What is so good about World Showcase in Epcot?

[brocklesnar69]

Are there any rides in World Showcase at Epcot? What is so special about it? Is it even worth looking at during our trip?

 

[Pats Dragon]

We love world showcase. The ambiance, gift shops, wines/beer, beauty, food make it worth going. They also have a neat ride in Norway and the show at the American pavilion is not to be missed. Use your imagination and pretend that you are actually in all of these countries. It is cool.

 

[brocklesnar69]

How long does it take to check out World showcase? (Like if we didnt do everything, if we just brisked through it all)? Could we get it done it a day? What kind of rides are there?

 

[Rella Bella]

There are rides... I wouldn't describe them as 'thrill rides'... but Malelstrom in Norway is a fastpass

It is worth your time. It is beautiful there are exhibits, gift shops & entertainment from all over the world. The cast members are really from the country they work in and for kids they have a 'passport' that they can get stamped at a craft station for kids in each country.

Some of the best restaurants (both sit down and counter service) in Disney are in World Showcase! It's a Disney version of a World's Fair, and there is so much to see that even after having spent 5 or 6days there in the last 3 years, we haven't seen everything (we keep wanting to repeat all the things we love and run out of time).

Plus you definitely want to see Illuminations at least once! It is every evening at 9:00 and it is awesome... music, fireworks, explosions, and the world as a movie screen... don't miss it!!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

1. When is your trip?
2. Kids?

The rides/attractions are.
1. I forget its name but there's a river ride in mexico. It's kind of like small world type stuff.
2. Maelstrom. Flume ride in Norway. Really good. There's a movie afterwards.
3. China. There's a circle vision movie and one of the girls comes out to play music before the show. Stand up.
4. France. A 180 movie about france. Sit down.
5. Canada A circle Vision movie about Canada Stand up.
6. The American Adventure.


The rest are restaurants and shops pretty much. There are also scheduled performance artists. China has acrobats. Japan has a big drum thing. Canada has a band. England had a comedy thing.

During late Sept-Nov they have the food and wine booths also, which are nice.

It's not all that great for kids imo. They have Kidcot where they take pasports to get stamped and coloring stations. They also have characters. Mulan is in china, Genie is in Morocco, There are pooh characters in the toyshop in Britain, France has Belle, etc. But It's more to keep them occupied rather than themepark type stuff.

And at the end of the evening there is illuminations.

 

[Rella Bella]

How long does it take to check out World showcase? (Like if we didnt do everything, if we just brisked through it all)? Could we get it done it a day? What kind of rides are there?

You could brisk through in a day... sometimes we've spent half a day... you won't get it "done" but you'll enjoy it.

 

[gssmks]

You definitely need to go to WS. Before my first trip, I really wasn't interested in it either. Our trip was during the Food & Wine Festival, and some of the people in our group wanted to try the different foods, so we went. I loved it. Don't just walk around. Really get into the different shops, displays and pieces of art. If you have children, purchase them a Passport. It's a packet sold by Disney that has a book, a pin and stickers for each of the countries. Then inside each country there is a Kid Stop (or what ever it is called). It has someone from the country that you are visiting there who will write something to your child in the what ever language is used there. My daughter had them write her name in each language. She loves it. The also let your child make a mask on a stick, and in each country a new piece is added and stamp is applied to the stick. I didn't really buy much, but I looked through every shop and loved seeing all the things native to the different countries. Finally, Illuminations was my favorite night time show.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

How long does it take to check out World showcase? (Like if we didnt do everything, if we just brisked through it all)? Could we get it done it a day? What kind of rides are there?

You could easily do a cursory walk through in a day. If you stop to browse a lot though no. But it is the restaurants and some of the performances that is the best of World Showcase. If you just walk around and do the attractions you'll probably think.

We came, we saw, we left, ho hum.

 

[Madhatter266]

We love going to World Showcase. We love tracking down the characters - Belle and the Beast in France - Mary Poppins, Winnie and friends in the UK, Jasmine and Alladin outside of Morroco, and Mulan in China. Sometimes we have practically been with the characters pretty much by ourselves. Some of our best photos have been with the characters in WS.

 

[BratTink]

I think my father used the best description and argument for going to the World Showcase. He and my mom went to Italy; when they got home he said "It was just like Epcot, except real". I still laugh at that. So, my answer is if you haven't travelled all over the real world, go see it in Epcot

 

[brocklesnar69]

1. When is your trip?
2. Kids?

The rides/attractions are.
1. I forget its name but there's a river ride in mexico. It's kind of like small world type stuff.
2. Maelstrom. Flume ride in Norway. Really good. There's a movie afterwards.
3. China. There's a circle vision movie and one of the girls comes out to play music before the show. Stand up.
4. France. A 180 movie about france. Sit down.
5. Canada A circle Vision movie about Canada Stand up.
6. The American Adventure.


The rest are restaurants and shops pretty much. There are also scheduled performance artists. China has acrobats. Japan has a big drum thing. Canada has a band. England had a comedy thing.

During late Sept-Nov they have the food and wine booths also, which are nice.

It's not all that great for kids imo. They have Kidcot where they take pasports to get stamped and coloring stations. They also have characters. Mulan is in china, Genie is in Morocco, There are pooh characters in the toyshop in Britain, France has Belle, etc. But It's more to keep them occupied rather than themepark type stuff.

And at the end of the evening there is illuminations.

I was planning on going in May '07.

No kids. Just me and my girlfriend.

So it sounds like Epcot will take more than a day to see everything huh. How is the dining at WS? Is it really expensive? Hmmm, well between the Future world place and World showcase at Epcot, which one is worth more of our time?

