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3. Future World is where you’ll find most of the rides

Soarin' gliders with guests
Image: Disney

As mentioned, Epcot is divided into two distinct parts: Future World and Epcot.

Future World is where you’ll find most of the rides in the park with few exceptions. Some of its most popular attractions include:

  • Spaceship Earth (the big ball with the cool history ride inside)
  • Test Track (a high speed experience where guests design cars then “test” their creations in an immersive digital world)
  • Mission: SPACE (a space training simulation with two versions. The Orange Team version is infamous for the use of centrifugal force—high speed spinning--to simulate zero gravity. This version can be a little rough on some people’s digestive systems, so there is an alterative Green Team version that takes guests on a most relaxed space mission).
  • The Seas with Nemo and Friends (A relaxing dive under the sea combining a Finding Nemo dark ride with an exploration zone surrounding the second largest saltwater aquarium tank in the US. This is also the home of Turtle Talk with Crush, a huge hit with kids visiting the park.)
  • Soarin’ (a stunning hang-glider simulation attraction that sends guests soaring across the world)
  • Journey Into Imagination (a kid-centric update of one of the park’s older attractions, surrounding a whimsical dive into the world of imagination)
  • Living with the Land (a peaceful boat ride through Epcot’s agriculture experimentation gardens)

These are just a sampling of the experiences at Future World. Epcot’s reimagining is largely centered on Future World, and along with smaller experiences at each of the land’s pavilions, new attractions are coming over the next few years including Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Moana: A Journey of Water, The Disney PLAY Pavilion, and a new restaurant called Space 220.

4. You’ll want to take your time in World Showcase

Japan arch with Spaceship Earth across lagoon at Epcot
Image: Flickr, CL Photographs (license)

The other half of Epcot is World Showcase—a collection of 11 pavilions representing Canada, The United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, The US, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and Mexico. Similar to a world’s fair, each pavilion highlights elements of the beauty, culture, and cuisine of each country.

While World Showcase does have a few rides (such as Frozen Ever After, the Gran Fiesta Tour, and soon, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure), it’s largely an exploration experience. Guests are encouraged to tour at whatever pace you choose, taking in shops, films, entertainment, gardens, character greets, and immersive exhibits as you go.

World Showcase is definitely one of the most adult-friendly areas in Walt Disney World. While there are activities specifically for kids like Kidcot stops, characters, and areas like the Frozen parts of Norway, much of World Showcase is designed to appeal to older visitors. You’ll find dolls and children’s toys for sale alongside fine crystal, perfumes, teas, and apparel from the various nations. All of the pavilions have unique charms, and everyone has a different favorite. I particularly enjoy the Morocco and Japan pavilions for their beauty and immersive nature (as well as the Mitsukoshi store).

World Showcase cast members presenting dishes
Image: Disney

World Showcase is also home to some of the best food at Walt Disney World. If you love variety, Epcot can quickly become a culinary happy place with a broad range of restaurants both for table and counter service, as well as bakeries and other quick stops. Our favorite for sweet treats remains Kringla Bakery in Norway, as well as Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie in France.

Another element that makes World Showcase unique is its cultural representatives—normally, the World Showcase pavilions are staffed by cast members from each respective country. While the cultural representatives program was temporarily suspended due effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope to see it return soon as the cultural representatives added a truly wonderful element to a tour through World Showcase, allowing guests to meet people from each country.

5. Annual festivals play a big part now

Friends take selfie at Epcot Food and Wine Festival
Image: Disney

Epcot currently offers four annual festivals which play a significant part in contributing to the atmosphere of the park. All four also offer unique guest experiences as well as a wide range of culinary small plates for visitors to enjoy.

The first festival is the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, currently offered from January to February. This festival fills Epcot with expressions of art and creativity, including booths offering art for sale, as well as interactive activities for guests to participate in like Photopass stops, color-by-number murals, art demonstrations, and visually stunning culinary fare.

The second festival is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, offered from March to May. One of Epcot’s two large festivals, it’s a celebration of all things that grow. Disney horticulturists fill the park with colorful gardens, elaborate topiaries, and individual exhibits about where the food we eat comes from. The Butterfly Pavilion is a particular highlight of this festival, along with the food highlighting natural ingredients in creative ways.

Green butterfly at Butterfly Pavilion
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega

The third and largest is the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, currently offered from mid-July all the way to November (it used to only be a month long!). It’s not hard to guess what this festival highlights—food, food, food, and drinks at their finest. Along with the widest variety of booths offering international cuisine throughout the park, the Food and Wine Festival also brings in celebrity chefs for demonstrations and classes throughout the course of its run, as well as well-known musical guests performing free concerts inside the park.

Last is the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, running from November to December every year. This smaller festival is part of Disney’s annual Christmas festivities, filling Epcot with dazzling lights and holiday displays from each of the World Showcase countries. Along with holiday themed-culinary treats, guests can also expect to find Christmas cookies galore throughout the park.

6. How should I tour Epcot to spend less time in line?

Test Track neon marquee
Image: Disney

As with all Disney parks, arriving an hour before opening is a good idea if you want to make the most out of your day at Epcot—while there are other strategies for visiting the park (particularly for Passholders who can afford to wing it on visits), for most guests, this will be the best way to go. With pandemic policies lightening and park capacity increasing, crowds are beginning to return to Walt Disney World in higher numbers, meaning longer lines.

While there are a number of good strategies for visiting the park (many guests swear by TouringPlans.com for guidance), if you get to Epcot well before rope drop, you may want to head to Test Track first. This attraction tends to build up the longest lines of any ride, and while you may be able to catch it during a lull in traffic later in the day, you’ll be rolling the dice. If you arrive at rope drop and still find yourself heading into a line longer than 60 minutes for the ride, then it may be best to move on to another attraction and try again later.

Another attraction you can try to hit early is Frozen Ever After, though this is hit or miss. The ride was built on the bones of Epcot’s old Maelstrom attraction which had notoriously low capacity, meaning lines can get long fast. The good thing is that Frozen Ever After does tend to have pockets of time where lines dip below 40 minutes. If this happens, take advantage and get in line, particularly if the line is under 30 minutes.

Anna, Elsa, and Olaf in Frozen Ever After
Image: Disney

Most people tend to tour Epcot from the front of the park to the back, so deviating from this strategy can help some reduce time spent in lines. For this reason, some guests prefer to hit World Showcase early in the day when crowds are lighter. Particularly on weekends during festivals, World Showcase can get crowded and a little rowdy in the evening with adult guests Drinking-Around-the-World, so an early tour can be appealing for visitors who prefer a quieter experience.

Wait times for most attractions lately seem to peak between 1 and 3:30 PM. Spaceship Earth, Soarin’, and Mission: SPACE Orange Team, in particular, seem to rack up high wait times early in the day then taper off to lower waits as the afternoon wears on. The wonderful thing about Epcot is that once peak times pass, there are usually attractions with consistently low waits like Living with the Land and The Seas With Nemo and Friends. Spaceship Earth, also tends to have pleasantly low wait times later in the day.

 
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