Impressions de France at EPCOT now only available for a very limited time at park opening

Mar 06, 2023 in "Impressions de France"

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Palais du Cinéma

Posted: Monday March 6, 2023 4:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The classic EPCOT movie Impressions de France is now only available for 30 minutes at park opening.

Palais du Cinéma

According to the latest operating hours calendar, the 18-minute-long Impressions de France opens at 9am, and closes at 9:30am. The Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along then follows from 10am until 8:45pm.

Impressions de France is also listed as operating during Early Park Entry for Walt Disney World resort hotel guests from 8:30am to 9am.

Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along

When Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along opened in January 2020, the new show played each day from 11am to 7pm, with Impressions de France taking over in the evening from 7:30pm to 9:00pm.

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Epcot81FanMar 14, 2023

The average tourist wandering into a pavilion who sees a show about China more than likely is not trading off that experience from doing online research. You are exposing the country and its heritage in an entertaining way to millions of people who otherwise would have never looked into it. Unfortunately, it’s just the next step on turning all the parks into the Magic Kingdom (but a lesser version). Sad actually.

Raxel7851Mar 14, 2023

I see your point. The films may be more entertaining than actually informative. But to be honest I have learned about the countries from watching the films.

LittleBufordMar 14, 2023

Yes, of course there are. But the motivation to spend one’s precious Disney time watching a travel film is probably much less now than it was in the pre-internet age. Again, I’m not speaking for myself, but about what the “average” guest might feel.

aladdin2007Mar 14, 2023

Agree! Not only that they have Ratatouille back there now, there is no reason to turn Impressions into a toddler daycare. Not that ratatouille is that, its not its a fun ride for all ages. But keep some heart and soul in the pavilion which is what IDF is, leave out the horribly conceived toddler karaoke. Didn't the sing along stem from a chapek demand anyway? If someone in management had any care they could pull that awful show all together at this point. Beauty and the Beast merch will sell just fine without it.

Raxel7851Mar 14, 2023

That’s kinda weak. Surely there are scenes and other information on the Epcot films you may not find on YouTube.

LittleBufordMar 14, 2023

I like the films and don’t want them removed, but it has to be admitted that visitors no longer rely on such entertainment to learn about the rest of the world. Anyone with an interest can find hundreds of videos of France, China, Canada, etc. on YouTube.

RSoxNo1Mar 14, 2023

He understood that the parks needed both.

Raxel7851Mar 13, 2023

Impressions of France is in World Showcase. World Showcase was designed to give visitors a chance to see other parts of the world. So does the Canada and China 360 movies need to be taken out and put on PBS?

JohnDMar 13, 2023

At least that one. I have to admit, I enjoy the Frozen sing along in HS. But that one has hilarious narrators so it's partly a live show. Except for Let It Go, they're out there grooving to the music also.

UNCgolfMar 13, 2023

Not all children are bored with stuff like Impressions de France (it's certainly not a boring travel pitch). I loved it as a kid, just like I loved basically all of EPCOT. It was a lot more fun than the Magic Kingdom (not that I disliked the Magic Kingdom).

Tony the TiggerMar 13, 2023

I wouldn’t refer to children as the lowest common denominator because they’re age-appropriately bored with a boring travel pitch. (And I’ve referred to children as “dirty as pigeons.”) Mine is Impressions should be on PBS, not in a theme park. Running both seems to be the best solution for the moment!