Italy in Epcot at Walt Disney World at Night

On our December visit to Walt Disney World, we ended up in the Italy pavilion of World Showcase in Epcot as it was starting to get dark. This turned out to be the perfect time to get a few photos of what was already one of my favorite World Showcase pavilions to photograph. As you can see here, the Christmas decorations were up, since Christmas was less than a week away. I liked how the decorations were somewhat simple and yet still elaborate. It would have been easier to use non-lighted garland, but the lights add a lot to the garland at night. It perfectly fits the architecture of the building, too.

A few things about the above photo intrigue me, too. The two guests sitting on the bench at the left, for example. Are they waiting for someone in one of the shops? Are they trying to figure out where to go to next? Are they just resting after a long day of being on their feet? And then there is the wheelchair at the right. Where is its passenger? I’m sure the person was close by, but I wonder why they left the wheelchair just sitting there. No big deal, just interesting things to think about.

This photo is of the same building, but I was standing near the abandoned wheelchair from the previous photo. You can still see the same two people sitting on the bench, which isn’t surprising since this was just a few seconds after the previous photo. What I like about this photo is that if you follow the lines of the building, they eventually point to Spaceship Earth in Future World, way off in the distance. Pretty cool. I did try a similar photo from underneath the canopy, so that the columns on the left and the building on the right framed Spaceship Earth, but there were too many people around. Maybe some other time.

The area right behind the building above is one of my favorite little alcoves in Epcot, and it really looks interesting at night, as you can see here. The staircase leading up to the arch-covered patio looks like a fun place to explore, except that the staircase is always roped off. Yes, I know the large door under the patio leads to a backstage area in real life, but it still looks interesting to me. It is usually a quiet little corner, and you can see a man here enjoying a few quiet moments to himself, away from the bustle of the nearby crowds.

All of the detail in this area is interesting to see, such as all of the Italian marble, which is actually not real marble at all, but rather just details painted on the finishes, although you have to be looking really hard to tell that. The tile on the ground, the fancy brick work in the background, the detailed carvings at the top of the columns - as is typical with Disney things built in that era, they put a lot of work into making this look right.

After all of the above photos, my group was ready to move on, but as we left Italy I took one last photo from World Showcase Promenade looking back into the pavilion where we had just been. The fisheye lens here makes everything look really tall, which is cool to me. And the lights give a nice glow to the whole area, giving it a different charm than its normal daytime charm.

In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don’t know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good. - Ecclesiastes 11:6

About the photo:

As I have mentioned before, one of the fun things about being at Walt Disney World in the winter is the shortness of the days. Instead of it getting dark and immediately being time for fireworks as in the summer, you have plenty of time to enjoy the darkness since it arrives so much earlier. Also, because this was a cloudy day, the cloud cover actually prolonged the twilight time a bit longer, or so it would seem.

As with the previous nighttime photos I have posted from this visit, no tripod was used for these. Just a high ISO, a slow shutter speed, a wide aperture, and a steady hand.

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: December 20, 2016
Location: Epcot, Walt Disney World, Florida