Family Road Trip to Disney’s Epcot: Leg 5

The main goal of our family road trip over the summer was to visit Disney. Leg 5 of our trip was visiting Epcot. Epcot is the perfect park for both teens and elementary school children since it is really two parks in one:  the world of science and technology (Future World) combined with the culture and traditions of the countries of the world (World Showcase).

The educational experience is so entertaining, your kids won’t realize they’re being schooled. Ideally, you need 2-3 days to fully explore Epcot, but given our past visits and age of the children, one day worked.  A fun tip from the photo above: dress everyone in red so they can easily be spotted.

The trick to Disney is to go off-season and during the week to avoid the crowds. Hitting the park as it opens is critical when you have teens who want to experience the big thrill rides. We decided that since we planned to arrive as the gates open and stay for the Illuminations fireworks show we would drive from the hotel so we could avoid the late night bus scramble.  Since it was a Monday morning, we were able to park in one of the closest rows.

The Disney teams quickly guide you through the ticket and bag check so you can send a scout to get Fast passes to Soarin’ (one of the top rides) while the rest of the family heads to Test Track and then Sum of All Thrills. We planned the day to enjoy the science and technology experiences in Future World in the morning and then explore new cultures in the afternoon for the World Showcase. A few of the attractions we loved are:

• Soarin’: lets you take a breathtaking, realistic and fun tour of the scenes from all over the Golden State while Test Track allows you to design and buckle in for the longest and fastest ride in the Walt Disney Resort!

• Sum of All Thrills: a real STEM (science, technology, engineering & math) sponsored by Raytheon lets you to build your own thrill ride. The adults and older teens should be sure to select a hammerhead plane ride because we love the upside down flip (don’t wear a skirt that day!). What’s really cool is when we returned home, we designed another jet  to do a double hammerhead on the Raytheon website.
• Living with the Land: a peaceful boat through a series of greenhouse experiments which is perfect for  the afternoon because the lines are short and the family needs a rest.
• Living Seas: Children of all ages will love the Living Seas because you get to see manatees.  If you have young children, the nearby experience  of Turtle Talk with Crush is a must since new animation technology  allows Crush to interact with the crowd. You can finish up the area with the cute Seas Ride with Nemo and Friends.

Since we purchased the family meal plan, we grabbed a quick-lunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land. If you have time and your children don’t get too crazy from sugary sodas, be sure to check out the Club Cool with Coke tastings from around the world.

Epcot has almost as many characters as Disney World.  Our daughter had a wonderful time collecting autographs from Chip & Dale, Mulan and many others.

We enjoyed the sights and sounds of Mexico and signed up there for  the Kim Possible Cell phone spy game that led us through China. After solving the mystery, we headed to Norway to enjoy the shopping, a snack and the Maelstrom viking boat ride.

• Travel: While we drove to Disney as part of our family cross-country road trip, flights are easy to Orlando from every part of the country and Disney provides wonderful and convenient shuttle service. Disney has a wide range of flexible packages and we recommend your researching on-line or using a travel agent:
  • Mona Lane the Magical Trip Planner: for creative and affordable Disney World trips
  • Valerie Wilson Travel: for high-end luxury trips with the ability to schedule VIP Guided park experience

• Lodging: We have stayed at many of the Disney hotels over the years so we thought we would experiment with the top-level rooms in a moderate priced hotel this time. We booked two attached princess rooms in Port Orleans.  The only problem is they do not have any king size beds if you are celebrating your anniversary.  You can order a special Princess Fiona package for your room  for around $120, but we found the Princess package at Cinderella’s castle a better fit for our daughter (look for a post soon). However, our daughter just loved the special parchment message that Princess Fiona left in our room welcoming us to the resort.

 

• As you can see from the Vine Video our rooms were really special and perfect for our Daughter’s Princess Adventures. However, we have to be honest that we enjoy the convenience and easy access  of the luxury accommodations of the Beach and Yacht Club and The Grand Floridian.
• Meals: Purchasing the meal plan is really worth it for a family of five especially with teens who can pack in the food.  Each day we would enjoy a hearty breakfast at the hotel followed by a quick-lunch at the park. For dinner, we made reservations in advance so we could celebrate our family birthdays and anniversaries. In Epcot, we really enjoyed Teppan Edo. The Sushi was delicious and the kids meals adorable. The restaurant also features Japanese steak house dinning.

• If you have special birthday or an anniversary during your trip be sure to include it in your reservation so  you get special buttons. When you wear the buttons around the park, the Disney cast greats you with wonderful wishes everywhere you go. Our daughter loved it, but our teen found it annoying.
  • We advise against ordering special birthday cakes at dinner (or to be delivered to your room) since the meal plan includes a dessert. Just ask the Disney staff for a birthday song and candles and your celebration will be complete!

• You can add some special glamour to your trip by  taking the monorail to the Polynesian to Kula Cafe or the Cafe in the Contemporary. You get a great view of all the hotels.

So we highly recommend a Family Road Trip to Disney’s Epcot. What are your favorite Disney experiences? Please let us know as we love to learn.

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