Is Epcot worth it for 3 & 4 yr old?

[RainK]

I haven't been to Epcot in YEARS ( over 15 yrs). We opted not to hit it in 2006 when we went to Disney.
So, my questions is, is there anything for my 3 & 4 yr olds to do? I cannot imagine spending the entire day there, but if there is something worth while, then I may change my mind.

Thanks for your help.

 

[MommyIncredible]

We went on our first trip with the Family in 2006, and the day at Epcot was one of the best! At the time my DD was 4 and DS was just shy of his 3rd bday. We started the World Showcase in Mexico, and there the kids made masks. They were so excited to go to each country and get the stamp and charm added to their mask...it was like a big scavenger hunt. Also, at Epcot, we saw the most characters and had the best interactions with them - it was not crowed, so the characters really spent quality time visiting with the kids. It was awesome!

 

[beachwarmer]

The Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush were hits with my DD4. She also liked the Imagination ride with Figment and was tall enough for Soarin which she decided was her favourite ride.

She also loved the Kidcot stations both in World Showcase and the ones in Future World. We passed on a lot of the movies but the characters were around all the World Showcase too.

 

[CastleCreations]

Epcot does have a lot of "don't miss" things to see and do, but I guess it all depends on how well your kids hold up. It's a lot of walking, or stroller pushing, and the last time I was there, by the time we did all of the countries, I wanted to throw that mask into little old Epcot's man-made lake. LOL.. If it was me, with children that young, I would double up on another park, like MK or AK.

 

[lnh'smom]

We went on our first trip with the Family in 2006, and the day at Epcot was one of the best! At the time my DD was 4 and DS was just shy of his 3rd bday. We started the World Showcase in Mexico, and there the kids made masks. They were so excited to go to each country and get the stamp and charm added to their mask...it was like a big scavenger hunt. Also, at Epcot, we saw the most characters and had the best interactions with them - it was not crowed, so the characters really spent quality time visiting with the kids. It was awesome!

We went with our just turned 7 DS and DD4. I bought them the passports hoping that would occupy them so we could look around. As it turned out, we all had so much fun with them. We ended up going back 2 more times (obviously we had park hoppers)! The kids loved looking for each station to make their masks. They really enjoyed themselves.

 

[RainK]

Any restaurant recommendations in there?

My husband loves Italian, but I want something fun for the kids too.

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

Our first trip was in 2005 as a family. Our daughter was 4. We did Epcot for 1/2 a day and yes, there were some neat things for her there, she really enjoyed the Nemo portion and Soarin'. Also,there are "kidcot" centers which are like little craft centers for kiddo's. She really enjoyed it. I don't know if she enjoyed it enough for the price of addmission though.

As for restaurants...

We found that Alfredos was rather nasty. And prefered to eat at our hotel much better. We did eat lunch at that little space center food court thing though and that was good.

 

[surfgirl]

another one whose kids loved the mask.

eating options:
- Mexico next to the water
- our kids loved the baguettes at France.
- Daddy loves the beer in Canada, England.
- gelato in Italy.

girls or boys ? My girls loved the pick a pearl station in Japan... my ds also picked one that we turned into a necklace for Mommy.

 

[RainK]

Good tips. I have 1 boy and 1 girl.
I guess we'll do a 1/2 day there. For another $40 for the extra day pass it'ss be worth it.

My hubby isn't too thrilled about it - he has no interest. Oh well... lol
1/2 day won't kill him. there will be plenty of food for him to try - lol

 

[lmb]

I'd say it depends on how long you'll be in disney. We have a 3 yr old and even though we've hit all the kids attractions the only one's we'll go back to are nemo, turtle talk, the china gymnasts, the mexico ride. She liked doing the masks but I usually just go for a 1/2 day and then go for dinner and stroll around a couple of other nights.

 

[Mkrop]

Any restaurant recommendations in there?

My husband loves Italian, but I want something fun for the kids too.

For eating, counter service in The Land, Sunshine Season was excellent and had lots of variety.

For TS, the character meal, Garden Grill also in the Land was great. Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale served family style, so no getting up with little ones for buffet, lunch or dinner. This was one of our faves!

We loved Epcot this time. DSs were 9 and 4. DS4 loved Spaceship Earth, Nemo ride, Turtle Talk with Crush, Soarin (family fave ), the boat ride in the land, he thought the Mickey pumpkins were cool, the sprayers outside of TT 9did this while waiting) and the boat ride in Mexico.

 

[tjmw2727]

My kids have loved epcot since they were toddlers. There are new additions now for kids like turtle talk with crush, finding nemo and figment as well as a cute ride in Mexico and lots of fun stuff to do in the innoventions pavilions.

