A Beginner's Guide - DisneywithIzzy

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Germany

The Germany Pavilion has a small village area with shops and restaurants. In the middle of the plaza, a statue of St. George slaying a dragon is shown (look at the picture above). Don’t forget to check out the model train! It’s really cool!

Food: The Germany Pavilion has two restaurants called Biergarten and Sommerfest. At Biergarten, you sit with another family. It feels like you’re outside because of the black ceiling. Biergarten is a buffet with potatoes, breads, chicken, sausages, German Cheesecake, and much much more! I had lots of different foods that tasted delicious! While you eat, a live band plays as well. Sommerfest is a quick service restaurant.

Shopping: Germany has lots of places to shop. Der Teddybar is a toy shop with finger puppets and, you guessed it, teddy bears. Volkskunst has felt hats, famous books, cukoo clocks, and awesome hand painted eggs. Das Kaufhas is full of soccer balls and jerseys that are perfect for soccer fans. Karamelle-Kuche sure has a lot of food! This store has caramel apples, caramel corn, fresh caramel, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, fudge, and marshmallows.

Entertainment: Marget Almer and The Bavarian Band perform 5 days per week outside at the pavilion. You can also meet Snow White in Germany.

Don’t forget to get your passport stamped!

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Italy

The Italy Pavilion has a HUGE bell tower that is so tall you can see it from the other side of the pavilions. (Yes, that tall!) The Italy Pavilion feels and looks like your in Venice with bridges and gondolas that are beside the World Showcase lagoon.

The ovens are named after volcanoes that are found in Italy.

Food: The Italy Pavilion has two restaurants called Tutto Italia Ristorante and Via Napoli. Last time I went to Tutto Italia was when I was two so I do not remember the restaurant. I heard the food is good. The other restaurant, Via Napoli, I have been to as well. If you go there you can watch them cook the pizzas in huge stone ovens. I had the Pizza Margherita and the Ruota di Carretto on the kids menu when I was nine. The pizza was really good! The Ruota di Carretto is vanilla gelato (Italian for ice cream) cookie sandwich. Update: Gelateria Toscana is a stand that sells gelato. At Pizza al Taglio, you can order a slice of pizza, that is also served at Via Napoli, at a walk-up window.

It was AWESOME!!

Shopping: The shopping in the Italy Pavilion could be, in my opinion a little better. You can buy expensive Italian perfume, Venetian masks, and handbags. Not much for kids.

The Kidcot Fun Stop is next to this fountain.

Entertainment: Unfortunately, the Italy Pavilion does not have much entertainment. They do have Sergio the juggler and mime who performs juggling tricks with his soccer balls.

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Canada

The Canada Pavilion is my brother, Al’s favorite pavilion. I will get to why it’s his favorite in a second.

Food: Canada does have one restaurant called Le Cellier Steakhouse. This restaurant is very crowded and hard to get a table. It is best known for its steaks. The kidcot station (where you can get your passport stamped) is near the entrance to Le Cellier.

Shopping: The Canada Pavilion has two shopping options, the Northwest Mercantile store and the Trading Post. In Northwest Mercantile they sell handmade ornaments that represent the four seasons. I also know that The Trading Post does sell handmade jewelry. (Pretty cool, right?) I hope the next time I go to Disney World I can visit these stores and then give you a better review.

Entertainment: Remember when I told you the Canada Pavilion is my brother Al’s favorite pavilion? Here is why. The Canada Pavilion has a 360 Circle-Vision show called O Canada! It is sort of like the show Reflections of China in the China Pavilion. Just like Reflections of China, O Canada! does not have seating but it does have a railing you can hold on to. The host is so funny! It shows footage from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Niagara Falls, and Calgary. You should definitely see this show! Update: O Canada! is no longer in the Canada pavilion. In January 2020 the show changed to Canada Far and Wide. It is still a 360 Circle Vision show that shows footage from Canada, but it now has different hosts.

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on China

China is a pavilion that looks amazing! China has footbridges, bamboo, small waterfalls, and ponds that can help you relax with calming music. Overall the China pavilion is one of the better looking pavilions.

Food: China has a restaurant and a cafe. The last time we ate in the China pavilion we went to Nine Dragons Restaurant. I had Salt and Pepper Shrimp and a strawberry smoothie. The food and the smoothie were both really good! The other restaurant is called The Lotus Blossom Cafe. This is a quick service restaurant, but I have never eaten there.

Shopping: Did you know House of Good Fortune is one of the biggest shopping stores in the pavilions? Inside the store are jade carvings, adorable stuffed animal pandas, Chinese lanterns, pieces of crystals, and much more! Hint! The kidcot for your World Showcase passport is in House of Good Fortune.

The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats are a lot of fun!

Entertainment: China has a show called Reflections of China. It is a 360 Circle-Vision show in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The film shows images of many monuments in China. There is no seating but there is a railing for you to hang on to. You can also take a picture with Mulan during the day. The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats is a live show performed by kids. It is a must see!

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Mexico

Mexico is a great pavilion to visit. It has great food, shopping, and entertainment. The first thing you see when you enter the Mexico Pavilion is a large pyramid! When you walk inside the pyramid it feels like it’s night time. Why? The ceiling is black, making it feel like it’s dark outside.

