Speaking of Epcot. There have been recent rumors that Disney is coming close to a deal with Russia to add that country to the World Showcase. Apparently things are farther along than many suspected. The question is where would the Russia Pavilion be located in the World Showcase?
Here’s a map of the 5 potential sites for the Russia Pavilion at Epcot. These are the empty ‘country’ pads left over from the last expansion of the roster. No new countries have been added since 1988 when Norway joined the ranks. The convention hall now called “World Showplace” was built for the 1999 Millienial Celebration and took up one of the remaining country pads. We’ll assume they want to keep that.
So the map below has five sites, A-E starting with the space between France and Morocco and going to the space between Norway and Mexico. Take a look at the map and then vote in the comments below which site you think is the most likely and why.
Don’t forget to vote in comments.
I think the most likely site is ‘D’ which is the yellow area between Germany and China. Not only is it the biggest pad (really it’s two pads), but it places Russia near their geographic neighbors, but still separated by a river from China. Convenient since the two no longer share a political philosophy. The only problem, and it’s a minor one, is that this is where the Outpost is. Since the African continent is now represented by Morocco, the outpost can go away, or move over to either of the spaces next to Morocco.
I’d love to hear arguments for the other spaces.
I agree. D would give a good amount of space for some kind of Red Square motif. It is the biggest pad and would probably provide the least construction headache as well.
I think whatever is the biggest because Russia is 1/6 of the world’s land mass, so D.
I have always wanted a Russia pavilion… I split my time between Russia and the US, so it would be great for my little siblings (who live in florida and go to WDW a lot) to understand where exactly their big sister is living.
None of the above. I don’t think we are going to see one in the next 5 years.
my vote would have to be for d. for some of the same reasons already mentioned, it’s a big land mass, geographically it makes sense, we don’t really need equitorial africa now with animal kingdom. as well as a guest there seems to be a long gap between china and germany. it would be framed very nicely on the world showcase lagoon and make for a very impressive landmark standing out on the corner like it would be.
The “Outpost” always felt like a temporary space-filler, and it’s the one spot where, walking by, you can really sense a noticeable gap between pavilions.
Also, I think they’d be inclined to go with a big slot for Russia, since they probably wouldn’t bother building this pavilion without a fairly major attraction (i.e. a ride) to go along with it.
Pat,
I hope you’re right about the attraction. And I hope it’s not another ‘movie screen’ or ‘tv screen’ attraction. Sure they’re cheaper to build and easier to customize. But I think they lack scope and a country like Russia deserves scope.
“I think the most likely site is ‘D’ which is the yellow area between Germany and China.”
DITTO – Find the LARGEST space available, and just BUILD it… please. I’ve always felt that it was insane to include miniature countries like Morocco, and to exclude all of Russia.
…for the record? I vote for “The Winter Palace” ride :)
I believe IF they indeed do build it, “D” would be the most likely. But since there is “something” there at the moment (The Outpost), they may consider “C” between Italy and Germany. IF they are actually considering adding an additional world showcase pavilion, I believe one of their main objectives would be to bring more traffic to the area. Both the C and D lots require passing through the most real estate from the main entrance and the International Gateway. Of course, I cynically don’t think it’ll happen anyway… Not at this point and time…
Anyone recall the opening EPCOT program hosted by Danny Kaye? He visits with ROOTS author Alex Haley who talks about an elborate African pavilion that was supposedly coming to where the “outpost” area is now.
Imagineering feels like Africa is represented (if not by Morocco) well by the Animal Kingdom now. So I think no one is worried about ditching that outpost area for a Russia pavilion.
They had originally planned a ride-through attraction for the Russia pavilion not unlike Norway’s. Knowing that the Norway pavilion has caused ten’s of thousands of people to visit Norway itself… the Russians are very interested in what this pavilion can/will do for tourism in their vast country. Hence, they are very much behind this effort.
I can’t wait for this. It has been 20 long years since Norway popped up on the lagoon.
Now build the Mt. Fuji attraction behind the Japan pavilion like you planned. Who cares what Kodak sthinks about mentioning their biggest rival? They don’t have any muscle anymore. No one buys film.
I think D would be the most likely place for Russia. It has the most space and has connections geographicly with both Germany and China. Disney also believes that Morocco already symbolizes Africa and would not mind getting rid of the Outpost. I do hope Disney adds Russia or any other country, for that matter. Brazil, Egypt, India, Spain, or Ireland would all be great additions to World Showcase. I can’t wait!
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