DisneyTips.com Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
A visit to Disney’s Epcot is essential to any Disney World trip. This is the second Disney World park, and in our opinion is just as amazing as the first: Magic Kingdom. With two enormous sections to explore in Epcot—Future World and the World Showcase—you’ll likely need two days to cover it all, and good walking shoes will be required. That said, there are some tips and secrets that can help make your trip to Epcot more fun and less tiring. Check them out!
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1. Free Refills
Like to drink soda? You’ll find that this is pretty expensive when on Disney property. That said, you can save a few bucks here and there by finding restaurants that offer free refills. Epcot’s Sunshine Seasons and Electric Umbrella eateries both offer free refills. These restaurants, combined with the free soda samples at Club Cool, are sure to keep your beverage cravings at bay.
2. Friendship Boats
The walk around World Showcase is a long one. Fortunately, Disney realized this and put in the Friendship Boat dock halfway around the lagoon. Therefore, if you’re feeling too tired to make the trek all the way around, you can hop on a boat and be back in Future World in no time.
3. School Bread
One of the best snack options in Epcot is the famous School Bread found in the Norway Pavilion. Light and sweet, this pastry is the perfect afternoon treat. Best of all, it’s one of the least expensive snack options on property and will fill you up for quite some time, making it a great value.
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4. Single Rider Line
Because of the tiered FastPass system in Epcot, securing passes for both Frozen Ever After and Test Track can feel impossible. Instead of stressing over it, grab your Frozen FastPass and use the perpetually short single-rider line to experience Test Track.
5. Hidden Mickeys
Every Disney park has a number of hidden Mickeys. However, we find the ones in Epcot to be some of the best. Keep an eye out on Soarin’ and Living With the Land for some awesome hidden Mickeys, and don’t forget to look for a few in The Seas with Nemo and Friends.
6. Birthday Treat
Club Cool is awesome because it offers free soda samples all day, every day. That said, it has more than one thing going for it: If you go to Club Cool on your birthday, you’ll likely be offered a free frozen drink. How cool is that?
7. Food and Wine Snack Credits
The Food and Wine Festival at Epcot is a truly awesome event with tons of amazing foods to try. It can get expensive pretty quickly though. Therefore, we recommend purchasing the Dining Plan and using all of your snack credits at the festival. This is a great value because snack credits are worth about $5 each while the festival snacks tend to be closer to $7 or $8.
8. Car-Building Kiosks
If you don’t feel like you had enough time to build your car in the Test Track queue, simply look for the extra kiosks at the exit of the ride, near the car showroom. These will allow you unlimited build time, meaning you can create the perfect car.
9. Indoor Playground
Little ones need to run around sometimes. Fortunately, Epcot provides a place for them to do this. At the exit to Mission: Space there is an indoor playground. Don’t want to ride the ride? Simply enter through the gift shop, where the ride exits.
10. Cast Members from Around the World
Did you know the cast members in the World Showcase are actually from the countries they’re representing? Strike up a conversation and see what cool things you can learn about their respective lands of origin.
11. Second Entrance
There is a secondary way to get into Epcot. It’s located toward the back of the park and puts people directly into the World Showcase. This entrance is ideal for those staying in Epcot resort hotels.
12. Visa Meet-and-Greet
Anyone with a Disney Visa is invited to visit the Visa Meet-and-Greet in Epcot’s Future World. This Meet-and-Greet is exclusive, meaning the line is much shorter and the characters are always a surprise.
13. Kidcot
When wandering the World Showcase you’re going to want something to keep the kiddos busy. Luckily, there are awesome Kidcot stations set up throughout the Showcase. These stations offer little ones a chance to color and learn little tidbits about the country represented by whichever pavilion they’re visiting.
14. Wait Times Board
In the middle of Future World, there is a wait times board. Take a look at this if you need to know how long a particular queue is.
15. World Showcase Early Entry
Generally speaking, Future World opens at 9am and the World Showcase at 11am. That said, some parts of World Showcase have also been opening at 9am to allow people more time to experience the Frozen attraction. Therefore, you can grab breakfast in France and hop over to Norway to ride Frozen Ever After before the World Showcase even officially opens.
16. Acoustically Perfect
While in China, head into the temple and speak. You’ll notice an awesome echo of your voice. This is because the temple is acoustically perfect.
17. Cuckoo Clock
If you’re a fan of cuckoo clocks, be sure to arrive in Germany when the hour changes and watch the large cuckoo clock above the pavilion. It will chime and give a little show.
18. Glowing Pathways
At night, the pathways on either side of Spaceship Earth light up. Kids love to check out the twinkling pathways, so be sure to point them out as you leave the park.
19. Early Breakfast
Having trouble getting a Frozen FastPass? Another great option is to schedule an 8am breakfast at Aksherkus in Norway. You’ll get to see the park before it opens, have breakfast with princesses, and then be first in line for Frozen Ever After as the park officially opens at 9am.
20. Talking Trashcan
If you eat a meal in Electric Umbrella in Future World, make sure you keep an eye out for the talking trash can. While the can isn’t marked in anyway, it can be identified by looking for a plugged in cable. This trash can will actually speak to every person who uses it, so make a point of throwing things away there.
Hopefully these tips help make your Epcot trip even more awesome than it would’ve been otherwise. Have fun!
