Walt Disney World – EPCOT

August 2019

Ahh, EPCOT. Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. EPCOT could definitely be my favourite park… If I absolutely had to choose one. It’s utterly wonderful, educational and inspiring. It has everything I love – Disney, space travel, nature and world travel. EPCOT opens you up to new things. Whether it’s educational or cultural, you’ll always come away learning and experiencing something new.

Most Disney fanatics like myself will know that Walt Disney poured his heart and soul into this park, but sadly didn’t get to see it finished. Like all Disney parks, Epcot has a centrepiece – a geodesic sphere – of which houses the ride Spaceship Earth. The park is divided up into two sections; Future World and World Showcase.

We parked at Epcot’s huge car park when visiting, then used the monorail to park hop over to Magic Kingdom on our last day.

Future World

Future World consists of six pavilions and it’s the first part of the park, boasting all things innovative, technological and scientific.

Going clockwise, the pavilions start with Imagination!, which is themed around “imagination and creativity”. Imagination! has a mascot called Figment – a purple dragon, who is rather cute! Of course, you can buy all kinds of merchandise that features him.

Next is The Land, focused around agriculture, ecology and travel. You will find Soarin’ Around the World here – a simulator ride that lifts you off the ground and takes you on world adventures. A great ride to rest your legs on is Living with the Land, a boat rides that takes you through a greenhouse (that grows all the fruit and veg that is eaten in EPCOT), Labs, and gives you some history on agriculture.

The cutest pavilion is The Seas with Nemo and Friends, which is all about ocean exploration. It features the attraction that made us laugh the most – Turtle Talk with Crush – I don’t want to say anymore, you just have to experience it, all of the ‘LOLs’. You can find an aquarium here also, which is great for helping you cool down (and for spotting members of the Finding Nemo cast!).

Mission: Space is the next pavilion and I’m going to put it out there now – I don’t like it. I love everything about space, it’s beyond fascinating and the thought of space travel is incredible. But this ride makes you feel like you’re about to go into space and every time I’ve been on it I’ve felt soooooo sick afterwards. The annoying thing is that it is an absolutely brilliant ride. It simulates what an astronaut may feel like going into space – fascinating right? Each passenger is assigned a role aboard a shuttle, so you have to listen and press certain buttons to successfully land on the moon. It’s definitely worth the motion sickness if you can deal with that.

Test Track is up next. If you have experienced the Radiator Springs Racers in Disneyland California, it’s clear that Cars Land definitely took inspiration from Test Track. The ride consists of test driving a car – putting the cars through terrain, braking, temperature and speed testing. It’s so much fun! Queues are always long here, so if you can land a fast pass you are winning.

The newest pavillion opening October 2019 is The Odyssey Events that exhibits Walt Disney Imagineering.

Club Cool

Club Cool is currently getting renovated. But if it’s open when you visit, it’s a must see/taste! And a free way to have a quick swig of a drink! Located in Future World, it is there for you to ‘cool off’ with complimentary drinks that sit under the Coca-Cola brand.

The idea of it is sampling drinks from across the world. The drinks are from Brazil, Peru, South Africa, Japan, Thailand, Italy and Greece. Most people will agree that of the soft drinks available, Italy has the worst and Greece has the best. Beverly is Italy’s drink – it’s not the nicest, but I didn’t find it too bad, although most people do find the bitter-tasting drink revolting. The drink for Greece is the delicious, sweet-tasting Fanta Pineapple, which is the polar opposite of Italy’s Bev!

World Showcase

The World Showcase serves up so many things to do, see and eat, with tons of hidden gems sprinkled throughout. When you step into each pavilion, you step into a new country. Disney have done this unbelievably well!

The World Showcase opens at 11am, so you have chance to explore the first half of the park before it opens – or at least get to grips with the layout of the park. You will definitely spend the majority of your time here! One thing me and my brother always used to do as kids was follow the Kidcot around the pavilions. Kidcot is for children, however, as we are big kids, Rich and I decided to go around each country and join in at the Kidcot, because… why not. Why not do everything EPCOT has to offer! It’s a craft station located somewhere in each country that you have to find and collect something from – each year I’ve done this there has been something different – this year it was postcards, so now we have an EPCOT postcard display in our house.

Also worth noting is that cast members are located in each pavilion to take amazing photos of you with all the amazing country backdrops. The photo ops are amazing, and with some photos, they sprinkle bits of magic on them – like photos with Iago in Morocco and Chip in France.

