The REAL China pavilion!!!

[wbboy29]

So I'm currently on an international tour with Disney Live! And having a BLAST by the way, haha. Anyways, we started our tour in Japan this past March and are slowly working our way around Asia. So far we have hit Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and now CHINA!!!!

Well, as I have been doing some site seeing I have stumbled upon the places that WD Imagineering used as inspiration for there numerous pavilions around Epcot. My favorite so far have been in China. And I have to tell you. Imagineering really has done there homework, haha. The detail is so precise its amazing. I've added some pics below of some of my travels, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. :wave:

Also if anyone else has any pictures of the numerous building and shrines, around the world, that Disney has used for there Epcot pavilions feel free to post them here. It would be great to see the other locals around the world as well.

By the way, these are all thumbnail images. Feel free to click on each one to see the larger size.




~ This first photo is the real gate Disney used as the entrance into the China Pavilion. The actual gate in located in front of the "Tower of Buddhist Incense," at the Summer Palace, in Beijing. ~

The photo does not do it justice.


~ These following few pictures are of the "Tower of Buddhist Incense" inself and other photos I took around the Summer Palace. ~

I REALLY wish this Tower would have been represented at the China Pavilion. It is AMAZINGLY detailed and so beautiful.


Looking at the tower through a closed gate.

The beautiful "Jade Belt Bridge," (Yudai Qiao). Built somewhere between 1736-1795. One on the 6 different bridges on the 6 bridge walk around the Palace.

My favorite of the 6 bridges. Named the Jade Belt because the gray white or white marble used in the body & railing combine to resemble a jade belt.


~ I took this photo while walking down the path from the Tower. I guess they LOVE hidden Mickeys here too, hahaha!!! ~

I have no idea if this was intended to be a Mickey, but it sure looks like one, haha



More to come!!!

 

[wbboy29]

~ These pics are all of the "Temple of Heaven," also located in Beijing. The detail is AMAZING!!! The Imagineers really did their homework on this one. The one in the park looks exactly like the real one. ~

At the entrance of the temple complex. The Temple of Heaven itself is the furthest building away in this image

There it is!!!

Just me and the Temple.....and a few other people, haha

The interior of the Temple itself


So there you go. I hope you enjoyed the pics. It's been absolutely incredible seeing all these places in person. I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity. Let me know what you think.

 

[Nemo14]

Wow - what an amazing experience for you! Love the pics!

 

[Hoop Raeb]

Awesome photos! Thanks. I never knew that they copied actual structures.

 

[WhyteAL]

Big up yourself! That is really cool....

Hope you enjoy it. I hope to someday vist there as well...:wave:

 

[wbboy29]

Hey thanks for the complements. I'm glad you all are enjoying the pics. I really am having a GREAT time!!! :wave:

 

[Nemo14]

Hey thanks for the complements. I'm glad you all are enjoying the pics. I really am having a GREAT time!!! :wave:

What exactly are you doing there, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[foldmama]

Amazing pictures! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the rest of your tour!

 

[wbboy29]

What exactly are you doing there, if you don't mind my asking?

Don't mind at all. I'm touring with Disney Live! It's a live stage show produced by Feld Entertainment (Disney on Ice, Doodlebops Live, High School Musical: The Ice Tour, etc.). The show toured all over the US last year, and now it has been taken over seas on a world tour. I'm a member of the cast. It's great, not only do I get paid to perform (which is one of my dreams) in a multi million dollar show, but I'm also getting paid to see the world!!! :sohappy: So it's a win win for me, :lol:

 

[hcswingfield]

Don't mind at all. I'm touring with Disney Live! It's a live stage show produced by Feld Entertainment (Disney on Ice, Doodlebops Live, etc.). The show toured all over the US last year, and now it has been taken over seas on a world tour. I'm a member of the cast. It's great, not only do I get paid to perform (which is one of my dreams) in a multi million dollar show, but I'm also getting paid to see the world!!! :sohappy: So it's a win win for me, :lol:

What an awesome job to have! Mind if the rest of us live vicariously through you? Thanks so much for posting the photos. It really is fascinating. Keep having a great time and sharing with us. :sohappy:

 

[wbboy29]

Mind if the rest of us live vicariously through you? :sohappy:

Hahaha, Feel free, haha.

I really do feel lucky to be getting this opportunity. It's a once in a life time experience!!! I still don't really believe it myself, haha. As I mentioned earlier, we have already been to Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and now China. The second half of our tour will include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and India. I can't wait to get to Thailand. That is one place I have ALWAYS wanted to go.

 

[Krimedog]

you are so incredibly lucky and you probably dont have to pay a dime.

 

[wbboy29]

Thanks again everyone for the comments.

I know this is a bit off of my original topic, but since y'all seemed to like those photos so much I thought I would add a few more, of my favorites from my tour so far. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Oh, and once again these are all thumbnails. So feel free to click on them for the larger image.


~ These first 3 are from Tokyo DisneySea. The most AMAZING theme park I have ever been to. ~

Myself and Mount Prometheus


Just having fun in the Arabian Coast with some great friends, haha


Mount Prometheus, from within Mysterious Island



~ We went to Tokyo Dome City to see a Tokyo Giants game ~

But while we were there of course we had to ride this. The BEST coaster I have ever been on!!!



