Take A Deeper Look at Epcot's Gran Fiesta Tour with THIS Disney World Ride-Through!

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Happy Cinco de Mayo, DFB amigos!!

The Three Caballeros

While you’re at home making some of abuelita‘s famous tamales and watching Coco to celebrate the holiday, we’re taking you with us on a musical adventure through Epcot’s Gran Fiesta Tour!

The Mexico Pavilion is a great spot to get a carved ring, sip on some BOMB cocktails at La Cava del Tequila, or even eat all the Mexican food your heart desires at San Angel Inn. But, did you know that the pavilion is home to the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros?? Yes, friends, if you didn’t know a gem of a boat ride is hiding in the pyramid in Mexico!

Mexico Pavilion

In case you don’t know who The Three Caballeros are (gasp!), the rag-tag team of musicians come from the 1944 film of the same name. Donald Duck meets José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles to form their own mini boy band over the 7-act film (!!!) that follows the group through wacky situations on Friday the 13th, which happens to be Donald’s birthday (how fitting, right?).

©Disney

But, the trio’s adventures didn’t stop when the film ended. In 2007, The Gran Fiesta Tour replaced the El Rio del Tiempo ride inside the Mexico Pavilion to make it more interactive for kiddos of all ages. The ride was updated again in 2015 to include audio-animatronics of Donald, José, and Panchito in the grand finale, but these animatronics have a HISTORY.

If you happen to remember the Mickey Mouse Revue from Magic Kingdom that closed in 1980, you’ll recognize these animatronics as the ones featured in the late attraction! After the show closed in Florida, the animatronics were all shipped over to Tokyo Disneyland to reopen in 1983. The Mickey Mouse Revue played until 2009 at which point, the show closed to be replaced with Mickey’s PhilharMagic, and the friendly amigos made a trip BACK to the states to take the stage again — this time in the finale scene in the Gran Fiesta Tour!

Gran Fiesta Tour

The ride itself is very relaxing (our kids all LOVE going on this ride, which rarely has a line!). As you board your boat to drift past a Mayan pyramid, a volcano, and the San Angel Inn (wave to the folks eating!!), you’ll run into The Three Caballeros…er, well, two of them. Panchito and José realize when they’re introducing themselves that Donald is missing. So, they take you with them along on journey all over Mexico to find Donald before their hit concert starts (oh, Donald, when will you learn??).

The Three Caballeros

Different screens show The Three Caballeros super-imposed over actual spots around Mexico like the Palacio del Bellas Artes and El Castillo pyramid. They even take flight on a magic sarape across the cities! One of the most iconic scenes in the Gran Fiesta Tour, though, is where the audio-animatronics and colorful decorations look like something straight out of “it’s a small world.” Keep an eye out for the Donald piñata the next time you ride!

Gran Fiesta Tour

Luckily, The Three Caballeros catch up with Donald to play their concert in Mexico City with some AWESOME fireworks in the sky at the very end. Felicidades, amigos!!

The Grand Finale!!

Gran Fiesta Tour is a super relaxing and fun ride to step out of the Florida heat.Next time you’re near the Mexico Pavilion, swing by for a quick boat ride around Mexico. Plus, you can check out the “Remember Me” Exhibit when you enter the pyramid to take a look at the Dia de los Muertos displays and scenes from Coco!

Gran Fiesta Tour

While we might not be able to visit Epcot or the Gran Fiesta Tour for Cinco de Mayo, we’re still totally going to have a fiesta with our familia, DISNEY STYLE! 😉