Less popular epcott FW rides/attractions

[kristennn]

I am working on a touring plan and debating some of the less popular future world attractions -
Some I have never seen and some I don't remember well - either way i am looking for suggestions on which i should skip and which we should do. It will be me, my husband, my mother, and my 2 daughters who will be almost 3 and almost 9.

Circle of Life - never done this

Ellen's energy etc. - never done this. Leaning towards skipping it based on length

Journey to the imagination & imageworks
- I know we did this but I don't remember the ride part. I remember imageworks being kind of neat though.

Innoventions - I think I have only been to the one closest to Soarin. We spent a lot of time making a simulated video game that they emailed us but never made it I don;t know if I realized there were 2 innoventions.

Captain EO - never been to this - mostly ambivalent about Michael Jackson.


Plan to do for sure :
Soarin
living with the land
character spot
nemo
turtle talk with crush
spaceship earth

Just dh will do mission space and test track will be closed.
We will have 2 days at Epcot and plan to spend a lot of time in the world showcase and some of the FW attractions we will try to ride twice
Oh and we are going in early May and on recommended Epcot days.

eta - this is our 4th trip to Disney and we hope to continue going every other year for awhile - BUT it is my moms first and maybe only trip

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I would definitely recommend skipping Journey Into Imagination. What little charm the original ride had has all but disappeared with the many changes the ride has gone through. I would also avoid the Nemo ride, unless it's a complete walk-on, because it's pretty worthless. You'd be better off just touring the aquariums, lackluster as they are, on your own.

As for Captain EO, I think it's fun and nostalgic, but if you're not even the tiniest bit a fan of Michael Jackson's music, it should probably be skipped.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I do the Ellen ride every time I'm in Disney. Not really sure why, I think it's sort of a tradition. It's a really pointless ride, but if you wanna get off your feet or out of the heat (no rhyme intended) it's great. Be warned, though, the line for the ride really has no direction and people's manners seem to go out the door at this attraction.

 

[buffettgirl]

I like Ellen's ride too , and I actually still like Imagination if only to say "geez, it was so much better when I was a kid". LOL. but every once in a great while I hear a snip of music while on the ride and I'm instantly transported back. so I keep going, just for that.

Nemo is such a waste. It is probably one of the worst rides in all of Disney.

 

[figment_jii]

Circle of Life - never done this

Ellen's energy etc. - never done this. Leaning towards skipping it based on length

Journey to the imagination & imageworks
- I know we did this but I don't remember the ride part. I remember imageworks being kind of neat though.

Innoventions - I think I have only been to the one closest to Soarin. We spent a lot of time making a simulated video game that they emailed us but never made it I don;t know if I realized there were 2 innoventions.

Captain EO - never been to this - mostly ambivalent about Michael Jackson

I'm biased (as you can guess from my name), but I love Figment and never skip Journey Into Imagination. It's not the same ride as before, but it's still cute and fun. There isn't much to do in the Imageworks, unfortunately. This won't take a lot of time, so I would fit it in if possible.

Innoventions really depends on which part you're going to and what you do. It's not one ride, but more like a trade fair with lots of little games and activities. I would walk through it and see if anything catches your childrens' fancy.

For Circle of Life, Captain EO, and Ellen it depends on how your kids are at staying seated. Circle of Life and Captain EO are both movies and if I had to pick, I would choose Circle of Life. I'm not a Michael Jackson fan, but more importantly, I remember the Angelica Houston character scaring me as a child. Assuming they're on, the leap frog fountains up by EO are fun.

Ellen is, as the PP said, a good way to take a break in an air conditioned ride. But be warned that it's about 45 minutes long and you can't leave once it's started. I like the dinos in the middle, but wish they'd drop the Ellen part (especially now that the "science" she's trying to teach is out of date and not entirely accurate).

 

[Karpkg]

I am working on a touring plan and debating some of the less popular future world attractions -
Some I have never seen and some I don't remember well - either way i am looking for suggestions on which i should skip and which we should do. It will be me, my husband, my mother, and my 2 daughters who will be almost 3 and almost 9.

Circle of Life - never done this

Ellen's energy etc. - never done this. Leaning towards skipping it based on length

Journey to the imagination & imageworks
- I know we did this but I don't remember the ride part. I remember imageworks being kind of neat though.

Innoventions - I think I have only been to the one closest to Soarin. We spent a lot of time making a simulated video game that they emailed us but never made it I don;t know if I realized there were 2 innoventions.

Captain EO - never been to this - mostly ambivalent about Michael Jackson.

