Epcot Passports - how much do the CM's interact?

[dburg30]

We are going in a bit over a month and I have 2 in my party that are going to be out of school that week. So to get them some 'education' we want to do the passports. But I am having them printed before we leave and personalized and bound like a photo book. i was going to just print them and put them in a photo album but figured let's do it a bit nicer. The ones I am making have a place for a the passport stamp of course, but they will have other pages for each country one for a picture of the pavilion we figure we will have each kid have their picture taken at the 'icon' of that country or of something that they liked in that country, there is a place for castmember(s) photos that we could just snap or if they are willing the kids could be in the picture also. And finally a page that has lines that the CM can write them a note.

My question is more of the last one. For those that have done it, how interactive did you find the CM's? Were they willing to write a message in their native language? If they are, that's great, if the kids are going to be frustrated or disappointed, well, I dont know what we'll do. Also, do they write both their native language and also an english translation lol???

Thanks in advance!

 

[davedmaine]

It's hit or miss. We always take my son through to all the kidcot stations -- some of the CMs are chatty, some aren't. Some take the time to talk about their native countries, some look like they'd rather be somewhere else..

 

[Figment43]

I did the Passport for my birthday in May and it was a lot of fun. I had to wait sometimes for them to finish stamping kids' art projects (you go to the Kidcot Fun Stop CMs), but they did chat with me a little bit when it was my turn.

Several of them wrote "Happy Birthday" and well wishes in their language and then stamped my Passport. The CM in Japan also gave me a little origami bow and placed it inside my Passport. They only wrote the messages in their language and told me what it said, but I didn't ask them to write it in English. You can try asking them or just add it on yourself after they tell you what it says.

The only country I had issue with was United Kingdom. I had a hard time finding the Kidcot Fun Stop there, and when I finally did there was no one staffing it. I believe a couple characters from Winnie the Pooh were in the area, so they might have been busy with that.

 

[dburg30]

Great, thanks for the info. Anyone else that has experiences good or bad, please let me know. I understand how it can change from day to day but trying to get a plan together to make it as smooth as possible..

 

[Leona Fishback]

It's hit or miss. We always take my son through to all the kidcot stations -- some of the CMs are chatty, some aren't. Some take the time to talk about their native countries, some look like they'd rather be somewhere else..

Totally agree with the hit or miss-ness. My fave location was china, where they wrote the kid's name in characters (I'm blanking on the correct term for those non-aphabet characters), and told them what they were supposed to be like based on the year of their birth ("oh you were born in the year of the horse, which means you're ....). My kids (all boys) were very pleased with the of course flattering horoscopes they were told (it's true, I AM creative! type things).

 

[RunnerMomO]

Agent P is a new really fun activity for the kids that takes them around the countries looking for clues and areas where there is a little extra magic.

 

[dburg30]

We will be doing Agent P for sure! I am going to continue on my way with making them books. Either it will work and we'll have fun CM's or it wont They will have a nice keepsake either way.

Feel free to keep adding your experiences

 

[melnbil]

We did this with our son last year. Most everyone was really nice and friendly, took time with him and signed the book. I asked them to write in both languages and most did. I too had an unfriendly experience with the UK. The kidcot is in the toy shop there. For the castmember picture, we took our son's picture with the person manning the kidcot station. Most were willing to do this. The American Pavillion, there was no one manning the station and someone inside posed for the picture and stamped the passport.

 

[dburg30]

Have submitted the layout to the mother (my niece) for approval and proof checking lol.. She's excited about it.

 

[caseyd66]

I did a passport for my dd using one of donatalie's awesome designs from the creative board. It was 5x7, front and back pages laminated and then spiral bound. The cms in each country loved it! Each one wrote a message to my dd in their language and told me what it meant. I then wrote the translation underneath. I left spots for 2 photos from each country - one of my dd in each country's hat (had to improvise slightly for Japan. We couldn't find a hat so she held a fan), and one of a general shot. It was great fun!

 

[dburg30]

I did a passport for my dd using one of donatalie's awesome designs from the creative board. It was 5x7, front and back pages laminated and then spiral bound. The cms in each country loved it! Each one wrote a message to my dd in their language and told me what it meant. I then wrote the translation underneath. I left spots for 2 photos from each country - one of my dd in each country's hat (had to improvise slightly for Japan. We couldn't find a hat so she held a fan), and one of a general shot. It was great fun!

That is exactly what we are using!! those designs are great! I am getting them 7x9 books, a 4x6 looks like it will fit great on the pages.. I am going to go ahead and print the 'pavilion" page (which I just realized is spelled wrong on at least the Canada page lol) and the 'castmember' page and we will just use that as the 'frame' for the picture we stick in there later.. The hat is a wonderful idea, but we'll see what seems to work that day.. we have one boy and one girl doing this.. I am actually going to have a photobook made for them to have.

 

[gk90]

We did it 5 years ago--some CMs were more interactive than others but they were all nice including the ones in the UK--I remember that they wrote a cute message. If I find DS's passport I'll post it.

 

[blue gatorade]

ask the CM to write the passport holder's name in their native language. that's a unique way to personalize each passport.

 

[dburg30]

We'll just go with the flow on the messages, but if they dont seem to want to write anything we'll have the name as a backup plan.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We've done this and they will all write something if prompted. But, yes, the friendliness is hit or miss. Norway is the one that stands out the most as a "miss". They always look so miserable there that we have decided they must have to work that station if they are being "punished"

Canada was another "miss" but that may have been because we were wearing our Chicago Blackhawks stuff

Some of the friendliest have been in Morocco, China, Japan and Mexico.

 

[Marktheshark]

Can you buy the passports in Epcot? If so, where?

Thanks

 

[dburg30]

I think they still have them and from what I've read they are at the gift shops at epcot. like mouse gear and the one at International gate, or at least that's what I've read..

 

[sdwrdt]

Another way to go might be your servers if you eat at any of the countries. we've always had great interaction from our waitresses at Rose & crown. Even when the girls were older. Last time was Trisha's 17th birthday and our waitress brought her a birthday card (from them) signed by a lot of the staff because it was on our reservation.

Or at one of the shops where you buy something, if that place isn't as busy.

 

[Tltorrez]

We do the passports every trip. The first one we bought the official one. Last time I used Donatalie's. Thus time we're using her holiday one. Occasionally you get a dud but I've found most of the CMs enjoy their jobs and are happy to interact. We have lots of hello and happy birthday wishes written in our books. And the CMs at Japan will actually teach the origami if you ask.

Also in most countries there are museum exhibits - history, artwork and other cultural info - if you take the time to explore. On our last trip my son did a report on Morocco. They were studying the basic needs of humans - food, clothing shelter, etc. so he was able to learn about their architecture and natural resources. Then we found the exhibit on Personal Adornment where they showed the impact the different geographical areas of Morocco (mountains, desert, seas) had on clothing, dye, jewelry, etc. Norway has a great museum about Vikings. The exhibits in China are fabulous.

There's a lot of really educational stuff there.

 

[MrsJD]

We did it last time we were there in 2011. All of the CM's were nice but some where quiter. It seemed that the ones that were more comfortable with their English were more talkative. Also, I think it depends on how you are with them. We got pics with each one also. I have found that it's not always the CM at the kidcot station that is best for the passport. We met amny nice CM's working at the registers of stores.