Do Epcot with kids, or skip it?

[leftaslide]

My DD's are 6 and 5, and we'll be at Disney from 12/15 - 12/20. We currently have 6 day tix and are debating on whether to give Epcot another chance, or downgrade to a 5 day ticket and upgrade our meal plan, thus eliminating Epcot. Or, keep the 6 day tix and do an extra day in the MK. Seems like last time we went to Epcot, there wasn't much for kids from what I remember. So.....any thoughts? Suggestions? Any feedback is appreciated!

 

[DVCmom4]

My kids love Epcot! We turn it in to a learning fun. They have Epcot passports. travel to each country to learn a little bit about and get their books stamped. It's a lot of fun! (the passports are around $10 and make nice show and tell for school)

 

[henry72]

We took our kids, 4 and 7 at the time, to Epcot last year and they loved it. DS (7) loved Mission Space and both kids loved Soarin. My DD even mentioned it earlier today. I would say yes, you should spend at least one day there.

 

[leftaslide]

Now that they are a little older, they may enjoy some of the other rides now. They want to do Soarin for sure. And that's a good idea about the passports!

 

[RandomPrincess]

Do Epcot! I'm assuming your DD's like princesses and WS is full of them! You can also get pictures with Mickey, Minne and Pluto at the Character Spot.

Buy or make your DD's a passport and get it stamped in each country. There are several people here on Dis that design them. It' also fun to get a little snack in each country and try different foods.

If they like Phineas and Ferb you can do the WS Adventure as well.

 

[wallawallakids]

My kids always say Epcot is their favorite park. The day before my twins turned 5 they went on Soarin for the fist time and they both flipped. It was all they talked about for the rest of the trip. We actually changed the last day of out trip to go back there and rode Soarin twice that day just for them.

All four of my kids like the WS. They really enjoyed seeing the different countries and doing the kid stations, getting stamps, etc. They loved Illuminations, and Spaceship Earth. Test track was closed when we went but I know they would have enjoyed that if it had been open. Add that to Turtle talk with Crush and Sea of Nemo and friends and I think there is quite a bit for kids to do in Epcot. Plus there are some great restaurants for mom and dad. Have fun.

 

[Filomali]

I posted the exact same question yesterday! We will be going on our first trip in 4 weeks. I decided to give it a go and see what happens!

 

[Theaberdeenkid]

No way, our kids loved Epcot

 

[sladphie]

Well, since EPCOT is MY favorite park, we always go there. We've taken our kids when they were almost 5 & 20 months, and 7 & 3; heading back in October! They could have spent all day at the Nemo exhibit each time, but also loved the Figment ride, the ride at Mexico, Spaceship Earth, & Innoventions. DS loved Test Track & DD is excited to ride it this time now that she's tall enough. Some of the hard-to-find characters do appearances there: Mulan, the Beast, etc. There are a couple nice character meals there too. World Showcase was mostly skippable with them but the passport is a neat idea. It's really all about what they are interested in.

Though I wouldn't suggest substituting it for MK, it's a pretty enjoyable visit, even for kids.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DISBoards

 

[PixieMamaAma]

Please take your kids to Epcot. I started going in 1982 as a 6 year old, & to this day, Epcot is my fav park. We went to WDW in 2011, 2012 and are T minus 30 days away from our next trip with a soon to be 5 yo & 7.5 mo old boys. My son LOVES Epcot and he will tell you even when he was 3 it was his fav park. He loves all the rides, and this year is looking forward to Mission Space, although I haven't decided if I'm going on that lol.

In 2011 and 2012 my son turned 3 & 4 at WDW. We eat every meal at Epcot at night since we are at Poly an have Park Hoppers, & Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining are 2 of my sons favorites. Crush talked to my son last year bc it was his bday and the whole place sang Happy Birthday. I'm so excited for Epcot this year!

 

[leftaslide]

Thanks for sharing, everyone. We probably will do Epcot. I think we overlooked a lot of what it had to offer our first time there. Looking forward to it now!

 

[lovebug21]

We love Epcot. Don't forget to do the rides in Norway and Mexico. They also love soarin and even the living with the land boat ride. Our 3 year old loved the nemo ride and my 8 year old loves mission space and planet earth. There really is so much for children to do at Epcot, it would always be my second choice behind Magic Kingdom.

 

[figment3258]

My kids love Epcot! I think it's all what you make it to be. From figment to nemo turtle talk with crush and world showcase its so much fun to explore. Even at 5 and 6 they can do agent p it's a great way to explore the countries!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We all have our preferences and parks we like more than others (and as the kids age, those preferences may change). Our family has one park we'd consider skipping if we were on a time crunch. With a 6-day ticket sans WPF&M however, we would definitely hit them all

 

[Zeebs]

We enjoyed future world but we did skip the world show case the first time when the kids were 11 months and 2.5 years.

The next time we did the world showcase and the kids at 3 and 5 were ok, but weren't that excited by it all.

Will be going again and the kids are 4, 6, and 8 but are going for 14 days so we can spend time taking it slow and looking it all over.

Kirsten

 

[Honeybee83]

Even if they don't want to spend a TON of time in the "Future World" portion, there is a lot to see in the world showcase. You can also try to make a game of it as well.

Ex: Let's vote at the end which country was the best, or Let's each pick our favorite thing from each country.

Also, Disney has KIDCOT Fun Stops (Kids can collect stamps and create a personalized souvenir at any or all 11 of these World Showcase craft stations) to make the world showcase a little more interesting for the little tykes.

It is my second favorite park and there is so much to see there. I'd give it a shot.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Even if they don't want to spend a TON of time in the "Future World" portion, there is a lot to see in the world showcase. You can also try to make a game of it as well.

Ex: Let's vote at the end which country was the best, or Let's each pick our favorite thing from each country.

Also, Disney has KIDCOT Fun Stops (Kids can collect stamps and create a personalized souvenir at any or all 11 of these World Showcase craft stations) to make the world showcase a little more interesting for the little tykes.

It is my second favorite park and there is so much to see there. I'd give it a shot.

We have been a few times and never noticed Kidcot.....where exactly is this?

 

[DCbride]

Kidcot is a coloring station at each country. The kids get a stamp and color a Duffy on a paint stick. The signs are well posted if you look for them.

 

[jmtvm677]

we love Epcot and would rather skip Magic Kingdom then Epcot. My kids are 5, 8, and 10

 

[Happyjen27]

Last year was my very first trip, we brought our 5 year old twins.

They really loved all of what the World had to offer. Their hearts were in the MK for sure. But, their favorite ride was Soarin', so I wouldn't exclude EP entirely.

We glossed right over the WS though, it's just not my scene. I'm not saying there's nothing to do there, I'm not saying they wouldn't enjoy it, they would enjoy anything! I'm saying that right now MK and Fantasyland is so, so, so magical, I just want to spend more time there while they are still young. Once they get older we will spend more time in EP, when Peter Pan no longer ends and I hear them chime "Again!", that's when we will spend less time in MK and more time elsewhere.

I would never trade experiences (read park tickets) for food though. We have finer cuisine at home for far less money, but parks, well, we don't have those!! So, my answer is always enjoy the parks rather than any dining Disney has to offer.