Plan to do for sure :
Soarin
living with the land
character spot
nemo
turtle talk with crush
spaceship earth

Just dh will do mission space and test track will be closed.
We will have 2 days at Epcot and plan to spend a lot of time in the world showcase and some of the FW attractions we will try to ride twice
Oh and we are going in early May and on recommended Epcot days.

Here's our favorites/not favorites of a family of 4 with DS 7 and DD9

Innoventions- Waste Management (while DH and DD did Sum of All Thrills)
Land Pavilion (Soarin', Living with the Land, Circle of Life(so I can rest my feet))

Sea Pavilion (Nemo, Turtle Talk, walking around the exhibits)

Mission (Green), TT when up

We skip Ellen. Space Ship is low in the totem pole, we'll go in if we feel like it.

DD likes Journey into Imagination. We adults think the Michael Jackson one is so cheesy now, so we skip it.

In the World Showcase the kids have just discovered Kim Possible and love it. I highly suggest it. It'll change in the summer but right now as Kim Possible it's very popular. Maestro of course.

Discovery Kidcot. Remember you'll be forced to carry Duffy on a stick from this point on as you go through the world.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Call me crazy, but the Coca-Cola igloo is a must!

 

[LaurenT]

There's the Great Piggy Bank Adventure....or something like that in Innoventions...my DD always has to do that one. Also StormStruck is good for a one time thing provided you have time to kill.
Circle of Life will have you feeling that you're not doing nearly enough for humanity....

If you've never stopped into Club cool, you should definitely check it out (and try the Beverly of course).

 

[Karpkg]

There's the Great Piggy Bank Adventure....or something like that in Innoventions...my DD always has to do that one. Also StormStruck is good for a one time thing provided you have time to kill.
Circle of Life will have you feeling that you're not doing nearly enough for humanity....

If you've never stopped into Club cool, you should definitely check it out (and try the Beverly of course).

We keep missing the other Innoventions and we just found the location of where the Beverly is at but we didn't have time to go into there. We always do characters but the one we keep missing is the Character Spot since we already have those characters. But because of the colorful backgrounds we'll have to do that next time.

 

[kristennn]

We love the Nemo ride I will wait til there's not much of a line though. Last time we went I think we did it three times in a row - no one was waiting so they let us keep riding - and we love spaceship earth too! I enjoy the cheesiness of it.

We'll also stop by the coca cola station at some point.

I just wasn't sure if the others I mentioned were something I was missing out on. I am leaning towards trying to catch circle of life - since my girls have recently been watching lion king and my 8 year old is a budding environmentalist.

I think I would be into the energy one if it wasn't outdated and it was a little shorter.
Debating journey into the imagination and captain EO - and we will go into at least one of the two innoventions. We have to go there to get our Kim possible missions right? Sum of all thrills sounds cool - but the only one in our family that likes thrill rides is my husband. Do they have the same thing at Disneyquest? Also do you have to go on journey to the imagination in order to get into image works - or does it have a separate entrance?

 

[LaurenT]

Image works is a shell of it's former self when it was sponsored by Kodak....
Very little to do there now.
I see that only two of you will do Mission Space, but did you know that there was a great playground there for kids and also a very cool mission control thing where you can either man a support station or compete against another team in a spaceship race? You should check it out...just walk in the exit....where the gift shop is. Go past the gift shop and you'll see the space....

 

[PersonalizedMouse]

These are my family favorites...
Me, DH, DD8, DS9, DS11

Soarin and Test Track are a must
All the boys love Mission Space...I am clausterphobic and avoid it like the plague.
We love living with the land...don't know why but we do
We also like spaceship earth a lot
We did Figment this time..DD8 loved it, the rest of us not so much
We also did the Ellen ride for the first time. It was long, but it gave us a break. The kids liked the dinosaurs. We might do it again or we might not.
We have never done Captain EO nor will we ever

I also agree with previous poster...Free Coca Cola Station is a must stop. When do you get something free at Disney

 

[mountdew1]

Circle of Life is a nice little movie. Pretty much never has a line, just check on your way to/from Soarin and if the movie is about to start, stop in.

Ellen isn't bad, but its a bit outdated at this point, and does take a while.

Innoventions can be nice to meander through if it is raining outside, or you need an AC break.

Captain EO is cheesy, but there is a good chance it may be gone in the future. DLP is apparently closing EO soon, so the others may follow.

 

[jedi jen]

We always do figment and Ellen. Figment never has a line and takes little time to do. Little kids enjoy it (I smile too....shhhh.) We all like Ellen too.....but mostly for the dinosaurs. I loved them as a kid...I still do and so do my kids. Me and DD enjoyed Circle of Life one year. Have not done it twice, but enjoyed that I did it. Air condition and no line.....so depends on when you are going and how much time you have.

