We spent three days absorbing as much Disney as possible with four of our children (ages 5 through 14) in Orlando.
In this three part series, I’ll provide an unsolicited, unsponsored view of what we saw, spent, enjoyed, and didn’t during our recent family adventure.
Day three around Disney parks and, FINALLY, it is time for the adults to play!
Could Epcot hold the attention of my children as my wife and I took an adult beverage tour around the world?
That question bounced around my head as we stood under the giant “golf ball” at our third Disney park in three days. At about 8:45 am, fifteen minutes before non-resort guest may enter, three garbage can percussionists, provided the much needed boost that made me feel a whole lot better.
Our Epcot Strategy
Thanks to a friendly season pass member who shared some insider tips prior to our entrance into Epcot, my wife and I derived a plan to mix rides (for the kids) with sights, food, and drinks (for us).
At 7 am we booked “Soarin'”, via our Genie Plus pass, for late afternoon. As soon as the park opened, though, we dashed for “Test Track”, a high speed, interactive car ride presented by Chevrolet. The ride, even as the park’s gates opened, was nearly 90 minutes (and never relented for the entire day). Rating 9/10
For the rest of the day, we would be touring the world while booking rides at two-hour intervals via our Genie Plus pass. For both Magic Kingdom and Epcot, the extra money for the Genie Plus pass was totally worth it (not the case for Hollywood Studios).
All-in-all, we only rode the following in addition to Test Track:
“Mission Space” – I rode the “low key” version with my 6 year-old, the other kids and my wife rode the hardcore one (twice). Rating 9/10
“Soarin'” – a virtual ride around the world and my favorite of the entire trip. Rating 10/10
We were disappointed not to ride “Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure” (a roller coaster in France) and “Frozen’s Ever After”. Both of these popular rides were not available on Genie Plus and featured lines in excess of two-hours all day long.
By day three, I’d had enough of lines and found other sights to keep our attention.
Exploring the World – Adult Edition
Epcot is really for adults, and, we unapologetically deserve it!
My wife and I loved the look, feel, food, and drinks of every single geography. Tops on my list were: Mexico, Canada, and Japan. My wife particularly loved Morocco in addition to margaritas in Mexico.
I’m not going to sugarcoat anything – the adult bevies are pricey. A classic margarita in Mexico was $16 and, I’d say, the signature drinks in the various countries were similarly priced (like unique beers, wine in France, etc.).
The food was more reasonable – at least outside of the formal restaurant settling that offered full service.
Exploring the World – For Kids
Occupying the kids’ attention as we traversed through the countries was not difficult. From my eldest (14 on this trip) to my youngest (6 years-old), they each enjoyed thumbing through the stores, checking out the marvelously constructed buildings and statues, learning about foreign lands, and plotting about which foods they’d be “saving” lunch (our big splurge today).
Halfway around the Epcot world, together we attended an animation class. During this thirty-minute session, a real Disney artist walked the crowd through a step-by-step instruction of how to draw a character. The subject of our session was “Dark Wing Duck” – who is scheduled for a reboot soon. The instructor was great (Matthew or Michael???) as he moved everyone along while offering some cool insights about what being a Disney artist is really like. The kids loved this “show” – though their Dark Wing renderings needed some work.
What we spent
Epcot ticket: ~$140 each
Genie Pass: $15 per ticket
Food and Drinks: $200 (with restraint – we could have spent FAR more)
I found the drinks to average between $12 and $18 each. The food was reasonable for bar-type street food or tapas-sized samples of local fare. I’d say that most short order items were priced less than $10 each.
***There are packages that allow guests to sample the signature beverages from each country in smaller sizes, but we did not purchase that option.
Total Walsh Cost of Epcot: ~$220/each
The number could have been far larger, trust me.
Epcot Summary – (and OMG the Fireworks Show!!!)
Ending our three day marathon with Epcot was perfect. After consecutive days of 20k+ steps with four tired children, our day at Epcot was (thankfully) a bit more low key. We were careful to let the kids know the deal – setting expectations about the park not being expressly intended for amusement park-type rides designed for thrill-seekers.
For me, Epcot was really an outdoor, interactive, live museum where families can get the feel of another place – one that we would never otherwise visit. There is plenty to occupy your time with in the absence of riding anything.
Also note that our day would have been significantly worse if we’d decided to wait in the long lines for the main attractions. Just as the prior two days, Epcot on this Friday was PACKED to capacity!
The perfect bow on our trip was a firework show that puts all others to shame – called “Harmonious”. To call this is a fireworks’ show is dramatically short-changing the production.
Trust me – well before the show begins at 9 pm, usher your crew to a comfy spot overlooking the massive lake and DO NOT MOVE. How Disney is able to do what this show does using water, explosives, and all-encompassing movie screens is something that I’m still marveling at.
If you listen to me for no other reason, I would implore you to stay for Harmonious – no matter what.
Even if the kids are exhausted and incourageable – STAY!
If your feet ache – STAY!
Even if the German beer is catching up with you – STAY!
And, for God’s sake, if you want one indelible, unrepeatable, etched forever in memory moment after a grueling trip to Disney in Orlando – STAY and soak it in.
The twenty minutes of Harmonious will allow you to, for a fleeting moment, forget about your empty wallet and the meager condition of your drained checking account.
Other Disney reviews:
Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom
