EPCOT advice

[crazylady]

I'll admit that EPCOT is not my favorite park but we plan to try it again for a few hours on our upcoming trip. We've done the bigger things in FW except for TT and don't necessarily have to do any of them again. We are not using FP so we plan to get there at RD and ride TT and have lunch in Mexico @12 but that's all we have planned. That give us about 4 hours in Future World. What are your favorite things to do in FW with elementary age kids? In WS, is their a PF adventure for each country? We are interested in Mexico, Germany and France specifically and I was thinking PF would give the kids an activity in each of those countries if it was available. Also, is there entertainment in Germany besides inside the restaurant?

 

[crazylady]

I just saw the sneak peak for "Inside Out" will be going on when we are in FL. Will that be where Captain EO was?

 

[Newsies]

Well, do your kids enjoy characters? Because world showcase has TONS of characters. In germany specifically, there's Snow White. Other characters around the world include donald duck, mulan, belle, aladdin & jasmine, aurora, mary poppins, and alice. There's probably even more than that.

 

[soniam]

The Agent P game is available for at least Mexico, Japan, Germany, UK, France, and China. It's a lot of fun.

As for FW, have you thought about getting FP+ for Soarin? It's our favorite ride there. There's some stuff in Innoventions, but your kids may not be old/tall enough. Sum of All Thrills is fun but has a height requirement. Unfortunately, they just closed some of the stuff in the other side of Innoventions. Journey into Imagination is terrible, but your kids may like the stuff at the end. Mission Space also has a bunch of cool stuff at the end, including an indoor playground/child-sized hamster tunnel. Spaceship Earth is neat.

 

[ghtx]

Keep in mind WS doesn't open until 11am, which I think also includes the Agent P game. But there is plenty to do in FW: Living Seas, Imagination, Ellen, Character Spot, Living with the Land. You will have fun.

 

[itchin2go]

We normally only spend 2 hours in FW. We are ready to hit WS the minute it opens.

We always do: Soarin, Test Track, quick breakfast at Sunshine Seasons, Club Cool, Imagination with Figment (coupled with shopping in the adjacent gift shop which has cool stuff), checking out what's going on in Innoventions, and maybe check out the aquariums or MouseGears (store).

Attractions we have done and don't care to do again: Living with the Land, Nemo, Turtle Talk, Spaceship Earth.

Is it true there are only 3 exhibits in Innoventions?

https://innoventions.disney.com/

I have not experienced Habit Heroes and Storm Struck, but they sound cool. We used to love the velcro exhibit ... Is the Piggy Bank Adventure gone too? That was cute.

Anyway, if I had a piece of advice, OP, it would be this. If you run out of stuff to do in FW, go on over to WS, and start on one of your Agent P adventures.

 

[kruegeme]

I would highly recommend getting a FP+ for Soarin if you are going to try to walk onto TT. The lines for both grow quickly even at RD. There are some fun activities for elementary age kids at the end of Spaceship Earth. Not sure what is open at Innoventions right now as they were closing parts for refurbishment. My kids are normally good for 30 to 45 minutes looking at all the stuff in the Living Seas. Might also drop by Club Cool to try out some soda's from different countries.

Once in the World Showcase, you can visit characters, color at the Kidkot stations, or play the Agent P game. The Agent P game covers different countries in the park so check the stand near the countries your interested in. We had a hard time keeping our kids engaged with it (DS (6), DD (8)) but they did enjoy finding out where Agent P is hiding.

The show is only in the restaurant in the Germany pavilion. Nothing outside. There are outside shows in France, China, and Italy at different times of the day.

 

[Hootch]

Innoventions West, which had the Great Piggy Bank Adventure is set to (or has been) close(d) in early May. They will be replacing all of the exhibits there.

 

[MrKnight]

Epcot is such an incredible park, have you ever stayed until close? Epcot gets more exciting as the day gets later and WC becomes most active in the evening.. Here some of my recommendations for young children at Epcot

- Character Spot at FW
- Seas with Nemo & Friends and Turtle Talk with Crush (Lots of sea animals to see in the aquarium exhibits)
- TT, Soarin, and MS (if your kids like thrill rides and meet height requirements)
- Innovations exhibits (LOTS of stuff for young kids)
- Three Caballeros boat ride in Mexico
- Character Meet & Greets throughout FW
- Kidcot Fun Stops at all the FW countries (Great activity for young kids)
- Street Performers/Musicians at all the FW countries
- ILLUMINATIONS! (IMO best firework show at WDW!)

 

[crazylady]

Thanks for all the info. I think my kids will like the P&F stuff. We aren't doing FP at EPCOT because we're saving them for our second park of the day. I think it will be OK bc we don't really care if we do Soarin or not.

 

[vicb]

When my kids were younger we did the passports in the WS which gave them a reason to visit each country. It took us two trips to get each country completed but that was ok. Also the Japan pavilion is typically very popular with kids, their gift shop has tons of stuff kids like (from Hello Kitty to Pokemon and all kinds of neat snacks). In Germany there is the large model train exhibit outdoors which they might enjoy but not really other entertainment (however the candy shop is fab ). The kids will enjoy your lunch in Mexico, the boatride is fun and the atmosphere inside that pavilion is neat.... and cools you off.

Just a thought... if you are deep in the WS when it is time to leave you can exit from the International Gateway and take the short walk to BC to grab a bus to your next park (if you don't have your own car that it).

 

[AllieBoo]

My kids love both Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land, so we always do those at least twice. We also like to hang out in Club Cool a bit and sample all the different flavors. My DD loves getting autographs too, so we usually do the Epcot Character spot and also try to hit up some of the other characters - last trip, she met Jasmine and Tinkerbell in FW.