EPCOT Morocco Pavilion redevelopment

[Lilofan]

They should really work out what to do with the outpost. I’m sure there is a good way to complete equitorial africa which doesn’t repeat Harambe, or turn into Wakanda.

I’d love to see more areas represented as well, world showcase is too euro centric. Polynesia, the carribean, south east asia, oceania, South America, Arabia etc there is so much I’d love to see at Epcot

New Zealand, Korea, Chile, Israel , Brazil and other countries were represented in the indoor Worldshowcase pavilion by UK 1999-2000ish with entertainment , games merchandise and cast from those countries talking up their homeland. Israel had a teenager group from
Israel perform song and dance and what was noticed was there was a substantial amount of Disney staff and security present during the shows.

 

[tcool123]

They should really work out what to do with the outpost. I’m sure there is a good way to complete equitorial africa which doesn’t repeat Harambe, or turn into Wakanda.

I’d love to see more areas represented as well, world showcase is too euro centric. Polynesia, the carribean, south east asia, oceania, South America, Arabia etc there is so much I’d love to see at Epcot

Just imagine if the rest of the world was represented. New Zealand for Oceania and Polynesia, Indonesia or Malaysia for SE Asia, Brazil or Peru for S America, Saudi Arabia or UAE for the Middle East, South Africa for Africa, Jamaica for the Caribbean. It would round out the World Showcase greatly representing more of the world.

AND if we actually had a Middle Eastern country, we wouldn’t have had this discussion of Sinbad in Morocco, nor have the residents of Agrabah cooped up in there either.

 

[UNCgolf]

If Disney was interested, I bet the UAE (specifically Dubai) would be happy to finance a new World Showcase pavilion. Saudi Arabia probably would too.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Countries could have stepped up and gotten their own pavilion for the past 40 years. In the end, only Morocco made it happen, and then turned it over to a corporation, and failed to bail them out.

Countries aren't interested at all in a WS pavilion judging by the actions of... all of them over four decades.

 

[Robbiem]

If Disney was interested, I bet the UAE (specifically Dubai) would be happy to finance a new World Showcase pavilion. Saudi Arabia probably would too.

I could see this as well. I suspect its politics rather than money which has stopped some of these places being added to epcot. An Arabian nation would be a great addition

 

[UNCgolf]

Countries could have stepped up and gotten their own pavilion for the past 40 years. In the end, only Morocco made it happen, and then turned it over to a corporation, and failed to bail them out.

Countries aren't interested at all in a WS pavilion judging by the actions of... all of them over four decades.

Saudi Arabia would almost certainly be interested. They're currently throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at a golf league that seems doomed to fail just because; I'm pretty sure they would love to associate themselves with Disney.

I doubt Disney wants Saudi Arabia, though.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Saudi Arabia would almost certainly be interested. They're currently throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at a golf league that seems doomed to fail just because; I'm pretty sure they would love to associate themselves with Disney.

I doubt Disney wants Saudi Arabia, though.

Yes, I could see Saudi Arabia or one of the Gulf States throwing money at a WS pavilion as a status symbol and PR exercise. I also don't think Disney would bite, particularly not with Saudi Arabia given the government's reputation at present.

I'd be interested to know how many proposals for pavilions have been made to Disney over the years that they've turned down. I remember years ago reading about a group of Korean businesspeople who wanted to fund a (South?) Korea pavilion at WS but Disney politely told them they weren't interested.

In general, the sponsorship model for Epcot seems well and truely finished at this point. The only way I could see it working is if they can convince outside vendors to help bankroll a pavilion in exchange for attractive contracts to operate dining or retail venues. Would be nice to see Disney pick up the slack and decide, for example, to bankroll a Colombia pavilion as part of their plan to bring Encanto into the parks.

 

[UNCgolf]

In general, the sponsorship model for Epcot seems well and truely finished at this point. The only way I could see it working is if they can convince outside vendors to help bankroll a pavilion in exchange for attractive contracts to operate dining or retail venues. Would be nice to see Disney pick up the slack and decide, for example, to bankroll a Colombia pavilion as part of their plan to bring Encanto into the parks.

What's galling is that the sponsorship model is totally unnecessary. This isn't the Disney of the early 1980s; they are one of the largest media conglomerates on the planet. They don't need someone to help foot the costs for a new pavilion in the World Showcase -- they could probably build one for less than what they spent on the Guardians ride.

