It’s a little mischievous, we know, but the World Showcase at Epcot at Disney World, Orlando is a great place for a pub crawl! A ‘round the world pub crawl, no less.
The World Showcase is made up of 11 ‘pavilions’ positioned around a huge lake known as the ‘Lagoon’ (check out the park map), and each pavilion represents a different country. With only 11 countries, it’s not exactly the United Nations, but there’s still a good mix of cultures on show.
For the record, the countries are (in clockwise order) Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada (although many people choose to circumnavigate this counterclockwise).
From the outside, the pavilions mimic the iconic and historic architecture of their respective countries. For example, Japan boasts a large pagoda and Mexico has a Mesoamerican pyramid. You get the idea.
Inside, they’re stylized villages – melting pots of the cultures they represent. The combination of the small touches and the fact that they’re staffed with people who are actually from those places helps you imagine you’re in a different country…kind of.
Each country has at least one restaurant, bar, wine bar or pub that serves alcohol. Naturally, the renowned alcohol of each country is the order of the day (incidentally, this is the only place in Disney World where you can get an alcoholic drink). Think about the possibilities! Tequila, beer, Champagne, red wine, sake…
We think if you’re going to do this, you’ve got to do this properly. Ahem, that means getting around the whole world, if you catch our drift.
And if you’re going to get around the whole world, you’ll want to make sure you’re well fed. Luckily, each country also has at least one eatery – sit-down restaurants, quick service stalls, walkup stands – of one kind or another (search by location selecting the dropdown “EPCOT World Showcase” to see all the different restaurants and walk up stands).
Many of the pavilions have shops where you can buy bottles to take home. So, if you really wanted to, you could head to the lagoon to quaff some Champagne with your fish n’ chips, or hit the sake while downing a huge plate of nachos. Though, for the record, we don’t really recommend either of these ideas.
We do recommend making a full day of it. Arrive at opening (9am) and get in all the rides in Futureworld (the other half of Epcot) – you know it makes senses while your stomach is still empty. Then you’ve got from 11am (when the World Showcase opens) until 9pm (when Epcot closes) for your very own international tasting tour.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Image: Visit Kissimmee, Florida)
