EPCOT Countries 2024

The World Showcase is the part of EPCOT that centers around eleven different countries. In relation to the theme park, the countries are referred to as pavilions, which just references the building that is designed with each country in mind. The World Showcase has a perimeter of one-point-two miles in total, and the pavilions are situated in a circle. When EPCOT first opened, there were only nine countries that were part of the World Showcase. In 1984, the pavillion representing Morocco was constructed and added to the theme park. Four years later, in 1988, the World Showcase added a pavillion for Norway as well. The neatest part about the World Showcase of EPCOT is that each pavillion is designed with the intention of making viewers, tourists, and visitors feel that they are actually experiencing the country firsthand.

EPCOT is a theme park that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort in the town of Bay Lake (just outside Orlando) in the state of Florida, U.S.A. The park originally opened in 1982, titled EPCOT Center, and featured two distinct halves. The first was Future World, which celebrated technology and innovation, and which has since evolved into three areas: World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature. The second was—and still is—the World Showcase, a series of "pavillions" (actually miniature neighborhoods) arranged around a lagoon. Each pavillion is dedicated to emulating the architecture, appearance, food, shopping, and culture of a specific country. Thus, visitors can experience a simulated trip around the world, visiting nearly a dozen "countries" from a single amusement park. The countries represented by the EPCOT pavillions are considered "EPCOT countries."

EPCOT was originally an acronym for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow," a concept conceived by Walt Disney himself. The creator of everything Disney had the idea of transforming land that he owned in Florida as a place for innovation. He wanted to design a conglomeration of different parts of the world by creating a simulated city that brought all parts of the world together in one place. Disney died in 1966, long before EPCOT Center first opened its doors in 1982, but his concept lived on and continued to evolve today.

EPCOT (which was renamed from "EPCOT Center" to "Epcot" in 1994 and again to EPCOT in 2019-20) featured nine pavillions when it opened in 1982, and two more were added in 1984 and 1988, respectively. Each pavillion is more than a simple glimpse of each nation. Rather, the Disney imagineers who designed each pavilion went to great lengths to recreate the culture, beauty, and identity of the original country. In addition to restaurants, shops, and architecture based upon each country, the pavillions of the World Showcase feature themed rides, attractions, and live shows.

Will the EPCOT World Showcase ever add more countries?

Numerous theories exist regarding whether the World Showcase will someday expand to include additional countries. While some detractors maintain there is no room left to expand, others, such as fansite Yesterland point out several sites around the lagoon where additional pavillions could fit. Moreover, with nearly 200 United-Nations-recognized countries around the world, there exists no shortage of source material. Over the decades, several countries have been rumored to be coming to the World Showcase—in fact, several have even made it into Disney's own promotional materials