World Showcase ???

[sk8bug72]

I have been to the World Showcase many times, but I always feel like I am missing something. Do you know of any lesser-known things to do, see, eat, or buy??? What are your favorite things to do in the World Showcase???

 

[AmyBWV99]

We like to enjoy a half-and half at the Rose and Crown while eating a fruit and cheese tray.

 

[mhingher]

I fee the same way... I'm not too big on the WS. We like the Maelstrom though! And I heard the food in Italy is amazing, we're going to try it in May. DH also wants to try and get a drink in each country as we walk around!

 

[newholidayx2]

British Invasion and Off Kilter

 

[NancyIL]

British Invasion and Off Kilter

I'll second that!

 

[Mark P.]

We enjoy lunch at Norway. Great sandwiches and awesome desserts.

 

[java]

Make sure you walk into the exhibits- did you know you could go into the church in Norway? Have you walked into the gardens in the Japan pavilion? How about just sitting in the gardens behind England listening to Off Kilter. It is not rides(except Maelstrom and the Mexico river ride) it is an experience. Be sure to get an entertainment schedule and plan on going in the PM since that is when most of the entertainment is scheduled for. Certain acts are only on certain days and there are some that are well worth the wait. Like the acrobats in China- there was a thread about entertainment in Epcot a few days back that listed all the things people loved. It is one of my favorite days in the parks when we get to wander around the countries. Even my kids like it. (I bribe them with souveniers- they love the shops there- especially the Japanese shop)
edit to add and after the thread from the other day the first thing I am going to do when I get there is head over to England for a Curly Whirly!!

 

[experiment626mom]

Eat at Morocco's counter service Tangierene. Get a henna tattoo there too!! Watch the drummers in Japan. Buy some tea and chocolates at the tea shop in England. Enjoy all the gardens. Sit and look out over the lagoon and watch the birds. World showcase is to be enjoyed and to relax in. Have a glass of wine, or unfiltered sake. And don't forget to see American Adventure.

 

[Soprano]

The Italian Coffee Stall sells the best Cappuccino I have ever tasted in my life. Seriously. No exaggeration. I am looking forward to buying a cup and sitting down the afternoon of my EPCOT visit.

The rest of World Showcase is fine and never avoided, but never somewhere I am looking forward to seeing. That said, its just nice to stroll around. I do have an odd great memory of watching Riverdance in the pouring rain and loving it! I am not one for musicals or dance, but that was great.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

On our trip in December, my daughter and I spent most of the day exploring the World showcase. Because we didn't have any little kids with us (or worse, teenage boys) we were able to take our time and really enjoy everything. Some things we did: spent some time looking at the all colourful carved animals in Mexico (and listened to the Magi tell stories outside); explored the church in Norway and spent some time in the store; watched the acrobats in China and wandered through the building and watched birds trying to catch fish in the pond; enjoyed the model train set-up near Germany; walked through Morocco and Italy. We loved the store in Japan and spent a long time there looking at all the different things. My daughter even tried on a kimono. We ended up buying some small pottery bowls (they were under $5) and we use them frequently to hold olive oil to dip bread in at home. (And it reminds us of Epcot every time!). We also bought some chocolate and some Pocky, and then went back to Italy to buy some chocolate there. Then we listened to a children's group ringing bells in the American pavilion, shopped again in France, heard the British Invasion in the UK and bought tea and toys in the stores, spent a lot of time exploring Canada (our home country after all) and listened to Pere Noel tell his story.

Take some time to talk with the cast members, and you can learn a lot about the different countries.

Teresa

 

[oybolshoi]

we usually schedule our WDW trips in October to coincide with the Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT. We love to eat and drink our way around the world showcase - it's always an opportunity to try something new. We also like trying the restaurants in the World Showcase - love Rose & Crown and Chefs de France...hoping to try Le Celliar on our upcoming trip,

EPCOT is actually one of our favorite parks - the pace is slower in the World Showcase and during the early afternoons it's usually less crowded as well. We also love the entertainment - it's so varied and geared just a bit more for the adults.

