultures, traditions, customs and souvenirs. Although before actually going there, I have heard a lot about the park, but when I actually went there, it was beyond anybody’s description.
It was opened for public on October 1, 1982 and is ranked as 3rd most visited park among all the parks of United States and 5th among all parks in the world. Epcot stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and is given with the thought of displaying all the technical innovations and advancements in the world.
The park consisted of two parts: Future World and World Showcase.
We started off with the world showcase, which have 11 sections, each representing a separate country. These are Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, U.K. and Canada.
Each section or pavilion consisted of the classic architecture of the country, with restaurant area serving traditional food in locally used utensils and served by people of respected country in their traditional costumes. I mean it is an amusement for me and I felt as if I am actually travelling in all these countries and not standing on the soil of America.
For example in Mexico, the architecture shown was a meso-american pyramid, Mexican restaurant name “San Ángel Inn”, a tequila bar “La Cava del Tequila”.
In Norway, the section looked more like a Norwegian village with Stave Church, Restaurant Akershus serving Norwegian cuisines, a lot of traditional shops selling souvenirs and gifts, Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe a bakery selling assorted Norwegian pasteries and Norwegian nationals dressed up in traditional dress bunad.
I was fascinated most with the Chinese pavilion which was full of Chinese styled architecture, temples, gold gods and goddesses, gift shops selling Chinese handicrafts, (I bought a few for family and friends) restaurants serving Chinese food. The pavilion was decorated with bridges, ponds and acrobats displays.
Next was Germany, where we had our lunch at Sommerfest, food was great, and my first ever experience of German food too. Germany pavilion was designed like a German town and a very cute miniature train and village which was a working model.
Layout of Italian pavilion was a perfect sample of Florentine, and Roman architecture, with Bell towers and palaces, again topped with Italian cuisine and souvenirs and gift shops.
American pavilion was familiar ofcourse, and displayed architecture of colonial style, flags exhibit and American cuisines like hot dogs and cheese burgers.
Japanese Pagoda, castles, gardens and Japanese pools, Bijutsu-kan (collection of Japanese myths and arts), Japanese departmental store selling classic Japanese handicrafts and a Japanese band playing traditional music were the highlights of Japanese pavilion.
Moroccan pavilion looked more like a Moroccan market, with minarets, local plants like date, palm trees, fountains and a shopping area for gifts and souvenirs like mirrors made from camel bones, and daggers, clothes, silver utensils, handmade baskets, rugs and restaurants like Restaurant Marrakesh serving roasted Lamb.
France pavilion as expected was displaying Eifel tower, shops selling famous brands of perfumes, a bakery, the Boulangerie Patisserie, two French restaurants, the Bistro de Paris and Les Chefs de France, comedy juglar show.
United Kingdom pavilion gave the impression of a street in London, crowded and narrow alleys, with shops displaying beatles merchandise, British beer (Guinness), liver pool and Chelsea shirts and a sports shop which was selling signed and autographed accessories of famous players.
By the time we reached Canadian pavilion, we were tired beyond word, Canadian pavilion consisted of canyon, waterfalls and garden with many birds.
I suggest if you are planning a trip, leave one day only for Epcot Center, wear very comfortable shoes and dress and don’t forget to take shades or caps as it is mostly sunny weather in Orlando, Florida.
Tags: Bakery, Chinese Food, Chinese Handicrafts, Chinese Pavilion, Classic Architecture, Epcot Center, Experimental Prototype Community, Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow, Future World, La Cava, Norwegian Village, Pasteries, Restaurant Akershus, Souvenirs, Technical Innovations, Tequila Bar, Traditional Costumes, Traditional Dress, Traditional Food, World Showcase