Epcot w/a 6yr old?

[MomLC]

Where can I find some great ideas on how to visit Epcot w/ my 6yr old dd. She likes Epcot to begin with but I want to make the most out of her visit. We will be there at the end of April. Thanks for the tips!

 

[disnut8]

Of course, there are the KidCot stations. Other (inexpensive) ideas would be to collect postcards from each of the countries or to do pressed pennies. My granddaughter had fun with that because the machines are usually not right out in the open. Another idea is to get a world map (free from AAA) and find the countries on the map. One thing our granddaughter liked was to at least sample a bit of each of the country's entertainment. You can also check out the flowers and trees (almost all of them have stakes with info on them) of each country.

 

[ryley26]

I can't say enough about the live shows. Some are truly amazing the candy lady, the acrobats ,the comedy show in UK just a few. Our kids love the show not to be missed.

 

[micmacmissy]

Things to do with young kids at Epcot:

1. Kidcot lanyard stations in Future World.
2. Kidcot mask stations in World Showcase.
3. Make your own passport (or buy one) and have them stamped.
4. Pressed pennies and hidden mickeys!
5. Innoventions buildings--play the games!
6. Innoventions buildings--build your own robot to take home- free.

 

[bradk]

make sure you read http://www.stitchkingdom.com/kidcot and http://www.stitchkingdom.com/discovery (for DAK)

 

[turnlisa]

Our annual tradition is to do a candy scavenger hunt. We give each of our kids $20 and they buy different candy from each country. The rules are that you have to stay within the range (all countries for the $20) and you have to get enough to share. My kids love this and for $40, it's cheap entertainment. Also means that we have to go in the shop, and my kids ask the CMs about the best candy, etc. Lots of interaction and a fun souvenir to take home. We don't eat it while we are there. Once we get back we eat one coutry each night and decide which was the best choice. Just an idea (and something we will be doing in a couple of weeks!)

 

[joy13]

There are lots of characters in the World Showcase!

 

[IHEARTNY]

I'm very very suprised it was never mentioned but there is a Plastic Works station in Innoventions in the Future world in which you learn about the different kinds of plastics, make computerized robots, race them against other people's robots and the best part is at the end where you get to piece together your own robots for FREE! Weird thing at Disney to hear, free, but it's very cool, even as a 22 year old, I can't get enough plus for a kid you get learning (directed to kids so that they're not bored), excersize and a free goodie! I make a point to go everytime and even though you're only supposed to make one, I confess that I always make a couple.

 

[cowtownmom]

Our annual tradition is to do a candy scavenger hunt. We give each of our kids $20 and they buy different candy from each country. The rules are that you have to stay within the range (all countries for the $20) and you have to get enough to share. My kids love this and for $40, it's cheap entertainment. Also means that we have to go in the shop, and my kids ask the CMs about the best candy, etc. Lots of interaction and a fun souvenir to take home. We don't eat it while we are there. Once we get back we eat one coutry each night and decide which was the best choice. Just an idea (and something we will be doing in a couple of weeks!)

What a fun idea! I think we'll have to do this on our trip this summer.

 

[PC MOM]

We made this like a treasure hunt. We started at Canada and we told her about the station in each country.

Well, I never saw a little girl (she's 7) so interested in moving.

We also made a point to get a small souvin... from most countries..nothing expensive...something like a very small Effile Tower in France $6....the little things bellydancers put on their fingers in Morroco $7.

I LOVE the candy idea.......and will definately do that next time.

Anyways, the desire to get to all the stations got us around the world in an afternoon.(~41/2) hours. "I" would have liked to slowed down but she was having a good time. We got her autograph book stamped and signed in each country and saw lots of characters with very small if any lines.

The mask she colored is proudly displayed in her room now...and she often speaks of her treasure hunt around the world.

We really enjoyed our day at Epcot. (oh, and we had late ressies at the Rose and Crown pub and she got choosen to start the fireworks.)

 

[ocalla]

Glad I am not the only "bad momma" that lets her kids hunt down Candy all throughout EPCOT!!! Heck, we are on vacation, eat candy all you want!!!

And if you really explore all around each country, NOT just the main attraction, you can see some really wonderful things. In fact our family seems to rush through Future World just to get the World Showcase faster.

