I am so glad we did Epcot after Magic Kingdom; the other way around, Magic Kingdom would have fallen flat. MK was built in 1971 and Epcot in 1982, and although the latter is now alost 30 years old, it seemed shiny and new in comparison to MK. The Park is much bigger than MK, and is built in two sections - Future World, with all the rides and attractions, and World Showcase - a dazzling array of pavilions built around a lagoon showcasing the shopping, culture, shopping, cuisine, shopping, architecture, and shopping of 11 different countries. As with MK, we had a plan of attack for this park as well:
1. Head straight toward Test Track and pick up a Fastpass for later.
2. Double-back and get in line for Mission: SPACE. (This was an awesome 3-D experience that launched you to Mars, and was led by Gary Sinese - you can't get much better than that!)
3. After Mission: SPACE use your Fastpass for Test Track. (We decided not to do this after all - it looked quite exciting on the website, but in reality just seemed to be a track-bound car that went around and around on a loop at 60 miles per hour. We drive faster on the Ngatea Straights (don't tell the police!) and the circular track would probably leave one with a stomach ache.)
4. Cross the Park to the Imagination Pavilion and collect a Fastpass for Honey I Shrunk the Audience. (Okay, so Disney hadn't updated their website, and this attraction was no longer available. A pity - it looked quite fun.)
5. Watch Captain EO starring Michael Jackson. (This classic 1980s 3D movie collaboration between George Lucas and Michael Jackson returned to Epcot following Jackson's death, and it has been one of the most popular attractions ever since. A real experience to see the young Michael (when he was a good looking black man as opposed to an ugly looking white woman) performing right in front of you in his prime.)
6. Use Fastpass ticket for Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. (Okay, still annoyed we missed this!)
7. Head for Spaceship Earth. (There is no Fast Pass for this attraction - but if you wait until the afternoo, the crowds are much less. It was an enjoyable journey through time covering the history of the earth, and narrated by the lovely Dame Judi Dench.)
8. Walk through Innoventions. (Okay, we never had the time for this. Epcot in a day is a big ask - if you're nuts on science, then make the effort, otherwise, skip it like we did in favour of the rides and World Showcase.)
9. Head to Ellen’s Energy Adventure in the Universe of Energy pavilion. (This was so not what we expected, and was so much more awesome that could be imagined. The scale that this ride was constructed on was incredible - they do things big in America!)
10. Head to World Showcase: Mexico and take the Grand Fiesta Tour. (Always much keener on the duck than the mouse, this gentle boat ride with Donald was a lot of fun.)
11. Head to Norway and ride the Great Maelstrom. (Another fun and gentle boat ride - thankfully the "thrilling backward plummet" didn't amount to anything. Thrilling for a five year old, maybe.)
12. Wander through China (film), Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France (film), U.K. , and Canada (film), stopping for lunch along the way. (The films were amazing - shown in very large screening rooms with either 180 degree or 360 degree screens, this was as close as you could get to the respective countries without going there. A brilliant experience.)
13. Return to Future World and visit the Land Pavilion. Visit Soarin’ or Living with Land, whichever has the shorter queue, and get a Fastpass ticket for the other one to do afterwards. (Trust me - Soarin' will have the bigger queue. Our Fast Pass tickets gave us a retun time of over three hours away - by 3pm all the Fast Passes through until 9pm were booked, and the non-Fast Pass queue was about two hours. Living With the Land was incredible - a gentle boat ride (Disney does like its gentle boat rides) though the latest developments in aquaculture and desert farming, all of which seemed to involve growing crops as trees rather than along the gound, and that resulted in fruit and vegetables three, four, five and more times the size of regular crops. Just amazing. There's a great video of the Greenhouse portion of the tour on YouTube. Soarin' - Soarin' was by far and away the best ride at either Disney park. Strapped into a roller coaster style over-shoulder harness, we were lifted 40 feet up into an IMAX projection dome that wrapped 180 degrees around us, so you're engulfed by the impressive scenery, and really feel like you are on a hang glider flight through California. My one regret about Epcot is that we were unable to get a second ride on this awesome attraction due to the queues.
14. Head for The Seas with Nemo and Friends and experience the Clamobile and Turtle Talk. (Toddler friendly, but still a lot of fun.)
15. Head back to World Showcase for dinner, and then find a good spot to watch IllumiNations. Best viewing spots are a sat on the veranda at the Cantina de San Angel in Mexico, the outside restaurant balcony in Japan, or the International Gateway Bridge near the U.K. (Or - anywhere really. Let's face it, when the show is in the sky, it doesn't matter where you are. I had heard that the nightly fireworks display over Epcot is one of the best in the world - and it didn't disappoint.)
One of the other highlights for me, after a few weeks of burgers and fries, was heading to the Rose & Crown at the U.K. Pavilion and having bangers and mash for lunch, accompanied by a pint of Strongbow cider - STRONGBOW!!! My brand of preference, that I hadn't had for over 10 years as you can't get it it New Zealand. Soooooo good.
More photos from Epcot.
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