Epcot for Kids

[Filomali]

We just got back. We allocated 2 days for Epcot, the first day wasn't too bad, we just explored Future World and the pavilions.
The second day we explored World Showcase.

Kids like: Soarin', The Sea pavilion with Nemo and Crush. Spaceship Earth. The 3 Caballeros in Mexico.

We love the World Showcase (especially because the food and wine festival was going on!) but our kids absolutely hated it. They got cranky and they whined and cried and it's just terrible. They are 8 and 4. They hated it because there was no ride, they are not interested in the food or the cultural stuff.
They played Agent P, but this took a lot of time (even though it's pretty cool) and they shared a phone so they managed to bicker and fought over the phone too.

They can color, but there were only TWO choices of things to color, Duffy Bear or Agent P. So, in each world showcase country they can color but there were only 2 choices.

So, use your own judgement. For me if I ever go back there, we'll probably just go around the Future World and skip the World Showcase until the kids are older. We only went the second day because of the Princess Storybook dinner at Askershus.

 

[mm1971]

We just got back. We allocated 2 days for Epcot, the first day wasn't too bad, we just explored Future World and the pavilions.
The second day we explored World Showcase.

Kids like: Soarin', The Sea pavilion with Nemo and Crush. Spaceship Earth. The 3 Caballeros in Mexico.

We love the World Showcase (especially because the food and wine festival was going on!) but our kids absolutely hated it. They got cranky and they whined and cried and it's just terrible. They are 8 and 4. They hated it because there was no ride, they are not interested in the food or the cultural stuff.
They played Agent P, but this took a lot of time (even though it's pretty cool) and they shared a phone so they managed to bicker and fought over the phone too.

They can color, but there were only TWO choices of things to color, Duffy Bear or Agent P. So, in each world showcase country they can color but there were only 2 choices.

So, use your own judgement. For me if I ever go back there, we'll probably just go around the Future World and skip the World Showcase until the kids are older. We only went the second day because of the Princess Storybook dinner at Askershus.

Sorry the kids didn't enjoy it. We have always had the opposite experience. It probably depends on what each child enjoys. My children have always been very interested in other cultures and enjoy the acrobats in China, Drummers in Japan, 3 caballeros, Maelstrom ride(Norway) and had fun doing the Agent P. I'm not sure if they have all of the performances during F&W or not. Did you get to see the girl making candy in Japan? I thought my kids would never sit through it, but they were completely into it. UK has bands usually that are pretty good as well. We have crepes and hit the bakery for goodies in France.

Just some things to look for when you are ready to try it again. It's always interesting to hear others experiences and compare. Our biggest issue with the coloring was always how to carry the silly thing afterwards.

 

[msmama]

To each his own...

My 5 year old could spend 2 whole days wandering around World Showcase!!

He loves the shows in each country, we browse through all the stores. There are so many cook nooks and crannies in WS that we love to find.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

To each his own...

My 5 year old could spend 2 whole days wandering around World Showcase!!

He loves the shows in each country, we browse through all the stores. There are so many cook nooks and crannies in WS that we love to find.

We do two days for Epcot as well on each trip and our kids love world showcase. We have included the Kim possible thing and the phineas and ferb trek as well so maybe that made it more interesting.

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[FlightlessDuck]

In my opinion, World Showcase is really boring unless you like to window shop and watch street performers. It's really just a glorified outdoor mall with two rides and three short movies.

 

[wiigirl]

We do two days for Epcot as well on each trip and our kids love world showcase. We have included the Kim possible thing and the phineas and ferb trek as well so maybe that made it more interesting.

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Us too!

 

[Ashlander]

My kids love World Showcase. We do Agent P and also like touring the countries. We are normally looking for hidden mickeys and trying the food so it keeps them entertained. The kids have never complained and don't seem to notice there are not a lot of rides.

 

[lucyem]

We never do the world showcase in one day like that. Our normal day is rope drop at a park, afternoon pool, evening dinner at epcot. Kids are worn out and happy to snack and explore a country or two and play Agent P.

 

[kiramay]

We spent 2 days in Epcot with twin ds7 and ds2 on our last trip, and we loved it. The kids loved having Agent P stamped in each country, seeing the movies and exhibits, the rides (maelstrom at last 3 times), and exploring. Dh and I enjoyed the food and alcohol.

Then the rest of Epcot... Test Track was their #1 ride. 6 times or so? And Club Cool was awesome.

