Epcot's version of Canada

[snickerboo]

Anyone else a little insulted by Epcot's version of Canada? One inuit longhouse, a totem pole and the Chateau Laurier? What is that supposed to be at the back? Niagara Falls? Someone said Banff! It didn't look like Canada to me!!! It was "Senior Trip" time when we were there and one teenaged American went by and said, "is that what Canada really looks like?" To which my smart-arsed dh said, "yes!" Maybe it's just me but I thought they could have done a little better job. Oh, and those outfits they make them wear are awful. The guy in the Roots store told me Tim Horton's tried to get in there but Disney has an exclusive contract with Nescafe. BTW-they wanted $2.50 for a box of Smarties! Yikes!

 

[F4disneyfan]

Anyone else a little insulted by Epcot's version of Canada? One inuit longhouse, a totem pole and the Chateau Laurier? What is that supposed to be at the back? Niagara Falls? Someone said Banff! It didn't look like Canada to me!!! It was "Senior Trip" time when we were there and one teenaged American went by and said, "is that what Canada really looks like?" To which my smart-arsed dh said, "yes!" Maybe it's just me but I thought they could have done a little better job. Oh, and those outfits they make them wear are awful. The guy in the Roots store told me Tim Horton's tried to get in there but Disney has an exclusive contract with Nescafe. BTW-they wanted $2.50 for a box of Smarties! Yikes!

I love the Canada pavilion and the small victoria garden/stanley park not sure which it is it is also great to see the rustic costumes they wear. it really is no different than the leiderhosen that the German CM's are made to wear or the colonial outfits they wear at the American pavilion.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Epcot has been trying to nail down a sponsor for a new Circlevision 'Canada' movie now for a few years.

I had heard - maybe incorrectly - that Tim Horton's wanted to foot the bill for an updated "Oh Canada" film in the Circlevision theatre... but the Nescafe thing got in the way.

Which is stupid when you think about it. Tims is more like McDonalds than it is Nescafe..

J

 

[hipmaman]

but about the O Canada film than about the pavillion. All pavillions are all the same which are supposed to be a stereotyping/representation.

I thought it's time O Canada film needed upgrading.

 

[wee-haggis]

The only good thing about the Canuck pavilion is Off Kilter....
they play mostly Scottish and Irish songs....wear traditional Scottish kilts......and none of the band members are Canadian !

 

[Figment's friends]

I'm pretty proud that most people seem to love our restaurant. Of course food has always been the way to my heart.

 

[tinkerbeth]

I was somewhat embarassed by the Canada movie, but i have also lived in the UK and in Italy, and those aren't terribly well represented in their pavillions either. I think they just decide what tourists want to see and put that. Go to Napoli and you'll see it's a pretty far cry from that Italy pavilion!

Oh well. I wish they would put in a Timmies. At least that would be accurate representation!

Beth

 

[snickerboo]

That was my consolation-it was no better for many fo the otehr ocuntries. The UK seemed to have been reduced to Bone China, Lord and Taylor, The Beatles, Twinnings and Fish and Chips.

The CMs admitted to me that they thought the costumes were hideous. They're probably not supposed to do that.

 

[ferris198]

The Canada Pavillion at Epcot is a disgrace.
As it is paid for by the department of tourism to attract visitors to our country you think they could do a better job.
In my opinion they paint Newfoundland as a shanty town, which it isn't, and they focus on our winter activities because of the snow.
They don't mention our parks or other tourist attractions. Where was Ontario Place, or the Science Centre, or PEI. All interesting places that someone who was planning a trip here might be interested in.
No wonder the rest of the world things we live in igloos.

 

[Marcy Mouse]

To bad about the Tims - If there was one there us Canadians would love it and anyone that came to Canada because of the pavillion could at least recognize the Tims when they were here! LOL


Side Note:
Do you guys know that Tim Hortons is actually owned by an American Corporation. I heard on the news when they were selling shares to the public that it was bought in 96 or somewhere close to that by the American company that owns Wendys.

