Bonjour!

What would be a trip to France without some souvenirs? This handy pop-up display contains everything you might want to remember your trip: paintings, photographs, books, and of course, the quintessential mini Eiffel Tower.



A camera also stands at the ready, waiting to take your photo with the scenic City of Light in the background.

The Fish Basin

When you think of a merchandise shop, you rarely think art gallery at the same time. But China's store features trinkets for sale as well as beautiful pieces that are there simply to view. The latter includes the fish basin, located at the doors on the far end of the shop (nearest the outdoor market area). The basin is lovely just to look at, but a framed sign on the wall reveals historic information and invites the guest to actually interact with the piece. 

Willkommen

This framed photo found in the Germany pavilion shows Franz Goebel and Walt Disney posing with a Goofy figurine back in 1955, less than three decades prior to the opening of Epcot's own Germany pavilion.

Jot It Down

Hidden in a store window within a back corner of the China pavilion, this little cricket takes down a note in his nicely furnished birdcage. Perhaps a subtle tribute to Cri-Kee, the tiny typist in Mulan - but it is a wonderful detail nonetheless.

Lighting the Way

As I previously explored in my tour of benches, the individual countries that make up World Showcase have all been given extremely careful attention when it comes to theming. This time, I am going to take a similarly obscure trip around the World and explore the various light poles.

The generic World Showcase style takes on elements from each country and combines them to create a truly unique form.


Canada's design features rustic elements from the Pacific Northwest, including natural wood, wrought iron, and a lantern.


The United Kingdom light pole has a design like what you would expect to find outside your local pub.


France's light features a graceful, elegant design on top and conical-shaped glass.


Morocco's dual light fixture has colored glass and ornate design work in every component.


Japan's lantern is styled like a delicate wooden temple.

The American Adventure has colonial style lighting, with a gas lamp appearance.

The beautiful stained glass lighting of Italy seems to take its influence from the Gothic and Renaissance architecture of Venice

Germany's lighting features subtle elegance in its yellow glass and detailed ironwork, which carries down into hooks for the hanging plants.

The African Outpost takes a unique approach, where its lighting become more sculptural and organic with colorful patterns.

Like the Japanese style, the Chinese lighting seems to take an architectural form in brilliant red and gold.

Norway's lighting has a very rustic look to it, something that you would expect to find in a seaside town, with an added embellishment of a metal crown finial.

Mexico's lighting features dark, ornate metalwork and textured glass, giving it a rich look.

A Lofty Perch

Hidden high above patrons at the San Angel Inn in Mexico is this elaborate balcony scene. The highlight is a gilded green cage with a colorful parrot inside.

Where-speak Part 2

Continuing the look at examples of Where-speak on Disney World menus, here are the ones found in Epcot:

Coral Reef

Le Cellier Steakhouse

Rose & Crown Pub

Las Cajas

Who says crates have to be unilingual? The Mexico pavilion provides another great example for the CAS to enjoy.

Seating For All Seasons

The next time you visit Sunshine Seasons, take a little extra time to decide which season you would like to enjoy your meal in. The seating area is divided into four sections and themed accordingly. Everything from the carpet to the table tops has been designed with a specific color palette to correspond to the given season.

Les Moyens de Transports

The France pavilion has its very own Hector Guimard-designed art nouveau Métro entrance used to mark the entrance to the arcade that leads to the shops.


These ornate cast-iron and bronze structures were originally designed to coincide with the 1900 Paris World's Fair. Unfortunately, as time went on many of them met the wrecking ball until preservationists stepped in during the 1970s. Today only 86 of the original 141 remain, and of course, one right here in central Florida.

Good Impression

As you walk across the bridge from the United Kingdom into France, take a look down near the water. The scene of a relaxing day near the river is perfectly captured in time, with fishing poles still arched over the water, bicycles propped up against the wall, and a painting in the midst of being completed.



The painting itself is of particular interest, as it is done in the style of the famous Impressionist period, made famous by the likes of Monet, Renoir, and many other talented artists. The style featured short, quick brushstrokes that were used to capture the fleeting quality of time rather than realistic details.

But before I let the Art History major in me really go all out, the painting's subject is really worth noting. It is of the World Traveler building in the International Gateway. I usually never give a second thought to that area - it's just one more gift shop on the way out of the park. Yet in viewing this painting, I was suddenly struck by its architecture. It perfectly blends aspects of its neighboring countries, France and the United Kingdom, to create a seamless transistion (much like the use of lightpoles or the infamous trashcans, but to a larger scale). In choosing this building as the subject for an Impressionist's painting, it directly connects the two areas even further to help intuitively link them.

