The France Pavilion is a French-themed

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

that is part of the

World Showcase Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...

within

Epcot Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unreal ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

in Orlando, Florida,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Its location is between the

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

pavilions.

Layout

The France Pavilion is themed to look like a

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

ienne neighborhood with a pool and fountains and with a view of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

in the distance. Most of the shops on the streets are actual shops selling French goods such as Guerlain perfume. The attraction effects France's cities and historical structures. It also includes two French restaurants, Monsieur Paul (formerly the Bistro de Paris) and Les Chefs de France; as well as the eateries Les Halles Boulangerie and Patisserie and L'artisan des Glace ice-cream parlour.

Attractions

As with many of the pavilions located within the World Showcase section of the Epcot park, a key aspect of the France Pavilion is its panoramic film ''

Impressions de France ''Impressions de France'' (''Impressions of France'') is a film about France and the featured attraction in the France Pavilion of Epcot's World Showcase at Walt Disney World in Florida. The movie is presented in the Palais du Cinéma buildi ...

.'' The film, which has been playing since the opening day of the Epcot park in 1982, offers a visual tour of the nation, set against a musical score written by Buddy Baker, encompassing the music of classical French composers such as Claude Debussy and Camille Saint-Saëns. The film itself is the work of director Rick Harper and produced by two-time Academy Award nominee Bob Rogers. The film's visual tour includes some of the nation's most stunning and romantic landmarks such as the cliffs of Étretat in the Haute-Normandie region, Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy,

Château de Chambord The Château de Chambord () in Chambord, Centre-Val de Loire, France, is one of the most recognisable châteaux in the world because of its very distinctive French Renaissance architecture which blends traditional French medieval forms with cla ...

in the Loire Valley,

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

and the

. In addition to ''Impressions de France'', which is set to became part of ''Palais du Cinéma'', the France Pavilion is also one of the many themed land participants in the "Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure". This interactive scavenger hunt type attraction, which began in January 2009, was played across the numerous themed lands of Epcot's "World Showcase". It was replaced by "Agent P's World Showcase Adventure" in June 2012. On July 15, 2017, Disney announced that Remy's Ratatouille Adventure would be coming to the France Pavilion. On January 16, 2020, a

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

sing-along show premiered in Palais du Cinéma, which alternates showtimes with Impressions de France. On December 12, 2022, EPCOT announced that a new interactive scavenger hunt game attraction called DuckTales World Showcase Adventure, which began in December 16, 2022, as part of Walt Disney World's 50th Anniversary celebration, since the opening date was postponed indefinitely following the closure of the park due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current Attractions

*Palais du Cinéma ** ''

'' (1982-Present) ** ''

'' Sing-Along (2020-Present) * '' Remy's Ratatouille Adventure'' (2021-Present) * DuckTales World Showcase Adventure (2022-Present)

Former Attractions

* Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure * Agent P's World Showcase Adventure

Street performers and atmosphere

Belle, from the 1991

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

animated film ''

'', and

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, from the 1959 Disney animated film ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'', meet guests at the France Pavilion. In addition, the comedy chair climbing and balancing show "Serveur Amusant" performs on a daily basis outside Les Chefs de France. Also, adding to the themed land's atmosphere, are advertisements for

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disney ...

and souvenirs featuring it.

Dining

*Les Chefs de France was opened by French gastronomic legends

Roger Vergé Roger Vergé (, 7 April 1930 – 5 June 2015) was a French chef and restaurateur. He is considered one of the greatest chefs of his time. The Gault Millau described him as "the very incarnation of the great French chef for foreigners". Personal ...

Gaston Lenôtre Gaston Lenôtre (, born 28 May 1920, died 8 January 2009) was a French pastry chef. He is known as a possible creator of the opera cake (''gâteau opéra''), the founder of Lenôtre a culinary empire, whose brand includes restaurants, catering serv ...

, and

Paul Bocuse Paul Bocuse (; 11 February 1926 – 20 January 2018) was a French chef based in Lyon who was known for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. A student of Eugénie Brazier, he was one of the most prominent ...

. It opened at Epcot's inception in 1982 and has been run since 1996 by Bocuse's son Jérôme. In 2009, an

animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...

characterization of the rat Remy from the Disney animated feature ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

'' appeared at the restaurant several times daily. The robotic rodent (which is the smallest the

Imagineers Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...

at Disney have ever produced) was brought around by a handler to appear at diners' tables, which was especially apt given that one of the establishment's founders, Gaston Lenôtre, is widely believed to have been part of the inspiration for Auguste Gusteau in the film. * Les Creperie de France * Monsieur Paul * Boulangerie Pâtisserie des Halles

References

External links

Walt Disney World Resort - France Pavilion

Walt Disney World Resort - Impressions de France

Walt Disney World Resort - Bistro de Paris

Walt Disney World Resort - Les Chefs de France

Walt Disney World Resort - Serveur Amusant
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Epcot Eiffel Tower reproductions World Showcase Cultural history of France Towers completed in 1982 1982 establishments in Florida {{Disney-stub