EPCOT China Pavilion

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The EPCOT China Pavilion has some of the most interesting exhibits in the park. (That’s a pretty bold statement.) There are beautiful recreations of treasures and structures all over China. Some of the most interesting are easy to miss if you just breeze through.

 

 

When you walk into the pavilion, you will notice how serene everything is. The garden effect is very calming. Relax and enjoy walking through the chaos of a Chinese garden.

 

The big colorful centerpiece is a half-sized replica of The Temple of Heaven. The accoustics inside the dome are amazing. You can hear whispering from all around the room. (No dear, those voices aren’t coming from inside my head.)

The Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven home of Reflections of ChinaPhoto by Jeff_B (Check out the large size of the original)

The Attraction

Reflections of China is the movie at EPCOT’s China Pavilion. The movie takes a tour of areas of China that are very public and some that aren’t. You’ll see the Great Wall, The Forbidden City and several scenes from the outlying areas like Hunan and Suzhou.

 

It’s shot in Disney’s patented Circle-Vision 360. Images are projected onto 9 screens that are set up in a circular pattern for a full 360 degree viewing experience.

Reflections of China

Reflections of ChinaPhoto by Jeff_B

Dad’s Ride Information Table

Reflections of China

Description: Movie about the people and beauty of the country of China
Height Requirement – none Fastpass:no Length of Ride: 13 minutes
Type of ride: Circle Vision 360 movie

Dad’s Ratings

Toddlers
Pre-Teens
Teens
Adults
Grandparents
0 2 2 3 4

Other Information: You have to stand for the movie. Motion sickness is not uncommon. Just look down at the ground.

Tomb Warriers

The Tomb Warriors in the EPCOT China Pavilion
Photo by Jeff_B

In 2006 Disney added an area to the EPCOT China Pavilion called Tomb Warriors: Guardian Spirits of Ancient China.

 

The exhibit looks at 2000 years of Chinese burial art. The Tomb Warriors is a minaturized version of the spectacular tomb of China’s first Emperor, who was buried in a 22 square mile tomb. Each of the warriors has a unique face. Some say they were modeled after real soldiers.

 

Disney, to make the attraction look authentic has made some of the warriors weathered. They look like they are 2000 years old. The original are full sized, but these replicas are less than full sized.

The Food

There are 2 restaurants in the pavilion. Or maybe just one sit down and a fast food version outside. Nine Dragons is a sit down restaurant serving mass quanities of Chinese food. Lotus Blossom Cafe is a fast food restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating.

Nine Dragons
Lotus Blossom Cafe in EPCOT China

Fun Facts

Here are some interesting tidbits –

  • The images from Reflections of China have been gathered over the last 25 years.
  • From time to time acrobats from China will appear in the courtyard

History

This Pavilion opened with EPCOT in 1982. Reflections of China replaced The Wonders of China in 2003.

For the Younger

Even the Wonders of China wasn’t enough to keep the attention of most of the younger kids. They just aren’t in to exploring other cultures. So, Disney came up with a a couple of special attractions just to get their attention.

 

The first one is called Kidcot. It’s an area in the China Pavilionwhere kids can create a masterpiece they can take home and hang on the refrigerator.

Dad’s Kidcot page

The other adventure is just that. It’s called Phineas and Ferb: Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure (whew, that’s a mouthful). P and F took the place of Kim Possible’s World Showcase Adventure. Help Agent P track and apprehend the bad guys. Not that will keep any Dad’s … oops, any kids attention.

Dad’s Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure page

 

Destinations to Travel

Dad’s Bottom Line

It’s real easy to breeze past the EPCOT China Pavilion and not take time to see the exhibits inside. Make sure you stop by and check it out.

 

Disney-Wish-D2T