Which EPCOT are you visiting? How perceptions of world showcase have a big impact!

[Dug720]

Epcot has always been my favorite park, and I absolutely love WS. We spend a whole day at WS and another whole day at Fw and still don’t feel it’s enough. I hate that they’re mixing their IPs into the WS lately, there’s no need for it IMO. People nowadays just want constant stimulation and want to constantly be Wowed, whereas sometimes I think it’s nice to just quietly wander the countries of WS, exploring hidden corners and learning new things. I wish they’d just leave Epcot the way it is and not try yo turn it into another HS or MK. I love those parks, but I also love Epcot.

Agree on so much of this. I have never and will never see Epcot as a park that is supposed to be thrill-a-minute. It is about learning and experiencing. Taking time to explore the small things and especially in World Showcase to talk with the International CMs to learn about their culture; not a place to run from one thing to another and always be on a ride.

 

[Ds4angels]

Comparing it to the Epcot of the 90s it's a shell of what it once was. WS is ok, but it a big outdoor mall. We do like the film's. But this summer we will skip Epcot

 

[DoryGirl1963]

We enjoy all of the parks, but for us, Epcot is the least "magical." Not sure exactly why. We're not foodies, don't drink alcohol & while we like wandering the shops, we're not big shoppers. That being said, we enjoy wandering the nice wide walkways& the beautiful landscaping & Soarin' was my favorite ride until FOP. We also love the aquarium & Illuminations. Not impressed by Frozen at all - one & done for us.

 

[mamamelody2]

Our first visit to Epcot was in 2010, so we never saw any of the amazing stuff I hear about from the 90s.
We really enjoy Epcot. I especially love World Showcase and just poking around in the pavilions.

 

[Dee McGee]

DH and I have taken six trips to WDW since 2002. With prices increasing year over year, it is getting harder and harder to afford our beloved WDW vacation. Just booked trip #7 for Dec 3-7 after having to cancel this same trip for last year. We've been once before in early December, but have yet to do MVMCP or the Candlelight Processional. This time, we plan to do both. One day for each and one day at Animal Kingdom to see Pandora.

 

[lovin'fl]

I am Epcot all the way! We do F&W every year and been to one F&G and just saw the Holidays festival too. Going to another F&G in March. Added on BWV points for these trips...4 times (4 BWV add ons for 255 total points there). Love staying at BWV or BCV and entering via IG. Love strolling around the world showcase, having drinks, snacks, meals...love stopping in the DVC lounge...love looking at the manatees and dolphins...love Soarin, TT and SE. DH loves the films, like in Canada. Then at end of day, you stroll back to resort. Can stroll back over in the evening.

Sure they could probably make use if those two deserted buildings in FW. But I, personally, don't care if they do. I love my Epcot the way she is.

My park order of preference is...Epcot, AK, MK, HS. DH would probably swap my last two.

 

[TropicalDIS]

I love Epcot, and it's mainly because of World Showcase. I didnt love it as a kid, with the exception of Spaceship Earth, which I still love, Horizons, & Wheels of Motion, but i really enjoy it now.

It's alot of fun walking around the countries and browsing the shops, eating food & taking pictures. The World showcase is for adults. There are always going to be kids who like it, but many won't. Time and time again I wonder why parents bring their toddlers to Epcot. When i was there Monday, there were 2 seperate incidents. One was a kid crying to his parents about why they had to be at Epcot and not at Universal or MK.

I hope they don't ruin World Showcase. Do what you want with Future World, but let the spirit of World Showcase thrive.

Want a park with nothing to do? Go to HS. Wont be back there until the new lands open.

 

[Tomh]

I absolutely love Epcot personally. World showcase is beautiful, and I can spend my entire afternoon there 3 or 4 days just walking, perusing the shops, sampling food and drinks, and enjoying the atmosphere.

For kids . . . well, that is a whole different story, and that is why IP is going to be making it's way into Epcot, because for the most part, the park is absolutely boring for kids.

