An Adventure to Epcot’s American Pavilion

If you’re touring the World Showcase at Epcot, at some point, you’ll end up in the American Pavilion, otherwise known as The American Adventure. This pavilion is worthy of a closer glance for several reasons. Below, we’ll discuss the attractions, dining, and entertainment options offered.

Epcot’s American Pavilion is located in the heart of the World Showcase, directly between the Japan Pavilion and the Italy Pavilion. Formally, Epcot’s America is The American Adventure Pavilion. However, the pavilion’s primary attraction is also called The American Adventure.

For the sake of this article, we’ll refer to it as the American Pavilion. Like many of the eleven countries in the World Showcase, you’ll find more than meets the eye when it comes to touring.

American Pavilion at Epcot

While touring the American Pavilion, you’ll encounter various dining, attractions, and entertainment. Below are the things you can expect to find.

Architecture

• Colonial Style Mansion

Attractions

• The American Adventure
• American Heritage Gallery
• Portraits of Courage by President George Bush (This is a limited-time offering from June 2024 through May 2025.)

Entertainment

• Voices of Liberty
• The American Gardens Theater

Dining

• Block and Hans (Quick-Service)
• Fife and Drum (Quick-Service)
• Funnel Cake (Quick-Service)
• Regal Eagle Smokehouse (Counter-Service)

Retail

• Art of Disney (formerly Heritage Manor)
• Kiosk

America is a little different from the other pavilions at Epcot, which is to be expected given the uniqueness of the United States. By that, I mean that most of the pavilions invite you to explore. But the American Pavilion has a big ole’ Colonial-style mansion sitting out front.

Disney designed the massive five-story building, which looks like two and a half stories from the exterior, to be a “people’s mansion.” Its design was inspired by the following: Georgian architecture, Colonial Williamsburg, Independence Hall, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and Boston’s Old State House.

Inside the mansion, you’re greeted by a large room featuring various pieces of American artwork. In the center of the room, the vaulted ceiling looks up to a rotunda.

Benches are scattered around the center of the room and along the walls. Anyone can come in and find a place to sit. However, most are waiting for the next performance of the Voices of Liberty.

If you take the time to see the American Adventure attraction, you’ll get to explore more of the mansion. Along the way to the theater, you’ll see many intricate details, like the panels below.

There’s a tremendous amount of space on the second floor.

Here’s a view looking down to the main level.

Additionally, a fountain sits outside of the mansion’s entrance.

Attractions in Epcot’s American Pavilion

Epcot’s American Pavilion is home to two attractions: The American Adventure and the American Heritage Gallery. Below, we’ll review a few highlights for each attraction. I’ll also link to attraction reviews if you want more details.

The American Adventure

The American Adventure is located inside the mansion. Showtimes are usually daily between 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. As always, you’ll want to check the My Disney Experience app for the exact showtimes on the day of your visit.

The American Adventures entrance is on the back right-hand corner of the first floor. You can tour the American Heritage Gallery or sit on one of the benches while you wait for the next performance.

A cast member will escort the group to the theater when it’s time for the next performance. If you’ve never seen The American Adventure, walking through the mansion is a bit of a surprise. You’ll walk through the Hall of Flags as you take escalators or stairs up to the second floor. Elevators are also provided for guests with wheelchairs or ECVs.

Then, you’ll head across the second floor to the theater’s entrance.

Six statues on each side of the theater represent the spirit of American values: discovery, self-reliance, innovation, compassion, pioneering, individualism, tomorrow, heritage, knowledge, pioneering, independence, and adventure.

Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain narrate the American Adventure. Elaborate sets featuring audio-animatronic figures move on and off the stage during the performance. Digital rear-projection images are displayed on a 72-foot screen while patriotic songs play throughout the performance.

The American Adventure explores American history dating back to the Pilgrims and the Mayflower. You’ll venture through the time of Valley Forge, the Boston Tea Party, the Civil War, World Wars, and various other ups and downs of this great nation.

Toward the end, a fabulous montage brings us up to speed on more current times. Our narrators (audio-animatronics) return to the stage to remind us that the United States isn’t so old, even after all we’ve been through. It’s well worth taking 30 minutes out of your day to see this unique attraction.

Related: American Adventure Attraction at Epcot

American Heritage Gallery

The American Heritage Gallery hosts various exhibits from time to time. Creating Tradition: Innovation and Change in American Indian Art is the exhibit. You’ll find it inside the mansion near the entrance to The American Adventure.

While this is by no means a new exhibit (it debuted in 2018), it has been updated to add new pieces. So, if you’ve previously toured the gallery, you might be surprised to see things you didn’t see the first time. For instance, this Comanche Blackfeet Regalia from artist Jayne Myers was added to the exhibit in 2021.

Creating Traditions combines artifacts with contemporary Indian art.

Entertainment in Epcot’s America

Epcot’s American Pavilion is home to a variety of entertainment offerings depending on what time of year you visit. However, one offering remains constant: the Voices of Liberty.

