Epcot-what do you recommend for kids there?

[minnie-mouse]

We did not go to Epcot (I know, shame on me) on our last few trips. I thought our DDS were too young, but they will be 6 and 9 on our next trip so I am looking for any good recommendations for this park to make it more enjoyable for them. What should we not miss?

[Melanie]

The Kim Possible interactive game! Makes the World Showcase that much more fun and interesting for the kids.

Of course, in Future World, there is The Living Seas with Nemo, Soarin' at the Land, and if they like 'thrill' rides, The Sum of all Thrills is fun at Innoventions.

[TinkerbellT421]

I agree with Mel as well.

Also, dont forget about the Innoventions Buildings. There are TONS of fun stuff for kids in there. Make your own rollercoaster ride, the hurrican interactive ride, the Fire House interactive thingy, there is even a section of all xbox, ps, etc games to play!!! They will have a blast in there! Also dont forget about the rides like Three Cabaleros one in Mexico, I am sure they would love that. And at each country they can collect their "passprt" stamps. Also, they have I forget what it is called, but you stop at different countries and they have arts and crafts for the kids that you collect and when you have collected all the projects you get a "special prize" at the end, which I am sure is probably just some kind of sticker or such, but I am sure you children at their age would get a kick out of it. They are quick projects too. Theres a little table at the different countries at the entrance or exit where you can find a cast member sitting with the materials for the project. They usually take about 10 or maybe 15 minutes to complete. Coloring, building, etc.

[AgentC]

My son is almost 6 and Epcot is his favorite park. My 3 year old enjoys it as well

I agree with Mel on Kim Possible. We have done all the missions and he still asks to do them every trip.

Innoventions is great. My kids love The Great Piggy Bank Adventure which is a series of video games that teach about saving money. The make your own video game, and Fire Safety games are always big hits too. There is also an area where you make paper and do safety testing. When we were there last month, they were adding some new areas to Innoventions using a superhero theme.

In Future World , they enjoy Living with the Land, The Living Seas with Nemo and Spaceship Earth. We usually avoid the Universe of Energy because it is very long and you can't get off.

The World Showcase crafts is now coloring a Duffy Bear on a stick, so they may not enjoy that. You still bring it from country to country and get stamps and they will write the child's name in different languages.

[megustamex]

There is so much to do! My kids are 4 and 6 and love Epcot.

There is a great train layout outside Germany that my kids love. They also like the toy stores in Germany and the department store in Japan. And we always end the night by checking out the huge selection of Disney merchandise at Mouse Gear.

They love all the entertainment too - especially the "Candy Lady" in Japan, the Kyoto drummers, all the musical performances in Canada/England/Morocco, the mime in France...and so on.

We all enjoy the France and China movies and Maelstrom in Norway. And ditto on Tres Cabelleros in Mexico - it is one of their favorite rides in all the parks. Also Spaceship Earth, Soarin', Test Track and Living with the Land, as mentioned.

The kids also look forward to visiting the bakeries in either France or Norway too. We pretend we're in Paris when we go to France. They also beg to go to Club Cool every time so we can try all the drinks from around the world.

At Innoventions, don't miss the fire safety game. Fun for everyone.

And if you want to see characters, go to the Character Spot in Future World. IMO it is the best place to see all the "bigs" at once - you wait in one line and then get to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and I think Pluto all in a row. And you wait inside so it's air conditioned/rainproof.

Don't forget to watch Illuminations too! My kids love it.

Have fun!

[WDWForever]

I have two daughters (4 and 2) and they love EPCOT especially the Piggy Bank Adventure game in Innovations. Your kids should be able to ride all the attractions but Mission Space (orange side) might be too intense. You can always try them on the green side first. You also should checkout the things to do after the rides which anyone has access to without actually going on the ride. Under Spaceship Earth (not Innovations) there are a bunch of games to play; after Journey into Imagination there are musical instruments and make a dragon on computers; and after Mission Space has a team spaceship game, an astronut video game and a little play area for the young ones.

[buzznwoodysmom]

My kids are 9 and 11, and Epcot is my 11 year old's favorite park. My 9 year old would probably rank it second favorite park. Definitely lots of interesting things for kids at Epcot. My oldest son loves Innoventions. He always has, and even though I don't like it at all we always spend at least an hour in there letting him explore. My kids also love the exit area of Spaceship Earth. The game area as you exit Mission Space is a huge hit with my kids. The Kim Possible adventure makes World Showcase fun, but honestly my boys love exploring the countries even without the Kim Possible "game".

