Originally Posted By Donny The original design of the pavilion called for a boat ride along the Rhine river. It was to have focused on German folklore, in a similar manner to the Mexico and Norway rides. According to the Walt Disney Company's 1976 annual report the ride was to be " ... a cruise down Germany's most famous rivers -- the Rhine, the Tauber, the Ruhr and the Isar. Detailed miniatures of famous landmarks will also be seen, including one of the Cologne Cathedral."[1] Though the building was built, Disney did not complete the ride construction by opening day. It was announced to be part of "phase two" of expansion. To avoid costs, Disney dropped all phase two attractions and decided that any expansion projects would only be allowed if a host country funded for it. Because of lack of funding, the ride building is now used as storage space. You can see the main entrance hall, as it's now the dining area for the Biergarten. The ride building is used for storage for floats, a workshop and cast member rehearsal space.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper The entire building was never built, and the Biergarten is not the main entrance hall, but yea, most of that is true. Italy was also supposed to have a boat ride.
Originally Posted By dshyates What are the chances of getting Greece to pony up the bucks for a Pavilion?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper I think Brazil is far and away the best shot we have at a new WS pavilion if they continue with the sponsorship model.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn I don't see why Disney investors and ticket/merchandizing sales couldn't fund ride construction by these days. World Showcase will be a continuous stagnant flop if they depend on national government cooperation.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt The idea that the host nations had to pony up money for a permanent attraction at a theme park never made any sense to me. Can you imagine the US government footing the bill for the American Adventure?
Originally Posted By tashajilek "The idea that the host nations had to pony up money for a permanent attraction at a theme park never made any sense to me. Can you imagine the US government footing the bill for the American Adventure?" it is crazy, but if they are willing to pay then good for Disney LOL. I would love if there were a few other attractions in the WS.
Originally Posted By dshyates I always thought The American Pavilion was really weak. The American Adventure including the lobby areas is some of Disney's best work. But the flesh it out with a really bad burger place and 2 ODV is lame.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn I still say change the whole section of the park to DisneySea using the existing pavillions as a foundation.
Originally Posted By Bellella How's the food at Biergarten? Real heavy? Any hope for herbivores like me?
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh <How's the food at Biergarten? Real heavy? Any hope for herbivores like me?> I liked it, but my wife and kids didn't. I think people who like beef and sausages and beer like it best. I think there was at least one potato dish, and sauerkraut, and some other vegetables. Plus strudel.
Originally Posted By oc_dean World Showcase ... One of Disney's most stagnate sections of any park! Last attraction to open - The Maelstrom back in 1988. That's 24 years! Pathetic. No reason to return!
Originally Posted By dagobert We loved World Showcase, although the attractions aren't really good. However I liked the movie shown in the France Pavillion. We skipped Biergaten, because we can have that every day at home, but we enjoyed the beer there. After half a year in the US, it was nice to taste a German beer again. I would love to see an attraction about Germany. It's always interesting how Disney incorporates foreign cutures into their rides.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<How's the food at Biergarten? Real heavy? Any hope for herbivores like me?>> I love it, but it's probably not the best choice for non-meat eaters
Originally Posted By leobloom >> World Showcase ... One of Disney's most stagnate sections of any park! Last attraction to open - The Maelstrom back in 1988. That's 24 years! Pathetic. No reason to return! << To be fair, the Mexico ride was updated/changed to the Three Caballeros theme a few years ago, and the Canada was updated with Martin Short more recently. Having said that, I'm not claiming either of these attractions is a "reason to return."
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I remember seeing some renderings of a 'Mt. Fuji' roller coaster-- similar in size and set-up to Disneyland's Matterhorn -- to go into the Japan pavilion. The United Kingdom pavilion also was slated to have an indoor boat ride of some sort...
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad I'm not sure the WS needs something huge but it would be great if disney added multiple little things throughout the world. maybe a mixture of things to look at and things to ride.
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I'm not sure the WS needs something huge>> Personally, I disagree, especially from a crowd flow perspective. WS could really use a big, attractive E-ticket in it to draw the crowds back there and away from Soarin' and Test Track during the day. Because as of now the crowd distribution in EPCOT is terrible.
