Only Experts Know This Secret in EPCOT’s France Pavilion

Disney World’s France Pavilion is more than meets the eye…

EPCOT’s World Showcase is one of the most heavily detailed areas in any Disney park. Each of the eleven countries represented features heavily detailed recreations of famous world landmarks and other touchstones of their respective inspiration, some of which are hidden in plain sight to the untrained eye. The park’s France Pavilion is no exception, with several secrets and easter eggs only known to major fans… until now. 

A Haunted Mansion Connection

One of the many reasons that Disney aficionados love the pavilion’s CircleVision film Impressions de France — and wish it was playing full-time instead of alternating with the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along — is the film’s soundtrack. The score features musical motifs from classical French composers such as Claude Debussy and Camille Saint-Saëns, all written and arranged by Disney Legend Buddy Baker. 

Baker was an Academy Award-nominated composer, best known to Disney fans for work on films including The Apple Dumpling Gang, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and The Fox and the Hound. To theme park fans, Baker is best known for work on If You Had Wings at the Magic Kingdom, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and yes, composing the oh-so-spooky score still heard on the Haunted Mansion. 

A Pioneering Restaurant

When Les Chefs de France first opened with the park in 1982, it was notable for being the first restaurant associated with Chef Paul Boscue on American soil. Bocuse has a long and legendary culinary career, being named Best French Craftsman in 1961 and Chef of the Century in 2011 by the Culinary Institute of America, and achieving 3 Michelin stars for 53 straight years at his famous Lyon restaurant.

The chef’s family is still linked to the family today, as Paul’s son Jerome Bocuse, owns the company behind EPCOT’s Monsieur Paul today. 

A Ratatouille Connection

Speaking of Les Chefs de France, one of the other original titular chefs behind the restaurant — Gaston Lenôtre — has an EPCOT connection of their own. He is widely believed to have been part of the inspiration for the Auguste Gusteau character in Ratatouille, which of course was the inspiration for the major Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure attraction located in the France Pavillion. 

Not Quite to Scale

There’s little denying that the Eiffel Tower is the best-known symbol of French culture worldwide, so it’s no surprise that the EPCOT version of the country has a tower of its own. However, the theme park version is far from scale. In fact, the tower is actually sitting on top of a building, to aid in a forced perspective effect to make it appear like it’s towering over Disney’s representation of France. 

Like the World Showcase’s other countries, France is full of easter eggs, and tiny details that only devoted fans — and now YOU — will notice. Stay tuned to AllEars for further looks at Disney details. 

REVIEW: When Disney Makes Us Choose Between Two NEW Snacks in EPCOT’s France Pavilion, We’ll Inevitably Do THIS

Have you ever noticed any of these touches at EPCOT’s France Pavillion? Let us know in the comments below. 

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