Navigating Epcot

Epcot is huge and there’s lots to see. The World Showcase opens later than Future World. Future World usually opens at about 8 or 9 a.m. and the Showcase opens at 11 a.m. If you arrive early, you can experience many rides at Future World and then move on to the Showcase.

We usually head straight for Figment’s Imagination. This is a cute ride and the kids love it. From there we cut over to the opposite end of that section of the park to The Land of the Seas and the Nemo ride. Don’t forget to stop and see Turtle Talk with Crush. This is an enjoyable show with an animated Crush who floats in an aquarium and talks to the kids. He answers individual questions and it’s awesome!

Next it’s The Land and Soarin which is an amazing ride. One of my new favorites. They have a great Character lunch at the Garden Grill here. Food served family style with visits from Farmer Mickey, and Chip n Dale.

You can also stop in at Innovations East and West and test out all the little displays they have. Very educational! There is also a Character meet and greet inside which is nice on those hot and humid days.

By this time we are usually ready to head over to the World Showcase. We usually breeze through Canada and our first stop is the United Kingdom. We love the little shops and sometimes you can catch Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Eyeore inside the building to your right as you face the courtyard. They have a ‘British Invasion’ show in the courtyard that includes a Beatles cover band. Very entertaining. If it’s lunch time we may have fish n chips from the stand just outside the Rose and Crown restaurant.

We make our way around the World stopping in Japan (we can cruise the shop there for at least an hour), China, Norway, and finally Mexico. There is a quick service stand just outside the Mexican Pavilion that serves great Mexican food and a kiosk on the way that serves different flavors of Marguerites. If you want a sit-down restaurant, San Angelo’s in the Mexican Pavilion is beautiful and the food is great. There is also a nice boat ride through the history of Mexico accompanied by the Three Caballeros.

After the world, we head back over to Future World and experience Test Track. Another awesome ride and when you get out of the ride area you find yourself in a world of real full size automobiles and concept cars followed by a car lovers dream of a gift shop.

If you are in the mood for another thrill ride, you can take a trip to Mars on Mission Space. This is a very realistic trip through outer space. So realistic that the first and only time I rode this, I actually got motion sickness and I have never gotten that before on a ride. I haven’t ridden that since, but understand they have a more toned down version of the ride for those who are a little squeamish and the full out version for those who are brave.

The shops at Future World are great, with all kinds of toys, clothes, and souvenirs. You could wander through them for hours, and we do. On our way out of the park we usually go on Spaceship Earth. The old version was a nice easy ride through the history of mankind followed by interesting inventions and future technology sponsored by AT&T. After they pulled out, there was nothing at the end of the ride. Now a new version has been created that is sponsored by Siemens and I am anxious to check this out at my next visit.

If the kids aren’t too tired and cranky, we may stay until 9:00 p.m. to see the Illuminations fireworks and laser show. You’ve got to see this at least once in your life. It’s beautiful, but pretty loud and my 5 year old grandson has only recently been able to get past the loud booms and enjoy the light show.

Next time: Animal Kingdom