 

[dizmomof2]

We have been many (many, many...) times with our two kids. They LOVE the World Showcase! We have bought a World Showcase Passport for them before. At each pavillion they stamp the passport with a special Mickey stamp from that country. The CM's alway write a note in their language with a translation for us. They have always taken the time to talk to us and love to share about their country.

The kids also love the little craft stops. They enjoy going to all of the little shops around the world to check out the different items. They even learned to play the drums in Morrocco thanks to a CM! We often eat little snacks in many of the countries to sample all different foods.

If you like the Beatles then you won't want to miss the "British Invation" show at the Great Britian pavillion. The living statues at France or Italy are lots of fun and the comedy plays in both Italy and Great Britain are hilarious!

If you just want thill rides then it's probably not the place for you. It is a great place to spend some time. You could rush and get all the way around the lagoon but you wouldn't see it all. It is definitely wirth a visit though, IMHO, even if it's only for a little while.

 

[Rella Bella]

I was planning on going in May '07.

No kids. Just me and my girlfriend.

So it sounds like Epcot will take more than a day to see everything huh. How is the dining at WS? Is it really expensive? Hmmm, well between the Future world place and World showcase at Epcot, which one is worth more of our time?

With no kids...
I would hit the 'big' rides in future world, Mission Space, Test Track and Sorin, maybe visit Living Seas... then head for WS. Most of the rest of future world is fun but aimed more at kids & families. I bet your GF will reallly enjoy WS... and Ullliminations can be very romantic.

 

[NurseJamie]

If you go to WDW because you like the rides, then WS is probably not going to be an exciting experience for you. It has a couple small-scale, leisurely rides but no big thrills. FutureWorld is probably more for you, with Soarin' and Test Track (neither of which are really even 'thrill' rides) and MS.

However, if you are one of the blessed people who can revel in an afternoon spent in the details, WS is definitely for you. Each country has spectactular food choices, and shops full of interesting and unique items. The CMs in WS are extremely nice and personable, and don't mind you poking around playing with things and not buying them.

Most countries have a small, counter service type restaurant in addition to a larger table service restaurant. The price of the food compares to other places in WDW - I actually found that some of the small, dessert/snack type items are kinda cheap for WDW (kaki gori in Japan was $2.50 I think, and one of my favorite snacks from WS). So if you graze and get small items from each country, it might even be a deal. I've only eaten at one of the table service restaurants (Alfredo's) and I didn't find it particularly spectactular, but I have heard wonderful things about Le Cellier in Canada and Les Chefs de France in France (duh). I hope you go and at least give it a chance - it's a place you think you're gonna go check out for an hour or 2 and end up spending the whole afternoon there

 

[Pea-n-Me]

If we only go to one park, we usually choose Epcot since the WS is one of our favorite things to do - even our young kids love it now. You've been given lots of good ideas. Sample the foods and begin to develop your favorites (one of ours is the hot cinnamon buns from Norway's bakery). If you want a diversion, you can stroll out through the International Gateway over to the Epcot resorts area and then go back in - or, you could exit that way and spend some time there afterward.

 

[Mom to Will and Finn]

Oh my gosh, it's wonderful! I wouldn't dream of missing it. There are rides in some of the countries (Mexico, Norway...hmm is that it?), but it's just such a wonderful experience of walking through the countries, meeting people from the actual countries (CMs), hearing their music, sampling their food, seeing their shows, etc. The theming is awesome and some of the countries are breathtaking. My kids love it almost as much as dh and I do. We took my youngest when he was 10 months old and he loved it. Plus, there are a lot of characters that you can't find anywhere else (or they're hard to find in other places, anyway).

I would much rather skip the rest of Epcot, than skip World Showcase. And, in Italy, by the water is an excellent place to watch Illuminations.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

The World Showcase is basically a place to eat, drink, and be merry.I love to have a glass or two of champagne and go watch the British Invasion (Beatles tribute band) in the UK, Off Kilter (Celtic rock group in Canada) and Mo' Rockin' (world music group in Morocco).

I love the ride in Mexico (very retro/kitschy--I bet they haven't changed it since Epcot opened in the 70s!) and the ride in Norway (ditto). There's also a tin toy museum in Japan, an outstanding circular movie in China, and wine, beer, and counter service snacks in almost every country. France has an amusing acrobatic act.

The World Showcase is our (DH and I) favorite place in WDW!

 

[chell]

I usually go through WS in half a day, but I'm not a huge shopper either. Please don't skip it! There is SO much to see and all kinds of neat little things to check out.

 

[Shooby doo]

We are all big fans of Epcot,if you are going then it would be a shame to miss out the showcase.If you plan on going to AK you could always do as we normally do & Hop across to Epcot to catch the attractions that we missed on our first visit.
The food is really good & can be quite reasonably priced (for WDW) Norway & Germany both have buffet dining which I think was about $15,Morocco was also good if you want to spend a bit more. If you enter the park at opening do the rides that usually get busy later on as showcase doesn't normally open till 11:00.
SD

 

[sters]

Are there any rides in World Showcase at Epcot? What is so special about it? Is it even worth looking at during our trip?

We've always liked the live entertainment. My son loved the drums of Japan and my other son liked the silly street entertainers in Great Britain. My daugher liked the living statues in Italy. The atmosphere is really nice and there are nice things for the kids, too... like the playground in Norway and the miniature trains in Germany. Something for everyone but those seekign thrill rides. We've also liked sampling the wines from each conutnry, too!