So, it’s 2:00 am and I can’t sleep so I figured since I didn’t get to post yesterday, I’d start today’s post early! Today we are going to talk about the last major park – Epcot. (Disney does have water parks, but we won’t be discussing them in this blog). Going back to my favorite here we will be looking at the easy WDW Epcot touring map.
Like I suggested with Magic Kingdom, if you have the time, I would suggest Epcot over a two day time span. This will really give you the opportunity to focus on rides, and to focus on exploring the countries! Okay, now down to business!
Red rides (as I’m sure you know by now) are done during the first hour, or using a fastpass at a later time. For these we have:
- Test Track
- Soarin
Test Track
This ride is unique in that it is a ride that “test drives” a car. This car is tested on weather, speed, handling, etc., and is about a mile long. This also has interactive fun before and after the ride where you can create your own virtual car and then see how it preforms on tests, make a commercial for your car, and even drive it through a virtual landscape. Pretty cool, right?!
Soarin’
Soarin’ takes you on a virtual hand gliding adventure through California! It’s been extremely popular since opening (I’m sure you can see why), and even has games that can be played while waiting in line! Both Soarin’ and Test Track have height restrictions: Riders must be 40 inches or taller.
Now onto our yellow rides! These are best completed within the first/last two hours the park is open (or with a fastpass). These include:
- Spaceship Earth
- Character Spot
- Turtle Talk
- Sum of All Thrills
- Mission:SPACE
Spaceship Earth
Located inside the “Epcot Ball”, this is probably one of the most well known, and well loved Disney rides. Take a journey through human history, and then end in the future! After your ride through the past, you will end up in an interactive play area! This play area offers various experiences such as: building a 3D human body, a driving simulation, and learning how to manage power in a city. All of the activities introduce important educational concepts, in a super fun way! This is one of my all time favorite places to go!
Character Spot
Character Spot is essentially the spot in Disney where you are sure to find Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy! As these characters can see long wait times, it is suggested to get them out of the way early. Aside from our typical Disney friends, you can also meet Baymax here! I’m super excited to see him myself!
Turtle Talk
Turtle Talk with Crush is interactive, and creates a different experience for everyone. This is your chance to talk to Crush in a 15 minute conversation. You can ask him anything about his life, his friends, or even marine biology! This is completely unscripted, which makes it much more unique and enjoyable for everyone in your family.
Sum of all Thrills
Sum of all Thrills is located in Innoventions. Innoventions has 3 interactive experiences including Stormstuck, where you get caught in a storm and then build a storm safety kit for your family, Colortopia, where you can color, create your own hues, and learn how colors impact daily life, and finally Sum of all Thrills, which allows you to engineer your own thrill ride and then ride it in a 4D simulation!
Mission: SPACE
Mission: SPACE gives you an authentic NASA training experience! What’s cooler than that? It’s a simulation ride where you must navigate through space! This ride offers two options: The Orange Team which is a more intense ride. Orange Team spins and tilts to simulate G-forces when entering and leaving the Earth. Green Team is less intense, and is just a motion simulation ride. Both very awesome experiences, but if you are unsure, stick with the Green Team!
Now we move on to our anytime attractions:
- Ellen’s Energy Adventure
- The Seas with Nemo and Friends
- Journey into the Imagination with Figment
- Circle of Life
- Living with the Land
- Frozen Ever After*
Ellen’s Energy Adventure
In this ride, you will learn about the history and future of energy sources with Ellen and Bill Nye! You’ll go back to when Dinosaurs roamed the earth, and at the end you’ll have a show down to see how much you’ve learned about energy!
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Board the “clamobile” and help find Nemo! This ride takes you under the seas through coral reefs, and running from big angler fish! The fun’s not over when the ride ends. Afterwards, enjoy the huge aquarium at your leisure!
Journey into the Imagination with Figment
In this ride, you will journey through sensory labs to learn all about the 5 senses!
Circle of Life
Walking around all day gets exhausting. Relax a little with this 20 minute short film about conservation efforts as explained by our favorite Lion King characters.
Living with the Land
This is a ride depicting the future of food production! Like all the food you see? No problem! You can actually try these foods at Sunshine Seasons or Garden Grill Restaurant!
Frozen Ever After*
In this new ride, opening sometime this summer (2016), you will get on a Norwegian vessel and travel through Arendelle! I don’t have too much information on this as it hasn’t opened yet. If you happen to go this summer, let us know how it is!
Aside from these, there are a few little rides an attractions scattered throughout the countries, but as they aren’t extremely popular, I didn’t include them here. If you are interested in information about them look through Epcot’s website here.
Epcot also offers a pretty decent amount of character meets:
- Aladdin & Jasmine
- Belle
- Alice
- Daisy & Donald
- Mickey & Minnie
- Goofy & Pluto
- Mary Poppins
- Mulan
- Snow White
- Frozen characters may also soon be available sometime this summer.
Like the other parks, Epcot also offers a night time show. This show, called IllumiNations is a light show over the water that focuses on the story of Earth.
LIGHT THE NIGHT Spectacular fireworks customized to a symphonic score burst above Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon during IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Lasers, a revolving Earth Globe and leaping flames co-star in this 13-minute spectacle. IllumiNations is the nightly finale at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Computer-generated image). (Copyright 2001. THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY.)
I hope you enjoyed the last few days talking parks with me! Stayed tuned for what we have coming up tomorrow! 😉
**All pictures are property of Walt Disney World, and it’s affiliates.**
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