EpCot with a five year old?

[christi]

I have read quite a bit about EpCot and that it isn't very good for smaller children. My DD is 5 and has a very short attention span! I am worried that she will not ebjoy this park. What does everyone think?

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

Last year we planned to skip Epcot for that very reason. DD was 3 1/2 (6 month old sister was with babysitter), so we figured 2 days in MK and one day in AK. After 1 day in MK and 1 day in AK, both of which were filled with abject terror of characters and most rides, we changed the plan. Instead of going back to MK, DH and I decided to take DD to Epcot since it is our favorite. DD absolutely LOVED Epcot. She had a blast playing with the things in Future World, then adored the Kidcot stops and playground in the World Showcase.

I would say that it depends on your child. My DD has relatively short attention span for some things and cannot be distracted from others. We are going back this summer, and a day in Epcot is on the itinerary. Of course, with my luck, DD<2 will probably hate Epcot as much as her older sister loved it!

 

[Disney Fool]

Never believe everything you read about Disney (except on this board!). I have been to Epcot several times with a variety of friends' children, all ranging in ages from 2 to 6, and let me tell you, they all loved it! They get into making the masks at the different countries; the two year old loved the Tapestry of Dreams parade, they ALL loved Illuminations, (we warned them ahead of time about the loud noises, and taught them to block their ears if they were frightened, and it worked!) They all loved Spaceship earth, in fact, one three-year old came home and proceeded to draw the "epcot ball" several times. For the tiny children, we bought swim diapers, and allowed them to go frolic in the dancing fountains--they had so much fun, we had a hard time making them leave. Epcot not for children? BAH!!!! those writers don't know what they're talking about!!!! I'll bet they never had a small child by the hand and walked them out of Epcot at night and had to stop because the child was fascinated by the sparkles in the sidewalk. There are thousands of things to occupy a small child in Epcot, you just have to slow down, and "smell the roses".

 

[BevS97]

I also have a 5 year old who loves Epcot (or Epricot as she calls it). Her favorite ride in all of WDW is Spaceship Earth, and she also really likes the Figment ride.

She really enjoys World Showcase, we get a mask, and visit the countries, we always find interesting things in back corners of each pavilion, sometimes there is a character hiding back there, sometimes there's a street show going on. We always spend a couple of days at Epcot, and she is always very happy there.

The twinkling sidewalks at night are brilliant, as are the fountains in the path - be sure to bring a change of clothes so they can play in them and get truly soaked!

Here's some pics of her enjoying a fountain in Epcot

Personally, I wouldn't skip any of the parks regardless of the ages of your children, I think there is something for everyone in all of the parks.

Bev

 

[KathyK]

My 16 month old DD loved Epcot! She absolutely loved looking at the fishies in the Living Seas, she enjoyed going onto JII, she had fun in the Wonders of Life pavilion, and her absolute favorite activity of the entire trip was walking around World SHowcase.

Heck... we didn't even stop at teh "Kidcot" stations, and she had a great time. I disagree with nayone who says that kids don't enjoy Epcot.

Kathy

 

[TandyR]

We have taken our oldest DD to Epcot when she was 4 and when she was 5 (she is 6 now) and it is her favorate park. She loves it there. Our last trip our youngest DD (2 years old at the time) was getting hot and cranky and older DD was so upset that we might have to leave her favorate park because of her sister, lucky the Baby Care Station came to the rescue.

Older DD doesn't care much for the Future World stuff, but she has a ball with the World Showcase and loves checking out all the different countries and stuff like that. So I feel strongly that Epcot can be and is for kids it just doesn't have the stuff that people view as typical kid stuff but kids sometimes like things that is typical kid stuff, if you know what I mean.

 

[fiveforall]

Last October my children were 2, 5, and 7. They all LOVED Epcot. The two youngest still talk about Ice Station Cool and watching Illuminations. We went to all parks and I assumed they'd like MK the best; however, the two youngest loved Epcot and the oldest loved MGM! Epcot is so big and spacious. This year we are going to spend two days at Epcot!

 

[sha_lyn]

DD went at 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 and loved Epcot. Ellen's energy adveture is one of her favorites, along with the passport and Kidcot stations. Living seas and HISTA are also big hits with her.

 

[lenshanem]

My oldest daughter now 5 loves Epcot. Last trip we went to all the Kid Stop? places around the world and she had a blast! Still talks about it and that was in November. Tapestry, of course now gone and IllumiNations were big hits, too. Really she liked WS better than FW. We ate in Mexico and she really liked that, too. Definetely do the Kid Stops. You make a mask and they write hello? on it in their language... WAIT! Does anyone know if they are still doing this since Tapestry is gone? The mask had a token to give during the parade to make a wish. She thought that was cool.

 

[BethC]

Yes, they are still doing the masks, my children made some last week. They have just changed the additions from each country, and they no longer have the Dream star that the CM's wrote on.

