EPCOT's Mexico Pavilion: Exploring the Architecture, Culture, and Details


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Hello everyone and welcome to the Where In The Park Podcast! This is Amanda, and last month we posted an episode where Kevin went over a detailed history of how the theme park we know as EPCOT — located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida — came to exist. He focused on why that park has a World Showcase section, and that episode was laying the groundwork for this series all about the pavilions of the countries found around the lagoon. If you missed it, we encourage you to go back and give it a listen or read our blog post about it.

For those of you who have been to EPCOT, you know that when it comes to exploring World Showcase, you have a choice to make: which country to start in. We had some debate over where this series should begin as well, but in the end we decided to follow the same path that we lay out on our Scan Before Playing cards in our EPCOT Where In The Park games.

Here at Where In The Park, we create unofficial seek-and-find games to play at theme parks, and each game includes a QR code card that reads “Scan Before Playing.” If you scroll past the instructions, there’s a section labeled “Want to play faster?” where you can reveal the lands for each card in the pack. We typically list those lands in a clockwise path through the park — so that’s exactly what we’ll be doing here.

Which, of course, means that our journey around World Showcase begins in Mexico.
Now - before we begin - this is going to be a really fun and educational episode, but one that is longer than most of our episodes. So if you would like to skip ahead, we included chapter marker timestamps in the show notes for you! But if you’re ready to go, let’s dive in!

So, just as a refresher, shortly before his death, Walt Disney recorded a video announcing that the Florida Project would be known as Disney World — and that the main purpose of Disney World was EPCOT, an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. Over time, EPCOT the city transformed into EPCOT Center the theme park, with World Showcase becoming one half of that vision.

The Imagineers went through many iterations of what World Showcase would look like — from indoor shopping complexes to semi-circular enclosed buildings — before arriving at the mostly outdoor pavilions inspired by the architecture of specific countries.
And Mexico had been part of the conversation from the very beginning.

64-65 New York World’s Fair & Early EPCOT Models

At the 1964–65 New York World’s Fair, Imagineers designed the Ford’s Magic Skyway queue to wind past miniature architectural representations of eleven countries in what they called the International Gardens. One of those countries was Mexico — and instead of representing modern 1960s Mexico, they chose to depict ancient Mexico.
Official guides from the fair mention an Aztec pyramid as part of that display. Photos of this display have been hard to find, so if you have any photos of this, or know where to find any, please share it with us on our free private Facebook group, Where In The Park Explorers.

Also on display at that World’s Fair — though not by Disney — guests encountered an Aztec calendar stone and an Olmec colossal head. Versions of each of these would eventually appear in the EPCOT pavilion.


Between 1966 and the official groundbreaking for EPCOT on October 1, 1979 — which at the time was the largest private construction site on the planet — countless layout proposals were drafted. In one proposal from just a year before construction would start, the first nation to the left was Morocco, followed by Costa Rica, Taiwan... and then eleven other pavilions before finally reaching Mexico three-quarters of the way around the lagoon, between France and Scandinavia. (As shown in the plan above.)



In 1978, they built a scale model of what the park might look like, this time positioning Mexico as the first country you would come across from the Future World section of the park, but it's the first country on the right. That model shows Mexico represented by a large Mesoamerican-style pyramid, with green plant life of some kind atop each tier. There is also a huge show building behind that pyramid, with a large aqueduct that you would walk underneath to enter the World Showcase, running from the show building, across the walkway, and all the way to the lagoon.



In researching this episode, we found a 2017 D23.com article that shared some EPCOT concept art, including one of the Mexico Pavilion by artist Collin Campbell in 1979. This art reflects what is shown in the model from the year prior, complete with a similar looking pyramid, with the green leafy plants I mentioned earlier, but now with some flowers added. The pyramid is angled in a way that the show building behind it isn't visible, and large trees are in the center of the art, making it unclear where in the park this pavilion would be located.

Also found in this concept art was a Cantina Mexicana outdoor bar, behind which is a domed roof that could either be a restaurant, or the domed roof found on the aqueduct in the model at the time. Along the water there are acrobats performing Danza de los Voladores, which is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony and ritual that is still performed today in Mexico and Central America. Though, we have not found any evidence that it has ever been performed at EPCOT. 

