Sell Epcot to Me (Please!)

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

If your going to leave out one of the 4 four Disney parks then IMHO leave out HS.

My order of preference is : MK <-- EPCOT <-- AK <--HS

 

[Calee]

We love love love epcot. I almost skipped it on our first trip and I'm so glad I didnt. Our favorite park. The phinneus and fern scavenger hunt can be enjoyed by teens. Some very cool things on that!

 

[McNs]

To be honest I think you should do Park Hoppers! Some parks may be open to midnight or even latter on some nights.

This! You can then do the rides at both Epcot and DHS on one of the days, or half day at Epcot or DHS and back to MK.

We've been to DLR 4 times and this year had our first visit to WDW. We LOVED MK the most, by quite some margin. Didn't matter that some of it is similar to DL - in fact that is probably one of the reasons we liked it so much. That feeling we get at DL is there at MK, more so than any of the other WDW parks. Epcot didn't quite resonate with us, we probably didn't do it properly, we were stayingat Beach Club so it became too easy to head back to the pool on the days we were there.

 

[sharonabe]

This is only available during Food & Wine. You don't get a trading pin, you get a foam key chain. Fun to find all the Remys, but the prize is junk.

Thanks for the correction. I didn't know it was only for F&W. We didn't do it; I thought I had read it was a pin. Glad we didn't do it if all you got was a key chain.

 

[nutshell]

Are you going befor or after Toy Story Land opens? There is really not much going on there. Yes, ToT and RnRC are there but that’s about it in the way of big rides. Have you considered park hoppers? You could do both in one day.

No hoppers. Saving the few hundred bucks because we're also doing Disney Cruise.


We'll be there after Toy Story Land opens. I'm tempted, but it seems to be mainly for young kids.

 

[magical-me]

I love Epcot cuz all the princesses you can meet!!!

The food and drinks are a plus too.

 

[amylevan]

Epcot is very light on rides. Soarin’ is excellent though. HS has more thriller rides and all the Star Wars stuff so I’d probably hit that instead.

And HS isn't light on rides? By my count, HS 2 thrill rides and 4 total. And depending on what you consider thrill, EP also has 2. And at least EP has way more non-thrill rides.

Some have suggested skipping Epcot and going to HS instead. Thoughts?

Right now, HS is very show based. (And even if you are there after ToyStory Land opens, it's really only gaining a family coaster and a spinning ride.) So, I would only choose HS if your family loves shows or if there is a Star Wars lover in the family.

Epcot is not quite the beloved park of my youth anymore, but it still has plenty to explore and enjoy, especially for a first time visitor. There are more rides than HS and WS is a great combination of food, entertainment, learning about cultures and shopping. Agent P's Adventure is a cool way to explore WS. I also prefer Illuminations to Fantasmic.

As the parks stand right now, in our family, my son would choose HS because of the Star Wars offerings and the rest of us would choose EP.

 

[DOOM1001]

Me, DW, DD (18), and DS (14) will spend three days in the parks late July. No hoppers. We are DLR vets and go commando style. We love rides the most, but also take time to catch a parade and fireworks. We also love Fantasmic at DL.

We've never been to WDW.

We plan on soon MK, Epcot, and AK. We're excited about MK and AK, but only lukewarm towards Epcot. I'm afraid my son won't like it because of the lack of rides. Illuminations sounds awesome, but what else is there? We have a whole day. What will my family of four enjoy at Epcot? Thanks!

I'm just going to use logic in this reasoning,you're obviously choosing between Epcot and DHS,you've done DL and with the current state of DHS and that several of the few rides there are already at DL and that on polls on this site when asked what is you're favorite WDW park Epcot usually gets a pretty large percentage meaning that most peoples response will usually be MK or Epcot then you pretty much have to do Epcot,its basically one of the true original and unique Disney parks on earth,along with Tokyo Disneysea.The best time of the year would have been during Food and Wine or another festival but simply put you can't not go to one of the most popular parks on Earth.

 

[nutshell]

I'm just going to use logic in this reasoning,you're obviously choosing between Epcot and DHS,you've done DL and with the current state of DHS and that several of the few rides there are already at DL and that on polls on this site when asked what is you're favorite WDW park Epcot usually gets a pretty large percentage meaning that most peoples response will usually be MK or Epcot then you pretty much have to do Epcot,its basically one of the true original and unique Disney parks on earth,along with Tokyo Disneysea.The best time of the year would have been during Food and Wine or another festival but simply put you can't not go to one of the most popular parks on Earth.

Good point!

My wife is from Japan. Tokyo Disney Sea is a huge favorite. Absolutely stunning!

 

[sharadoc]

****NOTE AFTER MY POST: I didn't mean for this message to be so long. Just got excited to talk about Epcot****

You can definitely spend a whole fun day at Epcot. I would say the best attractions for teenagers are Mission: Space (an intense simulator that takes you on a mission to Mars), Test Track (the same ride system as Radiator Racers but with a theme about testing a car that you get to design yourself), and Soarin' (which you have probably experienced already in California).