Food: The restaurant inside is called San Angel Inn Restaurante. THEY HAVE THE BEST CHEESE EVER! (Queso Fundido) Two trips ago we went to San Angel Inn Restaurante and I had Tacos de Carne from the adults menu – kids 10 and older have to order from the adults menu. When they gave me the steak tacos it was cool because they gave me all the food but I had to put it together as a taco. They also have another table service restaurant outside called La Hacienda de San Angel. You can sit outside by the water and at night you can see the fireworks from the restaurant.

Shopping: Next to the San Angel Inn Restaurante in the pyramid there is a shopping area. It has jewelry, small skeletons and much, much more. All the shopping items are FROM Mexico. Isn’t that so cool?

Entertainment: Mexico has a boat ride in the pyramid called Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros. Donald Duck is missing and his friends Jose`, Carioca, and Panchito are searching for him. Outside of the pyramid, a Mariachi band performs during the day and you can take pictures with Donald dressed in Mexican clothes.

The Mexico Pavilion is a great place for food, shopping, and entertainment.

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Morocco

Morocco is another cool pavilion to visit. They have awesome food, shopping, and entertainment.

Chicken and Beef Skewers for me, chicken nuggets and fries for my brother.

Food: You can take a boat ride through the pavilions and one of the stops is in Morocco. Once you get out of the boat, on your left is the Spice Road Table restaurant. You can sit inside or outside. I prefer to sit outside because you can watch the boats coming in and going out. Last time we went to Spice Road Table I had the Chicken and Beef Skewers. They are delicious! My parents had the Lamb Sliders with Hummus Fries. They loved it! The other table service restaurant is called Restaurant Marrakesh. I don’t know the restaurant well since the last time I went I was two. My parents did tell me there was belly dancing and the food was good.

Shopping: Morocco has lots of jewelry and clothing from Morocco. There is also a shopping area called Marketplace in the Medina.

Entertainment: Morocco has a band called Musique Aramenco that performs. You can also take a picture with Jasmine and sometimes Aladdin. Don’t forget to be on the lookout! Morocco also has some hidden Mickeys lying around.

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Japan

The Japan Pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot feels like you are in Japan! From the food to the shopping to the entertainment, Japan is definitely a pavilion to see.

At Teppan Edo, the chef cooks at the table!

Food: There are two table service restaurants in the Japan Pavilion: Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining. On my last trip we went to Teppan Edo. At Teppan Edo the chefs cook the food on the table in front of you! You also sit next to other families and share the table. The chefs also like to make a volcano out of onions. Update: Takumi-Tei is a restaurant that has 5 rooms inspired by a natural element. Takumi-Tei means “house of the artisan” in Japanese.

Shopping: Now let’s talk about the shopping. The Japan Pavilion has a huge store called Mitsukoshi. Everything in the store is from Japan. When I went to Mitsukoshi I bought a light purple fan and the cashier wrote my first name on it in Japanese! If you need a hand fan, go to the Japan Pavilion and you can get one in Mitsukoshi or at the Mitsukoshi kiosk outside of Teppan Edo.

Entertainment: Now let’s talk about the entertainment. Matsuriza performs Japanese Taiko Drumming several times a day. The drum performance is really interesting and after the performance the drummers introduce themselves to you.

If you’re going to Epcot to see the World Showcase Pavilions you might want to stop by Japan!

A Beginner’s Guide to Epcot Passports

At Epcot, in the World Showcase, they have many pavilions or countries you can visit to celebrate our diversity. A fun thing you can do is buy a passport in Epcot. The passport comes with stickers for each pavilion and a pin (not for pin trading, but it has a picture of Mickey and with all the flags for the countries in the World Showcase).

Cast Members add the stamp, date, time and a short message!

When you are in a pavilion, go to the Kidcot fun stop and a Disney Cast Member (that’s what they call everybody that works at Disney World) will stamp your passport, fill in the date and time and write something in their language.

Passports are fun because you might even learn a new language. Always be on the look out for the Kidcot fun stop! There is one in every country pavilion, even the United States pavilion. The passport at Epcot helps make going to the pavilions even more enjoyable. When you go to your hotel, you can put the stickers that come with the passport on it. After you have visited all the country pavilions every page of your passport will be full of pictures from the stickers and different languages.

A Beginner’s Guide to MagicBands

My brother’s green MagicBand waiving to the parade.

If you know anything about Disney World, they are always keeping up with the latest trends and technology. MagicBands are waterproof wristbands that come in all different colors and have Mickey’s head on them. They are free if you are a passholder or if you stay on Disney property. Update: Disney is now not giving guests free MagicBands starting January 1, 2021.

The blue MagicBand and a macaroon. Yummy!

MagicBands are cute but they are also very important to have at Disney World. When you enter a park at Disney World you have to scan your MagicBand and then scan your finger next to it. You can use a card instead but MagicBands are better than the cards because MagicBands are always on your wrist so it’s scan and go. Meanwhile with the cards you have to take the card out of your bag and then scan it. Why have to do that when you can have a MagicBand on your wrist? They also help you get on rides when you have a Fastpass+.

If you don’t like the plain color MagicBand choices, you can also get MagicBands with designs or your favorite Disney characters on it, but those MagicBands are not free. Do not trade your MagicBand with a family member. When you scan your MagicBand, the people that work at Disney World can see your first name! Once you have a MagicBand it’s yours and no one else’s. I hope this information on MagicBands was helpful!