Could someone explain Epcot to me. 2 visits and I don't get it at all

[glamdring269]

I remember going to Epcot when I was a kid. It had just opened that year or the year prior. Point is, the whole idea of a futuristic concept actually felt pretty futuristic to me back then. Now it feels like an old sci-fi show that missed the mark on some things.

With that said, I do enjoy Epcot even more now in some ways. We were just there in October for F&W and loved that. It really enhances the experience. We're staying at BWV this October and have a feeling we'll love it even more.

 

[TDC Nala]

Not everyone is going to like everything.

I have spent entire trips without going to any park except Epcot.

 

[siskaren]

I agree. i don't think Walt intended this park to be a stereotypical theme park with exciting rides but more geared to education.

Walt didn't intend for it to be a theme park at all - EPCOT stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", and he was planning on it being just that. But after he died, it was decided to basically interpret this idea into a theme park.

 

[TDC Nala]

Walt actually intended for there to be people living in Epcot.

 

[W.E.D.]

PPs have already hit upon about everything I could say. It's our favorite park as well. The only thing I might add: IMHO, EPCOT is big enough to be a two-day park, and should be toured that way. If you don't have the time, I totally understand. But if you do, you should really spend one day in FW and one in WS.

 

[DisneyFive]

Don’t worry OP. You’re not alone. Here you have all these DISers saying it’s their favorite, and give it another shot, etc... but we feel kinda similar to you. We’ve given it 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances…

Epcot was, and still is, our least favorite park after visiting four years of Disney… although it’s not far off AK in 3rd. We like it, mind you, but not on the same level as other parks.

There are rides that we love in Epcot, but only a couple: Soarin and Test Track (go figure). Over the years, we’ve done all the rides/attractions the park has to offer (except Figment, Ellen’s EA, and Captain EO) Epcot just doesn’t hold our interest as much. This past year we spent a good amount of time there (two full days) and did a lot things we hadn’t before, (Pick a Pearl was awesome)

We’re not huge shoppers, so browsing at the pavilions doesn’t hold a lot of interest. The films are nice to see, once. The rides in the pavilions are just o.k. (I can’t believe they have FP for Maelstrom ). The park lacks a cohesive feel like the other three parks.

Epcot is growing on us, but I don’t see it ever being close to our fav. Also, perhaps it’s the time of year we go, but it can feel like a lot of hot concrete surrounding us.

Dan

 

[MomToPirate&Princess]

We've been several times when the kids were varying ages starting at 4/6 and most recently at 8/10. We seem to have the same thoughts as you. We aren't shoppers so spend only brief time in the shops. We aren't big eaters and don't normally do more than one Table Service meal per trip. Our day at Epcot is usually riding the rides (TT, Soarin, Spaceship Earth, Nemo & Mission Space), making a kidcot mask, quick look through the shops, visiting any characters we spot and heading out. Before FP+ we would ride Soarin and TT 2-4 times each so that took up more time and we could make it one whole day at Epcot. My kids don't like Illuminations so we don't normally stay to watch. If we were short on days, Epcot is the park we would skip.

 

[TriMom]

Yep, check back when your kids are 21.

The years go by fast.

It's the family fave now, esp with the 5 min walk to BC.

Oh my! That just put a gigantic smile on my face. My oldest is 10 so I hadn't thought about that yet. How fun!

 

[jade1]

My kids are really young, but my daughter had a blast at EPCOT when we visited in 2012 (she was 3). The wider paths were great for us too. We're going back with her and our younger two-year-old, and I can't wait to go there.

OK it will go fast, but yea that is a ways away-good for you though those young years are awesome as well.

I will route for option 1 in the FP+ improvement poll for you.

