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Norway is a pavilion located within World Showcase in [[Epcot]]. It is located between the [[Mexico]] and [[China]].
==Pavilion History==
==Pavilion History==
The history of what would one day be known as the Norway pavilion, actually began its development in 1978 as the Denmark pavilion. One of World Showcases' original concepts, the Denmark pavilion was originally going to be Scandinavia's representative in the park. Before EPCOT Center opened in 1982 however, the pavilion was dropped, reinstation, and then moved and moved around World Showcase Lagoon (at one point the pavilion was to be located where [[China]] sits today). Eventually, Disney decided that the Denmark pavilion would be built at a later date, as part of EPCOT Center's Phase II. Although not present on the park's opening day, a shortage of restrooms in World Showcase led Disney to create Danish themed restrooms, with the idea that the rest of the pavilion would eventually be built around these structures. In fact, in 1983, the Washington Post reported that Disney was still in discussions with LEGO about sponsoring the pavilion <ref> http://progresscityusa.com/2010/01/27/neverworlds-lost-lands-of-lego/ </ref>.
Of the three countries that were to make up the Scandinavian Showcase, only Norway provided the funding necessary to create the pavilion. Because of this, the focus of the pavilion shifted away from Scandinavia as a whole and solely to Norway. In order to fund the pavilion, an organization named NorShow as formed by the Norwegian companies: Aker, Norsk Data, Norway Foods, Den norske Creditbank, Det Norske Veritas, Frionor, Kosmos, Vesta Group, Selmer-Sande, SAS and VARD. Their funding, combined with contributions from the Norwegian government raised $34 million dollars for the pavilion. This paid for more than two-thirds of the pavilion's cost, with Disney picking up the rest.
The Norway pavilionw as pavilion was designed and built by Walt Disney Imagineering, with the help of Scandinavian architects. One point of contention between Disney and NorShow, involved the pavilion's lighting. While the other World Showcase pavilions were wired to a grid that allowed them to light up during the park's nightime nighttime firework show (at the time Laserphonic Fantasy, soon to be Illuminations). While NorShow believed that the spilled light from the [[Mexico]] and [[Canada]] would suffice, Disney knew better but was unwilling to pickup the cost (assuming that NorShow would cave). With neither entetiy willing to budge, Norway was built without the nighttime lighting given to the other World Showcase pavilions.
Construction on the Norway pavilion began on May 29, 1986, when Minister Kurt Mosbakk laid the pavilion's foundation. When constructing the pavilion, Norway's exterior was overseen by archiect architect Birger Lambertz-Nilsen, while the interior was under the responsibility of Ulla S. Ujort. On June 3, 1988, the Norway pavilion was officially dedicated by Crown Prince Harald V and wife Sonja. The opening ceremonies were broadcast in prime time to all of Norway on NPK. At the dedication Harald V declared:
{{Quotation|"Ladies and gentlemen, wishing the best of luck to Disney World and those who will be responsible for the operation of the pavilion, I hereby declare the Norway pavilion open. Thank you,"}}