What to do in EPCOT

[No.1000]

All the kids in my family have always loved EPCOT. It has a much more laid-back feel to it than MK. Take time to explore and have fun!

 

[VeronicaZS]

Do pick a pearl in Japan! It is a great experience and you come away with a nice keepsake. TIP - buy a little cage to hold the pearl before your trip to save some money.

 

[VeronicaZS]

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[ajwolfe]

To us Epcot is an all day park and always has been. Our kids have always loved exploring and riding there.
Don't underestimate the Mexico boat ride, living with the land and the Spaceship Earth - our kids have always enjoyed them. Stop by Coke to try some of the international flavors as well.
You've gotten lots of good advice in this post but I think your timeline is extremely optimistic. You might want to rethink some of that. Epcot is big so just walking from some of those points to others is going to take a bit with small kids.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

Contrary to others on this thread, Epcot would probably be our least favorite park. But, with that said, it wouldn't be a trip for us without Soarin, without DS15 single rider riding Test Track for about an hour or so, without Livin with the Land, without some shopping at Mitsusoki and without fish and chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shoppe while listening to the band in England. We make early afternoon fastpasses and hang out most of the afternoon and evening.

 

[cleophus12]

Back to the idea of character Meet and Greets. Be sure to look for Mary Poppins in the UK. I have seen her more than once walking up from the International Gateway toward the UK and it was magical. Once I saw her walking with two young girls and they were so excited. I would have joined in but didn't want to interrupt their magical moment. She is awesome. Practically perfect in every way.

 

[Tigerlily125]

I was honestly shocked when we took DD (age 4 at the time) on Spaceship Earth and she loved it! She is scared of most rides (won't even go on Dumbo!) and afraid of the dark and being alone at home. But she loves Spaceship Earth because it moves slow and she gets to sit next to mommy She loves looking up at the "stars" and there is an interactive piece where they take a picture of your face while you are riding and plaster it on a tv screen towards the end. She gets a huge kick out of it! Great ride for that age.
Alice in Wonderland also appears in UK and is a fun character interaction.

 

[waltdisfam4]

Do pick a pearl in Japan! It is a great experience and you come away with a nice keepsake. TIP - buy a little cage to hold the pearl before your trip to save some money.

I remember doing this when my DD was only 3...and I don't think we ever did anything special with the pearl, as she was so young. Her birthstone is the pearl and she is almost 14 now. She says that she would like this experience (picking the pear & having it used in jewelryl) to be her souvenir. Can you share the details of the pearl kiosk with me - cost? Are there settings/rings/necklaces, etc to have the pearl set in? Do you recall the amount (ballpark) to have this done? @veronciaZ5

 

[Gehrig1B]

All your questions are answered HERE.

 

[disneylover102]

Mission Space is fun if you don’t get motion sick. I’d try to do Soarin’ and Test Track for everyone. If all your kids are 7 or older, you can do single rider for TT (most likely maximum 15-20 minute wait). Otherwise, you could do FEA before RD and head to TT immediately after and FP Soarin’. I agree that Epcot doesn’t have that much to do. If you have a park hopper, go somewhere else for the rest of the day.

 

[MainMom]

Agent P's is a lot of fun, get a passport and have it stamped at the Kidcot stations in each country (also color the Duffy bear). There is the boat ride in the pyramid and Living with the Land shouldn't be missed. DD loves to get a Henna tattoo. She could spend hours wandering around the shops in Japan and China. Go try all the different coke flavors at Club Cool.

Epcot is our favorite park and we spend a ton of time there. DD is 8 now, she was 4 on our first big trip and has always loved Epcot.

Where do you get the henna tattoo?

 

[kiford]

There's also the mime/acrobats in France, the Chinese acrobats, the Japanese drummers, the mariachi band in Mexico, the belly dancer in Morocco. Most of the countries have something going on at regular intervals. No kids, but we love Epcot and spend nearly all of our time watching the various acts, especially in Japan, China, Morocco and Mexico - we don't buy much but some of the stuff is so beautiful we just like looking.

 

[MrKnight]

Every time I see threads like this it blows my mind at how there is still such a widespread misconception of Epcot .. Epcot is my favorite WDW park and IMHO is one of the most underrated parks, there is just so much to see and do at Epcot, I have visited this park hundreds of times and I still get just as excited as day one every time I have a chance to visit..

With that said, to answer the OP's question:

First and foremost a visit to Epcot is not complete without going on SE, this is a legendary staple attraction for Epcot, so that's another attraction you can add to your plan and it's family friendly so everyone in your party can ride it together.. The SE post-show area is also neat and has a few things there to keep the kids entertained for a bit before going outside again..

I also see that you entirely omitted the WC side of the park (outside of Akershus/FEA) .. Each WC country has lots to offer and enough to keep you entertained for hours, there are several rides/attractions/shows (GFT, AA, films at China/France/Canada, street performers, etc.), lots of unique shops and kiosks, beautiful scenery/areas for family picture ops, and there is also lots to see and do for the kids, as stated by pp, each country has a "Kidcot Fun Stop" area with kid-friendly activities (arts/crafts/stories/etc.) and unique CM interaction opportunities with CMs that are actually native to the countries they are representing which can be both fun and educational.. Not to mention, a visit to WDW is not complete without seeing Illuminations

Hope this helps!

 

[Shellyb84]

Where do you get the henna tattoo?

Morocco

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We are trying to get to the hedge maze in the UK this year. People told me last year that it was fun but we didn’t make it. The trains in Germany were a bust last year. It rained so they weren’t running. I have to add another vote for SE. I was completely floored that my oldest (years 5-8) loved that ride every year. It’s a one and done for me (I know, heresy, right) and never thought it would appeal to young kids but it does. Agent P was cool. I did not realize there were actual hidden things in the WS for agents to find.

We’re doing 1 1/3 days in Epcot this year with kids 5, 8, and 9.

 

[AFwifelife]

Ahhh so much at Epcot! We rarely spend a whole day at one park because we enjoy midday breaks back at the hotel and PH to somewhere fresh but every trip we go to Epcot multiple times. My kids can spend hours at the aquarium after the Nemo ride, especially when it's hot. Also there's so much to look at and explore in each country. Some people just zip around the loop not knowing that many wind back and have really cool things. Spaceship Earth is also a great place to rest your feet in the AC and there's plenty to look at. My kids are 2.5 and 4 now with multiple trips under their belt and they always enjoy Epcot.