"Maelstrom", located in the Norway pavilion of Epcot's World Showcase area, is a good example of a ride that's both fun and educational. Disney might take a lesson from their own playbook here and incorporate something like that in each of their Epcot World Showcase countries.

Despite the fact that, upon walking in and winding your way through the ride queue, and coming up face to face with a really outdated mural highlighting some of Norway's well-known aspects and points of interest.....Maelstrom itself is really quite a good ride. It's not as dull as the boat ride in Mexico, and has some cool looking creatures, little drops here and there, and a dark, foreboding atmosphere to it which makes it that much more interesting.

If you manage to make you way out of Troll Country and past numerous other mythical Norse creatures....as well as survive a possible backwards fall down a waterfall, you'll end up docked in a Norwegian town where, once the doors open, you can walk inside a theater and sit and watch a video on Norwegian history/culture. OR....if that part doesn't interest you, you can always walk right through the theaters and out the open doors back into the main park again.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a thrill ride (although some may be caught a little by surprise at the drop), but it is the best ride within World Showcase that serves its purpose well.