Epcot??? Tre "real" story

[poohbearrocks]

We went in 2008 and 2009 - Epcot was always the one I said skip or just do a 1/2 day - but I had never been to the worlds - I wanted to make it a bit educational, so we did the pass port in the worlds and the masks made my kids interested!! in 09' my oldest was 8 and I made her one from the creative board here on the dis - it was GREAT - she had to ask each country a question...it really made it more fun! My youngest was 4 then 5 when we went, he really wasn't as interested in the worlds...just test track.. we can still do it in a day...unless innovations is really busy - we usually choose one or two in there, do test track, the worlds and then we are done! Food and Wine time was the only time we actually did Epcot twice

 

[ocalla]

It's our favorite park to visit!!! In fact our kids have loved EPCOT as long as they can remember. We spend almost every evening there having dinner and shopping (we have Park Hoppers), and at least 2 mornings there.

but I do hear that some families don't enjoy it, so like the others have said, you may have to just plan a day there and see how they do.

 

[dudelydude]

Just FYI -- Mission Space's height requirement is 44". My son, a few months from 5 years old, is over 43". I'm hoping by November he'll be at 44" because he LOVES these kinds of things. He's a daredevil though!

Both Soarin' and TT are 40".

So, original poster, your kids would be fine I'm sure.

You are absolutely right...I didn't really think it through. I think I said that because Mission is built-up to be this really scary and tough-to-stomach ride and I guess Soarin' (for a kid) could be scary, but kids are different. If your kids are the fearless types, then they will have even more attractions to enjoy at Epcot.

 

[DisneyFive]

How many full days will you have during your stay? That will help decide how much Epcot time you can schedule.

For our three kids, which were 8, 6 and 3 last year, Epcot was their least favorite park of the 4, and my least favorite as well. Having said that, there are things there that I wouldn't miss for sure. There just isn't enough quantity of the great kid rides at Epcot to make it as attractive to the little ones as the other parks. The thing that I noticed when I went to Epcot the first time was that there seemed to be an aweful lot of concrete, open space, and hard edges, which made the park feel a little more impersonable than the other three.

We would not miss Soarin' in a trip to WDW, and test track and mission space were great hits too. The kids also loved the indoor nemo area and the time with Crush. Also, one of our favorite table service meals last year was at Coral Reef (partly because of our front row center seats in front of the huge aquariums). Our best character meal was also there, at the Akerhaus where you meet so many princesses in one meal.

So it is NOT a park to skip, but is the one you can shedule the least time at, IMO. I would say that one full day would cover it for kids your age. Get there at rope drop if you want fast passes for Soarin though. They go fast.

I do look forward to exploring the world showcase more this year, and having the kids try a Kim possible mission also...

Dan

 

[mousireid]

My children have come to love Epcot AS MUCH as Magic Kingdom it is tied for them and they are now 9 and 6. It is MY favorite park.

What they like best in Future World?:
Soarin', Nemo with the aquarium afterwards, Club Cool (hey free soda trials), Test Track, Innovantions (might have to DRAG them away), What Ifs Labs, Turtle Talk With Crush, Spaceship Earth, Norways Maelstrom, the whole Imagination Pavillion,

World Showcase:
3 caballeros boat ride, mexican volcanaos, KIM POSSIBLE MISSIONS!, kidcot stations, trying on a hat in every country and learning to say hello in each language, chinese acrobats, pokemon and hello kitty goodies (japanese store), watching the skits in Italy, trains in Germany, some trinkets cost VERY little and if you set a budget in each world showcase (say $3 each if you can swing it) they can collect something from each place. And don't forget the characters are all over the place, often with very little wait.

And watching the fountains at night, the street lighting up aqnd Illuminations!
I think it all depends on what you plan for and make it fun. Turning up and walking round shops and countires is pretty dry but there really IS lots for kids to DO if you make the effort and they will LOVE it!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Everyone is different. My family really, really, really doesn't like Epcot.

My kids are 11 and 14. Nobody in the family is interested in the fake culture of World Showcase, although we like eating there. when they were younger, we let them do the KidCOT stuff, but that's just gloried arts and crafts.

We do one day, max.

