We had never been to EPCOT before, so this was a totally new experience for us, and wow did we have a great time! Many of you had warned us that there wasn’t “a ton” for kids to do there compared to some of the other Disney Parks, but they had a great time as well!
The World Showcase at EPCOT consists of 11 different countries. As you walk around the lagoon and pass through each world, you quickly notice the impressive detail that Disney brought to each country, it’s amazing! The next thing you find as you walk is the immense amount of food and drink on offer that goes with the theme of each country. Whether it’s the authentic German bier hall, or the Mexican cantina, or the French baguettes – I could go on – the food is incredible, and the drinks are so fun! You could literally come to EPCOT and eat and drink your way through for a day – you’ll notice many people have t-shirts with a checklist to prove it! It’s a ton of fun, and absolutely delicious!
If you want to make a reservation for a sit down meal, the two that we overwhelmingly heard were “the best ” were Via Napoli in Italy, and La Cantina de San Angel in the Mexico Pavilion. We tried to get a reservation at either in the days leading up and there was no availability, so highly recommend if you want to eat at either one to make reservations way ahead of time.
Our favorite food and drink items from EPCOT:
- Grand Marnier Orange Slush in France called “Le Geant Slush”
- Pork Bun in China
- Pink sprinkle donut at Joffrey’s Coffee Carts
- Bratwurst and giant pretzel in Germany
Attractions:
The list of attractions has to start with Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. I’m pregnant, and our kids are too little for a ride like this, so Bryan went by himself. His words “no joke, the best roller coaster I’ve ever been on. It’s fast, loud, extremely smooth, amazing/fun storyline leading up to the ride, and A TON of fun.” We looked it up when we got back to our hotel last night: Guardians goes up to 60 mph (as well as 50 mph backwards at the start), for reference, Space Mountain tops out at 27 mph. I’m told we’re coming back to EPCOT just to go on this ride, it was that good!
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – Our kids love the Ratatouille movie, so this was a hit! You put on 3d glasses and race around the floor of Gusteau’s Restaurant from the movie. Super fun, long line, make sure you plan ahead for this one!
Soarin Around the World – Really fun flight simulator where you feel like you’re actually flying around the world while taking in some breathtaking sights. Eloise loved it so much she went 3 times!
Frozen Ever After – Hop on a boat and take a tour with all of your favorites: Elsa, Anna, Olaf and the rest of the gang. There’s a “little” drop that Eloise didn’t really care for, but the ride is cute!
The Seas with Nemo and Friends – If your kids really like Nemo, they’ll like this ride. It’s the same format as the Little Mermaid at Magic Kingdom, but a bit dated, so you’re looking at screens showing Nemo and the rest of the crew. It’s fun, fairly quick, and there wasn’t a wait to get on most of the day.
KIDCOT – This was super fun for Eloise while we were on our “food and drink tour.” There are ‘semi hidden’ craft huts in each of the worlds that you find, stop and grab a card or complete a task, and try to collect all 11. A good way to pass some time and keep your kids entertained while you’re waiting for a ride or having a snack!
Tips and Tricks that worked for us:
- We were essentially “here” for 3 rides, Ratatouille, Frozen, and Nemo. We were told Nemo wouldn’t have a line, so our strategy was to book a lightning lane for Ratatouille and work around that. Bryan logged on as the clock hit 7 AM, and no less than 15 seconds later booked the earliest time slot for the ride: 3:35 PM. Crazy, but it’s clearly the most popular ride here right now.
- This creates a good news/bad news situation: good news is that you’re guaranteed the ride later that afternoon. The bad news is you’re stuck with no additional lighting lane to book until two hours after the park opens: 11 AM. We used the ‘tip board’ on the app and saw that Soarin had a really short line early in the morning (most of the crowds seem to race to Guardians or Test Track). By the time we rode Soarin’ twice, Nemo once, had a snack or two, walked a bit and found a couple of Kidcot stations, it was time to book another lightning lane.
- This is when we booked our Frozen ride – about an hour after Ratatouille. Since it’s 11 AM, and you aren’t going on these rides until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, your clock is now ticking for a new 2 hours until you can book another ride. So we walked, enjoyed each international showcase and had a blast.
- This is very different than Magic Kingdom. You aren’t going to go from ride to ride all day long. This is more about the food, the amazing details of the park, and a handful of awesome rides in between.
What we wore at Epcot:
*CLICK ON EACH PICTURE BELOW FOR EXACT ITEM LINKS*
full look above linked HERE
both looks above linked HERE
If you missed any of our other Disneyworld posts, you can read those below:
