World Showcase has always needed more rides, and that’s it’s ultimate problem. Disney really bungled themselves assuming all these countries would invest millions into their park, as they’ve continued to bungle EPCOT’s growth.
Yes, travel is technically easier today (pandemic aside), but as noted earlier, Americans don’t take the time off needed to really explore and enjoy a vacation at a destination that’s far away...mainly because businesses don’t guarantee time off for all employees to take one. And even if you can cobble together vacation time, most employers don’t want you gone longer than a week. This is why a lot of Americans don’t actually fly internationally. It’s not that we don’t want to (though truthfully there are also plenty of Americans that claim they have no interest in traveling internationally), but there’s a lot of hurdles to cross and not everyone can afford to do that. But that’s why World Showcase is so important. I can’t afford my dream trip to Japan right now, but I can get a taste at the pavilion and it can help me think more about what I may want to see and do. A family member will be having a destination wedding in Morocco, and I’ve been trying to make a point to look around that pavilion more as part of my research, as it will be my first time there.
As someone with actual Scandinavian heritage, I have overall enjoyed and appreciated Frozen as a franchise and how it illustrates actual traditions from Norway and Scandinavia as a whole (I think a lot of people are generally ignorant about these references in circles like this, which is a shame.) In a perfect world, I wish Maelstrom and FEA could have co-existed at the pavilion, but the ride still has elements that pays tributes to Norway, and there’s still quality things to see at the pavilion that aren’t tied to Frozen at all. In fact, I was delighted to find artifacts that had been donated by the local museum to where my grandfather lives! And during the holidays, when I’m missing my family more than ever, the decor put up, along with the show, and selling the very hard to find Jul Must (an exclusively Christmas soda that is impossible to find in the states) brings joyful tears to my eyes.
Honestly... I love World Showcase. I am immensely frustrated that they only have two rides and a few films out of that entire area. But I love the architecture and enjoy just wandering around enjoying the sights (btw, the interiors of Vegas casinos like the Venetian and Paris do not hold a candle to World Showcase, and if you think otherwise, all I can say is that you probably weren’t sober in that assessment!) I like to try the different foods and drinks, festival or not. I had one of the best steaks of my life at Le Cellier. I can actually get French pastries that taste like they did on my trip from my teens...and I’ve gone on a quest to get that itch scratched.