Voices of Liberty

The Voices of Liberty is an a cappella group that performs daily underneath the mansion’s rotunda. Their times are listed in the My Disney Experience app under the entertainment section. Additionally, there’s signage outside the pavilion that lists their performances for the day.

The Voices of Liberty is a must-see for anyone who enjoys music. They invite guests to sit on the floor around them for the best listening experience. They usually perform four to five songs per set. Below, we have a video of a recent partial performance.

Video of the Voices of Liberty

American Garden Theatre

As far as other entertainment goes in the American Pavilion, it varies. The America Gardens Theatre is home to many concert series and other performances based on Epcot’s festivals throughout the year. The theater sits along the World Showcase Lagoon. Some of those performances include:

• Disney on Broadway Concert Series (During the Festival of the Arts)
• Garden Rocks Concert Series (During the Flower and Garden Festival)
• Eat to the Beat Concert Series (During the Food and Wine Festival)
• Candlelight Processional (During the Festival of the Holidays)

Dining in the American Pavilion

The American Pavilion offers several quick-service kiosks and one counter-service dining location. Unfortunately, it is the only pavilion in the World Showcase without a formal table-service restaurant.

Block and Hans

First is Block and Hans, a walk-up kiosk in front of the pavilion. This location mainly offers beer selections and pretzels. You can preview their menu of ales and snacks here on Disney’s site. At this time, the only snack selection is a Mickey Pretzel with cheese sauce.

Fife and Drum Tavern

Fife & Drum is a similar kiosk in front of the pavilion. This quick service location is popular because they sell turkey legs.

Here’s a look at their menu. In addition to turkey legs, they have pretzels, hot dogs, popcorn, and soft-serve ice cream concoctions.

This is an excellent place to pick up popcorn or purchase a length-of-stay refill bucket.

Funnel Cakes

Funnel Cakes is another walk-up that offers…you guessed it, funnel cakes. Often, they will have a special funnel cake in addition to the regular menu.

Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts and Barbecue

Regal Eagle Smokehouse is the latest counter service option in the American Pavilion. This was formerly the home of Liberty Inn.

Outside the dining location, there is the “crafts drafts” window. Here, you can order a variety of drinks.

As you can see, they have beer on tap, frozen drink machines, and more.

Inside, you’ll find a Muppet-themed restaurant serving barbecue and other items.

From our experience, this is an excellent counter-service dining option for the park. Here’s an order of barbecue chicken prepared for people with food allergies.

On a recent visit, I ordered a chicken leg kids’ meal with a side of onion rings and watermelon. This was an excellent option that stood out from regular old burgers and chicken nuggets.

Related: Epcot’s Regal Eagle Smokehouse Review

America Festival Booths

Throughout the various festivals, the American Pavilion will have a food booth. It sits on the far right side of the pavilion. This is one of the nicer kitchens because they have a decent sitting area.

Shopping in the American Pavilion at Epcot

Unfortunately, the shopping experience in the American Pavilion is a bit lacking. The pavilion’s former gift shop, Heritage Manor, is now home to the Art of Disney.

While we love the Art of Disney, we miss the merchandise specific to the pavilion that was previously offered here. Art of Disney was formerly located at the front of the park.

Here are a few pictures of the Art of Disney.

In addition to the Art of Disney, the American Pavilion has a kiosk in front of the pavilion.

Here are a few photos of the merchandise.

Epcot Kidcot Fun Stop

Outside the Art of Disney, you’ll find the Kidcot Fun Stop for the American Pavilion. All of the countries in the World Showcase have their own Kidcot station.

They are a wonderful way to get children to explore the World Showcase.

Behind the KidCot Fun Stop are the pavilion’s restrooms, which are the largest in the World Showcase. I mention this because sometimes it’s challenging to locate restrooms while touring.

Disney Souvenir Pennies

One machine was available in the American Pavilion for those who like collectible pennies.

Here are the pennies. This trio often meets as characters in the pavilion on Independence Day. We’ll try to get over there this year and see if we can meet them.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the American Pavilion offers many things to see and do. If you’re planning a visit, you might also want to check the concert schedule to see if there’s anyone you might enjoy seeing. Sometimes a dining promotion is released where you can get guaranteed seats for the concert included with a meal for one price. We have a review from a few years ago of a combined dining experience with a concert.

Hopefully, this review provided insight into what you might like to see and do while touring the pavilion. For similar coverage of the other countries in the World Showcase, try these:

• Norway Pavilion
• Mexico Pavilion
• Morocco Pavilion
• Germany Pavilion
• France Pavilion
• Canada Pavilion
• United Kingdom Pavilion

For those with plans to spend a reasonable amount of time at Epcot, you might enjoy staying at one of the resorts on the Disney Skyliner:

• Disney’s Riviera Resort Review
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Review
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Review
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort Review

In the Comments

What are your thoughts on the American Pavilion at Epcot? Do you enjoy spending time in this pavilion? Let us know below in the comments.