My daughter, who is 10 now, has listed Epcot as her favorite park since she was 5. My son, age 8, also loves Epcot. Their favorite is the World Showcase, there are so many things there for children to enjoy if you just look for them. Besides the Kidcot stations and making a mask, you can get a passport to be filled out and stamped in each country. Also look for some great entertainment here - the Dragon Legend acrobats in China, the Living Statues in France or Italy, the British Invasion in the United Kingdom (and don't forget to check out the hedge maze near the stage there as well). There's also some great snacks here - don't miss the Beavertails in Canada or the Kaki Gori in China, yum!

Future World is great for kids too. Of course there's Test Track and Body Wars for the thrill riders, but just about everything else is suitable for young children. My kids absolutely love Ice Station Cool and could spend hours at Innoventions! We never miss Food Rocks in The Land or Spaceship Earth either. Be sure to watch for the character bus for some great character interaction too!

It really bugs me when people say that Epcot is not for children. There was a gentleman at the Grand Floridian last week who struck up a conversation with my daughter after we ate at 1900 Park Fare. He asked which park she was going to tomorrow and she mentioned that we weren't sure but it would be either MGM or Epcot. This man had the nerve to tell her that Epcot was boring and she should definitely go to MGM, he also said that most kids don't like Epcot. I was so shocked, I couldn't believe it! We did be sure to tell him that there is plenty to do at Epcot and that it was actually my daughter's favorite park. Unfortunately I think a lot of people have this misconception about Epcot.

Definitely give it a try, you may be surprised by how much your daughter enjoys it!

 

[goofiesgirlies]

We went to Epcot with our DD 5 yrs. beginning of March. It was her least favorite theme park. There aren't many rides especially for that age and there is a LOT of walking. All she wanted to do from the time we arrived was "go back to the hotel and SWIM!" Finally after hearing this for 5 hours we relented and went back to the hotel to swim.

I won't bother to go back with DD until she is older and then try it again.

Don't get me wrong - I think Epcot is a great theme park. I just know it doesn't hold anything that my DD is interested in compared to the other Disney theme parks or even Sea World.

--Jn

 

[tjmw2727]

We save Epcot esp World Showcase for our evenings. My girls have loved Epcot since they were 3 years old and we all love world showcase. This is also where we have had our most memorible character experiences. Nothing like seeing the Mulan characters in China!

My girls love to make the mask and see the live shows, they aren't crazy about the movies but will sit through one maybe two. My 6yo loves the acrobats in China, one of her favorite things in all of WDW.

I agree its alot of walking but IMHO a wonderful park.

TJ

 

[Baloo]

I've been taking Erich to WDW since he was 6mth old and my step son Jonathan was 7 yrs. old the first time and they both LOVE EPCOT!!!

Norway has a Viking ship playground that they'd stay and play on for hours if we let them! Erich is very much into nature. During the Flower and Garden show there is a butterfly area outside of Innovention East he loves to visit. Oh and the manatees at the Living Sea! Speaking of Innvention there's a fun Toon Tag Game that they can play and other games even for little ones.In China they sell these puppets on a string,really reasonably priced...the boys love them and have a BLAST walking them through World Showcase.And we all LOVE to get squished pennies from all the pavillions.

I agree with BethC that it bugs me too when people think EPCOT is not a child friendly park.After the MK it's really my boys favorite park to spend time in.

p.s.Disney Fool you crack me up but speak the truth!!!

 

[BevS97]

There aren't many rides especially for that age

We have the exact opposite opinion. One of the things we love about Epcot is that 90% of the rides are suitable for the entire family - there is no need to baby swap on anything, since both parents are willing to forgo Test Track and Body Wars. (actually, you couldn't bribe me to go on Body Wars - I would like to try TT but every time we've been past its been broken down, or the queue has been hours long. I will get on their with a FP one day)

My dd just loves the ride in Mexico (can't say I agree.... but hey, she likes it), The one thing we don't do is the movies, but that's because I find them a little boring, and I hate that you can't sit down in them - we did the China one a few years ago, and I ended up sitting on the floor myself.

Bev

 

[DisneyJules]

I know this post is a little old but I thought I'd put in my two cents. I see no problem in taking a five year old to epcot. I was 5 when I went for the first time to Disney World and I have such fond memories of it, including Epcot. Their imaginations are so vivid at that age.

 

[Ratpack]

We went last year with our DD whos had just turned 4 and she really enjoyed the FW side. Especilly Innoventions, she likes playing on computers. WS was OK to her, she like the Kidcot stations but didn't want us to do much exploring. She just wanted to get her mask done and move on to the other station.

 

[nicolep91]

When we were there, my kids were 5 and 3 at the time and they both enjoyed Epcot. However, it was the first park they visited and I think this played a part in how much they enjoyed it. I definitely would recommend visiting Epcot before MK, or they might not find it as exciting.