World Showcase

Discover the world at eleven stops around the World Showcase Lagoon. There’s authentic-looking replicas of famous landmarks and buildings, typical streets overflowing with marvelous architectural detail, shops presenting the best of the world’s merchandise, exotic food and wine, and captivating entertainment. Without leaving the country, or the park for that matter, behold the Eiffel Tower, stroll a Japanese garden, witness Venice’s St. Mark’s Square, or visit a Mexican mercado. Definitely plan to spend an evening here when all the countries are lit with shimmering lights and the true romance of this wonderful area of the park shines through.

Strolling in a counterclockwise direction around the 1.3-mile World Showcase walkway, you’ll encounter each country in this order: Canada, United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and finally Mexico. Those weary of walking can utilize the very slow Friendship water taxis that ply the World Showcase Lagoon.

  • Epcot Harmonious, a brilliant centerpiece celebrating the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort

    Epcot Harmonious, a brilliant centerpiece celebrating the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort

  • What little girl doesn't love Anna and Elsa?

    What little girl doesn't love Anna and Elsa?

  • Mexico

    Mexico

  • China

    China
    Inside this replica of The Temple of Heaven is an excellent 360 degree movie, Reflections of China.

  • Everyone loves the sighting of France and its Eiffel Tower

    Everyone loves the sighting of France and its Eiffel Tower

  • France

    France

  • France

    France
    Come for the authentic bistro here

  • France's Beauty and the Beast topiary is an annual favorite

    France's Beauty and the Beast topiary is an annual favorite

  • Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along

    Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along

  • The entrance to France's newest area leads to the Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

    The entrance to France's newest area leads to the Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

  • Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

    Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

  • Italy

    Italy
    This replica of Venice's St. Mark's Square is astonishing!

  • Festivals at Epcot are a highlight

    Festivals at Epcot are a highlight

  • Italy during Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

    Italy during Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

  • Japan torii gate during the International Flower & Garden Festival

    Japan torii gate during the International Flower & Garden Festival

  • Japan rock garden

    Japan rock garden

  • Japan

    Japan

  • Mexico's Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

    Mexico's Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

  • Everyone's favorite entertainment is Mariachi Cobre in Mexico

    Everyone's favorite entertainment is Mariachi Cobre in Mexico

  • Morroco

    Morroco

  • The American Adventure

    The American Adventure

  • The American Adventure show

    The American Adventure show

  • Germany

    Germany

  • Germany

    Germany
    Down a stein of beer and enjoy a giant pretzel in Germany

  • Peter Pan and Captain Hook topiary at Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival

    Peter Pan and Captain Hook topiary at Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival

  • United Kingdom's authentic buildings

    United Kingdom's authentic buildings

  • United Kingdom flower garden

    United Kingdom flower garden

  • United Kingdom

    United Kingdom
    The authentic pub here is a favorite pastime

  • Norway

    Norway
    Wooden Stave church

  • Grass-topped roofs in Epcot's Norway

    Grass-topped roofs in Epcot's Norway

  • Norway at night

    Norway at night

  • Everyone loves the replica of Norway's Akershus Fortress & Castle

    Everyone loves the replica of Norway's Akershus Fortress & Castle

  • The village life of Norway

    The village life of Norway

  • Frozen Ever After Ride

    Frozen Ever After Ride

  • Frozen Ever After in Norway

    Frozen Ever After in Norway

  • Canada

    Canada

  • Canada totems

    Canada totems

  • Canada's Butchart Gardens replica

    Canada's Butchart Gardens replica

  • You can reach Epcot's International Gateway via the Skyliner

    You can reach Epcot's International Gateway via the Skyliner

  • Soaring over Epcot on Disney's Skyliner

    Soaring over Epcot on Disney's Skyliner


= Cara's Favorite

Epcot Harmonious

This wonderful new show brings to World Showcase Lagoon a combination of floating giant screens, choreographed moving fountains, lights, pyrotechnics and lasers in a 360-degree view. Inspired by Moana, Aladdin, Coco, Brave, The Lion King, Mulan, The Princess and the Frog and other classic Disney stories, colorful images and effects dance and change as Harmonious weaves familiar Disney music and stories together. Find a place around World Showcase Lagoon where you can also clearly see Spaceship Earth for an added touch of magic.