 

[Fsunolekrw]

It will be a shame if they make any big changes to the pavilion. They really need to fully reopen it as it was, shops, restaurants and all. The Moroccan government ran the pavilion well. It really felt like the most authentic of all of the WS pavilions and you literally felt like you were someplace else when you got into those back alleyways. There are so many nooks and tucked away areas (like most of the original EPCOT sigh) in the pavilion. It really is perfect as is when it is fully open.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

What's galling is that the sponsorship model is totally unnecessary. This isn't the Disney of the early 1980s; they are one of the largest media conglomerates on the planet. They don't need someone to help foot the costs for a new pavilion in the World Showcase -- they could probably build one for less than what they spent on the Guardians ride.

Yes, it seems kind of crazy to me that they won't do it. Even though I wouldn't love another ride-less pavilion, if they just decided to build Brazil by themselves and bring some tenants in to run retail and dining perhaps alongside some Disney-run outlets, you would assume the pavilion would pay for itself within a reasonable period of time.

If they wanted an Encanto attraction, on the other hand, I struggle to see how building a pavilion around it would cost that much more than building it in another park. I also would have thought the WS pavilion model would increase the ROI with all the associated retail and dining.

The only conclusion I can come to is that they don't see much benefit in adding any more pavilions to WS.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The only conclusion I can come to is that they don't see much benefit in adding any more pavilions to WS.

It's cheaper and easier in the short term for them to add dining/shopping to existing pavilions than build any new ones from scratch.

 

[Lilofan]

Saudi Arabia would almost certainly be interested. They're currently throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at a golf league that seems doomed to fail just because; I'm pretty sure they would love to associate themselves with Disney.

I doubt Disney wants Saudi Arabia, though.

Disney still wants Middle East business promoting Disney+ over in that part of the world.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

It's cheaper and easier in the short term for them to add dining/shopping to existing pavilions than build any new ones from scratch.

And attractions, I guess. That is my guess as to why we're not likely to see new pavilions: they don't think it will really add that much in terms of greater revenue or attendance to the park and they're not really concerned with how much of the world is represented.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I would imagine that if Disney was gong to run the Moroccan pavilion, they'd want international Moroccan CMs. Not all the international representatives are back at WDW yet.

 

[Comped]

I'd be interested to know how many proposals for pavilions have been made to Disney over the years that they've turned down. I remember years ago reading about a group of Korean businesspeople who wanted to fund a (South?) Korea pavilion at WS but Disney politely told them they weren't interested.

They've turned down (or not ended up building) probably a dozen concepts at this point, from Brazil to Switzerland and the USSR, among others. Those are just the more well known ones. South Korea is its own interesting story - Lotte kicked up a fuss about it at one point, because they had their eyes on worldwide expansion back in the day.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

The Outpost came to mind right after I wrote my post. Sub-Saharan Africa deserves much better representation at World Showcase.

This is why I think they made up with it by making an entire land in AK to Africa..

 

[LittleBuford]

This is why I think they made up with it by making an entire land in AK to Africa..

I’m not sure that really makes up for it, though. World Showcase is about celebrating human achievement and culture, whereas Animal Kingdom centres on the animal world. Sub-Saharan Africa’s relegation to the second only underscores its absence from the lineup at Epcot.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

It is more sensible to speak of regions that are present than regions that are absent. WS is really just Western Europe, East Asia and North America. Plus the Morocco oddity.

About 2,5 billion out of eight billion people are represented. Of which sixty percent from one country alone, China. There would need to be three more World Showcases to get a meaningful global distribution. And Disney is no longer even in the business of promoting other entities (countries, companies, institutions, movie studios), only in promoting its own product.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I do wish they cared a little more that World Showcase is so un-representative of the actual world, particularly as it's one of the most well-known WDW experiences. They have apparently had their diversity and inclusion team going through the parks and looking at these kinds of things, and surely they've made some comment about how World Showcase needs to showcase more of the world?

 

[Obobru]

At somepoint all the pavilions will be fully "Disneyfied" with characters and rides as that fits what Disney is today. If their isn't a movie set in that country then that can be fixed over time so a new movie is set in that place then it can be shoehorned into the pavillion. They are no longer cultural attractions they are pavilions awaiting "plussing"