In the WS my dd's love making the mask and meeting the CM's and have always loved the live entertainment. I recommend the acrobats in China and the candy maker in Japan as well as the rides in Mexico and maybe Norway (one scary troll part may frighten some). We all enjoy the live band in UK (Beatles) Canada (celtic rock) and Morocco (rock with belly dancing). There is always something to do and see and its more interactive then the other parks. I think after all the stimulation of the MK especially my kids love to relax and enjoy Epcot. Ending the evening with Illuminations is a special treat for all of us.

We always spend at least one full day and several evenings at Epcot.

I do recomend renting a stroller - double for the OP if you aren't already bringing one. As a pp mentioned Epcot does require alot of walking.

Our favorite restaurants are LeCellier in Canada and Chefs De France in France for table service. Ramsdens Fish & Chips, the Cantina in Mexico and the Tangerine in Morocco for counter service. My dd's also like the counter service in both Japan and China. We also like the food court in the Land, lots of variety.

TJ

 

[Mkrop]

Good tips. I have 1 boy and 1 girl.
I guess we'll do a 1/2 day there. For another $40 for the extra day pass it'ss be worth it.

My hubby isn't too thrilled about it - he has no interest. Oh well... lol
1/2 day won't kill him. there will be plenty of food for him to try - lol

I think he will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

We went during the week of Ds 2nd birthday. He loved the figment ride and the imagination stuff, nemo ride, and the whole seas pavillion. He thought turtle talk was ok but, a little bit older kid would love it. He also really like the living with the land boat ride, the mexico boat ride, and innoventions (there was a big fire truck and some kind of cave thing they can run through among other things).
He couldn't have cared less about world showcase but, you have to do a little bit of stuff you want to do.

I HIGHLY suggest you and Dh ride soarin', it is awesome!

 

[NewRocDad]

We just came back a week ago from the GREATEST VACATION EVER, and both DS4 and DD2 had fun at Epcot. Some of the things they enjoyed...

-The Seas with Nemo and Friends, including Turtle Talk with Crush
-Soarin' (DS2 too short to ride), but I got to ride twice with baby swap
-The Three Caballeros boat ride in Mexico. They also got a big kick out of the fact that it was "night" in Mexico
-The Kidcot fun stops/the masks
-The acrobats in China
-Splashing in the kids play areas outside Innoventions (we brought their bathing suits for this)

Some meals they enjoyed at Epcot:
-Lunch at Coral Reef
-Hot dogs and Bratwurst at Sommerfest in Germany (Yummy Sauerkraut!)
-Dinner at Sunshine Seasons in The Land
-Dinner at Marakkesh in Morocco (bellydancer VERY entertaining for...um, them)

Figment was closed while we were there and we never made it to HISTA.

Anyway, bottom line: Go for it!

 

[kathie859]

When I read that folks don't think Epcot will entertain children or that adults don't think there's enough to do! Our last trip in October included a 4 yr old who loved the Kidcot stations and making the mask. Turtle Talk/Nemo Ride/Soarin/the boatride in the land/Test Track were just a few of his favorites and the live entertainment in the World Showcase is worthwhile. The boat ride in Mexico and the one in Norway, he also liked.

There's plenty of good eats, too. Love Chefs de France, Akershus with the princesses and the beer and sausages in Germany. Also, the Coca Cola shop with all the around the world soda pop to taste is fun for all.

We had his one yr old sister in tow and wouldn't have made it unless we had the double stroller. There IS a lot of territory to cover in Epcot

 

[5 for WDW]

Good tips. I have 1 boy and 1 girl.
I guess we'll do a 1/2 day there. For another $40 for the extra day pass it'ss be worth it.

My hubby isn't too thrilled about it - he has no interest. Oh well... lol
1/2 day won't kill him. there will be plenty of food for him to try - lol

I hope you enjoy Epcot. It is our family's favorite park. My kids are 10,8 and 4. They had a fit when we couldn't do a 4th day there in September.
We thought they would get their fill in three days..boy, were we wrong!

 

[mom2my3kids]

We almost decided not to do Epcot this year, but then decided to do a half day before MNSSHP. For us it is our least favorite park..

 

[drnlhome]

My kids were 7 and 9 when we went last year. While they were tall enough to ride all the rides, they loved the int'l showcase. We spent $10 for each of them to buy a passport and - wow - was it worth it! They loved it. We ate in Germany at the Biergarten and that was great as well. We actually spent more time at Epcot than any other park. Hope this helps and have a great time!

 

[jenseib]

We took DD who was 2 last March. We saw the most characters there and had lots of time with them. We took it easy and actually need a full day there, but didn't do big rides either. We were actaully really tired from the night before, but we had fun. DD loved the mask making too. DH went into the single riders line on test track (first time for him to ever ride it) and he really liked that alot.

What is the passport you guys are talking about?