Canada

Nature’s splendor is the emphasis at Canada’s remarkable pavilion. Standing tall and proud is the majestic Hotel du Canada, a combination of several famous chateau-style Canadian Pacific Hotels. Walk up thick stone steps past 30-foot totem poles to rugged mountains, rocky gorges, a sparkling waterfall, rushing streams, and towering evergreens. There’s even a small version of the famous flowering Butchart Gardens of Victoria, British Columbia.

Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360

Explore Canada in a newly updated edition of the classic, 12-minute Epcot Circle-Vision 360 presentation. New narration by Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy makes for even more fun than before.

United Kingdom

Where else could you find such a hodgepodge of English architectural style? There are quaint, thatched-roofed cottages straight out of the Cotswolds, Queen Anne-style dwellings, lofty red-brick castles, even sophisticated Georgian brick townhouses all lining the same street. Bright red phone booths sit beside a proper English park square where a cheerful garden gazebo almost insists you linger a bit and enjoy. Stroll the street and pop in a variety of shops or have a pint at the neighborhood pub.

Cara’s Tip: Don’t miss the hidden butterfly garden nesting behind the Tea Caddy Shop. It can be reached out the back door of the shop via a walkway leading from the square or from under a vine-covered archway directly off the World Showcase walkway.

France

Towering over fleur-de-lis topiary and Belle Époque buildings is a 74-foot replica (1/10 the size of the original) of the Eiffel Tower in the charming France pavillion. Shining copper mansard roofs and curtained casement windows top off Parisian-style buildings overlooking a cobblestone street bustling with shops and a sidewalk café. Of course, you’ll find world-class cuisine; what could be more French? And if you can’t stroll the banks of the Seine, you can walk along the banks of this lagoon where quintessential French accordion music plays amid sketching artists. Pick up a glass of wine at the waterside kiosk and just enjoy. If you love Disney classic animated films, catch the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along at the Palais du Cinema.

Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

Shrunk down to Chef Remy size, zip and scurry in 4D through the bustling kitchen, dining room, and walls of Gusteau’s famous Paris restaurant. Based on the Disney and Pixar film Ratatouille, it’s one fun caper, great for the whole family.

Morocco

The Casbah awaits you inside the fortress-like sandstone walls of the Morocco pavillion. The Koutoubia Minaret, a replica of the famous century prayer tower of Marrakesh, rises above the lace-like edifices dotted with keyhole windows and vibrant hand-cut mosaic tiles. A courtyard graced by four massive tangerine trees leads the way through the Bab Boujouloud gate to the Medina, or old city, to its souk where animated alleyways filled with bazaars are humming with life and exotic Arabic music.

Japan

A five-tiered pagoda representing the elements from which Buddhists believe all things in the universe are produced—earth, water, fire, wind, and sky—is only a prelude to the serene Japan pavillion. Here are seductive pathways that meander through a rich landscape of manicured Japanese gardens with arched bridges curving over crystal-clear ponds filled with lazily swimming golden koi and soothing music playing amid the sound of delicate wind chimes. A replica of the Great Hall of Ceremonies at the Gosho Imperial Palace in Kyoto houses a large retail shop owned by the three-centuries-old Mitsukoshi firm of Japan. On World Showcase Lagoon, a flaming red torii gate stands guard, authentic-looking in every aspect even down to the clinging oysters and barnacles at its base.

America

Smack dab in the center of World Showcase is a red-white-and-blue pavilion brimming with the spirit of 1776 colonial America. Amid the sound of fife and drum sits a stately Georgian, red-brick manse reminiscent of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall where inside a patriotic attraction lures all loyal Americans. Out on the brick streets are kiosks selling the all-American treats of funnel cakes, popcorn, ice cream, and giant turkey legs.

The American Adventure Show

Here’s a show guaranteed to swell the chest of all Americans. The momentous film, inspiring music, and lifelikeAudio-Animatronics® characters weave the impressive tale of America with Ben Franklin and Mark Twain serving as hosts. The grand finale film montage is a real tear-jerker. While some adore this show, others sleep right through it. I’m one of its greatest fans.

