Getting The Most Enjoyment At Disney's Epcot

Poor Epcot. It is the one Disney amusement park that has gotten labeled as the “boring” park. Kids, even many adults can't seem to find the thrill and the enjoyment in it. Well, that view just isn't true. Epcot is one of the most interesting and fun of all of Disney's parks. Admittedly, it is a different type of fun. While there aren't as many thrill rides as the other parks, -- not even Animal Kingdom, which if you aren't all that into animals of the African savanna, Animal Kingdom can be a pretty uninteresting park for some.

The key to enjoying each of Disney's parks is to see it from the point of view of its creators. Disney parks include many great rides, but a thrill park isn't always their goal. If it were, all of Disney's parks would just be different versions of Six Flag parks except theirs' would be cleaner and have better decorating. No, Disney makes a definite statement and takes us on a completely different adventure with every park it creates. Their eye for detail and authenticity allows the visitor to immerse himself or herself into the theme if they only let themselves.

The name Epcot stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”. That was Walt Disney's concept. To have a park that was similar to the World's Fair, but have it be on display continuously. Epcot is the place to showcase all of the technological advances and what the future holds in these fields. Mr. Disney also wanted this to be the think tank for experts and companies to develop future communities.

Epcot is shaped like a giant figure eight. The first circle area that you enter is called Future World. This is where you will find information about technological and scientific advancements. The area is “made more fun” with rides and entertainment such as “The Seas with Nemo and Friends”, "Honey I Shrunk The Audience", "Mission Space”, and “Test Track”. All of these rides and shows manage to teach while entertaining the guest at the same time.

The top circle of the figure eight is called World Showcase. This circle looks like a giant doughnut from an aerial view because the center of the circle is a giant lagoon or lake with a large globe in the center. This is where the nightly fireworks show will originate from every evening just before closing. Around the lake are representations of many other countries from around the world. Each pavilion offers an authentic look into the customs, the speech, and the tastes of that country. Each country is employed with people from the actual country, who can answer your questions and make you almost feel that you really are on the other side of the world.

One way to enjoy the World Showcase even more than just shopping, eating and viewing the occasional informative movie or ride, is to take the time to view the shows and the customs of the “native” people and to become friendly and talk to the representatives. At all of the gift shops around Epcot, you can purchase a passport book for yourself or your children. Each country has a passport station where the children (of any age) can partake in a craft of that country and have their passport stamped. One year, before our son was born, we purchased an autograph book instead. Then we went to every passport station, completed the craft as we spoke to that country's representative. We always took a picture of them or of all three of us and our crafty work to put in the book later and had them write a message in their native language to us. (We always had them translate what they wrote, which we jotted down on the opposite page.) Each person we met was nicer than the one before and almost all of the messages reminded us of the humor that everyone had. Well, almost everyone. The lady in China didn't speak English at all and jotted down a Chinese symbol, which we eventually had translated. It said, “Go luck.” Go luck? Not, “Go with luck” or “Go and be lucky”, just “Go Luck”. Actually, “China” has become our fondest and funniest memory of all.