I believe that if they do it with some degree of taste, that there is no reason why attractions can't be incorporated into World Showcase, making it much more attractive to kids. Coco replacing the Gran Fiesta Tour would be a great start. Ratatouille is a good move too. I think as long as they stick with rides that are inside show buildings, which can blend into the architecture of the host country, and chose IP that fits with it's host, this is the right direction for the park to move. Building some excitement with the kids, and making them want to go to World Showcase is going to bring a lot more people to the back of the park.

 

[Planogirl]

Epcot used to be my favorite park but nowadays it's my least favorite. Future World is lame for the most part and World Showcase is OK except my favorite pavilion was Norway and you know what happened to it. I like that people sometimes say that Future World is soulless because I pretty much feel that about the whole park.

I leave Epcot to others to enjoy now. I only go when with others who want to go.

 

[amylevan]

During my first trip to WDW in 1989, I was 10. I liked Epcot as much, if not more than, MK. Blasphemy, I know. But considering I grew up to be an engineer, I guess it's not too hard to imagine. Science, technology, HORIZONS...it was awesome.

So part of my love for EP is simply nostalgic. I love the EP I want it to be but somewhere along the way the park changed its focus, and now the park seems to be a shell of what it used to be.

 

[Thiago Acquaviva]

For us EPCOT is always a must do, with or without a festival. It's one of our faves.
We just love so much the fact of been able to walk around the countries' pavillions and experience some of their cultures.
We also love to eat and shopping at the countries' restaurants and stores.

The Festivals for us is a plus, we've been at the Food & Wine (2015) and the Festival of Arts (2017) and we loved both.

 

[Mome Rath]

As a kid I never liked "little kids' rides" or anything frilly or characters, etc... hence, EPCOT rapidly became my favorite park, and has stayed there all along for over 30 years. I love to solo EPCOT, and I love to go there with the entire family. If I only got one park per visit it's always going to be EPCOT. I do really wish they would revamp Figment and base the ride on the comic that was out early, and add in Steampunk, esp in the way Dreamfinder was dressed and his inventions.

I do think Disney needs to pick what it wants from World Showcase; if you want more families and kids there, then find a way to curtail the drunks on weekends during Food & Wine, for example, and add more rides and newer movies. If you don't want more families and kids there, then quit putting in character driven rides. It kind of feels like a split personality or like Pleasure Island when it first opened; it's one character in the daytime and one at night, and I don't really enjoy that aspect any more. Food & Wine used to be my favorite festival, but that's changed as it has become unbearably crowded at night/weekends. I think EPCOT is most beautiful at Flower & Garden.

 

[Moliphino]

I think we spend more time in Epcot than any other park, as we usually wind up there at some point almost every day of our trips (it helps that Epcot has the best food). I love it. We saw Illuminations 5 times in an 8 night trip in December.

 

[tlmadden73]

Like I mentioned earlier, I waited until my son was 4 (March 2017) (and tall enough for Test Track and Soarin) to go to Epcot.

We really enjoyed our day at Epcot as we were spending the day with another family. But to me, some of the Pavilions aren't as exciting as I remember. Something is just missing. We spent a lot of time in the Land and the Seas and we spent a lot of time hunting out photo spots (Flower and Garden). So we had a good time and my son enjoyed Test Track (even though he and his friend was VERY upset the ride vehicle did NOT look like the one he designed) and he was enchanted by flying in Soarin.
Turtle Talk was fun for all though and even my 5mo daughter found a giant talking turtle fascinating!
So there are fun things to do there for little ones, just maybe not enough.

For a family with young kids? I'd pick to skip Epcot every time until those new attractions show up, and even then it may not be worth it until some more overhauls.

That doesn't mean I don't like Epcot, but maybe only with adults.

My next trip in Nov. 2018 is planned .. 3-4 park days (with a 6yo and 2yo) .. bringing the grandparents. No days planned at Epcot, but the wife and I may hop over there for dinner from DHS or MK after dumping the kids on grandparents to take back to the resort .. simply because we HAVE hoppers, but frankly I could have the same "date night" experience by taking a bus to Disney Springs as well and have way more, newer and exotic food choices .. for no admission.

