Overview
Walt Disney conceived it as a working city of 20,000 people testing new urban technology, and what opened in 1982 after his death is a permanent world’s fair instead — the ambition survives only in the name. The World Showcase pavilions are staffed by people from the countries they represent on a cultural exchange programme, which is what keeps them from being pure pastiche. Spaceship Earth inside the sphere is a slow ride through the history of communication and the best thing in the park.
Highlights
The World Showcase opens later than the front half, so do Spaceship Earth and Test Track first. Eating and drinking around the lagoon is the point for most adults; the food festivals run most of the year. It is a lot of walking — the loop alone is nearly two kilometres.