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Epcot has 2 sections - Future World and World Showcase. We visited on 2 different days. On day 1 we got there early and explored Future World. On the second day, we arrived late afternoon, spent our time at World Showcase and stayed for the 9pm fireworks.
Inspired by Walt Disney's creative vision, Future World is dedicated to the exploration of tomorrow and divided into 3 main areas. World Showcase has different pavilions representing countries around the world - each one staffed by native citizens and providing eateries, shops and entertainment with authentic merchandise and menus.
Epcot is a huge park - it is really a good idea to bring a stroller for younger children.
Future World is open 9am-7pm. We arrived in the car park at 8:45 and walked to the turnstiles, getting there just as the park opened. We went straight to Soaring - one of the newest rides, where there can be long queues. We only stood in line for 20 minutes.
Soaring is wonderful. Rows of seats rise from the floor before the ride begins and you "fly" through the sky in California. It is a lovely experience, all the children seemed to enjoy it and you really felt like you were gliding.
Our next stop was Turtle Talk with Crush at the Living Seas pavilion. This is a must-see for younger children. It is a show in a small, intimate theatre. Children sit on the ground at the front by a big "fishtank" and Crush the turtle appears and interacts with them. It is very clever and very cute.
The Nemo ride here is also fun. We did not queue, and all enjoyed riding in a small pink clammobile past scenes from Finding Nemo.
The rest of this pavilion is a huge aquarium - it is just like the ocean dropped in. There are 2 different levels, fascinating exhibits and great observation areas. We enjoyed the manatees and the dolphins.
Our next stop was the Land pavilion - the Circle of Life film with Simba and friends was quite interesting and our son loved it. They have a good food court here, we had lunch, having first picked up a fast pass for the Land boat ride. When we had finished eating, we got straight on.
This is an interesting boat ride through different eco-systems, culminating in a ride through greenhouses, where they are carrying out all sorts of food growing experiments - look out for Mickey Mouse ear shaped pumpkins and peppers!
Spaceship Earth - the famous "golfball" was our next ride. It is an incredible combination up-close of steel and triangles and the ride inside is great. It takes you through 40,000 years of human development beginning with cavemen. The best bit is at the top, when you are "transported" to space and you see the earth. The sphere is 18 storeys tall, so at the top of the ride you are 163 feet up.
You are turned backwards for the ride back down with a great interactive part, where you "star" in your own movie. This ride was a big hit with our 4 year old and we did it 3 times!
Not far away is Club Cool - sponsored by Coca Cola. They have fountains where you can get a paper cup and taste Coca-Cola from around the world. It's fun, free and a good chance to get cooled down and rehydrated.
At Character Connection nearby, you can meet Disney characters. We lined up for 45 minutes, but did get to see 7 characters, which was another big hit with our autograph obsessed son.
Our last ride on the first day was Ellen's Energy Adventure - you go back in time to see dinosaurs in their natural habitat. We told our son in advance it would be really dark and sometimes noisy and he was fine with it all. The ride lasts 45 minutes, so take children to the bathroom beforehand!
It took us until 6:15pm to do all of these areas on our first day at Epcot.
On our return vist, we spent all our time at World Showcase - it opens 11am-9pm.
Disney sells "passports" in all the Epcot shops. They are a great idea for children - they cost $11 and have pages and stamps for the different countries in World Showcase.
Every pavilion has a Kidcot booth - look for a small table and chairs with craft stuff and a cast member. There you can pick up a mask, which your child can decorate and then bring to each country pavilion where it is stamped. They can also get the passports stamped by the different countries, and the cast member will sign and write a message in their native tongue. It is fun.
The highlights of World Showcase for us were as follows:
* Mexico and the Gran Fiesta Tour ride. It has lots of visual details and Donald Duck. You ride on a flat boat and are pushed gently along a journey that ends at the Grand Fiesta celebrations at sunset in Mexico City.
* Norway has a great Viking themed playground and a replica of the Stave chapel in Oslo.
* The Kidcot area in China was great - children get a Chinese Mickey stamp and are given a stamp of their Chinese zodiac symbol. Their name is also written in Chinese. The department store full of all sorts of interesting things was also a big hit for our son.
* The atmosphere in the Germany pavilion was great - the biergarden has a band which performs on the hour. They also have a very nice toy shop and a cute miniature train ride.
* At the Italian pavilion try and watch the show with Sergio the clown juggler. It is really funny and a treat to watch. We loved him.
The Illuminations show at 9pm is another must-see. It takes place at World Showcase Lagoon - a beautiful man-made lake which covers over 40 acres. The walkway around the lagoon is 1.2 miles.
Illuminations debuted in 1999 - we saw it then - but is still a great spectacle with fireworks, a laser light show and special water effects.
We arrived 20 minutes early and picked a spot in front of Germany to watch. This was a good choice. There are lots of good spots all around the lagoon - just watch out for islands with trees on them which may block your view.
After the show we walked the longest route around the World Showcase back to the exit, and walked it slowly. We did not get caught up in mass crowds when leaving.
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Two Weeks in Orlando