Anyway - maybe someday we will get a Tims in Flordia!!!

Marcy

 

[dsneygirl]

The Canada Pavillion at Epcot is a disgrace.
As it is paid for by the department of tourism to attract visitors to our country you think they could do a better job.

FYI~The Canadian government has NOTHING to do with the Canada pavillon. Some pavillons do have sponsor's Canada's is not one of them.

I'm a Canadian pavillon alum and all the countries are "Disneyfied" but that's what makes the international program so successful. Guests can talk to the CM's and really learn about their part of Canada.

And yes I wore a lumber jack costume for 6 months but in the Florida heat shorts were a whole lot better than the UK girls next door and their floor length skirts.

 

[sunny_stace]

I'm pretty proud that most people seem to love our restaurant. Of course food has always been the way to my heart.

well...I'm a very proud Canadian and I don't like a single thing on the menu at Le Cellier but the cake and beverages!
I'm actually quite excited to go back and see the O Canada! Video, since the last time I was at WDW to see it, I have actually seen more of the country than just Ontario and Quebec! I'll be able to relate better! However yes, I think our pavillion could use some sprucing up! And they don't know what their missing without a Timmy's in the pavillion! They would make a ton of cash from us jonsing for our timmy's fixes! ( I know I'm there at LEAST once a day!) I think that since our country is so large and such a mix of cultures and communities and lifestyles it's genuinley hard to pack it all into one small space like they have. Like for example, my urban lifestyle isn't touched on at all, since I don't live in an igloo decorated by totem poles and rock sculptures and such. I live in a brick house in the middle of a large city with quite high temperatures at the moment! Not a totem pole in sight! We do have a couple soapstone carvings though....lol...I still think it's funny how Americans seem to believe that once they cross the border the temperature drops drastically! I live two hours from Detroit and I still get asked about my igloo when I'm there!....I don't know....sorry, got a little rant-y
there didn't I?! I do like Americans too, I promise!

 

[misslissa]

I also thought the same thing about the movie.

We are from Niagara and were very surprised that there was none of Niagara in the movie!!!

 

[akalittleeva]

I am from Atlantic Canada and my kids didn't even know that it was the Canadian Pavilion until I told them - very disappointing - it doesn't look much like where I live - I couldn't identify with any of it... I wonder if other countries at WS are not displayed accurately - do people from say, Norway feel disappointed in that Pavilion?

 

[Torontogal]

I am really disappointed with the Canada movie. It is the same movie used for Expo '67 in Montreal. The movie needs to be updated big time. I could not believe that one shot of Niagara Falls was not in the movie.

 

[PanamaMike]

I am really disappointed with the Canada movie. It is the same movie used for Expo '67 in Montreal. The movie needs to be updated big time. I could not believe that one shot of Niagara Falls was not in the movie.

It is not the same movie that Expo '67 used. It was shot by Disney for use at Epcot.

 

[remmy_7]

I always wonder what others think of the way their country is represented. These 2 Canadian guys I met while in line at Epcot said they thought the Canada pavilion was stereotyped. I was always curious about other Canadians take on it.

 

[Fellowship9798]

Here's a cut and paste of a post I made a few months ago on the same topic. I'm just too lazy to type of all out again in a slightly reworded form to make it look like a new point:


I think a lot of people may be missing the point of World Showcase. It's not to provide an accurate modern day representation of the countries around the lagoon, but rather to replicate the tourist picture postcard idea of the places and histrical architechure and landmarks. I guarantee you that natives from each country complain about their own pavillion and say that the costumes are nothing at all like what they wear at home, the movies are old and the architecture looks nothing like the house they live in. I worked in the Canadian pavillion a number of years ago and I heard this from all my fellow cast members from the other countries about their pavillions.