At the base of the pyramid are guests on themed boats with their own gondolier on the back, floating alongside the main walkway, and around a giant stone Olmec head. The boats have arches with ornamentation on them, one says “Veracruz”, which is the state in Mexico where the first Spanish conquistadors landed, while the other reads “Mexico”, which is the state where the nation's capital of Mexico City is located. The general design of these boats, which weren’t eventually used at EPCOT, were from the boats at the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco in Mexico City.

This boat attraction was reflected a few years prior, in Disney’s annual report of 1975, which included concept art that they describe as “an excursion by boat to Lake Xochimilco” — they mentioned that it was art created for a “discussion with Mexico.”

Negotiations and the Search for Authenticity

Beginning in January 1976, Disney representatives met with Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism and even presented pavilion concepts to President Luis Echeverría and his family. They liked the idea, but knew that Disney was building Tokyo Disneyland in Japan and EPCOT at the same time. It was suggested that if Disney also built a theme park in Mexico City, they would sponsor the pavilion in EPCOT. While definitely something to consider, adding another park would stretch resources too thin. Ultimately, Mexico did not invest financially in EPCOT.

But Disney moved forward anyway, believing the country’s presence was essential due to the close relationship (at least geographically) between the United States and Mexico.
According to historian Randal Sheppard’s 2016 research in Latin American Research Review, Disney instead sought feedback from Mexican exchange students and the Mexican ambassador to the United States regarding early pavilion designs. The students didn’t like the designs at all, explaining that the designers needed to actually experience Mexico to understand it.



The lead designer of the Mexico pavilion was Disney Imagineer X. Atencio, who we will be covering in a future episode of Disneyland’s Windows with a View series. Spoiler alert: his window is located above the Mad Hatter shop. Anyway, X responded to the students by hiring artist Eddie Martinez in 1976.



Eddie was born in Los Angeles, California and was of Mexican descent. After working with Disney on the mural at the Hall of Presidents at the Magic Kingdom and creating murals for Disneyland, he moved to East L.A. and started working extensively with the Goez Art Studio and Gallery, a center of Mexican American muralism and cultural activism, alongside his friend, and film layout artist, Ray Aragon, who had also worked on projects for Walt Disney Studios. After a month-long tour around Mexico, Eddie returned to the Studio and curated a one-man art exhibit inspired by his travels. Some of his Disney colleagues attended the exhibit in support, including X Atencio, who knew immediately that Eddie was the right man for the job to work on the Mexico Pavilion.

One fun fact about Eddie Martinez – though not Disney-related – in the 1990s, he would go on to become the architectural theme designer for the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and designed the Festival Fountain Show there, which includes animatronics of Roman statues. While it definitely needs some maintenance today, which are his words from a few years ago, if you are in the area, still be sure to go over there and check out his work around Caesars Palace.



Anyway, Eddie was initially hired for the Mexico Pavilion to develop concept art for a ride-through attraction (which we will talk about a little later), and in 1979, became the production designer overseeing illustrators, sculptors, model makers, and special effects teams working on the pavilion. His first request in his new role was to hire his friend Ray Aragon. X agreed, as he was also friends with Ray, and in 1980, That Ray became the costume designer and art director for the ride.



During this time, a young Imagineer and future Disney Legend named Joe Rohde was just beginning his career at WED Enterprises (WED was renamed Walt Disney Imagineering in 1986). Known most commonly today for leading the design of Animal Kingdom, his very first assignment was in 1980 to build detailed models and scenes for the Mexico Pavilion, discovering a talent in creating rockwork and ruined pyramids.

In doing all of this research, though, we were unable to find when it was officially decided to put Mexico as the first pavilion on the left from what was then Future World – which is where it opened in 1982, and where we know it today. Again, the model from 1978 has it as the first pavilion on the right, and construction began the next year. We do know that the Disney company was frantically trying to get countries on board to sponsor their respective pavilions, and not all of them signed on – so there was a lot of pavilion shuffling around to get to the configuration of what we know today. If you have any details about what led to these decisions, definitely let us know! Many sources state, matter-of-factly, that Mexico is the start on one side and Canada on the other because they are the two countries that touch our borders, but we're not sure if that decision was really made or if that story was just made up after the park opened.