Crate Sighting!

This post is dedicated to Jeff, Lou, and all members of the CAS (that's the Crate Appreciation Society). After much searching and wandering, I finally found some interesting crates at Epcot to add to the collection.

The first is located on the Friendship boat dock in Morocco. Its location unfortunately makes it difficult to reach, but it is easily seen as you walk down the ramp. The top left corner reads "Serving Great Britain [word was obscured to me by the railing, but I assume it reads Wales] Ireland" and the bottom right corner reads "CM. Blaney Import Export Co." I guess the next question should be, who is this mysterious "Blaney?"


Other great crates can be found at the African Outpost, next to the Refreshment Coolpost. Presumably, Coca-Cola bottles are being shipped here from around the world, and the crates bear the famous logo as it is written in various languages. It is a great way to visually show that even though we are a diverse race, we are still tied together by even the simplest of objects.

The Diamond in the Rough

Towards the back of the Morocco pavilion, in a small alcove, is a little room reserved for meet and greets with Aladdin and friends.

A hand-painted backdrop fills one wall, capturing a wonderful scene of the streets of Agrabah, complete with its very own hidden Mickey.

On the opposite side of the room, there is a little area full of Moroccan treasures, and a small table holding the story of Aladdin and a small pink rose.

Before the Last Petal Falls...

The entranceway to La Signature in France is themed as a beautiful library, like the one seen in Beauty and the Beast. It seems very fitting to find a beautiful stained glass design window featuring the opening scenes from the movie:

The Beast's enchanted red rose can also be found on the bookcase shelves:

Also of interest is the carpet, which features an beautifully intricate pattern in the Art Nouveau style:

A Train Runs Through It

About 10 years ago, the miniature train garden in Germany was originally included as a special addition for the Flower and Garden Festival, but it proved so popular with guests that it remained as a permanent fixture. A miniature Bavarian village is created in wonderful detail, complete with gardens, waterfalls, and a country fair. Even in decorating the tiny town, the designers did not lose sight of the area's true roots, and decked out the buildings with their own little Flower and Garden banners.

We're Three Happy Chappies with Snappy Serapes

I quite enjoy the new Gran Fiesta Tour at the Mexico pavilion. I have always loved The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos, and this ride is a great tribute to those movies of the 1940s. The amount of care that the Imagineers put into being faithful to the original films is just outstanding, even down to the appearance of the Aracuan Bird in one of the scenes.

There are a lot of great details to be found in this ride, which warrants multiple ride-throughs. One of my favorite little extras is in the Papel Picado banners strung about the queue and ride. Papel Picado (which translates to "punched paper") banners are traditional folk art found throughout Mexico. They are used during celebrations to make announcements or share messages. It seems the folks celebrating the arrival of the Three Caballeros wanted to share the news of the concert using this beautiful art form.

A Place to Rest

A bench at Walt Disney World seems like such a simple concept - just a place to rest before heading to the next attraction. Yet no detail is ever overlooked by the Imagineers. I took a trip around World Showcase, photographing each bench (garnering a few curious looks in the process - you would think I would be used to it by now!). What follows is an assemblage of 11 different cultures set in metal, concrete and wood.


We begin in Mexico, with dark wood and ornate, heavy metal.


Norway's design features an airy back with thin vertical bars in metal outlined in a stained wood. It complements nicely with the surrounding architecture.


China's bench is a very distinct constrast to the previous two countries, with a heavy, yet still graceful, concrete seat.


Visions of the Black Forest and the decorative Bavarian architecture spring to mind with the design of Germany's bench.


Italy has two designs, but both equally capture the elegance of the architecture. The concrete bench has a very ancient Roman feeling to it.



The benches of the American Adventure are very colonial in style, like something you would find in Williamsburg. Yet they also have the quaintness of something you would find in a park today.


Similar to China, Japan's bench is also backless, but the curved motif is more prominent here.


Morocco's design echoes the great decorative elements found in the tile work.


Parisian flare finds its way into the simplistic elegance of France's bench design.


The bench at the United Kingdom is very simple in its design, but the heavy wood is a great accent to the rich brick buildings around it.


A very rustic flair is found in the benches at Canada.