EPCOT's World Showcase is a highlight of Disney World parks but at The American Adventure, it is a monumental letdown.
The American Adventure is supposed to tell the story of America's rise from the days of being a British colony to an America pulled out of the jaws of The Great Depression and into an uncertain yet bright future.
From the trials and tribulations of world war and inner demons of the Civil Rights movement, The American Adventure tries but ultimately fails to tell America's history. In fact, you can get more history at the Hall of Presidents at Magic Kingdom.
The show is dramatized by the story being told by animatronic versions of Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain. An unlikely duo that makes little sense from the start. Throughout the story, more animatronics rise and fall in the foreground of a large movie screen that shows a film that takes you through American history.
The show tries to make sense of it all but it comes across bland and unentertaining. The American Pavilion is a very large building and once inside the main entry you can listen to an acappel group sing American folk songs. They are wonderfully good and the acoustics are amazing.
You then walk to a large red-carpeted room and then climb a large set of stairs donned with American Flags hanging from the ceiling. Each is a representation of American history.
Once inside the auditorium, marble-esque figures stand on each side representing different aspects of American history and ingenuity. Yet none of them are explained and as the show starts, the lights on the statues dim until the end.
The Disney Imagineers should step in and save themselves some money. It can't be cheap to run the electrics of the animatronics and frankly, it would be easy to convert the room into a large screen movie of either American history from past to present or a feature on the vast country that is the United States. A similar show to those you find in Canada, France, and the China Pavilion.
Is there anything redeeming about the show? If you find animatronics enjoyable, then yes. The show runs almost 29:00 minutes and there are only 3 shows per day so missing it entirely is possible.
Other guests and sites have stated that they believe this to be an amazing experience. I 100% disagree. I can honestly say this is one attraction I will not be rushing in to see again anytime soon. It is outdated and in desperate need of being updated. Anything that may have been impressive about it ended a long time ago when current technology passed it by.