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| Spaceship Earth from inside the park |
When you walk into Epcot the very first thing you’ll see is what looks like a huge golf ball (that’s it in the pic), this is Spaceship Earth. Spaceship Earth is a ride that takes you on a journey through time and is great when you need a little rest. The ride lasts for about 15 minutes and keeps the kids quiet because there’s lots to see and listen to. One of the best tips I can give at this point is don’t go straight into the queue, most people do and that makes it busy. If you wait until you’re on your way out later in the day the queue will be almost non-existent and you’ll be on the ride within about 5 minutes.
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| JAMMitors, Future World |
Another good ride at Epcot is Ellen’s Energy Adventure and this one gives you a decent break, it’s 45 minutes long. You join Ellen DeGeneres on a journey learning about energy, my kids loved it because they got to see dinosaurs! Our two favourite rides are ones that get very busy, the queues can reach 120 minute waits, sometimes longer. The first is Soarin’ where you hand glide over California enjoying glorious views, it is truly breathtaking. This is a ride that younger children can go on but they do have to be 102cm or 40” tall, my four-year old said he liked it because he was flying. Our second favourite ride at Epcot is Test Track, which Disney just recently updated. On entering the queue you get to see lots of concept cars, look inside them and design your own. The height restrictions for this ride are the same as Soarin’ but this one is a little more intense. You take a ride in your own concept car and put it through it’s paces, it’s an exciting ride that my boys loved.
For the older thrill seekers in the group there are a couple of rides, Mission Space and Sum of All Thrills. In Mission Space you “experience NASA-style training with a simulated space launch” as the park map puts it. There are two sides to this ride, one more intense than the other. Height restrictions for this are 112cm or 44”. Sum of All Thrills is another simulator where you get to design your own roller-coaster. It is located inside Innoventions East and you do have to be a little bit taller for this one, 122cm or 48”.
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| Japan, World Showcase |
Rides aren’t the only thing at Epcot, Walt Disney World. There is also World Showcase, an area further into the park where you can walk around different countries. Mexico, Japan and the UK are amongst the 11 countries they have and you can visit shops in which they sell food, drinks and souvenirs. Almost all of the countries have some form of live entertainment unique to the country and one of them even has a ride. Each country has a stand or shop where you can buy ‘traditional’ food or drink such as Fish & Chips at the UK, Sushi at Japan and Tequila at Mexico. One of the best things about the World Showcase was wandering up to the drinks stand in Mexico, ordering a frozen Mango Margarita and walking around the rest of the countries in the blazing sun enjoying the cooling drink.
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| United Kingdom, World Showcase |
If you were thinking that World Showcase could be a little boring for your children, well you’re mistaken. Disney have thought of everything. Just before you enter World Showcase there is a stand where your children can take part in Disney Phineas and Ferb: Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure. The children get given a phone (yes a real one) and they are asked to help Agent P (disguised Perry the Platypus) defeat Dr. Doofenshmirtz by finding clues throughout each of the countries in the World Showcase. Bam! Told you Disney had thought of everything.
Lastly if you happen to be at Epcot in the evening be sure to check out their fireworks show, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth which takes place at 9pm every night at the World Showcase Lagoon. It is a fantastic show and some of the fireworks are amazing.
I hope I’ve helped some of you out with this and if you have any further questions or something to add then please write it in the comments or get in touch. Thanks for reading.