Viking boat to climb on at Epcot?

[MissMagnolia]

On a post somewhere on the resorts page someone was talking about the different "playgrounds" for young children at the parks - I knew about all except the Viking boat at Epcot. Is this something in Norway? I've been to WDW four previous times and have never seen this, nor have I read about it in any guidebook.

Is there such a thing, and if so where is it and what is it like?

 

[WDWAurora]

Ok, if you're facing the Norway pavilion, it's to the left side of the Stave church, kind of in front of the bathroom area, near the grassy roofed shelter. I'm not sure how new it is. It arrived somewhere during my Disney "break" but it sure does seem neat for kids!

 

[lentesta]

The boat is bigger than one might think. Sorry it hasn't been mentioned in the Unofficial Guide yet.

I'll take this opportunity to note that inside the stave church, there's a plaque saying the church is sponsored in part by by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments. And the plaque says that membership is open to anyone. So I joined.

Like any club worth entering, membership in the Society isn't easy to obtain. For one thing, the website (http://www.fortidsminneforeningen.no/) is written entirely in Norsk. I have enough trouble with English, and Babelfish got me only so far.

But I managed to find the right link on the website to join (here: http://www.fortidsminneforeningen.no/medtxt.htm - click on the Ja!). Next came the problem of paying the membership fee of 350 Kroner (about $50 US). My local bank - go figure - did not stock a supply of Norwegian currency, and the exchange rate made flying to Oslo look cheap.

Luckily, a trip to Canada allowed me to change USD for Kroner (of course!). I used Babelfish to translate a letter to the Society (which probably came out as "Hi! Speak Norsk not me! Take money please, worth fifty dollars. I am pleasured by your shiny writings.")

With my membership paid, I now get a glossy magazine, written entirely in Norsk, around four times per year. The pages are filled with glossy photos of very old, very Norwegian-looking structures. The people are uniformly attractive. The stave churches are cool, and if my 350 Kroner can help preserve a couple of 'em, then it's money well spent.

Soon to start signing my checks LeØnard,

Len

 

[jaysue]

It is fun to play on - DS#1 loved it on his last trip....

thanks
jaysue

 

[shelleybell]

I have several pictures of my DS playing on it. It is a nice resting place in an otherwise long trip around WS.

 

[MissMagnolia]

Thanks everyone!

We will be visiting in January with my DH, 3-1/2 year old DS, 8 month old DD, MIL, and friends of ours with a 3-1/2 year old son. We are very excited, but know we need plenty of fun play stops for the boys. Grandma will probably look forward to the rests too!

 

[DisneyMom5]

Len, that is HYSTERICAL! First good laugh of the day, and believe me when I say, I needed it!



After reading your post, I went and looked in my UOG (2001 ed.), and there you were.
(I'm rather new here, so I don't know everyone yet.)
I salute you, and your co-workers on a mouseterpiece of a book!


My kids will love the viking boat!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

I went to the resorts page to look for the post on playgrounds and couldn't find it, if anyone has the link, I'd appreciate it.

 

[KSgirl]

Len~

Thanks for starting my day off with a chuckle !

 

[jcemom]

LeØnard,


I have been wondering about this boat as well. I've read about it in a few places, but no details! It seems to be mentioned, but no information really given. What is on it to play with/on? Does it have water thingies? Slides? What?

 

[morphi]

I hate to burst bubbles, but for those of you who haven't seen the boat yet, don't get your expectations set too high. The boat is just a wooden structure that looks like a viking boat with a deck on it that kids can run around on. There is one elevated area where they can slide down a pole to the ground (about 5-6 feet off the ground). I wouldn't call it a playground though since there isn't really anything to do except slide down the pole (whoopeeeeee).

 

[jcemom]

Thanks...that's what I needed to know!

 

[lentesta]

Hei (that's supposedly "Hi" in Norsk) everyone,

The boat has got to be at least 30 feet in length, and at least 15 feet wide. It's the size of a really big piece of playground equipment. It's set back, parallel to the Kringla Bakeri og Kafe - hope I spelled that right - , on the left side of the pavilion if you're looking at it from the front.

The usual playground amenities are included: a fireman pole to slide down, some stairs and other climbing stuff, mostly in rope to keep the theme. The boat has a pointy bow, so you can stand up front and do your best Captain Ahab impression. (Okay, Ahab wasn't Norwegian. I was going to go with Russell Crowe - same problem.) I don't recall any water features or slides, but I may be wrong about the slide.

I didn't let my DD5 go on it alone - it's too easy to fall down the opening of the sliding pole, and a lot of kids are running around blowing off some pent-up energy. If she were 8 or 9, I'd probably let her go while I snapped pictures, though.

A quick search of the web didn't show any photos of the ship, but I'll see what I have at home from the last vacation.

Ha det bra (See you later),

Len

 

[tar heel]

There's also a wood seesaw in front of the boat.

Loved your post, Len.

 

[fan_of_wdw]

There were some photos of the ship in a thread from July, World Showcase Secrets, but I think the pics have been dropped. Maybe you can PM somebody from that thread?

 

[ChairborneRangr]

New pics in the photo gallery.

Go here http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/Epcot_WorldShowcase/pages/B-Norway-03a.htm

 

[jcemom]

Thanks! It definitely looks like it's worth letting the boys explore!

 

[lentesta]

Thanks ChairborneRangr!

Len