I still love World Showcase. Honestly, that might be part of the problem.
Most Disney fans love World Showcase. The festivals are fun, grabbing food from different countries is one of the best experiences at Walt Disney World, and spending an evening wandering around the lagoon with friends never gets old. There is something timeless about popping in and out of the different countries, listening to live music, or having a special drinking-around-the-world day with friends. It remains one of the most unique places in any Disney theme park.
But because all of those things are true, I think we sometimes ignore an uncomfortable reality. World Showcase may be one of the most beloved areas in Walt Disney World, but it is also one of the areas most in need of attention.
For years, the festivals have done a tremendous job of masking some of the underlying issues. Yet when the festival tents come down, and you look at the pavilions themselves, many have changed very little in decades, or if they have changed, it has been for the worse. For longtime Disney fans, there are entire sections of World Showcase that feel either frozen in time or semi-abandoned.
The most obvious example is Morocco, and honestly, it is the one that hurts the most. There was a time before COVID-19 when the Morocco pavilion felt like one of the most immersive places in all of Walt Disney World. Not just in EPCOT. Not just in World Showcase. In the entire resort. The detailed architecture, winding alleyways, beautiful mosaics, and authentic merchandise made it feel like you had truly stepped into another country. Today, it simply does not have that same energy. While many of the original details remain beautiful, the pavilion feels like it has lost some of its identity. Restaurant Marrakesh, once one of the signature experiences of the pavilion, sits as a temporary annual passholder lounge. Some of the refurbishments they have made, like new tile on the fountain at the center of the pavilion, feel like cheap Home Depot tile rather than the authentic mosaics that made the pavilion feel so real. All of this has resulted in a pavilion that no longer feels like the crown jewel it once was.
But this issue extends beyond Morocco. The United Kingdom pavilion was once set to receive a Mary Poppins attraction that would have been an exciting new update to the pavilion. That project disappeared. Germany never received the boat ride that was part of the original vision for the pavilion. Italy remains beautiful to walk through, but for repeat guests, there is very little that has changed over the years to create a sense of excitement or discovery. Canada has a similar challenge. The pavilion itself is stunning, and the updated film is certainly an improvement, but it still lacks something that makes guests say, “We have to go there.” It is a gorgeous setting, but if guests are wandering back there, then Disney needs to give them a reason to.
Now, before the comments section lights up, yes, there have been some great investments in World Showcase. France received a major expansion with Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Norway was transformed with Frozen Ever After and has continued to see improvements with upgraded animatronics. China received a refreshed film experience. These projects are all welcome additions and proof that Disney can still deliver meaningful updates when it chooses to.
The problem is that those successes highlight how little attention some of the other pavilions have received. A handful of countries have carried most of the momentum, while others have remained largely unchanged for generations of guests. Some have not seen a truly impactful addition since the day the park opened.
There is often a lot of speculation about EPCOT adding a new country like Australia or Greece, and while those would be awesome pavilions, I hope they start by just making the countries that are already there better first.
World Showcase should be a place that evolves. It should continue finding new ways to celebrate culture, tell stories, and give guests reasons to explore. Instead, too many pavilions feel like they are surviving on nostalgia and festival traffic rather than offering compelling experiences of their own.
More than anything, though, I hope Disney finds a way to bring Morocco back to life. At its best, the Morocco pavilion represented everything World Showcase was supposed to be. It was immersive, authentic, beautiful, and endlessly explorable. If Disney can restore that spirit, it would not just improve one pavilion. It would send a message that World Showcase is once again a priority.
