It probably will be if you want it.
Donât be bitter just because Iâm special.
1 Like
Too late.
1 Like
At least youâll get to laugh at me when I get to POFQ and have no magic bands because they didnât ship them at all.
Itâs pretty much all I think about. If I canât have what I want, no-one else should be able to have what they want.
Iâve already called POFQ and, in my best falsetto, told the front desk to âkindly dispose of any magic bands in the name of Miss Overexcited as I no longer want themâ. I also asked âfor a view of the car park, please.â
1 Like
The joke is on you then. My requested room actually does have a view of the car park. I donât have a balcony and I keep the blinds shut, what do I care?
Iâm a bit upset about those bands though. I donât know how you figured out my real name. Maybe I need to change my username. Perhaps mouseoverexcited will disguise me.
1 Like
The jokeâs on you. I just called them back as you and said I didnât care what the view was as long as itâs not Cinderella Castle. So theyâve moved you to the Cindarella Suite. Ha! Not only will you not be able to see any car parks from there, you wonât be able to see the Castle from there, which I know is what you really wanted. Youâll be stuck seeing every part of MK except the Castle and youâll never get an early night because of the fireworks.
Not only is that a brilliant disguise, itâs also a clever pun.
2 Likes
Damn you. I bow to your evil genius.
I know right?!
2 Likes
BThe original concept for World Showcase was part of EPCOT, as in the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
Future World was the work, World Showcase was the âplayâ. Only Mexico totally followed Waltâs concept, being indoors, thus reflecting the fact that this is the evening, hence the dim lighting etc.
But each pavilion has architecture reflecting or inspired by itâs country. By that I mean we have replicas of certain building, structures:
Norway - Stave Church
China - the Peace Temple
Italy - St Markâs Square (mirrored, allegedly in error)
Germany - St George and the Dragon statue
Japan - Torii Gate
Morocco - Minaret, and an actual prayer room
UK - Hampton Court Palace
Canada - Chateau Laurier, Butchart Gardens
And also buildings that reflect the architecture of the country, for example:
Norway - the facade comes from 4 different towns / cities in Norway
Germany - the figures on the shops
Italy - inspired by the Trevi fountain
Japan - pagoda
Morocco - a typical house, souk (bazar)
France - a represenatative shopping arcade, and the Eiffel Tower
U.K. - the 3-in-1 pub (country, seaside, town), and the 4 centuries of shops, Cherry Tree Lane (kinda, a Georgian row of town houses)
Canada - the totem poles at least
And then of course there are samples of shopping, dining from each country. And rides / films / attractions based on something related, be it a related IP, a not-really-related-but-weâll-shove-it-in-anyway IP (because the corporate funding had stopped and Disney could do what they wanted), a tourist film, museum etc. And entertainment from each country.
The US pavilion was originally going to be where the WS Plaza is, between Canada and Mexico. But then they realised that since most visitors came from the US, they probably wouldnât bother going any further. So they put it at the far end of the lagoon, and created a hill / mound to make the pavilion stand above the rest of the countries.
So whatâs the point of WS now? I guess to showcase different parts of the world. Supported by corporate funding and staffed by young people from the countries in question.
Morocco is the only pavilion directly funded by the government there. They send out workmen every year to do any repairs and maintenance. And then they will painstakingly deface a couple of tiles somewhere, in keeping with their belief that only Allah can create perfection. Usually itâs in the museum, on the wall, but can also be in the house part of the building.
2 Likes
Iâve always liked WS for what it is, a very small and kind of naive representation of (some elementof) certain countries. Iâve travelled to all the actual countries aside from Morocco but my kids havenât yet, so it has been in interesting to see their reaction. I think theyâve picked up some facts, ideas or just vibes of some of the countries. While we toured them I also tried to explain what some of the features and references are and how they compare to the actual countries.
So yea, I think it serves it purpose and is interesting, as long as you donât take it too seriously and assume you get a full and correct representation of anything.
We really love WS. The main function of it for us is to reminisce. We donât usually go to the Pavilions that we havenât visited IRL. The kids spent a huge amount of time in Japan, DS27 has visited and the others just love the culture, I think this is true of a lot of gamers/anime enthusiasts.
I dusted off my rusty Italian to order food (isnât that the first thing everyone learns when they go abroad, lol?) and I ordered our Limoncello ice pops, which made the CM there smile. I think they really appreciate it if you try, even a little, to relate to their home country.
In terms of buying stuff, itâs definitely true that its a bit of a tourist trap but there are a lot of items in WS that are unique to the countries there, both at WDW and IRL. Green tea Kit Kats, for one. 
Norway was the only place I bought anything for myself the entire trip- partly to reminisce but also because we canât get those things were we live, yet we can really use them. Itâs really high-quality stuff and the AP discount came in very handy. The kids dug out their new Helly Hansen jackets before we even left the airport to go to our house.
It was below freezing last night at home, and snowed while we were gone. What a shock to the system!
Also, The Voices of Liberty are just plain awesome.
2 Likes
This is my favorite part of WS.
I also like the cool darkness of Mexico midday.