Side note – the only pavilion on Opening Day that received country-backed government funding would be Morocco. The Mexico Pavilion would later find corporate sponsorship with Moctezuma Brewery – famous for the Sol and Dos Equis beer brands, it has gone through a few mergers, but is still a major brewery in Mexico, originally founded in 1890 and is now owned by Heineken as of 2010. Sponsorship would also come from the San Angel Inn – but more on them in a little bit).

Now that we’ve learned more about how we got a Mexico Pavilion, and some of those who worked on it, let’s take a closer look at what we have there today!

Food & The Gathering of Friends

Historian Randal Sheppard, whom we mentioned earlier, noted that the Imagineers were drawing on established American touristic images of Mexico — images shaped over decades through marketing campaigns that presented Mexico as both ancient and modern. So keep that in mind as we describe what’s in the park.


As you walk into the pavilion, on the left is Choza de Margarita, a small outdoor bar and snack location that specializes in margaritas and small bites that opened in November of 2017. The name simply means “margarita hut,” and that’s what it looks like, with log-shaped pillars holding up a thatched roof. The two cash registers have yellow stone carved with art that appears to be a stylized image of a smiling man, but we aren’t sure exactly what they are based on. Running either image through Google Lens comes back with it saying that these are modern versions of an archaeological artifact from Peru’s Chavin culture named Raimondi Stele (or Stela).



Directly across from Choza de Margarita is La Cantina de San Angel, which has been part of the pavilion since opening day in 1982. This outdoor quick-service location is situated along the lagoon and serves tacos, margaritas, and other familiar favorites.



In 2010, the area expanded to include La Hacienda de San Angel, adding an indoor, casual dining table-service experience to the pavilion with large windows looking out across the lagoon. This is a great option for those looking for dining with a view of the nighttime spectacular (which, as of recording, is Luminous: The Symphony of Us), but only if you can get a table with a window view, as they don't offer a dining package at this location.
Between La Cantina and La Hacienda is a framed tiled art piece with three large square tiles, with the words “Arte”, “Alimento”, and “Amigos” – or “Art, Food, Friends” in Spanish. These words are each framed by colorful tiles with patterns of reds, blues, yellows, and greens. There is also a fountain nearby with blue and yellow tiles. These either are, or are based on, Talavera tiles, which are named after a town in Spain: Talavera de la Reina. The art style was introduced to the city of Puebla in 1531, and that is now the exclusive home to authentic artisans of this art style who are alive today.

Just beyond the Hacienda de San Angel, you may hear live music from the Mariachi Cobre, a band that was formed in Tucson, Arizona in 1971, and has been performing here since the park’s opening.

The Architecture: A Composite of Civilizations

Across from these eateries is the main focal point of the pavilion, a large 36-foot tall pyramid, with steps inviting you to go inside. But the large symbolic imagery found on the temple today is not a replica of a single Mesoamerican structure.

Official Disney materials have described it as a composite of pre-Columbian architecture, leaning toward Aztec style, while they have also sometimes referred to it as just being Mayan. The best official description, though, used to be on a wall inside the pyramid, which stated that it is "inspired by the architecture of three major pre-Columbian civilizations - the Maya, Aztec and Toltec."


Starting with the main set of stairs at the front of the pyramid, with its sleek sides, as well as having a temple on top, it is similar to the Mayan pyramid El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulcan in Chichén Itzá, Yukatan. This is the temple that D23 and other sources point to as an inspiration for the pyramid.

The dimensions of the pyramid and that single temple on top, sitting proportionally with the rest of the pyramid, and with its tapered roof comb, are likely more inspired by the Tikal Temples I and II, also known as Temple of the Great Jaguar and the Temple of the Masks, respectively, which are Mayan pyramids that are actually located in neighboring Guatemala, not Mexico. There is a show from National Geographic that shows an artist’s recreation of what these temples may have looked like, The Origins of the Maya Civilization, and we’ll include a screenshot on our blog so you can compare.

Some sources point out that the pyramid was also inspired by the Aztec Pyramid of the Magician in Uxmal, but other than how it has stairs and a temple on top, we don’t really see too many details here that appear in the park version.



