Epcot for kids?

[sharibrat]

I'd like to hear what fun things there are for preschoolers in Epcot. Are any of the countries shows good for them?

We know about kidcot stops, Talking with Crush and the new Nemo ride coming. Also there is a boat ride in Mexico I think.

Anything else?

 

[susykt4]

My kids were 3 and 5 our last trip in January, 2006. Epcot was their 2nd favorite park after MK. Their favorite thing was that jumping fountain outside the Imagination pavillion. They played by that thing forever and chose to go to Epcot our last day to go to the fountain again.

They also loved all the zillion characters in Character Connection and especially the characters in the various countries in World Showcase. They did all the WS KidCot stops. DD5 liked trying all the Coke flavors. Both kids enjoyed the Imagination "playground" after the Imagination ride. DS3 especially enjoyed the Living Seas aquariums and the Living With the Land ride. DD5 LOVED the Fantastic Plastics Robot Race in Innoventions and both kids liked the FREE robots and still play with them.

We did all the rides except Test Track (closed for renovations during our trip) and Mission Space (kids too short.) They got a little bored on Spaceship Earth and there were some intense scenes on Ellen's Energy and HISTA, but otherwise enjoyed everything. Oh, Turtle Talk was FUN. We didn't do any of the WS movies, but they liked all the non-theater shows we happened upon.

One other thing they really enjoyed was the monorail ride between Epcot and MK. That may have been train-loving DS3's favorite ride overall.

 

[julsmom]

I wouldn't skip EPCOT with my DD. There is soo much to see. The Living Seas has Turtle Talk and soo much more your DD/DS will like. You can look at fish, sharks, etc swimming. There is a great setup about Bruce where you can take good pics. We have even had our DD pic taken with Nemo outside (I don't know the hours he is out there though). The UK has a toy shop where you are almost guaranteed to see Mary Poppins, Alice, Piglet, Eeyore. France sometimes will have Belle WITH THE BEAST! I personally have never seen the Beast anywhere else. All the countries have the kidcot stations. They are appropriate for any age that can color. Germany has Snow White quite often and a sweet teddy bear shop. Japan has a great selection of Hello Kitty items, if you like that. Norway has THE best princess lunch. I get ressies for right when they open. That way you are seated when the princesses come out. They will get to you pretty quick. Norway does have a boat ride. We like it.
I could go on and on. I don't really think anyone could be disappointed with EPCOT. And I love introducing different cultures to my DD.

 

[bigbabyblues]

My boys were 5 and 2 on our last trip and they love Epcot. They like to play in the fountains (of course, lol), Spaceship Earth, the boat ride in Mexico, the one in Norway, character greeting spot, the Land ride, Soarin' (the little one was too short), Journey into Imagination with Figment, the Living Seas--we didn't see Crush when we were there, they enjoyed all the countries, making the masks at the Kidcot stops, just looking around at everything. The older one rode Test Track and loved it, there really isn't anything they don't like, but we haven't tried the Honey I Shrunk the Audience movie yet. We usually spend 2 full days at Epcot.

Hope this helps!

 

[famofsix]

There's the Land in Epcot where the kids can make Nestle cookies. You have to get there early to get chosen to do the mixing and baking.

 

[SylviaL]

DS3 could spend hours watching the miniature trains in Germany!

 

[Quincy]

We loved the Princess breakfast, The food was brought to your table so you never had to get up and then 5 different princesses came to our table to meet us. Great experience. We loved the trains in Germany also. Talking with Crush was also a big hit. We did a dinosaur ride that was way to scary for my ds3. I think we olny spent a half day at Epcot.

 

[ajcolorado]

I think Epcot is WONDERFUL for kids your kid's ages. Mission Space is probably the only thing too intense and there is now a new "no spin" option. If they’re tall enough; Soarin’ and Test Track should be fine. Honey I Shrunk the Audience 3-D and Maelstrom might be a little scary for some but many do just fine. Spaceship Earth, The Universe of Energy (Dinosaurs & 45 blessed minutes of air conditioning), and Journey into Your Imagination with Figment are all visually interesting for kids. One of the Innovention pavilions has a lot of things geared for little ones. The Living Seas is great for kids – marine life & “Turtle Talk with Crush” are fantastic. “The Land” has a character meal and there are Princess meals at the Norway Pavillion. There are Character Meet & Greets all through Epcot. There is some great entertainment too – the Jammitors are a “Stomp” like percussion group.

