Disney World After Dark: Canada

We now come to Canada, the last country on our evening stroll around Epcot's World Showcase. Like some of its counterparts along the Promenade, Canada gives us so much of the flavor of this country in such a small space.

"Canada is the last pavilion in the World Showcase, combining the several traditions and geographic regions of the country into a setting that is at once startling in its diversity and inviting in its verticality. Towering above is the distinctive French Gothic architecture of the Hotel du Canada (modeled on Ottawa's Chateau Laurier). Alongside and beneath the chateau is EPCOT Center's Canadian Rocky Mountain, which houses a Circle-Vision theater. The Northwest Coast atmosphere is heightened by enormous totem poles and a native log house. There is also a miniature replica of the famed Butchart Gardens, a 30-foot waterfall, a restaurant, and the woodsman's haven of Salmon Island."

From Since the World Began, by Jeff Kurtti, page 114

Honestly, Canada is not one of my favorite pavilions, but it is near the top of the list. What strikes is the grandeur of the area. And this, from Disney's exquisite use of forced perspective. The Hotel du Canada, and the Rockies, appear to be so tall from a distance. It is only once you are in the pavilion that you realize just how much you have been taken in by the illusion. For me it represents the art of perspective at its finest.

I hope you have enjoyed our nocturnal visit to the World Showcase. Disney After Dark takes on a whole different magic and I hope these photos give you just a taste of it. Next week we will stay in Epcot and visit a few sites in Future World. Until then, enjoy this view of Canada.