Looking closer at the pyramid, you’ll notice serpent heads along the staircase, which are modeled after the Aztec Temple of the Feather Serpent, or the Temple of Quetzalcoatl in Teotihuacan, Mexico.

At the very top of the pyramid, you’ll find a section in what looks like a window, or opening. That’s because – it is! This area serves as a control booth for the lighting and pyrotechnics for nighttime shows around the World Showcase Lagoon, as it has a great vantage point overlooking the Showcase.

Moving on to the bottom of the pyramid’s steps, which is at the top of a set of stairs for guests, is a large painted stone carved work of art, which is actually repeated on the side of the pyramid as well. It was placed strategically at the bottom of the staircases as an attempt to prevent people from being tempted to climb the stairs, but people have still done it, but that might get you banned for life, so we recommend that you don’t. 



Now, as for what that art represents, in referencing the extensive research by Harvard University – Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethology and SmartHistory.org, we think we have pieced together that the main person in the middle looks like King Bird Jaguar IV, who ruled from 752 to 768, and is considered to be the most prolific ruler of Yachilan, located in Chiapas, Mexico (near the border of Guatemala). In this region, you’ll find hundreds of sites with carved lintels (which refer to the beams above doorways, above which is where these carvings were discovered), as well as hieroglyphic writings and recordings of important events. For those doing additional research, Lintel 1, Structure 33 has the most resemblance to the one at the park (and don’t worry - we have it linked over on our blog for easy reference). Both the original Lintel and the one back at EPCOT, show the King is holding a K’awiil scepter, which embodied divine legitimacy and justice of sacred rule under one supreme Creator. He is facing what may be one of his wives, Lady Great Skull. 

However, our research found another lintel (Lintel 26, Structure 23 for those playing along at home), in which Lady Xook, is giving a similar jaguar head-shaped helmet to her husband (and Bird Jaguar IV’s father), Lord Sheild Jaguar II (who ruled Yachilan for 60 years and is the father of Bird Jaguar IV). While Lady Xook is not Bird Jaguar’s mother (long story, full of drama, which we won’t get into here), there is some imagery to suggest that Lady Xook is passing the jaguar helmet to her step-son, who is now the ruler. This is all entirely speculation. We could not find any concrete evidence to support who this lintel is portraying, and we could not find a close resemblance to the person on the right. If you have any information at all, definitely reach out to us!

Now, looking past the pyramid structure, there are walls on the left and right, just behind it. These are part of the rectangular show building that houses most of the Mexico pavilion’s indoor space. Each side has nearly identical art, so our following descriptions should match each side.



Starting from the bottom, there is a stepped form with rectangular patterns on the walls to the left and right of the staircase, which are made up of two-headed snakes. A similar detail is found on the building of the Quadrangle of the Nuns, or Temple of the Nuns, in Uxmal.


Above that, running down the center of the wall section, is a set of four similar looking squared decorative faces with crooked noses. Face likes these are found at the Palace of the Nuns, sometimes called The Nunnery or La Iglesias, which is about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the Temple of Nuns we just mentioned -using modern roads, but is located just a short walk from the El Castillo pyramid in Chichén Itzá.



To the left and right of those faces, there are squares that kinda look like a guy with his mouth wide open, with two white eyes, a pink nose, and a big, round tongue. Similar-looking art is found on the front of the Palace of the Masks, also known as Codz Pop, in Kabah, Yucatan. This is an important Puuc site, and these are said to represent the eyes of Chaac, the Mayan deity of rain, thunder, and lightning. Apparently, that big, round tongue is actually an eyeball, and everything else is just his eyelids and ornamentation around his eye.

And then, at the very top of the walls, there are a few more quetzalcoatl serpent heads.



Before we enter the pyramid, we want to point out a section just up the walkway, a little bit past the pyramid entrance. This is a meet-and-greet area where characters like Donald Duck might be. On the Walt Disney World website and app, this meet-and-greet is described as “Say ‘Hola!’ to Donald Duck as you explore the base of an Aztec pyramid.” At this location, there is Toltec art from the Tula site at the Temple of Quetzalcoatl.