 

[ThreeBeans]

We spent two days in Epcot with our kids, 6, 5, almost four. They loved it. Kids CAN love and appreciate things that are beautiful, stimulating and educational, even if they don't flip you upside down

The rides are fantastic (Soarin! Test Track! both huge successes with my kids, as well as Turtle Talk. They enjoyed Spaceship Earth and Livin with the Land as well.) And the world showcase is just absolutely lovely and lots of fun.

ETA: they absolutely loved IllumiNations.


On the way out, we walked passed Spaceship Earth and the kids saw the sparkling glittery lights embedded in the pavement. DD, 5, fell to her knees and gasped out completely spontaneously, "OH, fairies ARE real!!!!"

 

[KRAGGI01]

It really all depends on your interests, EPCOT is great place to relax and enjoy the sights and has two of my absolute favorite rides. It is a great way to experience culture if you do not have the money to physically travel around the world. We always use it as our daughter's educational experience to get her excused from school for our trips in January.

 

[northeast_minnie]

We are visiting WDW in October (the first tirip with our 6 year old son) after several visits as a couple.

We are really looking forward to taking him to WDW but think he will especially love Epcot - the world showcase as they have been learning about different countries at school, and we have also bought him a autograph book/photo album./get each country to fill it in book which we think he will really enjoy.

Tracey

 

[nessz79]

We love Epcot, but it depends on your personality and your response to it along with your kids' personalities. There is a lot to do in Future World for the whole family- the aquariums along with Nemo, Spaceship Earth, Soarin', Livin with the Land (we keep a garden at home so our kids enjoy this), and Test Track. We always avoid Mission Space but I'm sure that's tons of fun as well. There's the Universe of Energy but since that takes up 45 minutes we have yet to take the kids on that one.

World Showcase is more fun for adults but there's plenty for kids to do there as well. Our kids like the Mexico pavilion along with the Three Caballeros ride there. They also enjoy Norway and its ride. After that, they tend to get a bit bored with shopping. They do love the Japanese restaurant Teppan Edo. The interaction with the chefs is great for kids.

 

[Disney52303]

Epcot is a not miss park for our family (my kids are 6 and 3). Nemo, Test Track, Living with the Land (trying to scope out Mickey molded veggies!), Soarin' (#1 ride in all of the World IMO!), Journey into Imagination, Maelstrom, the Mexican boat ride (can't remember the name right now!) are such great rides. There's Innoventions, the trains in Germany, ship in Norway, amazing souveniers, performers in World Showcase, so much to see and experience.

We usually hit up Epcot at least twice per trip. They also have my favorite fireworks show. no Tink like at MK but a magical show that the kids truly love too!

If we ever skip a park due to a shorter trip, it's usually AK. While we like it, it's never been one that we can spend oodles of time at. We WILL see all parks next month, however.

 

[Jeafl]

At the very least, would you say if we were to go there with kids of 7/6/6, it's not a 2-day event?

In my honest opinion, not at those ages. They will enjoy the Magic Kingdom, and possibly the Animal Kingdom more. You might get one day's worth of enjoyment out of it for young kids, and Illuminations is definitely worth a visit.

My kids are now older and really enjoy Epcot, I guess it depends on your kids.

 

[bumbershoot]

OK....so what's the "real" story. This seems to be the one park that I constantly see "eh" reviews for. We will be going with children ages 7,6,and 6. One person said "skip it" and another said "plan on 2 days". I am at a loss at this point. I am sure everyone has different opinions but I thought I'd ask out here....more from the standpoint of their ages. Given 7, 6 and 6, would it be 4th on the list behind MK, AK and DHS?

BTW, it should say "THE real story" in the thread title...sorry for the error

Can there really be a real story? Everyone is so different in what they like.

Our group of 8 people, which included an 8 year old, 6 year old, and 3 year old, enjoyed epcot.

 

[AndreaDM]

Epcot is our favorite park, including DD8! We almost skipped it on her first trip when she was 4, but decided to go and wow, are we glad we did! This will be her 4th trip back and she is sooooo excited! Here are just some of the things she enjoys at Epcot:

aquarium (she's a fish lover though)
test track
Soarin'
Mission Space
Turtle Talk with Crush
Kim Possible missions
exploring the countries
pick a pearl in Japan
trying food and drinks from other countries
meeting characters
speaking in a British accent while in the UK (ok, I do this too lol)
checking out the flowers with daddy (he's a landscape architect)
watching and laughing at mom (me) get picked to participate in a skit
Maelstrom
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land (plan to do Behind the Seeds next month)
entertainment in the different countries

Our family could easily spend 2 days there, every trip we discover new things and unique experiences. While we like MK, once you've ridden all the rides, nothing really seems "new" to us, but at Epcot, it's different each trip. Have fun no matter what you decide!

