We continue with our series of EPCOT Center B-Roll footage from a 1987 3/4 videotape issued by Disney to media outlets for their use.
EPCOT Center B-Roll Restoration Series
Future World
- Part 1 – General EPCOT Center, Spaceship Earth and Innoventions
- Part 2 – Living Seas, The Land, Journey into Imagination
- Part 3 – Universe of Energy, Wonders of Life, Horizons, World of Motion
World Showcase
- Part 1 – General Footage
- Part 2 & 3 – Canada & United Kingdom
- Part 4 & 5 – France & Morocco (This Article)
- Part 6 & 7 – Japan & American Adventure
- Part 8 & 9 – Italy & Germany
- Part 10 & 11 – China & Mexico
Our counterclockwise walk around World Showcase continues taking us to Morocco and France.
France
In France we open with a magnificent view of the pavilion as viewed from one of Paris’s iconic bridges. Then scenes of the area viewed from the iconic fountain follow. It’s a refreshing reminder that the France pavilion today looks virtually unchanged from opening day when viewed from the World Showcase concourse (with the exception of the covered/enclosed seating added to Les Chefs de France restaurant in the mid-80’s.).
A juggling mime adds to the atmosphere (the man in sunglasses is clearly not amused). A portrait artists draws a guest with France’s scale version of the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop. After a brief visit inside the pavilion’s shops, we enter the still stunning Impressions de France film. This film has run uninterrupted since opening day in 1982 with only two frames ever having been changed (to delete a former corporate sponsor’s logo). We make a stop in the pavilion’s two restaurants: Les Chefs de France and Bistro de Paris (now Monsieur Paul’s) before closing out our visit to France with a panorama from World Showcase Lagoon.
Morocco
Next we move on to Morocco. This pavilion opened in 1984, two years after the rest of World Showcase and was built by artisans sent by the King of Morocco. The beauty of the pavilion is revealed in the opening scene shot upwards from a garden setting. A view from World Showcase Lagoon of the rock wall that fronts the lagoon then brings you into the streets of the pavilion and it’s exotic entry and exit points. A market scene puts you right in the middle of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The crowded feel of the market is captured exceptionally well. Moroccan entertainment is depicted along with belly dancers before we head into Restaurant Marrakesh for lunch (boy does it look tasty). The restaurant looks very plain as the walls are bare (as they are today). The color in the room then and today comes from the dark red carpets which you can’t see in the video. As with the other pavilions we close out with a panoramic view from World Showcase of Morocco.