After recording our podcast episode, we found some details on the other pillars in this section. They are actually based on the pillars behind those warrior statues, so they are also at the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. One section is based on a stele at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, while the others can still be found at the actual temple location.

Inside the Pyramid

Upon entering the pyramid, guests enter a space with some museum displays of artifacts from ancient Mexico. Over the years, the displays, and the main focus of this room, have changed. The formal name for this area is Mexican Folk Art Gallery. In the past, it has been home to a large Aztec Calendar, also known as a Sun Stone, which was a carved stone circle roughly twelve feet in diameter. It had a neat use of projection mapping technology, with projectors making the stone appear painted, as stones like this may have looked in ancient times. The one that used to be in the park was a replica of a sun stone created in the early 1500s, the original of which is on display at the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Actually, we should point out that this museum also has a Tula warrior statue and a few of those Lintels that we mentioned earlier.



There is also a piece of concept art for this pavilion that shows a large fountain in front of a temple that looks very similar to the El Paraguas fountain that was installed at the museum in 1964. They also had a book that was released in 1978 named Treasures of Ancient Mexico (affiliate link), which we’re going to guess was in the Imagineering library, and it’s also likely they made a few research trips to this museum while designing the pavilion.


Today, as we’re recording this in 2026, you’ll find an exhibit of “Remember Me! La Celebración del Día de Muertos” – or the Celebration of the Day of the Dead. This was added in 2017 to correspond with the release of the Disney-Pixar movie Coco. Inside, you’ll find both ancient artifacts and references from the movie. We covered this festive holiday in our October 31st, 2025 episode: Día de los Muertos at Disney Parks: Tradition, Tribute & Timeless Celebration. So we invite you to go back and give it a listen if you haven’t done so already, because it was a good one!



As you walk past this room, you walk under a carved wooden sign that reads: Plaza de los Amigos. This area is designed to make it look like you are walking outdoors, but right around dusk, after the sun has just set, sometimes referred to as a perpetual twilight. Immediately in front of you is a balustrade with stone pillars, which is similar to the concept art that had been created in 1975 to present to Mexico. Guests then choose to go left or right as they head into the marketplace that they can see in front of them. Night markets were, and are, popular in Mexico, but even more than that, due to the warmer climate, it is more common for family gatherings to take place at night in Mexico than in the United States.



This plaza is a Spanish colonial-style town square, inspired by the town of Taxco, a historical silver mining town in the state of Guerrero. Here, you’ll find large fountains, as well as colorful stalls for shopping, with Spanish colonial architecture used for the building facades on the left and right walls. A few sources online say the name of the large fountain directly in front of the balustrade is Fuente de la Vida, which means “fountain of life,” but we couldn’t find anything official confirming this.

In the middle of the town square is a bustling marketplace of kiosks selling authentic items from Mexico, including jewelry, hats, pottery, clothes, and more, as they have since the park opened in 1982.



The first building on the left that you can enter is a larger store named La Tienda Encantada, which translates to The Enchanted Shop. It is full of Disney-branded merchandise made specifically for the Mexico pavilion, as well as Mexican art throughout the shop as decoration.

The first building on the right is the home to La Cava del Tequila, which opened on August 28th, 2009, in the former Arribas Brothers location, which is now located between the La Tienda Encantada gift shop and the queue for the land's boat ride. The Arribas Brothers store is named La Princesa de Cristal, which just means the Crystal Princess. Here, you can also find a glass blower, whose techniques originated in Puebla, Mexico in the 1500s. The Arribas Brothers, who were two brothers named Tomas and Alfonso Arribas, actually started as glass blowers in La Coruña, Spain. They were discovered by Walt Disney at the 1964 New York World's Fair, where they were blowing glass at the request of the Spanish Cultural Ministry. By 1967, they had opened their first location in a Disney park, with a small shop in Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim. They would eventually move to a shop in New Orleans Square, and expand to a shop on Main Street. They would also open a location at the Magic Kingdom when it opened in 1971, and all three of those locations are still operating today. They opened Artesanias Mexicanas in the Mexico pavilion on EPCOT Center's opening day, and were one of the original corporate sponsors for the pavilion.