On our last trip we decided to eat lunch "around the world" rather than just eat at one location. This was a huge hit for the whole family. We started in Mexico and ordered one or two items from each country to share. Stuff like nachos, churros, egg rolls, funnel cake, stuff that's snacky and easy to share. This gave us all the opportunity to try new places and forced us to spend a decent amount of time in each country. Not that we don't spend enough time back there as it is, but for families that find themselves just running through the countries this would be a great way to slow down. We only got up to America before we were all stuffed. My boys insist that in Dec. we HAVE to do this again, but start in Canada and eat our way through the rest of the countries.

I think your children will surprise you with how much they enjoy this park. So many people think Epcot isn't a fun park for kids, but my kids have always loved Epcot.

[BrerGnat]

Shame on you!

Just kidding. ;)

Our boys favorite park is Epcot. They were only 5 and 4 when they first went there. They basically love everything about it.

This year, we are going to try the Kim Possible mission.

If your kids are 48", the Sum of All Thrills attraction inside Innoventions is really fun!

My kids loved Spaceship Earth the best. This year, they are looking forward to trying Test Track (were too scared last time, but they have been watching videos of it for months in anticipation).

I basically agree with everything said above. Epcot is an amazing place for kids!

[finaldynasty]

I agree with the other recommendations, but would also recommend not to forget the big rides like Test Track, Soarin and Mission Space.

Ep-a-cot as my youngest calls it is one of our favorite parks. Enjoy each building and area as they are truly unique.

Have a magical time!

:mickey:

[phlo8810]

Just like to add my kids are 4 and 6 and they love Epcot too!! Soarin', Ellen's Energy adventure and the rides in Mexico and Norway are their favorites.

[darthmacho]

Attractions aside, I found that pointing out the small things in this wonderfully detailed park kept my girls (ages 6 and 9 at the time) completely immersed. One of their favorites was the way the water in the Future World fountain reacted to the music, especially when it simulated exploding fireworks. World Showcase was another area they really enjoyed more than I expected. :mickey:

[minnie-mouse]

Wow, you guys are awesome! Thank you so much. I am copying all this advice now! Sounds like a lot they will really love!

[Gator]

Yes, shame on you, indeed. I've taken each of mine since they were both 18 months, and they love it. They both always want to go "in Epcot", which means SSEarth. They love the Nemo Ride, Test Track, Soarin', Three Caballeros, Maelstrom, Journey into Imagination, and Turtle Talk. Those are easy ones. But they also love World Showcase Players, Liberty Voices, "those singers in the dresses"(Off Kilter), and any live entertainment. Don't forget to do a character meal, too. Man, just talking about all this makes me want to take them back tomorrow!

[WDWCrazyKaren]

Here's one more vote for making Epcot a favorite park for little ones. My girls were both about 3 the first time they experienced this park, and it is still their favorite to this day (they are 23 and 14 now). They both LOVED getting passports and having them stamped around the world. Younger DD enjoyed the mask making at the Kidcot stations, and they both love Spaceship Earth with something bordering on obsession. If you just left them on it all day, they would both think it was the best thing EVER! It's also not as crowded "feeling" as the other parks, so you don't get that claustrophobia that is so heavy elsewhere.

Enjoy breakfast with the princesses at Akershus! Even as adults, we love it (DH and I even eat here when no kids are with us!). Teppan Edo is a really fun place for dinner, but it is super-extra-double loud, so take that into consideration if your kids don't do "loud" very well.

So much for kids to see and do. The street performances all around World Showcase are SO much fun too! Something for everyone!

Have FUN!!!

[TinkerbellT421]

[QUOTE=WDWCrazyKaren;2214593]
Enjoy breakfast with the princesses at Akershus! Even as adults, we love it (DH and I even eat here when no kids are with us!). QUOTE]

I second this vote for Breakfast at Akershus! DBF and I only go to Disney without kids (seeing we dont have any together and his kids are older and working and uninterested in anything Disney anymore :( ) But this is certainly one of my favorites!

[minnie-mouse]

You guys are great! Keep the ideas coming. I am making notes of it all. DH always makes fun of me for my planning but this is all worth it!

[texas211]

Club Cool. They can try some of the sodas around the world. Though the bad, get them a lil jumped up on sugar. But it is fun.