 

[bumbershoot]

At the very least, would you say if we were to go there with kids of 7/6/6, it's not a 2-day event?

We only had 4 park days with the big group, so with that group we did one day. However, the people that made up the not-us part of the group go to WDW *all* the time, and LOVE going to Epcot. Often. With their kids (the 8 and 3 year olds).

We ended up going once or twice more (long trip), to meet up with another cousin, ride rides again, see more of the Showcase (didn't even get halfway through and that's without exploring it!), and see Illuminations. We plan another at least 2 days there on our upcoming trip. We feel like we barely cracked the surface on our first trip. Plus, DS (was 6 for that trip, will be 7 for upcoming trip) really liked the Kimpossible mission and wants to do more!

 

[fishacura]

Can there really be a real story? Everyone is so different in what they like.

I think so...at the very least, I think the myth that "not for kids" has been dispelled and it sounds as if that's coming from people who may not have been back in a long time. Also, very few are saying "not for me" so it's not the 50/50 split I anticipated.

One last dumb question...I can't find anything called Illuminations on the attraction list....what is it?

 

[ktlm]

We went to DL/CA this summer and the ONLY thing my DD (5)complained about missing from WDW was Epcot (got the same complaint on our DL/CA trip last summer). DD would rank the parks MK, Epcot, DHS and AK- and MK and Epcot would rank way above the other two. For us before DD, just DH and I could do each park in one day. Little ones slow you down. With DD we need 2 days MK, 2 days Epcot, 1 day DHS, and 1 day AK (really although I would like 1 day AK, with DD it is 1/2 day AK because after a few hours she starts begging to go back to MK or Epcot). Her first WDW trip at age 2, we spent one day at Epcot from open to close and did not feel like it was enough time. On the 3 trips since, it has been 2 days at Epcot each time.

I don't know how long your trip is, but as you have never been to WDW, I would suggest spending one day in each of the parks for the first 4 days, and having tentative plans for the rest of your days, but being prepared to be flexible as to which parks you spend more time in depending on what you find your kids like once you get there. I don't think you will know what their favorites are until you get there. I thought DD would love AK (she loves the zoo at home), but I was completely wrong.

 

[tndisneyfan]

We started going to WDW when DS was seven, he's 15 now. He didn't really care for Epcot until the last couple of years. He enjoyed the Future World rides like Test Track but he didn't care anything about the countries. We tried the passport thing. He did enjoy doing that but he basically wanted to just run through the countries, get his passport stamped, and move on.

Every kid is different. You never know what a kid will end up liking. Do the passport thing. Do the Kim Possible Mission. They mnight like it if you keep it interesting enough.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We love Epcot. Of course it is usually just my DH & I when we go. However, even with kids the ages yours are there is lots of fun things to do.

The seas with the fish & the Nemo ride are great.
Turtle Talk with Crush...is awesome!!
I love the living with the land ride.

In the World the boat ride in Mexico is fun & they'd like it.
Also, in Japan you can watch the candy lady make candy animals. So neat to watch. [get a schedule for times]
In China you can watch the acrobats.
Norway also has a boat ride.

Usually all around the World you can see characters & wait in line to see them. Usually the waits aren't very long either. At United Kingdom inside their store you can see Tigger lots of times too.

There are activities for kids at stations in each Country. I haven't ever been with little ones to do this but I see them coloring everytime we go.

I love the World...eating at the restaurants, touring the stores, listening to the music at Canada, just walking around it. I love Soaring & Test Track..but I tried to think of what might appeal more to kids.

 

[ktlm]

One last dumb question...I can't find anything called Illuminations on the attraction list....what is it?

Illuminations is the evening fireworks/laser/water show on the World Showcase Lagoon at Epcot. Some people absolutely love it and think it is fantastic. I like it, but if your kids don't like fireworks noise, they may not be crazy about it. DD doesn't like it. Because most of it takes place low (on the water instead of your standard in the sky fireworks), you have to be close to it to be able to see it. If you are standing back away from it, the crowd will block your view. To get a spot where she can see, it is way too loud for DD's tastes.