As I mentioned, this location is now home to La Cava del Tequila, run by Palmas Restaurant Group, which is the same company that runs twelve other Mexican food locations on Walt Disney World property, including the other dining locations I already mentioned outside the pyramid, plus the main restaurant of this pavilion: San Angel Inn.

The restaurant is actually run by members of a family that has been operating a restaurant by the same name in Mexico City since 1963. The original San Angel Inn, which is still in business in Mexico, is located in a hacienda that is over 400 years old. It was built in the San Angel neighborhood in 1616, and became the Hotel San Angel Inn in 1907 when an American company bought the house and converted it. It was designated a national monument in 1937, and was eventually sold to the Debler family and their associates in 1963, where they still own and operate it today as a restaurant and bar with indoor dining and outdoor patios.

Anyway, there is an episode of the Disney Dish Podcast from September 2024 where the hosts interview Ricky Debler Jr., whose grandfather owned San Angel Inn Restaurante in 1963. Ricky tells the story of how the relationship between his father, Richard Debler Sr., and the Disney company started, sharing that in the 1970s, a group of Disney employees, including theme park consultant Steve Baker, went to Mexico and learned that San Angel Inn was an iconic destination within Mexico City. Ricky goes on to explain that his grandfather, his father's father, was the owner of San Angel Inn, and had received an invitation to join EPCOT Center. His grandfather, though, wasn't interested in leaving Mexico, so he threw the invitation away. Ricky says that his father, who had also started a restaurant of his own by that point, despite only being in his early twenties, found the golden Mickey envelope in the trash can and immediately realized the opportunity they were being offered.

He convinced his parents to let him and his friend Pedro move to Florida to run this restaurant at Disney, and Ricky moved with his new wife to create the San Angel Inn at EPCOT Center. Today, Richard Debler Sr. is still the CEO and President of Palmas Restaurant Group, and his son Ricky is Vice President of Business Development.

That interview on the Disney Dish goes into more detail about the other restaurants at the Walt Disney World resort run by the group, and provides more information about La Cava del Tequila, the tequila bar found in the Plaza de los Amigos. We'll put a link to the Disney Dish interview on our blog post for this episode. Check it out if you are interested in learning more about that.

The San Angel Inn restaurant features a different menu than its sister restaurant. The one in Mexico City is more of an upscale restaurant with appetizers like sea bass empanadas, escargots, duck foie gras, and beef hooves tostadas, with entries like grilled quail, lobster "thermidor," and beef tongue -available in Veracruz style or with peanut sauce and chipotle. Meanwhile, the park version has a more traditional Mexican menu, with appetizers like queso fundido, chicken tostadas, and totopos, which are corn chips with sides of cheese and salsa, and entrees like pollo a las rajas, chicken enchiladas, and a mole osso buco. Both restaurants, though, do have an Aztec tortilla soup on the menu, as well as steak, and fish served Veracruz style. So that’s exciting.

All of that said, what’s important to remember is that both the San Angel Inn at EPCOT and the one in Mexico City are owned by the same family, and both the staff and the chefs work at both locations as well.



As far as the look of the restaurant, if you look around the EPCOT version inside the pyramid, you’ll notice similar elements, though not exact replicas of stucco walls, arched openings, lantern-style lighting, and a courtyard atmosphere. But instead of Mexico City traffic outside the gates, you’re seated along a peaceful river, looking across the water at a glowing pyramid, an Olmec colossal head, and a jungle landscape, with a smoldering volcano in the distance. This diorama is 60-by-40 feet and, according to the X Atencio biography that came out last November (affiliate link), it was painted by Disney artists at MGM Studios, because Disney didn’t have a large enough facility to handle it.



As for that pyramid and volcano, where are they found in Mexico? Most references to the temple pyramid simply state that it is “Mayan.” The closest photos of Mayan temples that we have found to this one are also those Tikal temples in Guatemala that we referenced earlier, and it’s very likely that this is also just a composite of multiple styles. There is a Hieroglyphic Stairway in the Copan Mayan archaeological site in Honduras that is the only example of a staircase with multiple pieces of ornamentation running up the middle of a staircase that is similar to the design of this pyramid. That stairway also has some stonework at the base of the stairs, similar to what is seen here. Also, the Copan Mayan site includes the Tikal Temples in Guatemala, so if Imagineers didn’t visit the site, they may have at least opened a book with photos of it. The volcano in the background is supposed to just represent volcanoes in general, which Mexico does have, with estimates between 40 and 48 active volcanoes throughout the country. Glancing at photos of Mexican volcanoes, we would guess that Pico de Orizaba was the main inspiration here, if there was one. 