 

[Son of Gadsden]

I think Epcot is just not for everyone. Some people love it, some people don't care for it. Me, for example, I love the food in the World's showcase. I like to try something in each country, and we do the drinking around the world thing. The wife is also an avid shopper, so we spend plenty of time in each shop. We take lots of time to sit down and enjoy the views, both because we like the views, and because with my ACL issues, quite frankly I can't make it around the countries easily. We like to ride Maelstrom in Norway. We skip Test Track and Soarin pretty often, because the lines are too long and we don't care for either fastpass system. We normally get lunch and have dinner reservations in the World Showcase somewhere. We ride Spaceship Earth multiple times, and we spend quite a bit of time at the Seas because DW also is an animal lover. We enjoy spending a lot of time around the pin traders near the fountain. That makes the time go by and satisfies our pin obsession for a while.

Last time, Epcot was a bit packed so we even hit Captain EO for kicks and did Figment's ride for nostalgia...and more kicks. However, we typically do enter the parks around 10ish, and we tend to leave Epcot around 7 unless we want to watch illuminations. We hop to another park at the end of the day most of the time on Epcot days.

It could use some new rides/attractions and an update, but we love our Epcot. Now that we've been during Flower and Garden, though, we're spoiled. Epcot is definitely a more complete and fun park if you go during an event, and it does seem a little lacking on days without events.

 

[appleorchard]

There are a LOT of character meet and greets throughout Epcot. Nearly every country, if not every one, has a princess meet and greet. The fab five are in Future World There are also entertainment segments, like the drummers in Japan and the Jamminators (or something like that) in Future World.

Kidcot is fun. The Japan store is great for kids, lots of current toys and kid interests in there. The Mexico store is also fun to poke around in and has the Donald boat ride. My granddaughter( and her mom!) enjoyed getting a henna tattoo in Morocco. The interactive area after Spaceship Earth ride has lots of arcade-type things for kids and so does the area after Mission Space. We have to drag the kids out of the car area after Test Track, because heaven knows we wouldn't let them play in the cars at home!

At first glance, it doesn't seem like there's a lot in Epcot, but there really is. you just have to spend the time to find things, which admittedly isn't easy if you don't know the park well. The aquarium alone can take up a lot of time if your kids are into dolphins, sharks or fish. And Ellen's dinosaur ride takes up 45 minutes all by itself!

 

[cheshirecatattack]

Epcot is my second favourite park! Like others have said, make sure you explore The Sea's, Living with the Land and Innoventions in FW as well as the headliners. World Showcase also has lots of fun things to do. The Three Cabellero's Ride in Mexico and Maelstrom in Norway are nice, calm boat rides. Norway, France, America and Canada all have videos to see. Each country (excluding Canada and America) have scheduled character greets throughout the day. We always make a stop at Club Cool, where you can sample different Coke products from around the world - for free! Finally, stay to see Epcot at night. WS is beautiful at night and Illuminations is a fantastic show.

 

[Disneymom83]

Our family absolutely loves EPCOT. We like to get there early to enjoy future world. A must do for us is spaceship earth. I love that ride! We usually head to the land Pavilion and do some things in that area including the seas with Nemo. Interventions also has a lot of interactive things to do and see. The other side has test track and the Dino ride with Ellen (I forget the name) then we just enjoy browsing thru the world showcase. Some of the countries have rides and every country has kid cot where the kids collect stamps and something they attach to a face made they can color and decorate.

 

[naturalinsp]

Our family comes in on the favorite park side.

All the parks have a different feel. MK for the kid in all of us and amusement. HS for the make believe of Hollywood, watch and learn behind the scenes. AK to appreciate the animal world around us.

Then Epcot. Two parks in one. Even though FW is getting a little dated, I love seeing everything it has to offer. The old FW was better, but there still is a lot to learn. WS is a place to relax and tour the world in an afternoon or all day. Make sure to look in every corner of the pavilions. You are sure to find some surprises. We try to talk to a few CM in each pavilion. This has become our favorite part of the park. Pin trading or the Kidcot stops (yes even as adults) are great ice breakers. We have learned so much about other countries and how each CM lives. It has gotten us talking to CM at other parks! What a great addition to a trip. All without leaving America.