 

[kristennn]

Image works is a shell of it's former self when it was sponsored by Kodak....
Very little to do there now.
I see that only two of you will do Mission Space, but did you know that there was a great playground there for kids and also a very cool mission control thing where you can either man a support station or compete against another team in a spaceship race? You should check it out...just walk in the exit....where the gift shop is. Go past the gift shop and you'll see the space....

Only one of us for mission space - but I didn't know they had other interesting stuff in there - I have never walked in the building so thanks for the tip!
We were last at imageworks in March of 2010 - I think it was sponsored by Kodak then. So it's changed significantly since then?

 

[earthfaries]

You definitely have to ride Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Both your kids will love it ~ it's very fun and kid friendly. There is usually never a line and it's a quick ride.

I also suggest walking through both Innoventions, but especially the one closest to Soarin'. My kids LOVE Innoventions and there is a fun attraction in there called the Piggy Bank Adventure that you can play with your kids.

Have fun!

 

[ttintagel]

Personally, I only recommend Journey into Imagination if you need shelter from the rain, a blast of air conditioning, or a rest for tired feet. It's boring at best and obnoxious at worst. They literally spray skunk smell on you at one point. It's true there's never a line, and with good reason.

I never rode it before the 2000's, so for me it was simply dull. But people I've met who have fond memories of the pre-1998 version with Dreamfinder and the second-story playground have described it as painful.

 

[LaurenT]

Only one of us for mission space - but I didn't know they had other interesting stuff in there - I have never walked in the building so thanks for the tip!
We were last at imageworks in March of 2010 - I think it was sponsored by Kodak then. So it's changed significantly since then?

Yes, they took out the area where the Kodak lady would pick a kid and send her photo through the air (DD was picked once, really cute souvenir), and you used to be able to buy your child's 3d cube, we got that for DD once and were going to do several as she grew up....oh well.
The mission space play area is a great spot to wait for DH. You can sit and rest while the kids burn off steam in the play area, or you can all have fun with the mission control games. It's air conditioned too, so a nice break if it's hot outside. In fact, if you're all tall enough, you can go through the main entrance and then at the end just tell the, you don't want to ride...you'll be escorted to mission control.

 

[xipetotec]

I am working on a touring plan and debating some of the less popular future world attractions -
Some I have never seen and some I don't remember well - either way i am looking for suggestions on which i should skip and which we should do. It will be me, my husband, my mother, and my 2 daughters who will be almost 3 and almost 9.

Circle of Life - never done this

Ellen's energy etc. - never done this. Leaning towards skipping it based on length

Journey to the imagination & imageworks
- I know we did this but I don't remember the ride part. I remember imageworks being kind of neat though.

Innoventions - I think I have only been to the one closest to Soarin. We spent a lot of time making a simulated video game that they emailed us but never made it I don;t know if I realized there were 2 innoventions.

Captain EO - never been to this - mostly ambivalent about Michael Jackson.


Plan to do for sure :
Soarin
living with the land
character spot
nemo
turtle talk with crush
spaceship earth

Just dh will do mission space and test track will be closed.
We will have 2 days at Epcot and plan to spend a lot of time in the world showcase and some of the FW attractions we will try to ride twice
Oh and we are going in early May and on recommended Epcot days.

eta - this is our 4th trip to Disney and we hope to continue going every other year for awhile - BUT it is my moms first and maybe only trip

This is another one of those things that will vary depending who answers.

My son ( now 13 ) STILL loves Journey into your Imagination. When he was 9, he looked at Figment with wonder, especially when "Imagination is a blast" at the end... And he still insists we ride more than once.

I would at least walk through Innoventions, see if anything catches your interest. Worst case, it's a 5 minute walk through. Best case, you see an exhibit that entertains you.

Circle of Life is really just a movie...

Ellen's Energy Adventure, we had done this years ago, had mostly skipped it after that, until this year. It's true that it's a 45min investment in time. But on a hot day, it's a good place to cool down for a bit. And it's kinda funny.

Captain EO. I actually remember being a kid and thinking how cool this was.... I also do have fond memories of Michael Jackson. But now this is *SO* ridiculously 80's... you might laugh...

 

[juncker]

We always do Ellen's adventure. It is a humourous entertaining ride that gives you a break off of your feet. One plus is that you don't spend much time waiting in line. They move loads of people through this ride. We find it a good one to do after lunch when all the headliner lines become unbearable.

I certainly agree that the information is not as educational or up to date as it should be, but I'm riding it for entertainment.

My vote is that if you've never done this ride, then you should.