Two things I've read about here that we're going to try in October are: drinking around the world (I believe you stop at a restaurant or beverage cart at each permanent exhibit and try an alcoholic drink from that region), and dessert around the world (same concept, just substitue chocolate for alcohol!)

 

[dbm20th]

This may make us sound like a couple of drunks (not that I care too much about that) but I have to agree with some previous posts. Everytime we are there, my wife and I spend one day when we hit the WS around three and start making a triangle between British Invasion, Off-Kilter and the Rose and Crown, with a small break for dinner. It is a great, relaxing, easy-on-the-feet way to spend an evening. The music is fantastic, the drink is equally terrific.

 

[fan4life]

We got some really great pictures of our kids trying on different hats and such from each country. Pastries and champagne in France are a nice start
to the day.

 

[sk8bug72]

Great ideas!! Exactly what I am looking for! Any other ideas???
Also, what are your favorite foods/desserts/drinks??? (not candy, I already found that thread. )

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We like to have a walk around World Showcase in the evening and just sample the atmosphere.
And of course being from the UK a stop-off at the Rose and Crown is always nice too.

 

[oybolshoi]

Great ideas!! Exactly what I am looking for! Any other ideas???
Also, what are your favorite foods/desserts/drinks??? (not candy, I already found that thread. )

Lessee... we love Rose & Crown - having a pint (or two or three) of Boddingtons while sharing an order of fish 'n chips. I love the French pastry shop and the cart that sells crepes and I love drinking champagne out of a tacky plastic champagne flute while wandering the world showcase. The husband and I both like having lunch at Chefs de France - we share the cheese plate and a quiche with some wine while watching the world stroll by. I adore Norway and every year I say that I'm going to buy one of those fabulous imported sweaters that they sell and then I look at the price tag and buy a troll instead! We go to the Mexican pavillion and scour the painted animal carvings until we find just the right one for our collection. Then we celebrate with a margarhita! Italy is great for dessert - they sell incredible chocolate there that we have shipped back to our room.

And Canada! Does anyone know if they're still selling beavertails? When we were there in 2004 we finally had a chance to try these - so sweet, so tasty, so calorie laden!

That's all I can think of for now...can't wait for October!

 

[MinnieM21]

Great ideas!! Exactly what I am looking for! Any other ideas???
Also, what are your favorite foods/desserts/drinks??? (not candy, I already found that thread. )

These are my favorites:

Norway: rice cream, waffle with strawberry preserves (they're different form a regular waffle and they makes them fresh for you, so good!)
*both are from Kringla Bakeri og Cafe

Italy: pistacho gelato - there's a cart that sells chocolate, vanilla and pistachio gelato and various italian ices

France: Nid d’Abeilles (it's a pastry filled with a sweet cream that has rum in it, although you can't taste the rum at all. It's my favorite food in the world!) from the Boulangerie Patisserie

 

[MinnieM21]

And Canada! Does anyone know if they're still selling beavertails? When we were there in 2004 we finally had a chance to try these - so sweet, so tasty, so calorie laden!

No, they don't. I wish they did since I never got to try them!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

The World Showcase is our favorite spot in WDW! DH and I like to grab a glass of champagne in France for me and a beer in England for him, then watch musical sets of The British Invasion (Beatles tribute band in the UK), Off Kilter (Celtic rock in Canada) and Mo' Rockin' (World Music plus a bellydancer! in Morocco).

We like to eat dinner at a table service restaurant (so far we've eaten at Rose & Crown about 4 times, Mexico twice, Morocco once, Le Cellier once, and Chefs de France once) or, during the Food and Wine Festival, we snack from booth to booth.

Others have mentioned many of my favorites already, but I don't think anybody mentioned the Tin Toy Museum in Japan--we just discovered it about a year ago & it's very cool!

Don't miss the acts outside of France, and as somebody else mentioned, make sure you pick up a copy of the weekly entertainment times when you enter the park. The times guide is only available at the entrances to Epcot, as far as I can tell.

 

[sk8bug72]

what is rice cream????