I also think when you talk to fans of WDW and Walt himself, there is a connection with Walt's love of the Worlds Fair and his E.P.C.O.T. and the attempted execution of the dream.

I think all the parks together are a great balance.

 

[treemi01]

We spend a full busy day at Epcot. Our kids are 7, 5, 2, and a baby. We spend most of the day in future world. We do Spaceship Earth, Test Track, The Seas With Nemo, the aquarium (especially the manatees!), Turtle Talk With Crush, Universe of Energy (dinosaurs!), Imagination ride and play area, Soarin', The Land (probably our favorite), The Circle of Life movie, sometimes the 3D movie, and the character spot. We also spend some time in the play areas after the rides. After getting there at RD, it's easily lunch time. We usually eat, go through Club Kool, and go to the splash fountain between FW and WS or by Test Track to burn off some steam after lunch. Then, the little ones nap in the stroller while we do an Agent P mission with the bigger ones. Then, we take a little walk through some of WS and have a snack (DH and I usually have an adult beverage). After the littles wake up, we visit Mexico for the boat ride and Maelstrom. Then, we usually eat dinner (either TS or QS) at a country. After that we either watch a few street performers or see a character or 2 before IllumiNations. If we have extra time, we go to the American Adventure show.

Sometimes we can't get this all done in a day and we go back. Before we had kids, we enjoyed more shopping, some of the movies in the countries, wine tastings, etc. and we spent much more time in WS. As our kids get older, I'm excited to spend more time in this section again, but for now we are busy busy in Future World and touch on World Showcase for a little "break" during nap time.

 

[wen8jr]

Another EPCOT fan here. It is our favorite park (and we like fast pace parks with more rides as well (but think Soarin is boring)). It is a place to explore, sit and relax, have a few drinks, watch a few street shows, etc. and it is very magical at night.

It is our favorite park for ADRs (each is an experience really) and we like the CS food here. We usually put aside 2 full days and every time we go we find something new to see or do. I really honestly can't spend enough time there and it is the park I think about missing the most when I have to head back home.

That being said, it may be better experienced during Food & Wine, Christmas or during Flower & Garden. These are the times that we've been on all of our trips and there was always an extra touch of magic happening. We've never been when nothing at all was going on.

Now I can't wait to go back.

 

[crazymomof4]

First year we did a half day at Epcot with 2 kids under 7 and found we had just enough time to briefly walk in and out of most Pavillions, go on 3 rides, do Akershus and leave. The thing is, we didn't really see why we would need to spend much more time at Epcot, we felt we saw most of it.

2013 comes and we decide to spend a full day at Epcot with 3 kids (9, 3 and 1)............. After lunch we walk clockwise around the lake and visit each Pavillion (again briefly for the most part) until we do the full circle. Besides seeing some great street performers along the way, we do almost nothing but light shopping at any Pavillion and spend only 15 minutes at each. ..............again fairly underwhelmed.

I'd like to know what I'm doing wrong.......... We're happy everywhere else. MK is non stop rides all day. DHS is relaxing and watching as many shows as we can..........
Anyone know how we could adjust our Epcot plans next time to get more out of it?