Here is a quick breakdown of what to expect at each country pavilion (going clockwise around the lagoon):

Mexico brought us so much joy. Rich and I are both massive Coco fans, so to say we were excited to visit Mexico was an understatement. The main feature is the Mesoamerican pyramid, which you enter by walking up steps into an art gallery.

Moving into the main area of the pavilion, you enter an outdoor Mexican marketplace. There are stalls where you can buy authentic Mexican products as well as any Mexican Disney merch like Coco, all beneath a twinkling dark sky. At the back is a restaurant called San Ángel Inn Restaurante that overlooks a wonderful backdrop of a volcano and pyramid, but most importantly, the Gran Fiesta Tour ride starring The Three Caballeros. I love this water ride, especially when you have had the Floridian heat hitting your shoulders all day. This ride is similar to It’s a Small World – it’s a simple boat ride that follows the adventures of the The Three Caballeros searching for Donald Duck. As well as all of the above being phenominal, the best was yet to come! We saw the live entertainment from the Mariachi Cobre – performing the story of Coco through all the songs in the film, and lets just say everyone watching was teary eyed and in complete awe. Their voices were unreal. The dancers were awesome And obviously, the music was wonderful. We stood sweating from head to toe for the full performance smiling and singing along. And to top it off, the Miguel puppet that comes out to play, high-fived Rich. Day. Made. This performance is not to be missed.

Norway, currently as it stands, is the only other pavilion with a ride included in the country. The ride here is called Frozen Ever which is a log flume ride that tells the story of Frozen. This rides is basically the same as the ride it replaced, Maelstrom – and you can tell it’s replaced an old ride due to some jolty bits during the flume. Aside to that, the décor for the queue and features throughout the ride are incredible. The pavilion is set up like a Norwegian village with an impressively-detailed Stave church. Throughout the village you can find restaurants, eateries and shops selling Norwegian goods like clothes, sweets and statues. Shops are decorated with trolls and Vikings. Another popular attraction in Norway is meeting Elsa and Anna – the majority of the time, queue times were 60 minutes, but we did pass a few times when the wait was only 10 to 15 minutes, so keep a look out!

In China, you enter through a large Chinese gate – perfect photo opportunity. The entrance is a replica of the Temple of Heaven. This is also the entrance to the featured attraction ‘Reflections of China’ – a 360° movie exploring the history and scenery of China. Keep a look out for the Chinese acrobats that frequently perform, they are incredible! Shopping here in China is very culture-heavy – good fortune gifts, parasols, toys, tea sets, prints and so much more. There are two restaurants you can dine at also; Nine Dragons and Lotus Blossom Cafe, both serving traditional Chinese cuisine. If you can land a meet and greet here you are very lucky, as Mulan, Mushu and Captain Li Shang don’t come by very often.

In Germany, it’s like stepping into Oktober Fest within a small German village. Everything you could want to buy that’s German is here, from beer glasses to large steins, and Christmas decorations to hats. Aside to the usual eateries and shops, you can also find a miniature village here with trains.

Italy, oh how we reminisced here. If you didn’t already know, we got married in Italy, and just love Italy as a whole. So visiting Epcot’s take on Italy is always magical. It’s based around the theme of Venice – specifically St Mark’s Square – gondolas and all! There are lots of places to eat and drink here. Years ago, I met Pinocchio and Geppetto, so I was on the look out this time around, but sadly,  wasn’t successful.

USA is all about the American adventure, featuring a mansion styled in colonial times. The halls inside the mansion are lined with notable Americans, like Walt Disney. Outside is an amphitheatre that regularly has live performances on, which is so relaxing when it’s a hot day and you get yourself a chilled drink and relax for a couple of minutes.

Japan, is definitely one of the most striking pavillions, and has so many shops to browse through (or to cool down in, I should say!) There are some perfect photo opportunities here with camera-sporting cast members hanging out near a large red torii gate and a replica of a 7th century Horyuji temple. There is also a beautiful Japanese garden to explore, so for photo enthusiasts, you will love it here. My favourite thing about Japan was that they had a Shaved Ice stall – Shaved Ice was all we had in Hawaii – it’s the best. It wasn’t quite the same in Japan, but it definitely did the job and made me happy.