 

[smitch425]

We just got back. We allocated 2 days for Epcot, the first day wasn't too bad, we just explored Future World and the pavilions.
The second day we explored World Showcase.

Kids like: Soarin', The Sea pavilion with Nemo and Crush. Spaceship Earth. The 3 Caballeros in Mexico.

We love the World Showcase (especially because the food and wine festival was going on!) but our kids absolutely hated it. They got cranky and they whined and cried and it's just terrible. They are 8 and 4. They hated it because there was no ride, they are not interested in the food or the cultural stuff.
They played Agent P, but this took a lot of time (even though it's pretty cool) and they shared a phone so they managed to bicker and fought over the phone too.

They can color, but there were only TWO choices of things to color, Duffy Bear or Agent P. So, in each world showcase country they can color but there were only 2 choices.

So, use your own judgement. For me if I ever go back there, we'll probably just go around the Future World and skip the World Showcase until the kids are older. We only went the second day because of the Princess Storybook dinner at Askershus.

There are two rides in the World Showcase. They are in Norway and Mexico, and they are great themed boat rides. Did you miss them?

 

[3pletprincesses]

it just goes to show how kids are soo different. My girls love the WS since they were 4. the love to talk to the CM and learn stuff about other countries. they like to snack around the world with us. As a matter of fact, we are going in a month and WS snack is part of our schedule. We will be doing Agent P stuff this year for the first time. I've scheduled 3 days there but we do have 3 hours afternoon break everyday. I do have to agree tho that it's boring to have the same 2 images in every country.

 

[mousehunter3]

Last time we went our kids were 1, 4, and 6. They weren't particularly impressed with World Showcase, but they did okay. Overall, Epcot was their least favorite. There were a lot of neat things, even in Future World, that they were too young to enjoy that I think they will really like this time.

We probably will walk through again and see how it goes in terms of their attention span. I would like to check out the Food and Wine Festival a bit. My family is more into rides and other types of attractions. As a matter of fact, the only thing that motivates DH to do World Showcase is the beer in Germany.

 

[crisi]

We never do the world showcase in one day like that. Our normal day is rope drop at a park, afternoon pool, evening dinner at epcot. Kids are worn out and happy to snack and explore a country or two and play Agent P.

That is what we do as well. Our World Showcase time is usually only about two or three countries at a time. No one is big shoppers, sometimes we watch shows, but for the most part we just sort of wander through - when the kids were little, they were more than happy to sit in the stroller and soak up the atmosphere. A little older and they played Kim Possible (now Agent P).

Now, when we went with my mother in law, she would have never LEFT World Showcase. She and her sister spent hours going through each country, sitting down and watching people and soaking in the atmosphere (while we went to a different park with the kids for RIDES).

(In addition to the two rides that are back there, there are movies in France, Canada and China - and the real secret for kids in Epcot - it can be one of the best character greeting spots in the World. There aren't the ton of Little Princesses to put through in the World Showcase that there often are in the other parks. And the character greets are themed to the country - Jasmine in Morocco and Mulan in China and Aurora or Belle in France - we've run into Princesses several times near the International Gateway with no other tourists in sight - and when my daughter was prime princess age, those interactions were really special.)

 

[happymommy]

All kids are different! My kids always LOVED Epcot since they were 2 and 4. I have to drag them from some places, like Club Cool (okay, so we've tried it, but they INSIST on going any time we're near it!) and Innoventions (they could spend days in there, but thank God I can rest on a bench if I'm tired). They love the countries and getting snacks, only a very little shopping (we're not really big shoppers).

I would still not advise others to avoid Epcot with little kids, but everyone has different likes.

PS: My DS has never liked really fast rides, although he likes Test Track, so slow things are cool for him. Maelstrom even used to scare him!

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

DD9 is exactly the opposite - I planned a half-day at Epcot for us last weekend & she just kept adding more & more to the to-do list once we got there. No matter how many times she's seen the Japanese drummers, Chinese acrobats, Italian mimes, etc. she has to stop for every performance. We finally left the park around 7:30 pm, completely skipping our half day at MK as I had originally planned... and she STILL hadn't finished everything on her list even though I kept trying to keep her on-task & moving.

 

[dismom9761]

My kids have loved WS since they were

 

[dismom9761]

My kids have loved WS since they were 3,8 and 9 yrs old. I actually have a picture where DH fell asleep at a table because mine had watched the wood carver in Africa so long.