Mouse Travel Tips

In 1984 Louisiana hosted the World’s Fair in New Orleans.  At the time we lived in Lafayette, which was a couple of hours away. Being so close we could not miss the opportunity to go, so we loaded up the station wagon and headed off to New Orleans. It was nice to get a chance to go and see the different exhibits from the various countries.  The one that I remembered the most was the China exhibit.  However, I also remember that all of the exhibits were in former warehouse buildings that had been redone for the fair.

Now it just so happened that the previous year we also had a chance to visit EPCOT and to go to their World Showcase.  It was a stark contrast to the World’s Fair in New Orleans.  At World Showcase, they also had many different countries, but instead of warehouses you walked into living replicas of those countries.  I thought it was the neatest thing to walk into a Mayan pyramid and be at small market in Mexico.  I enjoyed walking through the fairy tale Germany Pavilion and buying candy from Germany in the stores.

Since that time additional counties have been added to the Showcase.  When EPCOT was constructed there were mixed opinions on what it was meant to be. Some wanted a place that showed the future of tomorrow, while there were those that wanted to show the many different cultures of the world.  They eventually combined them both and came up with EPCOT.

World Showcase offers many guests a chance to experience a foreign culture without having to leave the United States.  During my lifetime, I have had an opportunity to visit other countries.  However, I am sure that as much as I would like to, I will not be able to visit China.  It’s not very likely that I will be able eat in a Norwegian bakery or get a chance to shop in a Japanese retail store.  How often do we even get a chance to talk to someone that lives in those countries and to hear their native language?

From our visits to EPCOT we have come to the realization that to really experience the World Showcase you cannot do it all in one day.  You really need to take your time and look around.  You will not realize what they have to offer if you run from country to country. China has a great exhibit on the Terra Cotta Warriors and I know I will not have an opportunity to see them in person. It is fun to be able to watch the street performers from Italy, France, and many other countries.  You have a chance to watch Miyuki (the Candy Lady) in the Japanese Pavilion create candy sculptures of animals – a dying art in her native Japan.  There are so many hidden treasures in EPCOT that you cannot see them all in one day.

Some of our best tips are first explore the pavilions and see what they offer.  Some have historical exhibits while some focus more on their culture.  There are also the stores and while one country may not have what you like there is sure to be one that does.  Our second tip is to talk to the Cast Members from each country.  It is always nice to talk to them about their country and their experiences here in the United States.  If you have children in your party take them to the KidCot Fun stations in the pavilions.  There they will have an opportunity to speak to a cast member and also have something from that native language written on their keepsake mask.

World Showcase may not offer thrill rides, but it does have many hidden treasures and opportunities that cannot be found in the other parks.  Become the international world traveler just by spending time in this small span of World Showcase lagoon.