I wanted to do a post about the hidden gems of the World Showcase in EPCOT, but I could not decide which gem to write about so I am going to do a series of posts called World Showcase Wonders. I’ll highlight one gem in each pavilion. These are features that people might not notice as they hurry from store to store and restaurant to restaurant. At the end of this series I’ll have a downloadable brochure that you can print out and take to the parks so you can see of these gems for yourself. Today we are in Norway.
The Norway Pavilion has one of the few rides in the World Showcase, Maelstrom. It is an exciting boat ride ending with an interesting movie. The pavilion also has a giant troll in one of the stores and great architecture. The hidden gem that I find intriguing is a statue of a woman running in a corner of the pavilion. Who is so famous in Norway that they get to have a statue at Walt Disney World?
Her name is Grete Waitz and she was a record setting runner who won the New York Marathon nine times. When she wasn’t running she worked with Special Olympics and other charities. There is a statue of her outside the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway, and the statue in the Norway Pavilion is a duplicate. I have completed several half-marathons at Walt Disney World and I think a statue commemorating a runner is unique and cool. Grete Waitz was known for being generous with her time and gracious with her advice so she is a great role model for everyone. A definite gem.
Goofy Tip: I have mentioned running races at Walt Disney World in other posts, but I wanted to present a challenge to all runners and could-be runners (that is everyone). If you run a half-marathon at Walt Disney World and then run a half-marathon at Disneyland in the same year you earn an extra medal. It is called the Coast to Coast Race Challenge and the medal has Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse on it. Talk about a gem! So if you need an excuse to visit both Walt Disney World and Disneyland just explain that you are working toward a Coast-to-Coast medal. Who can argue with you?