All About Germany in Epcot
Germany is an Epcot World Showcase pavilion at Walt Disney World featuring Biergarten restaurant, gift shops, and more. In this post, we’ll share some tips and info about design, merchandise, and dining in the Germany pavilion.
Our intention here is to mostly focus on the Germany pavilion’s shopping and architecture. We’ve already reviewed Biergarten, and there are no attractions in Germany (although we’ll discuss the unbuilt Rhine River Cruise here!), so that’s primarily what’s left to cover.
We think shopping is one of the overlooked aspects of World Showcase, as many guests assume that if they don’t want to buy anything, the stores don’t hold a lot of appeal. This couldn’t be further from the truth in most pavilions, and we think its especially true in Germany, where there are tons of cool details and beautiful items for sale–calling them souvenirs doesn’t do them justice–that are worth seeing even if you have no intentions of purchasing anything…
Let’s get started with a look at the Germany pavilion’s architecture, the story behind its presence in World Showcase, and what could have been.
Architecture & Backstory
In terms of architecture, the Germany pavilion features inspiration from a number of real cities and monuments around the country, but leans most heavily on the Bavaria region. Within that, one city was especially significant for the Imagineers: Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
We visited Rothenburg ob der Tauber during a trip to Germany, and the similarities were uncanny in places. As I wrote in this blog post about Rothenburg ob der Tauber on TravelCaffeine, which I’d recommend you check out if you want to see my photos of the real Rothenburg, the charming village is like stepping into a fairytale. It’s a place from a bygone era that is truly enchanting. It’s easy to see why so much of the idealized Germany that Disney’s Imagineers created pulls heavily from the similarly romanticized Rothenburg.
In the center of the pavilion’s plaza is a fountain topped with a statue of Saint George. While the inspiration for this would appear to be Rothenburg (pictured below), we noticed plenty of fountains like this throughout Germany. It could just as easily be inspired by another location, or a combination of fountains meant to generically evoke Germany.
In other facades, it appears the Germany pavilion is influenced by buildings in Frankfurt and Freiburg. The latter definitely serves as inspiration for at least a couple of prominent structures in Epcot, the clocktower and ‘Das Kaufhaus.’ While the Epcot clocktower could be inspired by Rothenburg, it’s more likely based upon ones found in Freiburg.
With that said, the Germany pavilion largely feels like an amalgamation of real world locations. Much of it is similar enough to Rothenburg to feel eerily reminiscent of that, but different enough that it has its own distinct sense of place. I suspect that Imagineers paid a visit to Germany while doing field research for World Showcase, and similarly found Rothenburg mesmerizing. Where else they might’ve gone and other architecture that inspired the design of Epcot’s Germany is more of a mystery.
The large fortification resembles the main keep at Eltz Castle, a medieval castle along the Moselle River, but the similarities are more vague. Personally, I think it would’ve been cool for Imagineering to draw from Hohenschwangau Castle, which stands adjacent to Neuschwanstein Castle, famed for being the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland.
For me, Germany is also home to one of the greatest unbuilt attraction stories of Walt Disney World: Rhine River Cruise. This attraction is not just fan lore or internet urban legend. The attraction was officially announced, was detailed in Walt Disney’s EPCOT Center by Richard Beard, and was discussed in other promotional materials for the opening of EPCOT.
The premise of the attraction was that it’d offer EPCOT Center guests the chance to float down the Rhine, Tauber, Ruhr, and Isar Rivers on a leisurely boat ride, affording a “visual impression in miniature of the cultural heritage of Germany’s past and highlights of its present.”
Locations were to include scenes from the Black Forest, Oktoberfest, Heidelberg, the Ruhr Valley, and elsewhere. Detailed miniatures of famous landmarks would be featured, including Cologne Cathedral. From this, it would seem that Rhine River Cruise would be akin to Storybook Land Canal Boats, except featuring real-world Germany instead of European-inspired animated film locales.
The Rhine River Cruise is also fascinating because work had begun on it before it was cancelled. While we don’t know the full extent of the progress, we do know that the attraction’s entrance (now covered over) was set, and at least part of the show building behind it was constructed. (Per Imagineering Disney, the show building was not constructed in its entirety and it would seem the attraction was cancelled right around 1982.)
Germany Dining
Now seems like as good of a time as any to highlight one of my favorite snacks in World Showcase: the Nudel Gratin at Sommerfest. I’ve neglected to review this counter service restaurant because it’s more a glorified kiosk than an actual restaurant, and the Nudel Gratin is nothing profound, just a simple yet delicious comfort dish of macaroni and cheese.
We’re also fans of Karamell-Küche, another dining spot in Germany for which we don’t have a review. We should really do a full review of this bakery, as the menu is pretty deep, and there’s a lot we enjoy here. My favorites include the Caramel Snickerdoodle Cookie, Caramel Pecan Bar, and pretty much any dessert with salted caramel. Oddly, the things that are “meh” for me are the varieties of caramel corn and apples, which are the most popular items there.
Here are some of our other posts about dining in Germany:
- Biergarten Review — Convivial atmosphere and hearty food makes for a good combination, and even if Biergarten doesn’t push the culinary envelope, it offers a Disneyfied approximation of Oktoberfest, which is much cheaper than booking a trip to Munich in the fall!
- Snack Around World Showcase Tips — If you don’t have time (or stomach space) to do a trip to the buffet of Biergarten, all is not lost! This ‘culinary world tour’ includes a stop in Germany.