Shows every 35 minutes.

Cara’s Tip: It’s relatively easy to get a seat in this huge theater. Try to catch the Voices of Liberty performance in the waiting area and just watch your patriotism shoot up a few notches.

Italy

The romance of Venice’s St. Mark’s Square reflected in replicas of the 14th-century pink-tinted Doge’s Palace and its neighboring 83-foot Campanile bell tower is a scene almost begging for surrounding canals. All that’s missing are the pigeons and a frosty bellini. Perched atop soaring columns are statues of St. Theodore and the Lion of St. Mark, who gaze down on flower-filled balconies of terra-cotta houses almost perfect enough for Juliet and her Romeo. And out in the lagoon gondolas moored to barbershop-striped poles lie in wait for their gondoliers.

Germany

This festive and picturesque Bavarian-style village of rustic balconies brimming with multicolored flower boxes, storybook gingerbread buildings, and a towering castle is a World Showcase favorite. Around the cobblestone Platz are quaint shops, lederhosen-clad hosts, a glockenspiel clock tower, and toe-tapping polka music. Of course, there’s a mandatory Biergarten where oompah-pah bands, yodelers, and dancers entertain while colossal beer steins are passed. And just around the corner is a delightful toy-train village with a horn-tooting caboose, miniature tunnels and bridges, tiny evergreen trees, and precious Lilliputian buildings.

China

Sparkling in the sunlight as visitors pass under the dazzling Gate of the Golden Sun is an extravagant recreation of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. Below delicate bridges float blooming lotus in carp-filled reflecting pools, and tinkling music soothes as you stroll amid tranquil Chinese rose gardens, willow and mulberry trees, and delicate waterfalls. It’s a setting of serenity and mystery not found at most stops at World Showcase.

Reflections of China

Behold the wonders of China in this remarkable 360-degree film narrated by Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. In Circle-Vision walk atop the Great Wall, enter the Forbidden City, stand in the middle of Tiananmen Square, and cruise down the mighty Yangtze River. View the modern world of Hong Kong, Macau, and Shanghai. Stunning views of rice terraces, Inner Mongolia’s nomadic people, the misty Huangshan Mountains, the Gobi desert, the extraordinary Terra Cotta Warriors, and the haunting landscape of Guey Ling only serve to make you want more. Come prepared to stand throughout the presentation.

12-minute show.

Norway

Soaring over Norway’s cobblestone courtyard is a castle modeled after Akershus, Oslo’s 14th-century stronghold still standing above its picturesque harbor. Below is a quaint mixture of buildings representing Scandinavian architecture, including a wooden Stave church and a variety of red-roofed rock dwellings centered around a charming town square. The Frozen Ever After attraction here is one of the park’s biggest draws.

Frozen Ever After

Voyage to Arendelle aboard an ancient Nordic vessel as you take a musical tour of the wintery world of Frozen. Board your Viking-style boat and off you go into a frozen willow forest with Kristoff, Anna, Olaf and a few more Frozen friends. Best of all is the cold world of Queen Elsa’s enchanting ice palace, complete with many of your favorite Frozen tunes. End with a “Summer Snow Day” celebrationis sure to melt even the coldest hearts! You may get wet!

Mexico

The sight of a colossal pyramid enveloped in lush jungle foliage is an immediate draw when visitors turn the bend into the World Showcase. Inside are another place and time, a magical, nighttime village surrounding the Plaza de Los Amigos. The air fills with the exhilarating strain of mariachi music in the bustling, gaslit square brimming with lively shops loaded down with tempting south-of-the-border wares. An excellent tequila bar offers margaritas and tequila shots. And the inky-blue El Rio del Tiempo (the River of Time) floats lazily beneath a rumbling volcano beside the romantic candlelit restaurant, the San Angel Inn.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

Cruise down the Rio Grande on a dark boat ride past some of the most famous sights and cities in Mexico with glimpses of The Three Caballeros along with a fun musical score from the movie.

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