Disney Vacation Club

Epcot, an acronym for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”. I bet you didn’t know that Not to worry, you do now. Epcot spans over 300 acres and actually takes the shape of an hourglass. I bet you didn’t know that either Ok I’m done showing off. Now let’s do our Disney Vacation Club Reviews!

Future World
I like rides. I love the rides at Epcot! Following a theme that concentrates on the environment, energy, communication, and space, this section of Epcot gets a 10 in my book by way of the rides. I’ll start with my favorite ride, and I know people will disagree with me. But like I said in another post, tastes vary.

• Mission: SPACE

Sponsored by Hewlett-Packard, bet you didn’t know that Woops. I promised to cut that out. My bad. Walking up to this ride gets the blood pumping. You have two options, or, lines you can choose from. One line is for the riders that have no fear. There are warning signs almost all the way up until you enter the actual ride for this line. You are certainly warned about what you are about to get yourself into well before you get there. The other line is more for the weaker-hearted, motion sickness, etc type of rider. I can’t really explain the ride too well, here is a video.

Test Track

Awesome ride! Sponsored by General Motors, which will be blatantly obvious before, during, and after the ride. This is an effort to duplicate GM’s testing procedures. You know, like when you see the test dummies doing those commercials where they smash into brick walls. This ride simulates that. Taken through a series of test points, the climax is when the car hits top speed at 65 Mph around a 50 degree curve. Folks, this is a FAST ride. Very exciting. Long lines though, better fast pass this one.

• The Seas with Nemo and Friends

If you’ve never ridden a “clamobile”, you need to take some time and figure out what went wrong in your life. For these large seashell may very well be the wave of the future. Then again, maybe not. Actually probably not. That shouldn’t take away from the excitement though. I’m going to cut right to the chase here. If you have a kid under the age of 8, this is it. This is that ride. Aboard your clamobile and help Marlin and Dory find Nemo!

Those are just a few of the notable rides at Epcot. There are more exceptionally popular rides at Epcot. Those 3 would be my top choices. Let’s make our way to the other side of the hour glass, shall we? Off to World Showcase!

• World Showcase

On this end it’s not so much about the rides. This is most certainly the adult end of Epcot. If you have an interest in other cultures, you will absolutely enjoy yourself here. Represented are the following countries.

Mexico
Norway
China
Germany
Italy
United States
Japan
Morocco
France
United Kingdom
Canada

Be sure to visit the different restaurants, each following it’s country’s theme. Our favorite restaurant is in ‘Italy’. It’s called “Tutto Italia Ristorante” and the pasta is wonderful. To be honest it’s a very nice change from the burgers and fries we usually eat while in Disney. But again, you can eat at different restaurants in different ‘countries’. As a Disney Vacation Club member, you can make it a point to try a different restaurant in a different country every year!

• Kids at Epcot

I know that I said that World Showcase appeals more to the adults, but it should be known that Disney has implemented “Kidcot Fun Stops” at most of the pavilions to reduce the “I’m bored” and “when are we going back to Magic Kingdom” pleas from your little ones. Kidcot fun stops are places where Disney characters are often found. They are typically very engaging with the youngsters. Other activities include doing crafts and even crafting their own souvenirs! So kudos to Disney World for recognizing a not so hot spot for kids and making the necessary adjustments.

I can vividly recall NEVER wanting to go to Epcot as a child. There wasn’t much there for me to do. That was many years ago, back when it was still “Epcot Center”, they dropped the ‘center’ back in 1994. If I were a kid today I don’t think I would have those same feelings. Epcot has arguably the best rides (for all ages), and what was once considered boring to a kid, has been upgraded to include kid-friendly activities.