Canada Pavilion Rant

JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
scorp16 said:
Man...I always show up at EPCOT hoping that it's changed. And I always leave disappointed. Canada is the biggest waste of a Pavilion in EPCOT (unless you want to count the Africa area in between Norway and China - which I don't).

I say this out of respect. I love Canada. Heck, my wife is from Toronto. And even she has no interest in stopping in the Pavilion.

You've got Martin Short, a popcorn cart, an o.k. steakhouse, and an entire pavilion based on British Columbia, along with rotating acts on a stage that don't seem to last (I did like "Off Kilter"....the Lumberjacks...not so much). That's Canada at EPCOT.

You're freaking Canada. How about some poutine? Maybe some smoked meat? Canadian cronuts?...Montreal bagels? a Tim Horton cart (yeah, I'm sure Starbucks would love that.....probably in their contract). How about some representation from Ontario and/or Quebec.

You'd think maybe, just maybe during a F&W or F&G they'd try to mix it up. Bring in some of the good stuff.....but no....It's still the Cheese Soup and Fillet. The Canada Booth during the festivals is just a big advert for LeCellier......like it has been forever.

It's almost to the point where routinely I find myself starting my World Showcase journey in Mexico and when I get to the red phone booths in the UK we turn around and walk back.
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Disappointed, eh?
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
The Empress Lilly said:
- There is a Poutine stand in Disney Springs, with reasonable but obscenely overpriced Poutine. It should've been in EPCOT.

- Martin Short is cheap celeb diarrhea. ('When you don't know what to do, throw in a celeb') But otherwise the movie is good. Great song, even the new version.

- This is America. People won't walk upstairs, and they only spend on what is directly in front of them. This is why nowadays the upstairs of Canada is closed, and the entire WS walkway build up with stands, restaurants and bars. EPCOT, how the mighty has fallen... :'(
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That is exactly what was explained to me when I took the UnDISCOVERed Future World tour. Imagination was the same way they said. No one wanted to go upstairs. Everything had to be ground level. So that area up there was closed. Canada second level appears to be the same thing.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
The Pavilion: The buildings take up 1 acre, the gardens take up .4 acres, and, here's the disheartening part... the forest takes up .6 acres.

So, the gardens, while nice, are a bit... guarded. There are no benches in the area to sit and enjoy them. No table at which to eat. You walk through it... quite literally. One path through it... not even a loop to see it from other angles. The gardens could be expanded to twice its size by taking over the copse of trees. You could add benches and tables. Otherwise the gardens are OK for a quick look and being ushered out.

If one thinks of other buildings or attractions or even a QS that would befit Canada, you can use the gardens and tree area and pretty much double all the building space.

I find the waterfall to be really nice. But I only remember it's there when I bring new visitors to O Canada. They're so hidden from the WS walkway.

While Martin Short is so... Martin Short. And I mean that both in a complimentary and critical way... O Canada does an excellent job representing the country (except for the pedestrian "lyrics" of the final song). It would have served the movie better for Martin to have filmed on location than a studio green screen. And at the risk of being reported by @marni1971, it's much better than the outdated Impressions de France.

While the stairs are quite a challenge for us USians, luckily, there are bypass ramps for each flight of stairs. They're just not very noticeable.
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The problem with the pavilion, it doesn't "invite you in." Almost all the others allow you to explore. Morocco is a good example of this. Not Canada. All you see is a mountain with a Chateu on top with an entrance to LeCellier underneath or a sign pointing to the movie. Lost potential because of the "nothing to see here move along" architecture.
 
Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
Perhaps @marni1971 can confirm, since my memory is fading, but I seem to recall that the shops upstairs at Canada would need some major work to be re-opened because of mould that has been found in them since they've been closed for so long? Mitigation would require a total gutting of the interior spaces.

And while he's at it, perhaps he could explain this little bombshell he casually dropped: :cautious:

marni1971 said:
I'll miss it.
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...or he can wait and explain one-on-one in a couple of weeks at lunch. ;)
 
castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
Monty said:
Perhaps @marni1971 can confirm, since my memory is fading, but I seem to recall that the shops upstairs at Canada would need some major work to be re-opened because of mould that has been found in them since they've been closed for so long? Mitigation would require a total gutting of the interior spaces.

And while he's at it, perhaps he could explain this little bombshell he casually dropped: :cautious:



...or he can wait and explain one-on-one in a couple of weeks at lunch. ;)
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They did quite a bit of work inside the Chateau in 2012 and replaced all the HVAC and such. The biggest thing that would need fixed now is the flooring as the room is filled with heavy storage racks that have done some damage.

Also a fun fact. The whole side of the building facing the promenade has a big stair case behind it where you can look through the little forced perspective windows. This takes you to a second floor break room and then on to a third floor housing the laser equipment for illuminations.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
castlecake2.0 said:
Also a fun fact. The whole side of the building facing the promenade has a big stair case behind it where you can look through the little forced perspective windows. This takes you to a second floor break room and then on to a third floor housing the laser equipment for illuminations.
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I was surprised seeing two floors of exterior windows in one internal floor. Great forced perspective!
 
wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
Monty said:
Perhaps @marni1971 can confirm, since my memory is fading, but I seem to recall that the shops upstairs at Canada would need some major work to be re-opened because of mould that has been found in them since they've been closed for so long? Mitigation would require a total gutting of the interior spaces.

And while he's at it, perhaps he could explain this little bombshell he casually dropped: :cautious:



...or he can wait and explain one-on-one in a couple of weeks at lunch. ;)
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Yep, this exactly!!! Marie
 
nickys

nickys

Premium Member
castlecake2.0 said:
I think this is just the normal guest path that goes up the stairs from the O CANADA! Entrance? It goes up towards the Chateau where there's a little plaza to view the waterfalls then continues on to a ramp/bridge where you can view the gardens. To get up into the actual mountains covering the attraction you need to climb wall mounted ladders on the backside of the "show building".
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Quite possibly / probably! I was confused by Martin's comment, which I took to mean thee wasn't a path anymore .... Anyway definitely no climbing ladders occurred ;), I would have passed on that.

I'd love to see them do something with the forest area, not cut it down but a proper water raft ride, or even a bobsleigh ride if the Cresta run or Mount Fuji rides aren't happening. Now that would spice it up. Just don't bulldoze the gardens! Put in some benches, even convert the tool shed into a food booth if you must, but leave it as a tranquil oasis of calm please!

And I'm totally for doing something with the Chateau, such a waste not to have it open.
 
wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
A sleigh ride through Canada during a beautiful winter scene could be awesome. Nothing too crazy, just a little faster paced maybe a butterflies in the tummy feeling here and there, but not a thrill ride per se. One can wish, no?? Marie
 
castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
The forest doesn't actually go too far back. Maybe 10' and then a retaining wall/berm with quite a big drop down to a parking lot behind Imagination (had to chase guests one new year s eve through the woods who thought they could escape the park through the forest not realizing they would fall into a parking lot and be trapped). If they were to remove/adjust the berm forest there's quite a bit of room back there to add an attraction if they wanted.

I'm always a little scared that one day they may just bulldoze the pavilion and start fresh, and not have Canada as the county :/.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
WondersOfLife said:
Canada is my 3rd favorite WS pavilion at Epcot right behind Mexico and American Adventure... The Martin Short O Canada film is one of my favorites! And only entertaining educational attraction, not to me, but to anyone I ever take. They seem to get a kick out of Martin Short but find China and France's films incredibly boring.
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I would agree with China, but, the music alone in France is worth the trip to Florida. It's so serine and relaxing in that theater.
 

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