There are “Kidcot” stations throughout the World Showcase. Your kids can make a cardboard mask (free) at which ever station they stop at first. Then they can add a decoration at each additional station. The boat ride at the Mexico pavilion is similar to “It’s A Small World”. The kids may or may not enjoy the American Adventure or the Circle Vision movies in China & Canada. If I was going to choose one, I’d go with the China movie. There is a little hedge maze in the UK pavilion that is too short for adults to find challenging but I saw a bunch of kids gleefully running through. I also saw kids intrigued by the model train at the Germany pavilion. My kids loved wandering through the Morocco pavilion. There are Koi fish in the pond in Japan. Norway has a Viking boat play area. There is some fantastic entertainment that kids will enjoy: The “Serveur Amusant” (France) is a comedic balancing act. Japan has three great things for kids – “Matsuriza” is a traditional drum act; “Miyuki” is a very neat candy artist, and there is a Japanese Storyteller “Honobono Minwa” on Wed, Thurs, & Fri. Sergio (Italy) is a juggler. “OrisiRisi”, he drum circle and African Storytellers (Mon- Fri) in the Outpost get good reviews. Kids always love the Dragon Legend Acrobats (China) because they are children too. Some kids will enjoy “Off Kilter” (Canada) – bagpipe rock and “MoRockin” (Morocco) – Middle Eastern pop sounding band. IllumiNations is the evening fireworks show and it is excellent.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

DD (almost 3) really didn't like EPCOT at all. There were several factors in this...1) we really didn't spend a ton of time there, 2) she was tired, and 3) every park was kinda a let down to her after MK! We arrived at Epcot late afternoon prior to our ADR at San Angel Inn. We took some pics, did the leave a legacy tile thing, and then headed to the "good rides!" My mom and I rode Soarin while DH took DD for a snack in the foodcourt. Then DH and my mom rode Soarin and I took her upstairs to do the craft. She colored while they were on the ride but then got bored. My mom took her to the Character encounter while DH and I rode Test Track. By that point, it was almost time for dinner so we headed to world showcase. At this point, she was not very happy and claimed to be scared of the volcano in San Angel Inn (this is the same kid who LAUGHED in the Haunted Mansion!) She ended up falling asleep on my lap during dinner. After dinner, we attempted to visit some of the countries (for my mom...who was REALLY looking forward to EPCOT) but DD had clearly had enough. So we looped the showcase quickly and went home before Illuminations. We were going to go back for a 2nd day but DD only wanted to go to "see the castle" again so we ended up back at MK!!! Lessons to be learned...don't take young kids to MK on Day 1 because the other parks pale in comparisson (apparently!) and don't take a 4 day Disney vacation with a 3 yr old (we needed at LEAST 2 more days!)

 

[Lisa_Belle]

Epcot was my DD's favorite park after MK when we went a couple of weeks ago, but she's a preschool science geek in the making. She just turned 5 and it was the last park we visited. She especially enjoyed Turtle Talk with Crush (Crush singled her out to talk to her and she still talks about it) and Soarin' which we rode twice. We would have done this a third time, but the Fastpass times were getting late in the day. I recommend you go there as soon as possible. She also liked the Figment ride and playing in the "dump shop" after it. There are lots of imaginative play things here to do. She was OK with Honey I Shrunk the Audience, but she wouldn't classify it as a must-see. She even enjoyed the World Showcase, and we didn't do the Kidcot stops. We did the princess breakfast and a late lunch at LeCellier, and both were hits. We did see a lot of characters at Epcot without really looking for them. This can be a tiring park for kids. It was the only time all week DD used a stroller, but she was still pretty exhausted by 6 or so and we ended up skipping Illuminations. If you can fit it into your schedule, I would suggest allocating two days for Epcot. Oh, she also enjoyed the entertainers - both here and at Animal Kingdom, so make time for those.

 

[makinorlando]

I don't have a preschooler, but I think part of the key to young kids enjoying EPCOT is to let them take the time to explore and play- don't be on a time schedule to get through this exhibit and move onto the next - some of it is just spontaneous.

My DD is nine, so I know it's a bit different....

The Innoventions West building has some fun things to do - there is a full size fire truck with a fire safety game where two teams made up of different families go through a "house" to find fire hazards - it is very fun and interactive. We both love the game! There is also another area that they can practice getting out of a house when the smoke alarm goes off -

There are computer stations for preschoolers and other kids with different levels of games to play, as well as Playstation type stations. We went into her when we first entered EPCOT on Saturday and I had things to "do". DD was having fun playing the CARS and Chicken Little games - I told her I was ready to go, and she told me this was about her having fun too - and this was FUN for her - enough said - I found a bench and let her come to me when she was done!!!!

Innoventions East has a place where your kids can help make paper, there is also some computer type games there, and something specifically geared toward pre-schoolers, I'm not sure what it was.

There is a game that you could play with the kids where you learn a little about plastics and then you can create a robot on a computer and using a pad on the floor you make your robot run, jump etc and race against the other players. At the end they can make a snap together plastic robot to take home.

We have been to EPCOT many many times since we live in Orlando, but this past Saturday we probably spent two hours between the two buildings, as I just let DD do what she wanted at her own pace.

A couple weeks ago we spent another entire day in World Showcase as she was into doing the Kidcot mask - we got all but two countries that day - again - I just let her take her time - if we were at a station that was not crowded, she would sit and color and chat with the CM. In Japan she got three little extras from the CM who made her origami animals.