Less popular epcott FW rides/attractions

[Alby]

While I always skip Journey into Imagination and Nemo when I go solo, and I agree they can be boring for adults, I think they are among the kid - friendliest attractions in Future World, and there fore a must-do in your situation.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

Another overlooked part of Epcot- MouseWorks (I believe the store is called) may be the best store other than the main one in DTD.

 

[BadgerFive]

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.

This is it exactly. I think one reason people hate this ride so much is because we like the previous version so much better. Of course my kids like it so what can I do.

We all love the Nemo ride as well, especially good if your kids are fans of the movie. Same ride concept as the Haunted Mansion for the most part.

 

[Suellen]

Just my thoughts... but I would never recommend you skip anything.... one person's Drew Carey Sound Stage could be another person's Toy Story Mania. Ya just never know!

Sure we skip things (never skip any of the things you mentioned) but we have at least seen it.

I just think everything deserves at least one trip through so you can make your own determination!

Have fun!

 

[mjallemand]

I can't fathom why you'd skip ANYTHING at Walt Disney World if you haven't done it at least once.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

Considering TT, Soarin, and Mission Space are the only popular rides, the rest should be pretty quiet (Spaceship Earth and Nemo get midday crowds). For the sake of it, see Captain EO as it might be going for good soon (it leaves Paris April 2). Nemo is a waste unless it's a walk on. Ellen is good (gotta love hearing THIS, IS, JEOPARDY!), but be warned the ride is 45 minutes. Figment is always a walk on, so for the sake of it ride it. I also recommend Club Cool (sodas from around the world) and Living with the Land (a boat ride through the greenhouses of Disney). And of course, if you don't ride Spaceship Earth, your not getting your moneys worth at Epcot.

 

[mjallemand]

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.

I only have vague recollections of the original Imagination attraction as I was quite young all the times I've seen it ('89, '94, and '97 if I remember properly) but even reminiscing of the original attraction via the internet is enough to compare the new version to being stabbed repeatedly.

That being said, if you're fresh off the boat, it's not terrible, but it's just incredibly medicore.

 

[Balt ravens fan]

If you like roller coasters Add Sum of All Thrills in Innoventions to your list (The innoventions near test track - I guess that is West?)

I would do Figment - it doesn't take long and it is a cute little ride.

I would say you have enough time to do Ellen's Universe of Adventure. If the line is long for Mission you could do this while your husband is on Mission Space.

I would do Captain EO too... it is a fun movie with 3D, the theater shakes, it is fun.

Since you have 2 days there, I would do everything in Future World at least once, and I would do Soarin 4 times (2 each day) if you can (if you get in for rope drop )

I would spend a lot of time in the Seas - See the Dolphin show - very underrated great "underwater" dophin show.

I would spend a lot of time in Innoventions - especially Sum of all Thrills.

Have fun!

If none of that does anything for you, there is always the pool at the resort - that is fun!

 

[2girlsmom]

My kids love Figment, and Nemo. We haven't done Ellen or EO yet, but we just spent over an hour in the seas pavilion and almost 3 hours in the innoventions buildings while they did every single activity in the joints last week. They did especially like the piggy bank one, the video game one, Sum of all Thrills. We also love Living with the Land. Not sure when you are going, but I wouldn't count out Test Track being open, at this point, they don't have a closing date.

 

[elaine amj]

2 days isn't enough time to do EVERYTHING in Epcot.

My take on the less popular rides:

Circle of Life & Living with the Land: We didn't do this on our last trip - didn't really have the time or inclination (even with 5 days at Epcot!). That said, we are definitely doing both on our next trip.

Innoventions: My non-roller coaster riding boy LOVED Sum of All Thrills! He wasn't tall enough to do inversions which bummed him. We started off creating the slowest, tamest coaster possible. He worked upwards to the baddest he could create when we were there. We did this about 5-6 times. My thrill seeker DD also loved it. That said, my non-thrill rider DH got a bit dizzy from riding the tame bobsled (did I mention he's a wuss?) so YMMV. To add to it all, we got links to online versions of our coaster rides and it was fun to come home and post them on FB and watch them as a souvenir.

The other games in Innoventions were fun. Storm Struck was neat. We spent a lot of time exploring all of Innoventions. The Great Piggy Bank Adventure was a huge hit and my kids did it about half a dozen times. I would say it appeals to all from 2-10 yrs. I did the Segway and it was VERY short but really fun to get a feel for what it's all about. One day, I'll do a full Segway tour - something that didn't appeal to me before. Where's The Fire is also a fun game. My son loved the free video games arund as well.

And as someone mentioned after Mission Space, there are some fun games to play as well as a little playground. We really enjoyed the games. Plus there's a free video postcard you can send. We emailed off about a half dozen of those to our friends. Great souvenir.

Ellen & Captain EO: Haven't done those yet...I can't stand Ellen so don't know if I can sit through 45 mins of her. The dinos sound cool though. WE may do Captain EO next trip - depends on if we have time.

Spaceship Earth: Love the ride. The email video at the end is fun. Plus we really liked the games afterwards. We only had 10 mins to spend there last trip so next trip, I plan at least a half hour in there.

Journey into Imagination: Its a cute Disney ride. Notspectacular - but very cute and I don't see why anyone would miss it - particularly those with small kids. The Imageworks afterwards is prob not as good as it used to be - but it's still fun. We spent about a half hour in here.

 

[Geoff_M]

Circle of Life - never done this

Skip-able... Combination animation/stock film footage presentation that's a bit on the "Humans are destroying the planet!" preachy side.

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

It is a big "time suck", and we skip it everytime now as a family, but it's worth seeing once and amusing to see what Ellen and Bill Nye looked like when they were a lot younger!

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.

This is a must for our family on every trip. You can walk right through the Imagineworks section if it doesn't appeal to you.

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.

Walk through it and just do the stations that look appealing and don't have long lines.

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

From my memory, it's inferior to HISTA, and if it weren't for the fact that MJ croaked I don't think this film would have ever been dusted off. If the line is short, and the wait time is small, go, but otherwise skip it.

 

[crazy_cremello]

Please please please don't skip Ellen's ride!! It is a bit dated but I think it's brilliant! Did it when I was 8 and loved it! It's funny and keeps you interested, it is quite a long ride but definitely worth it! Don't skip Spaceship Earth either as I love that ride

 

[kristennn]

I can't fathom why you'd skip ANYTHING at Walt Disney World if you haven't done it at least once.

I think the main reason would be limited amount of time. I don't think we've ever been to any of the parks and ran out of things to do.

 

[kristennn]

I was thinking captain EO was a *new* attraction - since really allI new was that it had replaced honey I shrunk the audience.

Is it *just* a film?

 

[kaligal]

Circle of Life - Has a beautiful beginning with lovely nature scenes shown while they play the song. Very well done couple minutes there The rest of it is a thing where Timon and Pumba discuss how people have harmed the environment. Nobody I've gone with has liked it, except for the beginning. Me included.

Ellen's energy etc. - I really love this, but don't know if I'd take a toddler. It is long for a little one. Maybe your mom could ride with people other than the toddler? Nobody I know didn't like it, but some liked it more than others.

Journey to the imagination & imageworks - unless the Captain EO movie just let out, there is almost never a wait for this. I love it, but most the adults I go with don't.

Innoventions - I haven't been in there in years. Sorry.

Captain EO - if you aren't a Michael Jackson fan, skip it. I like his music a lot, but the movie sucks. The only person I know who liked it is big fan of Michael Jackson.