EPCOT Morocco Pavilion redevelopment

[aladdin2007]

That whole stretch of WS from Canada to Japan is kind of sad. Yes you have France, the Japan shops/restaurants and some other nice buildings but there's a lot of wasted space and potential and not much in the way of attractions. It's even worse when O Canada is closed.

they don't care as long as alcohol sales are pouring in.

 

[aladdin2007]

View attachment 705452
The middle has a pop up sangria stand, the gallery is open, the quick serve is a festival booth on the right, and the water side shop and tapas is open, all the other stores and restaurants are boarded up.

Morocco was the last pavilion left for the most part that was true , authentic, and beautiful to itself. Now it too is in the hands of a management that doesnt want to pay to operate it or do anything worthwhile. Who knows how much they will chop up or just keep closed not in operation.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Morocco was the last pavilion left for the most part that was true , authentic, and beautiful to itself. Now it too is in the hands of a management that doesnt want to pay to operate it or do anything worthwhile. Who knows how much they will chop up or just keep closed not in operation.

One of the first things WDW did upon getting full ownership of Morocco pavilion was to re-do the fountain area and extend the mosaic tiling.

IOW, they upgraded it. And they refreshed the lakeside shops. So, that's how their stewardship of the physical plant has been going on so far.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Morocco was the last pavilion left for the most part that was true , authentic, and beautiful to itself. Now it too is in the hands of a management that doesnt want to pay to operate it or do anything worthwhile. Who knows how much they will chop up or just keep closed not in operation.

Just like Canada

 

[DCBaker]

Some roof work happening on the buildings -

 

[Bocabear]

Well now that the restaurant is closed and gone, it's time for the Sinbad attraction from Tokyo Disney Seas... one piece of IP character I would love to see. (well I think it is supposed to be "Arabian Coast" but it would still sort of work... And that ride is such a big WOW...very old classic Disney

 

[James Alucobond]

Well now that the restaurant is closed and gone, it's time for the Sinbad attraction from Tokyo Disney Seas... one piece of IP character I would love to see. (well I think it is supposed to be "Arabian Coast" but it would still sort of work... And that ride is such a big WOW...very old classic Disney

I suppose you could have him docked in Morocco for whatever reason, but he's very explicitly from Baghdad. I don't think it would work all that well.

 

[LittleBuford]

Well now that the restaurant is closed and gone, it's time for the Sinbad attraction from Tokyo Disney Seas... one piece of IP character I would love to see. (well I think it is supposed to be "Arabian Coast" but it would still sort of work... And that ride is such a big WOW...very old classic Disney

We’ve had this discussion before. Sinbad has as much to do with Morocco as Marco Polo does with the UK. Everything about the character, from his Iraqi origin to the itinerary of his adventures, locates him thousands of miles east of Morocco.

 

[Br0ckford]

Well now that the restaurant is closed and gone, it's time for the Sinbad attraction from Tokyo Disney Seas... one piece of IP character I would love to see. (well I think it is supposed to be "Arabian Coast" but it would still sort of work... And that ride is such a big WOW...very old classic Disney

I'm down

 

[Bocabear]

As well as Aladdin... but I would rather have the Sinbad ride than a book report Aladdin ride... Norway is also not the made-up contry that Frozen takes place in either...

 

[James Alucobond]

For Aladdin, Agrabah at least doesn't actually exist, so you could squeeze it in if you really wanted to under the same pretenses as Arendelle, but a) that's already kind of lame in Norway and b) is slightly more dishonest given the origins of Aladdin.

 

[LittleBuford]

As well as Aladdin... but I would rather have the Sinbad ride than a book report Aladdin ride... Norway is also not the made-up contry that Frozen takes place in either...

Arendelle may be a fictional country, but at least it's based on Norway. Sinbad comes from a place thousands of miles away from the country you'd like to see feature a ride based on his tales. On what basis can you possibly justify his presence in Morocco?

 

[LittleBuford]

For Aladdin, Agrabah at least doesn't actually exist, so you could squeeze it in if you really wanted to under the same pretenses as Arendelle, but a) that's already kind of lame in Norway and b) is slightly more dishonest given the origins of Aladdin.

If Agrabah's architecture were Maghribi in style, I would have no issues with its inclusion. But to the extent that they can be identified with any real places, the buildings of Agrabah relate to lands thousands of miles east of Morocco, with Egyptian and even Indian elements being especially prominent.

 

[Bocabear]

True.

 

[James Alucobond]

If Agrabah's architecture were Maghribi in style, I would have no issues with its inclusion. But to the extent that they can be identified with any real place, the buildings of Agrabah relate to lands thousands of miles east of Morocco, with Egyptian and even Indian elements being especially prominent.

I just see Agrabah as the most generically Arabian pastiche possible. It's a hodgepodge of impossible minarets, onion domes, and horseshoe arches. Not that I'm arguing you're wrong, especially considering that it's contextualized by the story itself, but I'm not sure I'd bother placing most of the architecture geographically considering how much of an amalgam it is.

 

[J4546]

maybe they will demo the pavilion and build a new one?

I know they wont, nor do I want them to but hypotheticaly.......I want to see Egypt added to the world showcase at some point

 

[James Alucobond]

maybe they will demo the pavilion and build a new one?

I know they wont, nor do I want them to but hypotheticaly.......I want to see Egypt added to the world showcase at some point

I'm not sure why you would demo one at this point when there's still plenty of space for new ones.

 

[J4546]

I'm not sure why you would demo one at this point when there's still plenty of space for new ones.

they wouldnt, im just spitballing

 

[LittleBuford]

I just see Agrabah as the most generically Arabian pastiche possible. It's a hodgepodge of impossible minarets, onion domes, and horseshoe arches. Not that I'm arguing you're wrong, especially considering that it's contextualized by the story itself, but I'm not sure I'd bother placing most of the architecture geographically considering how much of an amalgam it is.

Yes, it's an amalgam, but certain elements stand out more than others. The minarets are of the fancier Egyptian variety rather than the square towers used in the Maghrib. Agrabah is full of domed buildings, whereas tiled pyramidal roofs, not domes, are the preferred kind of superstructure in Morocco.

"Arabian" (which historically meant "Arab" but today refers to the Arabian Peninsula) is too specific a description of what's going on in Agrabah. Many of its architectural references are Persian (i.e., non-Arab), and there is even, as I noted earlier, a strong Indian influence, particularly in the sultan's palace.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

If they wanted to do an Aladdin version of Beauty and the Beast, assuming same layout and the same ride system (just with floating Magic Carpets and different theming), the show-building would technically fit (if you reroute whatever the little corner is that cuts into Ratatouille), though it would eliminate all of the cool little alcoves of the Morocco pavilion (see first attachment). The alternative is to rotate it a bit, and reroute Avenue of the Stars AND the canal, then you can keep all of the alleyways (see second attachment). I think something like this could be really cool. Unrealistic, but cool.