The Olmec head is based on similar large stone carvings found in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco. 

This picturesque view is the opening scene for this pavilion’s attraction: Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros. But that wasn’t the first version of this ride.

El Río del Tiempo and the Three Cultures

Before The Three Caballeros, there was El Río del Tiempo — The River of Time, which opened with the park in 1982, and was actually the only ride in the entire World Showcase on opening day.

The working name for this attraction was Las Tres Culturas de Mexico, and it was designed to be an indoor/outdoor attraction. This is likely the one found in the Collin Campbell’s concept art I mentioned earlier. Not surprisingly, based on the name, Eddie Martinez took inspiration from the Plaza de las Tres Culturas – or the Three Cultures Plaza –in Mexico City, in which pre-Columbian Mexico, colonial Mexico, and modern Mexico are represented in a central square. This symbolism would become the basis for the attraction, leading riders through these three periods of Mexican history.

After floating past the temple and jungle diorama, as well as guests dining at San Angel Inn -similar to the experience of Pirates of the Caribbean and the Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland, riders made their way through ancient temples, floating past an animatronic priest, and encountered videos of dancers, who were the Esplendor Azteca dance group led by Florencio Yescas. These dancers were deeply connected to the Danza Azteca revival movement happening in both Mexico and the American Southwest. Ray Aragon, whom I also mentioned earlier, designed the sets and the costumes that were around the dancers in the show scenes.



The ride then continued into colonial villages filled with mariachis and folkloric celebrations, while a recorded narrator provided historical context to cultures and traditions. X Atencio drew up the storyline, and helped work on the script for the narrator. There was, and still is, a large show scene with doll-like characters (similar to those found at it’s a small world) who played instruments, danced or swung at a pinata. These dolls were designed by Ray Aragon as well, but based on the style of Mary Blair and Alice and Marc Davis, who famously designed the look for it’s a small world.

The third section focused on more modern resort destinations like Acapulco and beach scenes reminiscent of Tulum. The songs throughout the attraction were written by X Atencio and composed by Armando Corral, a consultant to Disney Legend Buddy Baker, who was the musical director and composer for all of Epcot Center. One of these days, we’ll do an entire episode on Buddy Baker… if you have been to a Disney park, you’ve heard his music.

But I digress… back to El Rio Del Tiempo…

The ride concluded with a fireworks display and a map of the area, including images of children in regional costumes and local handmade crafts. Guests would then exit the boat and head into the marketplace, where they would find similar handmade crafts for sale. In our research, we found a video of the full ride from 1998. We’ll be sure to link it in the blog for this episode so you can check it out. The ride is about 7 minutes, which was 40% shorter than the original concept for the attraction.



The ride proved to be quite popular, with lines forming outside the building and down the main walkway in the pavilion.

The Three Caballeros

In the 2000s, attendance for El Río del Tiempo declined, and the park as a whole was turning to more IP and character-driven entertainment.

El Rio del Tiempo would close January 2nd 2007, and then re-open just a few months later as The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros on April 6th. The Three Caballeros are from the 1944 film of the same name. If you have been on the ride or seen the movie, you know that the three cartoon characters who make up the caballeros are Jose Carioca -a Brazlian parrot, Panchito Pistoles -a Mexican Charo Rooster, and then there’s Donald Duck. Of course, Donald Duck doesn't really need an introduction, so we'll give a quick history on those other two.



The Three Caballeros film is a follow-up to Saludos Amigos, which came out in 1942, and the creation of both was led by a group of Disney artists and animators who were sent on a Latin American goodwill tour funded by the U.S. government. Saludos Amigos is a feature-length film with both live-action and animated sequences. At exactly 34 minutes into the 42-minute-long movie is a segment that has its own intro sequence named "Aquarela do Brasil" or "Watercolor of Brazil." This segment is the first appearance of a character they introduce as "Joe Carioca / voice by Jose Oliveira." Oliveira was a native of Brazil who went by the pseudonym Ze Carioca, and the character is more commonly known as Jose Carioca, but is actually known as "Ze Carioca" in Brazil. The segment that introduces the character begins with an artist creating a painting that transforms a flower into Donald Duck, and then Jose is painted into the scene, and they have a brief conversation, and then antics ensue.

