Epcot and young children

[Debs1963]

We are going to disney in mid-may for seven nights. Our children are ages 4 (boy) and 6 (girl). I have heard varying reports about how much there is to do in Epcot for young children. Spoke with someome who recently went to disney and said they only spent a couple of hours in epcot. Said that they went to princess breakfast in norway and to finding nemo exhibit. My travel agent raves about epcot and how she brings her young grandchildren. Other travel books I read say that there are minimal things for young children in Epcot. What has everyone's experience been?

 

[java]

My children have always loved Epcot. (I have a 10/7/2 and newborn) In Future World there is the Land pavillion- my kids love the boat ride and are looking forward to trying Soarin. Mission Space is my 10 year olds favorite ride(I think your guys may be too young for that one) Test track is one DD(7) has loved for years- her favorite ride. There is the Universe of Energy. Journey into Imagination. And that new stuff at the Living Seas. Then in the County section...Every country has an arts and crafts station staffed by locals of the country. Last time we went it was mask making and you added to it at every country. The shows in the countries(the live performances) are all very kid friendly. I had to drag my kids away from the child acrobats in China and they love the candy lady in Japan. I think it is a great day to spend at the parks. It is more low key than the others and we love it! Would not miss it.

 

[crisi]

We spend a lot of time there. Its our favorite park (the grownups) and we often end up at the World Showcase restaurants at mealtime. The kids really enjoy Living Seas, Universe of Energy, Spaceship Earth and Journey into Imagination. They like the boat ride in Mexico and Maelstrom in Norway. Those seven (Imagination is a 3D movie and a ride) attractions will take longer than a few hours. They've enjoyed making masks in the countries (where we have bothered), have enjoyed meals. We've stopped to watch the Chinese acrobats, the Japanese drummers, and the Canadian rock band. We find Aladdin, Genie and Jasmine in Morrocco, Mulan in China, Aurora at the International Gateway and the Pooh characters in England. Now, granted, if they were given choices, we'd ride Peter Pan's Flight and Goofy's Barnstormer in the MK endlessly.

We also like to spend more time than others at AK. We enjoy spending an entire day there, the trails and Raffiki's Planet Watch can keep us occupied for hours, and I always wonder how anyone manages to see that park in half a day.

 

[zurgswife]

My kids 13, 12, 11, 7 have been going to epcot for about 6yrs now and love every minute of it...Things to do in Epcot

Future World
Rides..Space ship earth
The Living seas with Nemo
Journey into your imagination..(sute ride plus the kodak playground at the end is awesome)
Innoventions...my kids favorite is innoventions East where they can play toon tag (a 4 person computer game monitored by a CM) kids LOVE IT!!
Test Track ... my youngest was tall enough at 3 and has always loved it
Ellen's Energy Adventure...love those dinosaurs
Jamminator's ..trash can percussion group


World Showcase
Kidcot Stations
Mexico .El Rio del Tiempo .ride
Mexico is also fun to walk around the shops..
Norway the boat ride is fun
China..children acrobatics
Italy or France ...Imaginum which is a live statue act
America...Voices of Liberty and American Vybe ..a capella group
Miyuki - the Japanese candy artist from Tokyo
United kingdom or France - World Showcase Players - Improv troupe(one of my kids all time favorites)
Illuminations...

Epcot is great if you just take the time to look...

 

[kiddisney]

hi - don't pay attention to those who put epcot down - there are so many things to do there - we've been taking our kids since they were 18 mos old (each) and they love it - there is so much entertainment and activities - just keep the pace at their level and you'll have a great time

things to do -

off kilter in canada
the street theatre performances in united kingdom (my kids still can recite parts from their performance)
dinners in japan & germany

and so much more

 

[NotUrsula]

Even the sidewalks are entertaining. When mine was a toddler he could have followed the lights for hours.

 

[Tinkerbellmom33]

Ditto to all! We love Epcot too, there's so much to do.

 

[Mom to Jordan]

Another love of Epcot. Out first trip DS was 8 and could not decide which he liked better Epcot or MK. Plan lots of time there. In off season we like to head to Epcot late in the day for dinner or after dinner.

 

[3NTN4WDW]

We love Epcot, too. Our 5 year old loves Test Track and the boat ride in Norway and Mexico. The restaurants are fabulous! Kids love the entertainment at the Japanese Restauant! The Coral Reef is good for kids, too. We also, go on the fireworks cruise and watch Illuminations.

BWV May 22-31!

 

[swilphil]

World Showcase is a great place to take kids. They get to wander around and explore without having to wait in yet another line. The Kidcot stations in each country are so much fun. My kids love coloring the masks and getting the stamps. There also can be a lot of characters if you know where to look. Ask a CM. My sons love the train village in Germany and the Thomas the train table in the UK Toy Shoppe. Outside the Toy Shoppe, there is a hedge maze that they love running through.

 

[AMaloy314]

Don't forget the fountains! My 2 and 4 year old loved to splash in the fountains. Either throw on some swim suits under their clothes or do like we did and let the warm sun dry them off while we walked around.

 

[all4fun]

Our ds is only 22 mos but we have taken our three nieces ages 12, 12 & 8 and our nephew when he was 7. They all enjoyed Epcot immensely. Our youngest niece loved the Kidcot stations, but she was also the only one that kept asking where the rides were. I think taking her to MK and MGM first was a mistake.

I actually think your kid's ages sound pefect. Hopefully your youngest is big enough to partake in most of the attractions. Definitely look at your times guide when you enter the park and see what is going on that day. You'll see, there's plenty to see & do.

 

[FreeTime]

Epcot is one of our favorites. Our kids are 3 & 5 and have always loved it. I would suggest that you at least give it a try and not skip it just because others find it boring. You may find it boring also but, at least you gave it a chance. Our kids especially love Test Track, JIYI, Malestrom, strolling around WS eating Kaki Goris and Living with the Land.

 

[Jenn]

My girls (almost 4 & 8) love it too! We could easily spend 2 days there every trip! One thing my older daughter does is plan on visiting a country that she has studied in school. Last year they did a long project about Japan for social studies. So, when we went to Epcot we were sure to visit Japan, and let her tell us some of the things she recognized and had learned about. She has saved her money to buy a "real" Japanese fan, and the sales girl wrote was nice enough to write my daughter's name on it in Japanese.

We always do the Kidcot stations and make masks. Mexico and Norway are faves since they have rides. They love the acrobats in China, Living Statues (Italy I think), etc.

On our last trip we bought a Hidden Mickey guide and hunted for them all over World Showcase - another way to get the kids interested.