Hi everyone.
I’ve created two new pavilions in World Showcase, this time Belgium and Poland.
I know Europe is already well represented in EPCOT, but I thought for Belgium, it would be nice to do a smaller European country for once, one that wouldn’t normally be expected to have a presence (not counting Food and Wine Festival, of course). And for Poland, I wanted to do a country that not only interests me on a personal level, but one that also might seem—at least to some people—to be a bit dry, as far as potential material to draw from, and therefore would create a bit of a challenge to create interesting attractions around.
So let’s start w/ Belgium:
For Belgium, there is a true wellspring of architectural options, so I’ll just cover some of the key highlights.
First, the Arcade du Cinquantenaire in Brussels:
The Atomium, also in Brussels:
The Gravensteen, a medieval Flemish castle in Ghent:
And finally, the belfry of Bruges:
The Belgium pavilion also features an explorable Smurfs village, a tribute to the beloved Belgian cartoonist Peyo.
In terms of dining, Belgium may not be as famous as neighboring France, but there are still plenty of classic offerings. These would include: Belgian truffle frites, carbonade flamande, Belgian-style mussels, and of course everyone’s favorite, Brussels sprouts. These tasty dishes can be ordered at the pavilion’s signature restaurant, Comme Chez Soi.
But where Belgium really shines is its wonderful selections of beer and chocolate. These items would be on offer at Salon du Chocolat de Bruxelles, a classic Belgian chocolaterie that makes its own in-house chocolate bars, and La Brasserie, a brew house serving up some unique beer selections.
And finally, we come to the rides.
The Belgium pavilion features 4 rides, headlined by the wonderful, whimsical D-ticket dark ride, The Adventures of Tintin. I pictured this as somewhat similar to a ride like The Cat in the Hat at IOA, but obviously w/ a different theme. Along the way, you’ll encounter the beloved characters from the Tintin cartoons, including Snowy, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus.
The second attraction is called The False Mirror. It’s named after a painting by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte. It’s basically a walk-through attraction themed to an art museum, where the surrealist theme is taken to the extreme, complete w/ paintings and sculptures that appear to come alive.
The third attraction is a circle-vision 360 film called The Expanding Universe. Narrated by Jean Claude Van Damme (because hey, why not?), the film celebrates the scientific achievements of the Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaître, known for his hypothesis of the primeval atom, later known in popular culture as the Big Bang Theory.
The film dramatizes several important points in Lemaître’s career, especially his relationship w/ Albert Einstein. Einstein was initially skeptical of Lemaître’s theory, but after attending one of Lemaître’s lectures in 1933, in which Lemaître’s fleshed out his theory in more detail, Einstein supposedly stood up, applauded loudly, and called out: “This is the most beautiful and satisfactory explanation of creation to which I have ever listened.”
The theater queue would also highlight other scientific achievements associated w/ Belgium. These would include, for example, the famous Solvay conference of 1927, where perhaps the greatest meeting of scientific minds in all of history took place, which resulted in a well-known photograph featuring Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Marie Curie, Werner Heisenberg, and many others.
Other notable achievements would include: the creation of the BMI (Body Mass Index), attributed to the Belgian mathematician Lambert Adolphe Quetelet, the invention of Bakelite (the world’s first commercial plastic) by Leo Baekeland, the invention of asphalt by Belgian chemist Edward de Smedt, and of course, last but not least, the invention of the saxophone by Adolphe Sax.
The fourth and final attraction of the pavilion is called Bruges Canal Tours.
The city of Bruges is famous for its winding canals and medieval architecture, and you’ll get to experience both on this relaxing boat ride.
So, that’s the Belgium pavilion.
Next up is Poland, which I'll cover in a second post.
I’ve created two new pavilions in World Showcase, this time Belgium and Poland.
I know Europe is already well represented in EPCOT, but I thought for Belgium, it would be nice to do a smaller European country for once, one that wouldn’t normally be expected to have a presence (not counting Food and Wine Festival, of course). And for Poland, I wanted to do a country that not only interests me on a personal level, but one that also might seem—at least to some people—to be a bit dry, as far as potential material to draw from, and therefore would create a bit of a challenge to create interesting attractions around.
So let’s start w/ Belgium:
For Belgium, there is a true wellspring of architectural options, so I’ll just cover some of the key highlights.
First, the Arcade du Cinquantenaire in Brussels:
The Atomium, also in Brussels:
The Gravensteen, a medieval Flemish castle in Ghent:
And finally, the belfry of Bruges:
The Belgium pavilion also features an explorable Smurfs village, a tribute to the beloved Belgian cartoonist Peyo.
In terms of dining, Belgium may not be as famous as neighboring France, but there are still plenty of classic offerings. These would include: Belgian truffle frites, carbonade flamande, Belgian-style mussels, and of course everyone’s favorite, Brussels sprouts. These tasty dishes can be ordered at the pavilion’s signature restaurant, Comme Chez Soi.
But where Belgium really shines is its wonderful selections of beer and chocolate. These items would be on offer at Salon du Chocolat de Bruxelles, a classic Belgian chocolaterie that makes its own in-house chocolate bars, and La Brasserie, a brew house serving up some unique beer selections.
And finally, we come to the rides.
The Belgium pavilion features 4 rides, headlined by the wonderful, whimsical D-ticket dark ride, The Adventures of Tintin. I pictured this as somewhat similar to a ride like The Cat in the Hat at IOA, but obviously w/ a different theme. Along the way, you’ll encounter the beloved characters from the Tintin cartoons, including Snowy, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus.
The second attraction is called The False Mirror. It’s named after a painting by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte. It’s basically a walk-through attraction themed to an art museum, where the surrealist theme is taken to the extreme, complete w/ paintings and sculptures that appear to come alive.
The third attraction is a circle-vision 360 film called The Expanding Universe. Narrated by Jean Claude Van Damme (because hey, why not?), the film celebrates the scientific achievements of the Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaître, known for his hypothesis of the primeval atom, later known in popular culture as the Big Bang Theory.
The film dramatizes several important points in Lemaître’s career, especially his relationship w/ Albert Einstein. Einstein was initially skeptical of Lemaître’s theory, but after attending one of Lemaître’s lectures in 1933, in which Lemaître’s fleshed out his theory in more detail, Einstein supposedly stood up, applauded loudly, and called out: “This is the most beautiful and satisfactory explanation of creation to which I have ever listened.”
The theater queue would also highlight other scientific achievements associated w/ Belgium. These would include, for example, the famous Solvay conference of 1927, where perhaps the greatest meeting of scientific minds in all of history took place, which resulted in a well-known photograph featuring Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Marie Curie, Werner Heisenberg, and many others.
Other notable achievements would include: the creation of the BMI (Body Mass Index), attributed to the Belgian mathematician Lambert Adolphe Quetelet, the invention of Bakelite (the world’s first commercial plastic) by Leo Baekeland, the invention of asphalt by Belgian chemist Edward de Smedt, and of course, last but not least, the invention of the saxophone by Adolphe Sax.
The fourth and final attraction of the pavilion is called Bruges Canal Tours.
The city of Bruges is famous for its winding canals and medieval architecture, and you’ll get to experience both on this relaxing boat ride.
So, that’s the Belgium pavilion.
Next up is Poland, which I'll cover in a second post.