I picked out some clues as to why you may have been "underwhelmed" by Epcot, specifically, the WS.
First of all -speaking from someone who also has done WDW many times with 4 kids starting at 6 mo, toddlers, pre-schoolers, bored teens, on up- part of the problem may be that you are too busy keeping the kids happy, tending to their needs, etc to relax enough for the "laid back" experience sometimes required to get the most out of WS.
Secondly, I've traveled with family visiting WDW for the first time. They did WS at lightening speed as it seems you did ("briefly". "15 mins in each pavilion"). They didn't know it but I was trying to catch them thru Japan pavillion and short of breaking out in a run, I couldn't catch them. They were literally speed-walking thru! I said to myself, "they are going to say WS was meh, no big deal" and sure enough, that was their review of the place that I love. After, I asked, "did you walk thru the gardens and Koi ponds of Japan?" "Did you see this here, that there?" Their answers...No no and no. So if they went to a buffet restaurant and tried only 2-3 items from many 30 that were offered, is it fair to give a bad review? You miss so much when you speed through, but you know know that you missed it bc.... you missed it.
Another clue is you seem to love the "non-stop rides" and "as many shows" as you can at other parks. WS is really not geared toward that. It's more subtle in its appeal. So, if you are the type that needs lots of stimulation and high action then WS may not ever appeal to you, and that's OK. I had to smile when I read that you find DHS "relaxing" bc I've visited many times and find it to be the only park where I cannot relax!! In fact, I started a thread about how I can change that, slow down and "smell the roses" at DHS. So, it may be just a different strokes, for different strokes kind of thing.
I love the cultural aspects of the WS. I love speaking with the CMs who come from the respective countries to work at the WS. I love seeing the scaled down versions of parts of these countries that I will probably never get to see in person. I love strolling slowly thru, soaking up the atmosphere, explore the finest details of the pavillions that the Imagineers went to such great lengths to make as authentic as possible. I love the smells and the sounds that make each pavillion unique and interesting. But then, I also love National Geo type documentaries on foreign lands and I love reading books that take the reader to other lands and get me involved in other cultures as I read them.
Not everyone "gets" Epcot, esp. WS. But that's OK!!!! That's why WDW included such a wide variety of experiences on their property! So that there is something that appeals to everyone.
I agree with another poster here who said that you may enjoy it more when your kids are older and you can slow down. When your kids are in the higher grades and are learning about 'world cultures" or "world history" you might enjoy the fact that they have more interest and say things like, "Hey, we learned about this last year!"

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

Been to DW twice, once in 2011 and once in 2013. First year we did a half day at Epcot with 2 kids under 7 (because of MNSSHP) and found we had just enough time to briefly walk in and out of most Pavillions, go on 3 rides, do Akershus and leave. The thing is, we didn't really see why we would need to spend much more time at Epcot, we felt we saw most of it.

2013 comes and we decide to spend a full day at Epcot with 3 kids (9, 3 and 1). Early lunch at Akershus so we wander the front area of Epcot until 11:00 and head for Norway. After lunch we walk clockwise around the lake and visit each Pavillion (again briefly for the most part) until we do the full circle. Besides seeing some great street performers along the way, we do almost nothing but light shopping at any Pavillion and spend only 15 minutes at each. We head to the entrance and finally find things to do (TT, Soarin, Mission Space) and leave again fairly underwhelmed.

I'd like to know what I'm doing wrong. Everyone has such high opinions of Epcot but we never see it. We're happy everywhere else. MK is non stop rides all day. DHS is relaxing and watching as many shows as we can. AK is kind of a mix. But we have no idea what to do at Epcot. Honestly if it wasn't for the fact the girls love Akershus we'd probably just skip Epcot next time.

Anyone know how we could adjust our Epcot plans next time to get more out of it?

Ha ha!!!! I know exactly what you mean...... Epcot is an acquired taste.... and just like you-----I didn't get it either. Then after many years......I discovered Innoventions and then.....I finally understood what Epcot was about. Oh- I think I completed about two trips before visiting The World Showcase too. I believe for some people----it takes more time to figure out and get what Epcot is all about. I still don't know what the slabs are in front though.

 

[TLSnell1981]

And, there's always "drinking around the world".

 

[yankeepenny]

I too will chime in with the others. Some places tick for other folks a little bit different. My stop and smell the roses is AK, then Epcot. It is a slower pace, certainly, and can be on some level like a hands on museum.

Seeing the American show at the America Pavillion is always heart swelling and patriotic for me, and many others.

IF I may suggest, visit sometime during food and wine festival, and I think you will like it a bit better.

A final note-is a very good place for anyone on the Aspie scale. Low key, less chaotic, and fun.

Enjoy!