- Drinking Around World Showcase Tips — Germany is World Showcase’s most popular drinking country, albeit (arguably) not for good reason. It’s not that German beer is bad, it’s just overrated.
SHOPPING
While I love perusing the shops in Germany for their beautiful and authentic items that could qualify as heirlooms, there are items at the other end of the spectrum that are kind of tacky. I realize that Germany is synonymous with beer for many people, but there’s a way to embrace that in a tasteful manner.
The good news is that so many pieces of merchandise do exactly that. The steins are really cool, as is the line of Biergarten merchandise. Most of the Disney character stuff is solid, too. As with the other European countries, Germany has a huge mix of Disney and non-Disney merchandise. Perhaps the most of any country in World Showcase.
There are also ornate cuckoo clocks, expensive toy train sets, and some beautiful Christmas ornaments. Out of all of this, my favorite piece of merchandise is the Mickey Mouse Steiff plush. The quality on this is exceptional, with the price to match!
I just can’t get over this Steiff Mickey Mouse plush. It’s so classy and high quality. I feel like this is the Mickey Mouse stuffed animal that celebrities buy their kids, wanting to give them the iconic childhood toy, but a variety of which that’s a cut above what us commoners would own. You just know Blue Ivy wasn’t slumming it with the normal Mickey stuffed animal!
I’ll be honest: over the years, Germany has slowly fallen down my list of pavilions at Epcot. I have nothing against it (other than it seeming to be one of the top hangouts for Epcot “drinking teams”), it just seems to offer less to do and the courtyard area doesn’t really have any quiet areas to explore. Taking the time to slow down and wander through the shops gave me a renewed appreciation for the Germany pavilion, as there are so many exquisitely hand-crafted details inside the shops. It’s still not my favorite World Showcase country, but they can’t all be #1, and even my least favorite pavilions are still some of the best areas of Walt Disney World.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Did you learn anything about the Germany pavilion at Epcot from this post? Do you have any favorite ‘dream’ merchandise in the Germany pavilion that you’d love to own? Thoughts on dining in Germany? About the pavilion’s architecture? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
The best part — i feel – -is the wine tasting in the very back corner of the shops. The wine is straight from Germany, where my husband and i lived for 5 years (military brats), not watered down, and gives us flashbacks of what fun we had while living over there.
We visited in late February 2020 and stumbled upon a live band playing on an outdoor stage in the Germany Pavilion at Epcot. I have been desperate to find their name, because I thought they were excellent. I don’t understand any German, but if anyone could help me I’d e-gift their name so I can find out more about them, I would be VERY grateful! Thanks!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9nWlhXHQRv/?igshid=14r218lrsc780
I love. love. But having one of their ornaments on your tree reminds you that you must shop there again. thanks for shera ?????
very nice. Such a beauty creation. Thank for shera my post…….
Wow amazing. Such a wonderful creation. Thanks for sharing.
sommerfest is also remarkable in that they will gladly serve you LARGE CUPS of water. (looking at you, mexico pavilion, handing out child size)
After living in “the real thing” for many years, I think I’d rather visit Germany than Epcot. From what I have heard from friends, it might cost less money, too.
Hi Tom, I’m having trouble finding other posts in this series on your site. Is this the first of its kind? I loved it! Thanks for putting so much care into your posts!
Really wish they would go back and finish/add the Rhine River cruise! Sounds like it would be a great addition to world showcase, especially if they already have laid some groundwork!! Epcot World Showcase could use more rides, even when simple boat rides–they just are more engaging to most than the movies.
I love the train village. My favorite thing about it is, during food and wine festival, the tiny banners in the little town are food and wine festival banners just like the big ones up all over the world showcase. It’s the tiniest detail, but I love that they go to the effort to make it look like the little people in the town are also experiencing the food and wine festival.
Enjoying this series immensely! Keep them coming! Thank you for transporting me to EPCOT even for a few minutes!
Any idea what typical lines to meet Snow White in Germany are like? Thanks.
Wow such a amazing place. Nice post. Thanks for sharing.
Slow down everyone and visit the shops! The Christmas shop is so magical and you wish you could buy everything. But having one of their ornaments on your tree reminds you that you must shop there again. Also tucked in a corner in the shop where costume jewelry is you will find some really beautiful and unique jewelry- if you are looking for something alittle more expensive.
Reading about the lost attraction saddens me a bit – we’re not big fans of Biergarten, so this is a pavilion we often walk past. We should at least visit the stores more often.
I notice you don’t mention Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure in any of these reviews (perhaps you haven’t played?). But Germany is probably my favorite of the 6 pavilions for the game.
Yes, we love the Agent P adventure here as well!
Germany Pavilion is one of my favorites, the rich woodwork and woodsy forest feel of it all is really calming to the senses, along with all its non-Disney merchandise does take you back to a special time and place.
I love, love, love this series, Tom. Thank you so much. Keep up the good work!
I wish the added the Rhine River ride. It sounded like a nice concept.
One of my favorite beers at Epcot is Spaten Optimator inside the wine store. Its nice strong doppelbock
Having partaken of the Buffet we have found that this last visit it was much better then our previous visits. We found that there were more a variety of fresh dishes on our most recent visit. It does appear that could be true with most eateries at WDW but of late it appears to be more consistent to quality, which has been long over due.
I love the little miniature train village at Germany. Granted, we have small kids and they could spend all day there if we let them, but even I enjoy the charm of the tiny town, especially when it is all lit up at night. Munching on a caramel square from Karamell-Küche makes it even better (we go for the straight caramel blocks–the baked goods and popcorn just dilute all the caramelly goodness)!