 

[Gentry2004]

We love EPCOT including my kids. But if the world showcase isn’t interesting to you, then you probably won’t like Epcot. We use Epcot almost like a break day. We rope drop, hit some rides, use our FP’s by lunch and then have a long lazy afternoon in the world showcase. We love the street performers and my kids still like the KidCot stuff even at ages 9 and 6. We eat tons of snacks and meet a princess if we feel like it. To me it’s a nice break from the pace of MK.

 

[rstamm]

American adventure to me is the best show at any park!!

I think some people don’t even know it’s there and doesn’t get mentioned much.

 

[loves to dive]

We love Epcot, it has always been our favorite park, even when my son was a toddler. We have never been all about the rides, we do ride some but it's not our focus when we go to WDW, it about the place itself. MK is actually a half day park for us and Epcot is one we visit every single day, if only for something to eat. We love the festivals but also love it when there isn't one. When he was little my son loved to go to WS and talk to the CMs about their home land, he has always loved learning and loves history and just loves to talk to people (he is graduating with a degree in Anthropology and a minor in Geology this summer so go figure). Then again, we think all the parks are worth visiting and tend to go to all of them more than once every trip, it's all about the details for us and Epcot is a great place to stop and just soak it in. We once sat on a bench in front of Italy for a good hour drinking a refreshing adult beverage and just staring at the details on the buildings, speculating as to what they meant and enjoying them. He was looking up things and telling me facts about some of the statues on the top of the buildings as well. We spend a hour at the Living Seas just wandering around and looking at the fish (we are both scuba divers) and have been diving there twice. We love to ride the Land, although we liked it better when there was a driver but we cope. We have done the behind the seeds tour twice because there is always something new to learn and it's cheap. We love Figment, again loved the old ride better but still, it's Figment, let your imagination go. And don't even get me started on Spaceship Earth, we ride it more than once every trip because it's all about the details and the history. We don't even ride the rides in Mexico or Norway (one I hate Frozen with a passion and I miss the old ride in Mexico) but we do watch the movies in China, Canada and France because it never hurts to learn something about another country. Epcot, a lot like AK, is a park that you allows you to slow down if you wish to just enjoy the place to stop and smell the roses.

 

[LVSWL]

When planning our first trip to WDW with our sons we read in a travel book to make MK your last park. MK is wonderful, but so stimulating and what most people associate with Disney. To go there first does make it hard for young ones to really appreciate all that the other parks have to offer. My sons were 5 & 9 on our first trip and we began with Epcot, then DS, then AK and finally MK on day four. They had an opportunity to appreciate each park as our week passed. Of course on day 4 my 5 year old looked up at the castle and said why did it take so long to come here??...haha! We spent the rest of our 7 days revisiting favorites and attractions that we missed in each park. For all of our trips, Epcot is our first day. My sons are now 23 and 27 and still love Epcot.
On a side note, I was in the laundry at the Wilderness Lodge after our day 4 and chatting with another Mom about where we had gone that week. She was stunned that we had visited all 4 parks and were starting back the next day to visit our favorites. She and her family had been there the same amount of time but had not been able to get the kids out of MK. I'm so thankful that we began with Epcot. I know that many feel that the countries are lame but there really is a lot to see and immerse yourself in. Also, for some families this may be the only chance they have to see/taste the cultures of other countries.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Epcot is, and always has been my least favorite park. I like to DO things. Not see them. The World Showcase is just an outdoor mall. To pay $100 to be allowed to shop and dine is crazy.
Epcot is not magical. Other than Nemo and FEA, nothing is Disney.
Soarin has been diminished by the new Around the World version.
Test Track was ruined by retheming to some lame 1980s movie that no one watched even back then.

 

[Texans_loyal]

When I see Epcot, I see money. Normally, I set around $50/day for myself at a park. when I'm at Epcot, I set around $200/day for food and shopping. It's still a family fave though, especially at night. it's pure magic.