**Saturday Spotlight on Epcot World Showcase**

[KayleeUK]

Welcome to the second Saturday Spotlight, today we are focusing on Epcot – World Showcase (not including Food and Drink), these will be covered another week.

So just like last week we will post a few hints and tips and then we want you guys to join in.

Saturday Spotlight is aimed at helping you get that little bit extra from your trips to Orlando. We’re not trying to rewrite the guide books and web pages dedicated to the nuts and bolts information, but hope we can add a bit of our own icing on the cake.


So today’s topic is Epcot – World Showcase……what tips do you have??

• Norway boat ride, be the first of the day and get a Viking hat with a certificate that says ‘Viking of the Day’

• There is a garden behind England in Epcot - stop and smell the flowers and just relax.

• Enter Epcot through the International Gateway before 11 a.m., take a leisurely stroll through UK and Canada with no crowds. Get some great pictures!

• In Japan at Epcot, there is an nice exhibit of Japanese baseball memorabilia. It's like a mini hall of fame. Plus, it is air conditioned.

• There is a Hidden Mickey in the wall mural at the Norway ride

• Be in Germany at the top of the hour, apparently there is a lot of noise.

• Did you know you can get an Illuminations cruise, see this thread


Check out the DIS for general information about Epcot here

Also each Sunday we will continue talking about the Saturday Spotlight topic in Chat at 7pm. So please come and join us for that, if you are new and haven't chatted with us before don't worry it is easy to do. This is a link to the Chat Room you can always access and practice before Sunday

Who is next with their tips??

 

[maleficent_man]

Thanks Kaylee

They will only do the Norway thing for the kids (at least they wouldn't let me be the Viking of the Day - bah humbug!!!)

Nick

 

[wils]

Stop in Japan to watch Miyuki - the candy lady. She makes amazing animals out of rice dough. Get there before showtime if you want to have one made for you.

 

[Goofyish]

There is nothing nicer than strolling slowly around the World Showcase after Illuminations has finished and the crowds have dispersed. Just take a seat after Illuminations and watch everyone else rush the exits. Then take a nice slow stroll enjoying the peace and quite - a lovely end to a hectic day

 

[Miffy2003]

If you have children, consider buying the World Showcase Passport. This comes with 2 pages for each country, a set of stickers and room for a CM from each country to write something about their country and stamp it. There's also a big badge to wear. Cost was $10 and really worth it. Our DDs thoroughly enjoyed this!

Also, consider doing the KidCot fun stops. The children pick up a mask - which they can decorate / colour in, at the first country. They get a stamp from each country and a new "mascot" to attach to the mask at each country. Great fun!

There are lots of characters to meet as well to keep the children interested. We saw Mary Poppins in the UK; Belle and Aurora in France; Aladdin & Genie in Morroco etc.

There is currently a Japanese Tin Toy exhibition in Japan which we enjoyed.

It's fun to see pearls extracted from oysters, polished and measured in Mitsukoshi in Japan.

They were giving out free sweets at the Mexixo KidCot fun stop when we were there last.

 

[AlanUK]

One of the things that I enjoy about world showcase are all the little displays that they put on for each country such as the Mime artists in France and the drummers in Japan

(I also like all the food in the food and wine festival but were not allowed to talk about that today )

 

[KayleeUK]

Each year there is the International Flower and Garden Festival.

With some gorgeous displays and even some music concerts

Click HERE for more info.

 

[vernon]

I agree with Alan, I love the drummers from Japan.

Just wanted to underline the "enter through the International gateway" idea. Maybe start with breakfast at the excellent Cape May Cafe at the Y+B hotel then take a quiet stroll into Epcot via the back door. This is a great way to experience some of the World Showcase without all the crowds. You are expected to make your way directly through to the open part of the park, but no one chases you along too quickly.

 

[MsPennieLane]

One of my tips - try to see Off Kilter in Canada. Their music style is rock with a celtic flavour and bagpipes, I love seeing them. Oh and for the ladies, their legs look nice in kilts too

Anz

 

[Penny12]

Well how about...

Checking out the often overlooked mini-maze at the back of the UK pavilion – kids of all ages can have a lot of fun running around here, especially in the dark! (Been there, done that )

In the African outpost in the World Showcase, open the lids of the crates and see what happens. (Water related, so when dry nothing happens).

In Italy at the WS, if you wander around behind the shops (where the fountains are) look around for little red press-buttons that say "press for a surprise" (or something to that affect). If you press the button, water squirts from a different location- fun to see where the water comes from when you do it and then wait for an unsuspecting person to walk by...

The Kidcot stations are great...and best of all they are FREE!

 

[steve_rob]

When picking your spot to watch Illuminations from, remember to check which way the wind is blowing. Make sure it's away from you, otherwise no matter how great the viewing point you've picked, all you'll see is the smoke from the fireworks drifting towards you and obscuring everything else.

 

[Hilary]

If you're a returning visitor and you always seem to start WS at the same end, try starting from the other end or catch one of the boats across the lagoon to start in the middle - it's surprising how much detail you can miss if you always approach the countries from the same direction. Starting in the middle also means your interest isn't flagging by the time you get to the same countries each time

The Viking Longboat in Norway is actually a play structure. A good place for the kids to let off a bit of steam!

Although it's easy to pass them by, great attention to detail is paid to all the plantings in Epcot, not only during the Flower and garden festival. For example, the plants in the gardens in Canada change with the seasons to simulate the seasons in Canada. White in winter, gold and red in autumn etc.