Park Highlight: Epcot

I’ve spent some time talking about why Disney is not just for kids, and taking trips without them. In fact, I haven’t even taken my own kids at all yet, and my past 3 trips have been adult only trips. That was great and fun and stuff, but also it goes without saying that Disney definitely is not just for adults either. Some people do actually think that Epcot is just for adults though, and don’t get me wrong it is definitely an adult friendly park, but it is also way more kid friendly than some might think.

Epcot is my favorite park at Walt Disney World.

There, I said it. I picked. And by “I picked” what I actually mean is I’ve known this all along but now you know too. 

This is maybe an unpopular opinion, especially one for a travel agent and Disney lover because, well, Magic Kingdom is probably “supposed” to be my favorite park? Maybe with Hollywood Studios following close behind? But I’m really good at expressing unpopular opinions and so I’m here to tell you why Epcot is my favorite, and why my most recent trip confirmed that I am still right about this. 

If you were here the last time I wrote about Epcot, you’ll know about the festivals. I somehow always find myself there during the Food and Wine Festival and this last trip was no exception. As always, the food was absolutely delicious. Major shout out to the wild mushroom filet mignon with truffle butter sauce from Le Cellier steakhouse in Canada. I was unaware of how delicious a steak from a festival booth could be, but let me tell you this was phenomenal. I will make it a priority to go to Le Cellier for dinner on my next Disney trip. 

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I also had some delicious crab and guacamole thing in the America pavilion and Sweet and Spicy Bushberry Shrimp in Australia, which for some reason I do not have a picture of. (Read: because I’m not a real influencer.)

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Most of my Epcot day was not actually spent eating this time around though, and yet, this is still my favorite park. Our Epcot day was our agency team building day so we got to do the most fun activity. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, a new 4D ride, will be opening in the France Pavillion on October 1. In anticipation of this ride, there is a really fun scavenger hunt going on through the Food and Wine Festival, which we got to participate in as a group for our team building activity.

First, pick up one of these cards and choose your starting point.

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Then walk around the World Showcase trying to find the hidden Remy in the different countries, each holding a different food item.

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Next, find the sticker with the specific food item and place it on the map in the appropriate location. Once you find all the Remy’s, you get a prize! (Insider Tip: You can pick up the prize at any time – before you start, during your search, when you’re done. You paid $9.99 for your map so now you get the prize no matter what.)

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This is such a great activity for literally any combination of people. We had an amazing time as a group of adults who have all been to Epcot many times, and I thought it was a fun way to experience it differently. If it was maybe 15 – 20 degrees cooler with 50% less humidity, I could see this being a full day activity with many food and drink stops along the way. Many people also wonder what to do with kids in the World Showcase when parents want to experience the festivals or walk through the countries. This is a great way to keep little ones entertained, and there are different types of scavenger hunts throughout the year to match up with the festival going on at the moment. Can you spot the rat in some of my photos?

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Ok so the festivals are great and fun and delicious, but festivals and scavenger hunts are not the only reason to visit the World Showcase. Just seeing the beauty and theming of each country is so much fun, and also super educational. You can spend the day just walking around, checking out the shops, and learning about all of the different cultures. But also the restaurants. Epcot is home to around 20 table service restaurants and even a few quick service spots. The countries each have 1 or more restaurants so you can really experience food from all over the world. No other park has this variety in food choices. AND Epcot is walking distance from the Boardwalk area which is home to three other hotels all with great restaurants as well as a some other restaurants along the boardwalk. Seriously, this area is a foodie paradise.

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Pro tip: if you want to take your kids out of school  to experience Disney World with lower crowds, but your school/state has strict attendance policies and rules about missed school days being “educational”, you can find a wide variety of templates online explaining why taking your child to Epcot (and actually all of the parks) and teaching them about the world is a good alternative to being in school. I used to be a teacher, and I support this plan.

I also really, really, really love ALMOST all of the rides at Epcot, with the exception of Mission: Space (not to be confused with Spaceship Earth, which is a very important part of Epcot). Mission Space is painful and nauseating, but there are two options – the Orange mission which is more intense and the green mission which has a lower height requirement and is considered family friendly. Maybe it would’ve been less awful if I had chosen the green mission. 

But that’s not actually relevant here, because I rode it once two years ago and never have or will again, and the point here is about the rides I do love. 

I’ll start with the three that I made it onto during this most recent trip. Soarin’, Livin’ with the land, and Spaceship Earth are definitely three of my favorites. Soarin’ specifically is a can’t miss ride, and Livin’ with the Land is right there in the same building as Soarin’ and the line is usually about 5 minutes long or less, so there’s really no reason to skip it. Every time I ride Livin’ with the Land, I think to myself “wow I cannot wait to take Marissa on this ride.” Plus both rides are indoors so in a non Covid world this is a great way to get out of the heat.

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And then there’s Spaceship Earth, the ride inside the giant golf ball, globe, geosphere, whatever you want to call it. Well, if you don’t ride this I’m not even sure you can say you’ve been to Epcot. Plus at the end you get these very flattering photos of yourself in the future.

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Of these three, Soarin’ is the only one with a height requirement, and I think all three are pretty kid friendly. 

There are so many other rides to love at Epcot that I didn’t get to ride on this trip but definitely did on the last two and as I think about it I’m reminded more and more about why Epcot is such a kid friendly park. Figment is a favorite of mine, and they also have the Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Frozen Ever After, with the new Ratatouille ride opening in October. I also really love Test Track, but I wouldn’t call this one specifically kid friendly. It has a 40 inch height requirement, which is actually the same as Soarin’, but it’s very fast and jerky and can be a bit scary for little ones. SO fun for me though, and I’m definitely going to try everything in my power to get my kids on it, we just need to put a few more inches on a couple of them. Test track is my favorite ride at my favorite park (but not my favorite ride at Disney because that’s not exactly how math works, and my favorite ride actually unfortunately lives at my least favorite park – 5 points for you if you know what I’m talking about). There are also a couple of rides in the World Showcase that I’m embarrassed to say I have not been on, but I do know that they also are a great way to break up the countries and give little ones something to do.

So there you have it. All about Epcot, my favorite park at Disney World. Just thinking about it makes me ready to book my next trip, and who knows, maybe I’ll even let my kids join this time.

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