Is EPCOT becoming the second best park to take young children?

RamblinWreck

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 16, 2008
Messages
973
Obviously Magic Kingdom reigns supreme in this category.

Frozen Ever After
Journey into Imagination
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
Turtle Talk with Crush
Nemo / The Seas
Livin with the Land! (best ride ever)
Moana's Journey of Water (soon)


This is only going to be my second trip to Disney since having children, so this is sort of new territory for me.

It does seem like there are a lot more attractions and even rides at EPCOT that the tiny little kids can take part it and enjoy than there are at any other park not named Magic Kingdom. Am I wrong?
 
I have a son that is big enough for all rides but does not ride anything fast at all. We counted up the rides at Epcot and there was the most there for him (besides MK).

HS does have some shows that young ones can enjoy and Epcot really doesn’t.

Additional things at Epcot for young kids:
Spaceship Earth
Play areas after Figment and Mission Space
Playgrounds
Lots of character meets-I think the most of any park I’ve seen
The Mickey Shorts- these are so good and a great break from the heat
Boat ride in Mexico
Beauty and the Beast sing along movie in France
Water features (jumping water up by exit of Figment)
There’s some things in the countries littles might enjoy. The big train set in Germany, the waterfalls in Canada, the koi ponds in Japan, characters throughout, misting area in Africa, the show in America might be good for a nap for littles.
 

Last time we went to Disney my girls were 10 and 8. The last day we added a park day and I asked what park they wanted to go back to and they agreed on Epcot. Test Track and Soarin were just the right amount of thrill that they could both enjoy them...and that was before anything new!
 
I think it really depends on the kid. Kids can be mercurial but I do certainly see many young kids having a wonderful time at Epcot. I would’ve been quite happy if my LO loved Epcot when she was young, but sadly no, we had to watch Festival of the Lion King 11 times in one trip.
 
Epcot is all of our favorite park (2 40 yr olds, 8 and 4).

I certainly LOVE MK, but Epcot is just more of our style. We love the countries and my older daughter is really into that. We love the scavenger hunts and stuff to look at around us. Rides are good, but not really why we love it.
 
I wouldn't discard AK too quickly as the second best park for the little ones. Epcot has more for them, but my little guy really loved AK. The River Journey, the lights and play area in Avatar, Safari, the animal trails and exhibits, the Kites, Triceratop Spin, and the carny games in Dino Land. He loved all of that. Not sure which I think is truly second best, but either way, I think it is close
 
My son is 2 and talks about Epcot more than magic kingdom. He is constantly asking to go back to ride figment lol. I will say though that we’ve never taken him to HS and rarely go to AK
 
My kids really like Epcot. I love how it’s spread out and other than a few places in world showcase doesn’t get the extreme crowds of MK and DHS. My kids love Star Wars land but not much else at DHS, so overall like Epcot more. Their order last time we went was: MK, Epcot, AK, then DHS. They were 7 and 4.
 
Epcot is my 8 year old daughter’s favorite park! She likes to explore the countries/shops and collect the kidcot cards and do the scavenger hunts. It was already her favorite park, but the addition of GOTG takes it to the next level!!!
 
Epcot is a favorite of ours for low key park days. We go a lot on the weekend just to get out of the house because it's so laid back and easy! Between the two playgrounds they currently have set-up for F&G, post-Figment playspace, all the characters (more than any other park!), aquarium, the trains, garden in UK, and no height restriction rides (nearly none of which have any significant wait), it's a hit for us. Plus we can ride the boat across, do a loop on the monorail, and ride the Skyliner! It's every toddler's dream. He's 2 :)

I don't even bother with Frozen or Remy, usually, and he's still too little for kidcot stations and scavenger hunts.
 
I don't know what it is about this extremely low key/no frills ride that I absolutely adore and wouldn't miss out of all the rides there. I also love doing the behind the scenes guided tour as well.
My wife has been DYING to do the behind the seeds tour, which she fondly remembers doing with her dad, and she is so sad that it appears to not be coming back soon.
 
So we just returned last week and for my two soon to be three year old (he is 42 inches) Epcot was his second favorite and it was close for first!

He loves outer space so space 220 was incredible, and his reactions and excitement on Soarin we’re so cool. Soarin, Frozen, Ratatouille, and Nemo he wanted to go on over and over again! He only asked to go on Dumbo a second time at MK, nothing else.
 
When our kids are young they loved going around to the countries and coloring. They also loved going the hands-on activities in Innoventions.

Other kids liked it as well.

It was interesting to watch the other parents, who generally disliked all the things their kids were liking.

"We didn't come to Disney to color," I recall one mother saying as she dragged off her kid.

Anyway, I think kids like the activities and less-thrill ride focus of Epcot. More of a place to explore.
 
Family with teens here and we didn’t like Epcot at all. AK was our favorite park! Hollywood second favorite.
If we ever go back I will skip Epcot altogether.
 
We have always loved Epcot. Don’t forget Mexico Donald ride! We even skipped AK once to get a second Epcot day. Just so many great things for kids.

And lots of AC. HS is sooo hot with so little shade it can make for a really long day.
 







New Posts









Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Back
Top