Think about going into the the Germany, Norway, or France pavillions. Are you upset that they aren't exactly like it would be if you got on a plane today and visited each of those places? Probably not. You probably like the Bavarian village (which is only representative of a particular region of Germany not the whole country), or the castle and wooden buildings (whch aren't what modern people live in in Norway), or the Parisian streets of the past.

What would be interesting or unique about building the pavilion to look like Toronto? Or tearing out the Mexican pyramid and replacing it with a modern day Mexico city in miniature? How about replacing the American Adventure with a Walmart since that's where Americans really spend a lot of their time?

For me, I think the pavillion is the right version for Epcot. Epcot is a theme park and it tries to be both give people a flavour of the place while being entertaining at the same time. Buying Tim Horton's coffee and doughnuts under a mini-CN Tower would just not be interesting as a theme park experience or compell people to see more. I'll admit that updating the movie would be great, but almost all areas of Canada are represented in the pavillion in some small way, except the prarie provinces. It's too bad they removed the Boutique store from the upper level since it removed any life from that particular area, but I still think the Canadian pavillion is one of Epcot's best. It's one of the few where you can get deep enough back into it to be totally surrounded by the environment.

Just my opinion, and I know I'll be in the minority.

Darren

P.S. If you think lumberjack shirts are bad, think about what the German male CM's wear or the Norwegian puffy shirts and vests. Lumberjack shirts with pants/shorts aren't really that bad by comparison.

 

[SandraC]

It's all just Disneyfied...

.....you should see their version of a Mouse.......

 

[F4disneyfan]

Here's a cut and paste of a post I made a few months ago on the same topic. I'm just too lazy to type of all out again in a slightly reworded form to make it look like a new point:


I think a lot of people may be missing the point of World Showcase. It's not to provide an accurate modern day representation of the countries around the lagoon, but rather to replicate the tourist picture postcard idea of the places and histrical architechure and landmarks. I guarantee you that natives from each country complain about their own pavillion and say that the costumes are nothing at all like what they wear at home, the movies are old and the architecture looks nothing like the house they live in. I worked in the Canadian pavillion a number of years ago and I heard this from all my fellow cast members from the other countries about their pavillions.

Think about going into the the Germany, Norway, or France pavillions. Are you upset that they aren't exactly like it would be if you got on a plane today and visited each of those places? Probably not. You probably like the Bavarian village (which is only representative of a particular region of Germany not the whole country), or the castle and wooden buildings (whch aren't what modern people live in in Norway), or the Parisian streets of the past.

What would be interesting or unique about building the pavilion to look like Toronto? Or tearing out the Mexican pyramid and replacing it with a modern day Mexico city in miniature? How about replacing the American Adventure with a Walmart since that's where Americans really spend a lot of their time?

For me, I think the pavillion is the right version for Epcot. Epcot is a theme park and it tries to be both give people a flavour of the place while being entertaining at the same time. Buying Tim Horton's coffee and doughnuts under a mini-CN Tower would just not be interesting as a theme park experience or compell people to see more. I'll admit that updating the movie would be great, but almost all areas of Canada are represented in the pavillion in some small way, except the prarie provinces. It's too bad they removed the Boutique store from the upper level since it removed any life from that particular area, but I still think the Canadian pavillion is one of Epcot's best. It's one of the few where you can get deep enough back into it to be totally surrounded by the environment.

Just my opinion, and I know I'll be in the minority.

Darren

P.S. If you think lumberjack shirts are bad, think about what the German male CM's wear or the Norwegian puffy shirts and vests. Lumberjack shirts with pants/shorts aren't really that bad by comparison.

Darren you hit the nail on the head it isn't supposed to be a modern day representation of each country as I posted earlier look at the costumes they wear in the German pavilion and in France and the UK you won't see people walking the streets of London England dressed like that or if you go to NYC you won't see the men and women walking around wearing colonial dresses and so on. I love the entire WS distinction and the shows and movies and costumes etc it would be wrong to mess with the way they have all the pavilions set up currently.