Why Joe Rohde Starts EPCOT in Morocco and Spoke Up for Disney Adults

At New York Comic Con, Disney Legend Joe Rohde tackled two topics Disney fans rarely stop debating: why adults get mocked for loving Disney, and where the "right" place to begin EPCOT's World Showcase really is. His answers connected both subjects to the same idea, that themed spaces can matter to people in ways outsiders often dismiss.

Joe Rohde made the case for taking Disney fandom seriously

During a conversation tied to his book Floating Mountains, Rohde spent roughly an hour discussing his career, his well known earrings, Disney fandom and the way he thinks about theme parks. One of the most notable moments came when he addressed the habit of making fun of adults who visit Disney parks without children, collect Disney merchandise or build a hobby around the company.

Rohde said that kind of ridicule strikes him as strange. His point was that adults devote time, money and identity to many kinds of fandom without drawing the same response. Sports fans wear team gear, travel to events and organize parts of their lives around a favorite club. Movie and music fans do much the same. In that context, treating Disney enthusiasm as uniquely embarrassing does not make much sense.

That framing is likely to land with park fans because Rohde's own career has centered on building the kinds of places that inspire long term attachment. He also spoke about themed entertainment as a form of art that people experience in motion, which helps explain why some guests see more than rides and character encounters when they walk into a Disney park. For many visitors, the appeal is the layering of story, design and craft into a world that feels coherent enough to return to again and again.

His answer to the EPCOT starting point debate was not Mexico or Canada

Rohde also gave a response that will catch the attention of EPCOT regulars. Asked which side of World Showcase he prefers to start with, Mexico or Canada, he did not choose either of the usual options.

He first noted that he often enters the park from a backstage route. When he does begin a trip around World Showcase, he said he likes to start in Morocco. For fans used to treating the lagoon as a left or right decision, especially when the conversation turns to the familiar "drink around the world" question, that is a distinctly different approach.

Rohde explained why the pavilion stands out to him. He said Morocco is arguably his favorite country pavilion at EPCOT. He also pointed to something that sets it apart within World Showcase: it is backed by the government of the nation it represents rather than by a corporation from that country.

He went further than simple personal preference. According to Rohde, the Morocco pavilion influenced later Disney environments, including Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and parts of Disney's Animal Kingdom, especially Harambe. Once he drew that line, the connection became clearer: intricate streets, richly textured architecture and spaces that feel shaped by everyday life rather than laid out as a showroom. For fans who know those lands well, his answer turns a routine EPCOT debate into a small design history lesson.

Why fans listen when Rohde talks about Disney parks

Rohde's comments carry extra weight because of the role he has played in modern Disney parks. He joined Disney in the early 1980s and is best known as the creative leader and supervising designer for Disney's Animal Kingdom. His work also includes Expedition Everest and Pandora: The World of Avatar, along with Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission: BREAKOUT!

Disney formally added him to its highest honor roll at the 2024 D23 Ultimate Fan Event, where he was named a Disney Legend. That status reflects not only the projects attached to his name, but the way many fans engage with his ideas about travel, culture, art and storytelling.

Even the opening part of his Comic Con appearance fit that image. Rohde revisited the story behind his earrings, a signature part of his look for years. He said the collection grew out of his travels, eventually expanding beyond conventional earrings to include many kinds of jewelry that could be worn that way. Viewers who remember the Travel Channel documentaries he appeared in during the early 2000s would likely recognize them immediately.

The conversation also touched on Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission: BREAKOUT!, the Yeti from Expedition Everest and the development of Pandora. But the lasting takeaway for many Disney fans may be simpler. Rohde treated adult Disney fandom as no less valid than other passions, and he turned an everyday EPCOT question into a reminder that even a starting point around World Showcase can reveal something about how Disney design evolves.