The France Pavilion is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

-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 within Epcot at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

Bay Lake, Florida Bay Lake is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29 at the 2020 census. It is named after a lake that lies east of Magic Kingdom. All four of the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks, and one of Walt Disney Worl ...

. Its location is between the

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the 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, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) 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 from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

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 (''Ci ...

.'' 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 Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 19 ...

, encompassing the music of classical French composers such as

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

and

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

. 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 geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

in the Haute-Normandie region,

Mont Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off France's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is i ...

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 ...

in the Loire Valley,

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

and the

. The country was previously a participant in the "Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure". The interactive scavenger hunt type attraction, which ran between January 2009 and June 2012, 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 Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, also known as Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy (), is a trackless dark ride located at Walt Disney Studios Park in France and Walt Disney World in Florida. The ride first opened at Walt Disney ...

would be coming to the France Pavilion. On January 16, 2020, a

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

sing-along show premiered in Palais du Cinéma, which alternates showtimes with Impressions de France. On December 12, 2022, EPCOT announced that the France Pavilion would participate in DuckTales World Showcase Adventure beginning on December 16; the opening date had been postponed since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current attractions

*Palais du Cinéma ** ''

'' (1982-present) ** ''

'' Sing-Along (2020-present) * ''

'' (2021-present) * EPCOT World Showcase Adventure ** DuckTales World Showcase Adventure (2022-present)

Former attractions

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

Street performers and atmosphere

Belle and the

Beast Beast most often refers to: * Animal, a multicellular, eukaryotic organism in the biological kingdom Animalia * The Beast (Revelation), one of three beasts described in the Book of Revelation * Monster, a type of creature found in fiction, folklo ...

from the 1991

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

animated film ''

'',

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

and

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character archetype who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales ...

from the 1950 Disney animated film ''Cinderella'' and

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

from the 1959 Disney animated film ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'', 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 Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...

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 (, 28 May 1920 – 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 services, ...

, and

Paul Bocuse Paul François Pierre Bocuse (; 11 February 1926 – 20 January 2018) was a French chef based in Lyon known for the quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. Dubbed "the pope of gastronomy", he was affectionately nick ...

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

Audio-animatronic Audio-Animatronics (also known simply as AAs) are a form of Mechatronics, mechatronic animatronics puppetry created by Walt Disney Imagineering and Trademark, trademarked by The Walt Disney Company for use in designed shows and attractions at Disn ...

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

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

'' appeared at the restaurant several times daily. The Rémy figure (which is the smallest created by

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...

) 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
{{Epcot Walt Disney Parks and Resorts attractions Epcot Replicas and derivatives of the Eiffel Tower World Showcase Cultural history of France Culture of France Towers completed in 1982 1982 establishments in Florida French-American culture