Morroco is my favourite pavilion to visit, due to the fine details of the décor. You can walk right through the middle of everything. Even though I’ve never visited Morocco, I felt like I was transported there. I felt like I was in Agrabar! Walking through Morocco is like walking through the set of Aladdin – market stalls, clutter, arch ways, artwork… it’s phenominal.

We met Aladdin and Princess Jasmin here and witnessed some of the cutest moments – like a little girl singing A Whole New World to both Aladdin, Jasmine and the cast member taking her photo –  the photographer was struggling to hold the tears back! It was beyond sweet.

France is beautiful. There is a huge statue of the Eiffel Tower in the back drop that overlooks a small French village. You can meet characters here like Princess Aurora, and have magic added to your cast member photos, like the image of Chip I mentioned earlier. We tried an incredible French delicacy, a Croque Glaces, which is a pressed brioche ice cream sandwich. And oh my, it was delicious – I highly recommend it.

You can tell how much thought and work has gone into creating the pavilions. Did you know the reasoning for France to be placed next to the United Kingdom? Well, between them both is a bridge crossing the lagoon, like a river. This is to symbolise The Channel. Also, there is another entrance to the park here too, via Disney’s Boardwalk (which is also incredible, may I add).

United Kingdom is going to be amazing in a couple years. There has been rumours of a Cherry Tree Lane being added, CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT! When walking through then UK you can grab a beer at the Crown and Rose pub, eat some yummy fish and chips, shop around for all things tea and football, and sit and watch some live music at a bandstand. Considering we are from the UK, there is nothing better than some familiar creature comforts – we always find ourselves watching live music with a chippy when in EPCOT. We met Mary Poppins and Alice here, they were both utterly wonderful. Alice was mad, we had an invisible tea party with her and got told off for dropping our cups… Then Mary told me that I would get along with her Uncle Albert due to my uncontrollable giggling (which always seems to happen when speaking to characters).

Canada always seems to be the calmest pavilion. The main focal point is inspired by the famous historic hotel, the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. The rest of the pavilion is set around the country’s beautiful landscaping, like gardens in Victoria, the Rockies, streams and waterfalls. Every time we visit Canada, the gardens are filled with teeny tiny bunnies.

Events

Epcot holds many events throughout the year, it has the perfect facilities to do so. Celebrating music, culinary and art. Epcot holds the International Festival of Arts, this is roughly at the start of the year. Coming into March through to June, there is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. If you haven’t seen the photos, you must take a look. Next is the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, self explanatory, and as of 2019 there will be 30 market booths dedicated for this festival, of which will serve up food and wine from across the world. Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, is dedicated to all things festive.

Like Magic Kingdom, Epcot has its own display show at the end of the day. However, IllumiNations said goodbye on the 30th of September 2019, to be replaced by Epcot Forever the day after. On the new display show, Disney said “it will take us on a journey through the past, present and future of Epcot. Featuring a stirring collection of songs that paint a colourful picture of the park, this night time extravaganza will offer both a trip down memory lane and a look towards the future and all the magical possibilities still to come”. Sounds exciting! The show takes place on the lagoon and the best viewing spot is at The Rose and Crow pub in England.

Food and drink

I won’t write too much about what there is to eat and drink in Epcot because discovering it for yourself is part of the fun. But fear not, you will be spoilt for choice! There is food from all around the world – and you can dine in or simply grab food and drink and snack as you go!

You really could spend all day just trying out new treats. I would always advise to walk and snack instead of dining in, purely so you can try a wider variety of food – but that’s me.

Photo Pass

The Photo Pass can be bought daily – and sometimes it’s included in your ticket price. I can’t stress enough how amazing the photo opportunities are here in Epcot – whether you want a photo with the Epcot ball, Figment or monuments around the world, you can get so many wonderful photos here. And with so many cast members dotted around, you probably don’t even need to take your own camera.

You can add so much magic to your photos too, we had Iago, Cheshire Cat, Figment and Chip added to our photos.

And there are loooooads of characters to meet. They are either dotted around the park, or in designated indoor spots.

You can meet Mickey and friends, the emotions from Inside Out, Baymax, Mary Poppins, Alice and so many more unique characters.

Overall

For children, I think this is the most perfect place to visit, Disney or not. Epcot offers everything magical and educational. Everyone will be blown away and come away happy! Epcot always has me lost for words. The idea of it is incredible. All I have to say is, GO! Go and explore Epcot, you will not be disappointed.

Make sure you check out our video over on YouTube here.