Spaceship Earth is a relatively long dark ride about communication throughout human history. It's an original attraction and cool to see. It's the one inside the "Epcot ball" (as I always called it). Definitely not a thrill ride since it's super slow, but it's one I never miss.

The Living Seas is really cool. It's a huge aquarium with dolphins, sharks, stingrays, manatees, and loads of other fish. It's a nice place to get inside and beat the heat for a while since you'll be visiting in late July. If your kids aren't into Finding Nemo, you can bypass the Nemo ride by going in through the gift shop, but if there's not a long wait I'd go on the ride to get into the aquarium. It's short and really cute.

Living with the Land is a boat ride through a green house where you learn about agriculture. It's nice if you need to get off your feet for a while, but unless your kids are into agriculture and farming, I wouldn't wait longer than 10-15 minutes for it. That being said, I do tend to go on it a lot, so there's clearly something I like about it. (By the way, Soarin' is in the same pavilion as this ride.)

Journey into Imagination is something I would say you can skip unless you're looking for a way to kill time. It's geared more towards younger children.

I have grown to LOVE World Showcase as an adult, but it's hard to say what your teenagers would like without knowing them personally. There is a boat ride inside the Mexico pavilion, which is cute. Again, nice way to relax and get off your feet for a while but not worth a long wait in my opinion. The pavilion itself is very cool. Once you go inside, it is like you're in an outdoor Mexican marketplace. Definitely worth a visit.

Norway has the Frozen ride, which I think is very cool but also may not be worth the wait for your teenagers unless they're big fans of Frozen. If you can get a Fastpass for it, go for it. Or arrive at opening and walk straight there. When I did this, the wait was only about 30 minutes since they didn't start taking Fastpasses until a little later (10 or 11am, I think it was.) I'm not sure if this is still what they do, but that was the only way I could get into it without a huge wait.

China has a 360 degree theater with a movie showing the China landscape. Canada also has a similar 360 degree film. It stars Martin Short and has a bit of a comedic twist on it. I would choose the Canada movie over the China movie because of the comedy, but they're both nice. Just know there are no seats for these, just rails to lean on.

Germany has a large buffet restaurant with entertainment and of course shops, drinks, and food like all the other countries. There is an extensive miniature train set there that is really cool to see (no line or anything, just as you're walking by.)

Italy doesn't have a big attraction either but has some shops and some food options. There is a pretty photo op that looks like Venetian canals, but I usually walk right past Italy for the most part.

There is a cool audio-animatronics show in the America pavilion. It's called The American Adventure. It takes you through US history and is a great little show. I really enjoy it. *********Before the show (or even if you don't decide to see the show), I would definitely recommend going into the lobby to hear Voices of Liberty. They are an incredibly talented a cappella vocal group. In my opinion, their vocal talent is almost worth the price of a ticket to Epcot. They do a set of about 15 minutes before each American Adventure show. I always try to make sure to see them.*********** Also, check the theatre across from the America pavilion on the World Showcase lagoon. There are often celebrity singers and bands playing free concerts there.

Japan has a couple nice restaurants and a huge store with Japanese goods. There is also an artist that makes animal shapes out of candy. While that may be cooler for younger kids, I like to stop by and see her make the animals. It's a cool art to see.

Morocco has some nice food and really cool architecture. I've been to Marrakesh, and it actually feels like walking through the streets there.

France has a beautiful 180 degree movie (with chairs) that shows off the country and has some fantastic music by French composers. I never miss this film. It's from the late 70s/early 80s though, so be ready to see some "old time" clothes.

The UK pavilion is also mainly shops and restaurants. There is a small stage in the back where a band plays as well.

Illuminations is a cool evening show, so i'm sure you'll enjoy that. Just make sure you can see the globe (which will not start there but will end up in the center of the lake), and make sure to wait until the end of the show. A lot of people start to leave before it's over because the end of one of the sections seems like a finale.

Sorry for the long message, but Epcot has actually become my favorite Disney park. World Showcase might be tougher for teenaged kids than a park with ride after ride but then again, maybe not. It just depends on their interests. If they're interested in learning about different countries and cultures and trying different foods, then they'll love it. However, even if they're not, I think they'll still enjoy certain parts of it. Future World is where most of the attractions are, and I'm sure they'll enjoy some of the things there, particularly Mission: Space and Test Track if they're into thrill rides. One final thing to make you excited, Epcot feels much more open than the other parks, so even if it's crowded (which I'm guessing it will be at the end of July), you will feel physically less crowded than if you were in the other parks. This is one thing I absolutely love about Epcot. Hope you guys have an awesome trip!!

Great post. Epcot is our number 1 and we spend most of our time there. The key is doing everything.

Best way for us is Future World in the evening. It's beautiful and most of ghe rides are a walk-on.