Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros is a indoor Log flume and dark ride movie housed within the pyramid-shaped Mexico pavilion.
The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros is a gentle boat ride through the pyramid-shaped Mexico Pavilion in Epcot theme park. This attraction, fun for all ages, stars the characters from the 1944 Disney film, The Three Caballeros: Donald Duck; Panchito, the Mexican rooster; and Jose Carioca, a Brazilian parrot.
These 3 feathered friends are reuniting for a grand musical performance in Mexico City. Distracted by the sights of the city, Donald has disappeared. His friends go looking for him, but will they find him in time for the big show?
The attraction combines traditional animation superimposed over live-action film clips shot in such stunning locales as Acapulco, Chichen Itza, Manzanillo and Mexico City. These vibrant sights, accompanied by lively music, showcase the people, culture, history and arts of Mexico.
Synopsis
The attraction begins with posters indicating that the Three Caballeros are to perform a concert tonight.
After boarding the boats, guests float around the Mayan pyramid in the back of the pavilion's main room. Soon, guests enter a tunnel on the side of the pyramid, where Panchito Pistoles and Jose Carioca of The Three Caballeros introduce themselves, only to find out that Donald Duck, the third member of the group, has run off, prompting Panchito and Jose to set off on a frantic search for their missing friend. The next few scenes show Donald touring Mexico and Jose and Panchito on a magic sarape (a sort of Mexican flying poncho) looking for him.
The next scene has characters similar to 'It's a Small World' with dancing animatronics and a Donald Duck pinata. Once past this area, guests enter a cave, which features different scenes of live-action footage with the Caballeros. After leaving the cave, there are three panels featuring a Mariachi band in the first, some Mexican girls and Donald in the second and Panchito and Jose pulling Donald away from the girls in the third. From here, guests float into Mexico City, where fireworks are going off overhead and the Three Caballeros are finally performing their concert.
Facts
- There are 16 boats with a capacity of 1656 people per hour.
- The ride features the The Three Caballeros from the 1944 Disney film.
- Panchito, the leader of the trio, is the only Mexican character of the three, as Donald has always been portrayed as a citizen of the United States while Jose is a Brazilian. In the movie, Panchito is often seen firing guns into the air and whooping, while Jose smokes cigars. As with House Of Mouse, probably due to Disney's Standards and Practices, the characters were toned down for the ride and don't smoke or shoot.
- With its dancing dolls and miniature movies, the ride is a hybrid of the aforementioned It's a Small World and the now defunct If You Had Wings.
Hidden Mickeys
- On the left of your boat towards the end of the Gran Fiesta ride in Mexico, you'll see 3 drums arranged to form a classic Hidden Mickey. The drums are at the lower right of the barge.
- Look for Mickey's head to come and go quickly in the bubbles after Donald is taken away in the lagoon. The bubbles come and go and form many mickey-shaped 3 circle combinations. They are intentional classic Mickeys because bubbles don't form 3 circle combos on their own.