Mine also love the pressed pennies, masks, most of the entertainment (especially the drummers in Japan). We really let her spend a lot of time in Mexico looking around the shop there. And always grab a few snacks around the world like pastries in France, kaki Gori in Japan, Beaver Tails in Canada (not sure if that is still there).

I was not sure if our kids would enjoy EPCOT as much as the other parks, but they both LOVE it. In fact we spend our evenings there each day after we visit the other parks. maybe it's because you can take it at a more relaxed pace, kind of sit back and smell the roses thing after full days of running around ride after ride.

 

[RllngRckBrw]

There are lots of characters in the World Showcase!

SOmetimes you need to go out of the way to find them. Like with Aladin, Jasmine, and Genie in Morocco.

 

[RllngRckBrw]

I am assuming that this is a World Showcase question. But in Futureworld a 6 year old can do just about everything. If you have yet to do Soarin, it was a must for my DS 5 last year. Test Track is intense for a child but still mid enough for the whole family. We really enjoyed the Journey to imagination ride with Figmint (and it was a walk on). and Nemo. If you want to catch the Disney characters (Micky, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto) I think the best spot to catch them is right at rope drop go to the right toward the gift shop (not sure waht the name of it is Mouse Gears maybe. Just before the gift shop turn left into the building (this line will be over an hour long in the afternoon) we walked right in and got a lot of personal interaction with the characters. In fact since there was no one lin line behind us we ween got a few pics will all of the characters. Everyone was running to Soarin so no one stayed back for this, Nemo or anything else.

In World Showcase I was concerned that my son would not enjoy this part of the day. In fact he loved it. We stopped at eath Kidcot stop and did the mask and the Passport. He was very excited about going to the next country for this. We also stopped at each country and let him lead the exploration of the back streets and courners of each country, he kept calling it his adventure. We ended up staying at WS for about 10 hours and still had to rush through the last 3 countries.

 

[FFerret]

Our annual tradition is to do a candy scavenger hunt. We give each of our kids $20 and they buy different candy from each country. The rules are that you have to stay within the range (all countries for the $20) and you have to get enough to share. My kids love this and for $40, it's cheap entertainment. Also means that we have to go in the shop, and my kids ask the CMs about the best candy, etc. Lots of interaction and a fun souvenir to take home. We don't eat it while we are there. Once we get back we eat one coutry each night and decide which was the best choice. Just an idea (and something we will be doing in a couple of weeks!)

What an AWESOME idea! See, that post shows why I spend hours at DIS!!!
We tried the World Showcase twice now--one time we started in Canada, but didn't make it past. And the other time--well, let's just say we didn't even start...
My little "ferrets" are now seven and nine, and this just might be the dangling carrot at the end of the stick

We'll give it a try in April!
Hoping to snag a Curly Wurly in UK myself; they're supposed to be the same as the American Marathon bars of the 70s....

 

[ilisao]

the little things bellydancers put on their fingers in Morroco $7.

Just an FYI, they're called zills (I'm a bellydancer).

The candy idea is a total keeper!

 

[JodyLynC]

My girls were 2.5 when we last went and they loved Epcot. They will be 5 when we go again. They are really interested in learning about other countries. Before we go to WS, I am going to make an index card for each country. On it I will write how to say "Hello" "Thank You" and "GoodBye" in the appropriate language. As well as a pertinent fact such as the name of the capital or such. Here are some activities we are planning:

- In addition to making the masks, we are going to make our own passports. Our passports will also allow the girls to get an autograph from the Kidcot CM and list where the city where he/she is from. Hopefully we can get a picture of the CMs to add to our "passports" which will give the girls a keepsake of their "friends" from around the world.

- DH and I are going to try to take a pic of the girls in each country so we and put in a photo album showing their "trip around the world."

- Instead of having a heavy sit down meal, we plan to sample a food from each country that we will all share (for example: Fish and Chips in UK, Cream Puff in France)

- Chocolates around the world is one of my favorite pastimes. I love to buy a chocolate from each country. Now my DDs can participate.

- Bagged snacks from around the world. Many if not all of the gift shops also have bagged chips, crackers, etc. from their country.

- Postcards and flyers from around the world. I plan to let them collect a postcard from each country. Also, many of the countries have tourist info on their country, which I plan on collecting.

When we get home, I plan to get a white binder that my girls can decorate. I will fill it with pages for photos and keepsakes so that my DDs will have to keep their passports, photos, index card, and postcards for their enjoyment. (The chocolates and snacks will be eaten.)

I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!