The Three Caballeros came out in 1945. It begins with a long credit sequence, as films of the era did, with a version of the title song “The Three Caballeros” playing. The song, which is also heard on the ride, uses the melody from "Ay, Jalisco, no te rajes!", a Mexican song composed for a movie by the same name in 1941. The music was by Manuel Esperón and the original lyrics were by Ernesto Cortázar. The English lyrics in the movie were written by Ray Gilbert, who would soon after this film write the lyrics to the song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. After the credits, Donald Duck receives a birthday gift from his friends in Latin America, with the first gift being a film projector. The movie then has a few animated shorts before Jose Carioco finally shows up a little over 22 minutes into the film. He then takes Donald to "Baia," where the film turns into a combination of live action and animation, with humans interacting with Donald and Jose, similar to how the scenes are designed on the boat ride in the park.

It isn't until 41 minutes, over halfway through the hour-and-ten-minute-long movie, that these two characters unwrap another gift… This one is labeled: "Mexico." An instrumental version of “The Three Caballeros” song plays. This version is more upbeat than the one in the opening credits and is closer to the one heard on the ride today. We then meet Panchito about a minute later, where he gives the other two Mexican sombreros and announces that they are “three gay caballeros,” and then sings “The Three Caballeros” song in its entirety. He then goes on to tell a story about La Posadas, a story about children in Mexico celebrating Christmas, which is illustrated by Mary Blair, whose style we mentioned earlier as an inspiration for a scene in the original version of the attraction.
Later in the film, Donald does go missing in Mexico, and many of the scenes in the attraction are pulled directly from moments in the film.

As for the ride itself, and how it compares with El Rio del Tiempo, it no longer features a narrator, the storyline for this updated attraction is that you are on your way to an upcoming concert starring the trio. You are introduced to Jose and Panchito, who realize Donald is missing. The three cultures from the original attraction are still present as well, featuring locations from ancient, colonial, and modern locations around Mexico, as the search for Donald continues, using updated screens and projector technologies.
In the same style as the original animation techniques from the film by Ward Kimball and Fred Moore, new animation was done for the attraction by legendary Disney animator Eric Goldberg (perhaps best known for his animation of the Genie from Aladdin).



Much of the River of Time’s original set pieces were used for the Gran Fiesta Tour, including the large mural, temple, and volcano at the beginning. The major changes were the updated screens with new film of the characters at different locations, and the finale scene of the stage in which Donald, Jose, and Panchito perform their famous song. These characters were originally represented with cartoons projected on a screen behind a stage. The animatronics of these characters we know today were originally in the Mickey Mouse Revue at the Magic Kingdom from 1971-1980, then at the one in Tokyo Disneyland from 1983 – 2009, before finally being installed at the Gran Fiesta Tour in December 2015.

Both versions of the ride end with simulated fireworks “exploding” with a light show on the ceiling, which works out well because that is also how The Three Caballeros movie also ends, with a fireworks display.




And, well…that’s everything we could find going around the Mexico Pavilion. If there’s anything we missed, please join our free private Facebook group, and again, that’s Where In The Park Explorers, to share with us because we always love learning more. We hope you have discovered something new about this area and will go explore with renewed wonder and appreciation next time you visit.

If you’re enjoying this new series as we walk clockwise around World Showcase, make sure to join our Park Press newsletter to be notified when a new podcast blog is released! Next month, we’ll be learning more about the Norway Pavilion! Until then, we’ll continue to dive deeper into details at other parks around the U.S.

If there is a particular detail you’ve noticed and want us to do an episode about, send us a DM @WhereInThePark on Instagram or Facebook, or reach out on this podcast’s private Facebook Group: Where In The Park Explorers. The group is also where you can share your own photos and stories, or share with us what you learned in today’s episode.

Thanks for reading! Until next time, we’ll see you somewhere in the park.

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