~ Nagoya, Japan (Nagoya Castle) ~

There have been hysterical signs like this all over Asia, haha


Nagoya Castle & myself



~ Southern Taiwan (Kaohsiung) ~

Going old school with some Karate Kid action, haha


Just enjoying the breeze and the South China Sea




~ Rode trip to Eastern Taiwan (Hualien) ~

The incredible Toroko Gorge. A friend of mine lost hid sandal in the river and waited while 2 more of our friends chased after it for him, lol


Just me and the other side of the Pacific




Well, I guess that's it. I hope you enjoy these as much as the first few. Again sorry for the thread drift, but I just figured you might like to see these too. Thanks again for all the nice comments.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

the arch at the entrance can be found at any chinatown

 

[haveyoumetmark]

I went to China last summer. It was a wonderful experience. I hope you're having a blast, and I was shocked at how good WDI was with Epcot's China too.

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

Great photos! Thanks so much for sharing! I want SO much to go to Disney Seas! It looks incredible!
So what is Disney Live! and what do you do for the show?
I looked at your WDW Magic photo album, too...and I'm really amazed. You got to be a pirate on PotC3?? That's AWESOME! And they did an amazing job on your make-up! And, of course, the inevitable question...did you get to meet Johnny, Orlando, or Keira? :animwink:

 

[cb3k]

Awesome photos! Thanks. I never knew that they copied actual structures.

Actually....China copied Disney's structures. Not many people know this, but Epcot was around before many of these countries, a group of 11 leaders got together and drew straws...The leader who picked the largest straw got to pick which of the world showcase models they would like to model their city after, the others then followed in the order of their straw height. Naturally the last leader to choose was left with Norway and has since been stuck with nothing but Trolls, Cruise Liners, Oil Rigs, and Polar Bears.

 

[wbboy29]

Great photos! Thanks so much for sharing! I want SO much to go to Disney Seas! It looks incredible!
So what is Disney Live! and what do you do for the show?
I looked at your WDW Magic photo album, too...and I'm really amazed. You got to be a pirate on PotC3?? That's AWESOME! And they did an amazing job on your make-up! And, of course, the inevitable question...did you get to meet Johnny, Orlando, or Keira? :animwink:

Hey thanks!!!

You HAVE to go to DisneySea when you can, it is INCREDIBLE!!! And this is coming from a guy who used to work at WDW for 5yrs. So WDW will always be a special place for me, but man, DisneySea is in a class all itself.

Disney Live is a live stage show along the lines of Sesame Street live, DoodleBops Live, etc. It's kind of like Disney on Ice but without the ice, haha, or a Broadway show but with Disney characters. There are currently 3 Disney lives shows on tour throughout the world. Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Magic Show, and soon to be Playhouse Disney Live. I'm a member of the cast and I get to play several roles throughout the show.

Oh and yeah, I had a great time working on Pirates 3. I LOVED the make-up job they did on me, haha!!! (That's me in my avatar as a Black Pearl Pirate )My make-up artists name was Beth and I made sure to go to her every day. We usually had to be on set by about 3:30am-4:00am everyday, and were usually there till after sun down. Sometimes I would even fall asleep in the chair while they were doing my make-up, haha. And yep I totally got to meet and work with Jonny, Orlando, Keira, everybody. Jonny and Bill Nigh (Davey Jones) were by far the 2 nicest people on the set. They were so open and even went out of there way to talk to everybody, even the extras who are usually the lowest people on the totem pole. But they were fantastic. Glad you enjoyed the pics. :wave:

 

[MiduraMagic4]

Actually....China copied Disney's structures. Not many people know this, but Epcot was around before many of these countries, a group of 11 leaders got together and drew straws...The leader who picked the largest straw got to pick which of the world showcase models they would like to model their city after, the others then followed in the order of their straw height. Naturally the last leader to choose was left with Norway and has since been stuck with nothing but Trolls, Cruise Liners, Oil Rigs, and Polar Bears.

HAHA. :ROFLOL: I knew those countries had to be modeled after something. What came first EE or the other Mt Everest?:ROFLOL:

 

[hcswingfield]

Hey thanks!!!

You HAVE to go to DisneySea when you can, it is INCREDIBLE!!! And this is coming from a guy who used to work at WDW for 5yrs. So WDW will always be a special place for me, but man, DisneySea is in a class all itself.

Disney Live is a live stage show along the lines of Sesame Street live, DoodleBops Live, etc. It's kind of like Disney on Ice but without the ice, haha, or a Broadway show but with Disney characters. There are currently 3 Disney lives shows on tour throughout the world. Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Magic Show, and soon to be Playhouse Disney Live. I'm a member of the cast and I get to play several roles throughout the show.

Oh and yeah, I had a great time working on Pirates 3. I LOVED the make-up job they did on me, haha!!! (That's me in my avatar as a Black Pearl Pirate )My make artists name was Beth and I made sure to go to her every day. We usually had to be on set by about 3:30am-4:00am everyday, and were usually there till after sun down. Sometimes I would even fall asleep in the chair while they were doing my make-up, haha. And yep I totally got to meet and work with Jonny, Orlando, Keira, everybody. Jonny and Bill Nigh (Davey Jones) were by far the 2 nicest people on the set. They were so open and even went out of there way to talk to everybody, even the extras who are usually the lowest people on the totem pole. But they were fantastic. Glad you enjoyed the pics. :wave:

I was going to ask if that was you in the avatar! Not that I would have recognized you from your travel photos or anything, but just the fact that you are an actor/entertainer there seemed to be a good chance you had been in the movie. What a treasure to have in your set of mementos!