Before we went around the different nations of Epcot, Ashly told us to pay attention to something: “You will notice,” she said, “that the visitors to Disney World Epcot will migrate to their own home country. Also, the workers in each area are here on one year visas from their own country, so the sales associates in Germany are German in many cases, for example. The moment you cross into France, half of the guests will be French tourists who apparently hang out there!”
[mainbodyad]Sure enough, walking through France you hear nothing but French, watch French families with their children, and notice French groups sitting around in groups. The moment we made it to Germany, the shops had pre-teen German kids running around talking excitedly, alternating between German and English. Strolling through Italy, it’s Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, and Italians. It’s as if people from other nations are drawn to their own culture, even when it is artificially created within a theme park (actually … that’s not accurate. The architectural styles are authentic and the people working in the areas are true citizens of their respective nations so it is a microcosm of the society in many ways, which is far from artificial).
There are so many mental models to study here … I need to go through this and think about the practical application to business and economics. You have a seeking of the familiar, a desire to be around those with the same cultural background as you (perhaps it is a relief to be able to, say, speak Japanese to the waiter and sales associates at the retail shops if you are visiting from Tokyo?), and even traces of assortative mating habits. It’s fascinating.
Aaron loved how this looked in the China section of Epcot and asked me to take a picture.
The gate at the China section of Epcot …
We spent a good deal of time in the shops in China, with Aaron trying on the Chinese robes. All of us would have bought one but the stitching was horrific. They should have sold them for 5x as much and made them great quality and we would have bought. I want to find one … that’s on the list. I imagine we’ll have to special order it online.
If I could find a really great tailor to produce these types of clothes in men’s versions, the sports coats and shirts, I would definitely add them to my wardrobe. I love the Italian and French houses – the Charvet, Brioni, and Kitons of the world – but it would be nice to have an Asian-inspired equivalent. Some designer needs to get on that.
The lanterns …
We tried on a lot of the sombreros in Mexico …
Aaron in a Sombrero …
Ian tried on a red and yellow sombrero …
I was looking at the Day of the Dead rattles and toys and Aaron gave it the side eye …
I was taking a picture and suddenly Aaron and Ashly staged a “Face Punch”, which is the title of this work of art. There are so many things going on … the tiny sombrero, the melancholy woman in the background, the crazy eyes, the rigid fist and arm … it’s a work of art. We were joking we should make a gallery exhibit showing of it just to watch people’s reactions. We actually took a series of them throughout the vacation.
I told Aaron and Ian, only half joking, that when I am older and figure out where I want to live permanent, I will likely build a large family estate but my secret office would be a tiny shed hidden in the trees. Ian recommended a no-door model accessible by secret passage from the main house. Brilliant!
I loved the architecture on this building …
We could see France from across the water …
In England, we stopped in the Twining tea store and did some more shopping. My favorite take-away was the Twinings Ceramic tea canister, which looks great next to the copper canisters on the black granite countertops in my kitchen; the whole thing looks like it was made to go together.
France had a Guerlain! This is a famous perfume house that I’ve been meaning to look into for quite awhile because the name keeps coming up in conversation with other Creed aficionados. I was ready to buy a few bottles, but the sales associate (not the person pictured here) grabbed my arm, sprayed a fragrance on it without asking me or inquiring as to what type of scent I like and dislike, and I had to walk around the rest of the day overwhelmed my something that was conflicting with the Creed Erolfa I had put on that morning. It was just low-rent. I’ll wait until the next time I’m at the Saks flagship in New York to look at the Guerlain line. At that point, I was slightly annoyed but Aaron just stopped browsing. I asked him later why he was ready to go (which isn’t characteristic in a store like this) and he said he didn’t want the guy to get credit for a sale because it was not appropriate behavior, especially after he moved on from me and dowsed Aaron with another unknown cologne and then essentially jumped on him to smell it.
We later made it to the United States area. I know this makes me sound odd but I just couldn’t get over the details in the landscaping … I’ve been putting together ideas for some projects in the back of my mind and I realize that I like very clean, organized, structured lines that create great backdrops that add to the experience. This is a great example of that.
This is here for my own reference … the color combination on the exterior … I’m putting it in a file for a potential project that’s been on my mind …
We entered Germany …
Another view of Germany in Epcot …
We wondered what that glorious building in Japan Epcot was … turns out, nothing. It looks like an empty storage space for the park! I suppose it could be hiding technology vital to the park infrastructure. Or maybe it’s just a pretty landscaping feature?
I also liked this building …
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Reader Comments (5)
Comments are presented chronologically, with replies indented beneath the comments to which they respond.
Nicholas G Archer
August 11, 2012
On point as always! I was disappointed to hear about the bad experience at Guerlain - I was expecting such a cool story... Ugh.. I agree with the beautiful structural lines in the American photo. I noticed something funny. That all the areas have the same kinds of trash cans, except the ones in Japan have japanese symbols. Seemed kinda funny.
Joshua Kennon
September 10, 2012
Replying to Nicholas G Archer
I went back to the Guerlain boutique a few days ago and it was a much better experience. The Yoyou is interesting, and so is the Tonka Imperial. I am really looking forward to getting to know them better. I'm wearing the Voyou now and I love it more now than I did when I first broke open the package. It reminds me of dry sandal wood, which is unlike anything else I have in the collection.
Nicholas G Archer
August 11, 2012
Nevermind, they have same symbols on all the cans, took a closer look. I'm debating whether I should drive up to Orlando now for a day trip!
Jake
November 1, 2013
Enjoyed reading your experiences with Guerlain, here and in another Epcot article you wrote...your other visit to the Guerlain boutique
I'm a Guerlain fan, enjoying in particular their Vetiver EdT but the last bottle I bought, 200 ml's, from overstock.com, the bottle seemed off to me. My first exposure to Gurlain Vetiver edT was buying a 5 ml decant from a frag vendor on a men's forum I frequent. It took me awhile but I eventually warmed up to it, enough to finish the decant and to buy a 100 ml bottle, and this second buying experience was quite satisfactory. Both smelled identical.
A few months back, I dispensed the last of the 100 ml bottle so I was on the lookout for another bottle. not reallyu being sure where to buy, I googled and Sephoras came up but when I inquired via phone, they were OOS, and the same thing happened at another full line retailer, I believe it was Sak's
Third search criteria was Overstock and they had the 200 ml bottle and I thought "Great!, I'll have double the amount", but as mentioned, the fragrance just wasn't the same. It's as if it was weak on Vetiver, the overall countenance of the bottle
I wrote to Guerlain via email and had a series of emails conversations with a Miss Roussea. She tried to help me find a retailer or a boutique to order from and the Epcot Boutique was one of her suggestions, but at the time (July) I was hesitant to have a bottle shipped in the summer Fla. heat as I thought that might have been the reason my 200 ml bottle from Overstock.com was off, due to perhaps mishandling along the distribution pipeline
Now we're in a cooler time of year and I'm getting ready to phone the boutique at Epcot Center to make a purchase. Wish me luck!
BTW, I recently purchased a bottle of Guerlain Habit Rouge and I absolutely love it, and thee is nothing off about this bottle, which I purchased from FragranceX (online) IIRC, now I want to buy the Gurelain Vetiver from the Epcot Boutique as I've been assured to get a good bottle there by none other than the Guerlain representative in Paris
JB
August 14, 2016
I love the term "low rent"