The Morocco Pavilion at EPCOT has made a number of headlines in the aftermath of COVID-19, as few pavilions have been so publicly affected by the pandemic’s devastating impact. After a number of internal issues, Walt Disney World will officially be assuming operations of all Morocco Pavilion businesses at EPCOT, including all food & beverage and merchandise locations.
Back in April, Marrakesh Moroccan Restaurant, LLC. filed for a PPP loan of $1-2 million in order to retain 260 jobs through the funds acquired. In September, Walt Disney World filed a UCC Financing Statement, or a type of lien with the state, claiming collateral against “All goods, inventory, the Furnishings, and all other items of personal property belonging to Debtor which are or may be put into the Facilities and all proceeds of the foregoing.” Now, it seems the company is moving forward with a mutual agreement to transition operations to Disney, with a goal of assuming all operations by the end of the year. The pavilion sent out termination notices to its Cast Members through an internal memo late last month, as we learned through sources.
Up until this news, the Morocco Pavilion was one of the few pavilions that operated independently from Disney within World Showcase at EPCOT. The Moroccan Embassy and Morocco Tourism Board will continue their involvement with the pavilion as cultural consultants.
Currently, Restaurant Marrakesh currently remains closed, with just Spice Road Table, an array of shops, and its museum currently open. Tangierine Cafe closed back in early August.
we welcome our new Chandu overlords
COVID notwithstanding, how soon will Disney turn this into “Agrabah, An Aladdin Adventure” i.e. meet and greet? Not that it has anything to do with Morocco but whatever. Nothing matters anymore, does it?
The Morocco pavilion has had an Aladdin meet and greet for years.
Good for the pavilion
Does this mean Belly Dancers with Face Mask ofcourse will be back in action swinging @ restaurant marakesh
I love the Tangerine Cafe.
Still haven’t gotten our annual pass refund which expired June 28th. Anyone else having these problems?
We got ours extended through next year end of January 2021
Might make the food better and have service worthy of disney. The food was a constant disappointment.
I never knew the Morocco Pavillion was run independently.
The last time I was there was in 2014 (and had been there a few times before) and that pavilion never seemed to offer much or be a big draw. Sort of like “why is this here and who cares?” as opposed to having another country there like India.
And why not have Aladdin there? And for that matter maybe re-purpose the whole pavilion into something families want to spend time in.