[crltkcagle]

I have three boys, 10, 8, and 6 and I always make my kids passports before we leave. I give them to out on the day we are visiting Epcot and as we go to each country they get their passport stamped and the cm usually writes something in that language in their passport. They also love coloring the duffy bear at each kidcot station. I love kidcot because it keeps the kids entertained and I can walk around and enjoy the country and then my hubby can take a turn when I am done. Its the only way we can experience the "boring" stuff! I hope as my kids get older they will appreciate the countries more.
In future world they love soarin, test track,spaceship earth, nemo, figment, and Innoventions (especially the part where you make and star in your own video game) I think this park is their second favorite park because there is so much to see and do!

[Kairi_7378]

We tried to tell our son something fun about each country when we were in the World Showcase. (He's 3.) He is really into trains so he enjoyed the train display in Germany a lot. We also like the koi pond in Japan. In China, my husband got to juggle with the Chinese CM's in the open market section of that country. (There are toys for the guests to play with, too.) In Norway, they had lots of fun trying on Viking hats and posing with the big troll statue. We tried to sample something in each of the countries. And of course, there are character meets in many of the countries as well.

DS had some of his first soda ever at Club Cool while we were doing a rider swap. He adored Figment, the Seas with Nemo, and Turtle Talk with Crush. He enjoyed Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land as well. (Your boys may really appreciate that ride if you take them to lunch or dinner at the Garden Grill, since you'll ride past many of the veggies that are incorporated into the meals!)

[Williams5]

My 9 year old daughter and soon to be 7 year old son want to do Kim Possible at Epcot more than anything else in the whole place. (however we've spoiled our children rotten with so many trips to WDW)

Also, Test Track has become my daughter's favorite ride in the whole place.

We are going over Thanksgiving week this fall, and I intend to spend almost an entire afternoon doing nothing but Kim Possible and getting the Duffy Bear activities done. We did the entire stamp set in Animal Kingdom last time and they really enjoyed that.

I think my kids honestly think that they are saving Epcot when they do the Kim Possible game.

They also LOVE figment and we usually do that ride 3-4 times each trip.

I highly suggest EPCOT - but you aren't going to be on continual kid rides - so in comparison to other parks, it is different (although there is a lot of kid stuff to do)

[Mousemates]

what to do at Epcot...everything. Its the park, that when it comes to the rides, which is the most kid friendly. Very few height restrictions and the "thrill rides" are rather mild. Our kids loved Epcot when they were young.

[phillydan]

Take the boats instead of making them walk!

[Mogie]

For kids, Future World is the place to go with the rides and interactive games. I remember when I was a kid visiting Epcot. It seemed like miles and miles of walking and really boring stuff to see in each country. Eating was fun. Some of the liver performances were fun (But I feel like there used to be a lot more of them years ago).

[BelleandtheBeast]

The World Showcase for sure. We took our son when he was 3 and he LOVED the Mexican Donald Duck boat right and the Kid Cot stations. We taught him to go up to each one and say hello in their language. He enjoyed it so much. They have a passport you can purchase that they will stamp and sign. They also have a mask and each one attached a paper shape to it that the kids can color. So educational and fun.

[joonyer]

My boys were 6 & 9 on their first trip to WDW and there were no rides at Epcot that they didn't like, including Test Track, Mission Space (there was no mild version then) and also Soarin' and of course, SSE. "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" is gone now, and so is Wonders of Life with Cranium Command, those were two of their favs, too bad they are gone. My boys also loved the games they could play in Innoventions. I don't know what is still available there now. They also enjoyed playing in the big fountain overspray, and watching others get wet. They were not so keen on visiting the countries' pavilions, although they loved eating at Teppan Edo.

[minnie-mouse]

Take the boats instead of making them walk!

You can take a boat from one side of the lake to the otherin Epcot?

[TexasPrincessAurora]

We just got back on Sunday from a week at WDW, with DS7 and DD4.

DD4 loved everything at The Seas with Nemo (especially Turtle Talk with Crush...she got to talk to him twice), Soarin', Gran Fiesta Tour, Test Track & Maelstrom.

DD7 loved Turtle Talk with Crush, Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Captain EO, Test Track, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Gran Fiesta Tour, & Mission Space.

[PlutoPlanet]

I agree with the recommendations about Innoventions. I think of Innoventions as if it were a Children's Museum. There is a lot to do that is fun and perhaps even educational.

[brownie]

Ellen's Energy Adventure can be fun for the kids but it is a longer attraction. Catching some of the entertainment would probably be enjoyable for them, too. I'd recommend seeing the JAMMitors and Serveur Amusant.

Soarin', The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Innoventions, and even Test Track would probably be enjoyed by them.

[K8screen]

Ep-a-cot as my youngest calls it is one of our favorite parks.
:mickey:

My youngest called it Epricot! We still all call it that in the family