Tips for EPCOT

I love EPCOT on a hot, Summer day!

Making your way around Epcot is a full-day experience. In truth, I like to spend two days in Epcot when I go.  For those of you who haven't been to Epcot, the park is divided into two parts: the Future World and the World Showcase.

The World Showcase
Walk through 11 different pavilions designed to allow you to experience each country's food, culture, and entertainment.  If you need to get to the center, but don't want to walk all of the way around, Germany and Morocco have boat stops that will allow you to go from the Showcase Plaza on the Future World side.

The 11 countries that make up the World Showcase are:

• Mexico
• Norway
• China
• Germany
• Italy
• America
• Japan
• Morocco
• France
• United Kingdom
• Canada

There are only 2 rides in the World Showcase: one in Norway and one in Mexico.  Both rides are fun, but the ride in Norway has trolls and could be a tad bit frightening for small kids.  Are you worried about your kids getting bored or not wanting to visit all of the countries with you? There are several great activities to get your kids into the world showcase that will help them have a great time:

1. Agent P's World Showcase Adventure: become a secret agent working with Agent P (Perry) from Phineas and Ferb and help stop the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz by completing missions in each country's pavilion. More info can be found at: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/agent-p-world-showcase-adventure/
2. Kidcot Stations allow you and your child to decorate a mask and have it stamped in each country.  You can start the design on on end and keep it going all of the way throughout the world showcase.  This makes a great *Free* souvenir as well.
3. Buy a passport on one end of the showcase (Canada or Mexico) and have it stamped and signed in each country. Kids and teens will enjoy having their passport signed in each country, and I recommend asking each person who writes in your passport to write your name in their native tongue, as well, since the cast members working in each pavilion are (most always) true natives of the country they are working in.

The Future World
I see the Future World split into three sections:

1. The Thrill Side (ie: Mission: SPACE, Test Track, and Universe of Energy)
   Mission:SPACE simulates a ride in a spaceship to Mars. (It has a height requirement of 44")
   Test Track allows you to be the crash dummy and test new cars. (It has a height requirement of 40")
   Universe of Energy: Ellen Degeneres takes you through a Jeopardy experience you won't soon forget!
2. Spaceship Earth, the fountains, Character spot, Innoventions East, and Innoventions West
   Spaceship Earth (aka the Epcot ball) explores communication throughout the years.
   The fountains are not to be missed! Choreographed water and music that even uses dynamite for the big explosion at the finale!
   The Epcot Character Spot is possibly the best place to meet Mickey and his friends in all 4 parks.
   Innoventions East and West are for the video gamers in your crowd! Plenty of virtual games and peeks into the future of technology.
3. Seas with Nemo and Friends, the Land Pavilion, and Imagination!
   The Living Seas pavilion houses a Nemo ride, Turtle Talk with Crush, and amazing views of one of the largest man-made reefs in the world.
   The Land Pavilion - Living with the Land is a ride which allows you to learn about plants in a unique way.  Soarin' is downstairs in this building and it's amazing (it has a height requirement of 40") and I highly suggest you ride it as early as possible or get a fastpass since the line gets long very quickly. There is also a cute Lion King show upstairs and Sunshine Seasons is my favorite place to get breakfast when I am in EPCOT before the World Showcase is open at 11am.
   The Imagination pavilion features a ride starring Figment - a purple dragon who takes you on a ride to explore his imagination and yours!

Did you know... EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow and was Walt's idea for a real community - originally he wanted people to live there. Insider Tip: If you ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority in the Magic Kingdom (right across from Space Mountain) you can see an actual model of Walt's EPCOT inside of the ride? It's truly amazing.

Disney Romance In the Parks

Since my best friend is heading to Disney in November for part of her honeymoon, she asked me to write a few articles for their trip.  In this post, I'm assessing the parks in order according to their romantic offerings.

1. EPCOT

• The World Showcase is stunning at night.  Each country's pavilion is lit up and they are beautiful.  I highly recommend trying to go there on an extra magic hours night and strolling along in the darker hours while sipping a cool beverage.
• Best restaurants for couples:
  Le Cellier Steakhouse (Canada) - dark and romantic - their steaks are to die for!
  The Coral Reef (Living Seas Pavilion) - an amazing dining experience inside one of the largest man-made reefs in the world.
  Tutto Italia (Italy) - rather expensive for a bowl of pasta, but incredibly romantic
  Monsieur Paul (France) - this is pricey, but very nice.
  San Angel Inn (Mexico) - it's always night inside of the Mexican pavilion and the prices are not bad.
• Best rides for adults:
  Mission to Mars
  Test Track
  Soarin'
• Best places to sit and relax:
  France - there is a small bistro in France where you can buy a cheese place and a chocolate croissant and a cup of coffee and sit and feel as though you truly are far away in France.
  Canada - there is a gorgeous waterfall in Canada that you can sit near and simply relax.

2. Magic Kingdom

• The Magic Kingdom earned its name - it is magic! Heading to this park without kids is still great! Ride just the rides you like best, stop for a cup of coffee on your own time, and catch some amazing shows.  Definitely don't miss the Main Street Electrical Parade.
• Best restaurants for couples:
  Cinderella's Castle is incredibly romantic - especially at night.
  Be Our Guest - quick service at lunch and table service at Dinner, it's a cool place to eat.
  Tony's Town Square Restaurant - inspired by the romantic Lady and the Tramp spaghetti scene.
• Best rides for adults:
  Space Mountain
  Thunder Mountain
  Pirates of the Caribbean
  Walt's Carousel of Progress
• Best place to sit and relax:
  As you face the castle, if you head to the left and walk up beside the castle on that side, you'll come upon a number of benches in small alcoves.  They make for a lovely place to sit and relax with a cup of coffee and if you head over to that side during the Dream Along with Mickey, characters will wave right to you as they go on stage.

3. Hollywood Studios

• Hollywood Studios is geared toward adults - its purpose is supposedly the opposite of the Magic Kingdom.  While the MK is supposed to provide seamless and real magic, Hollywood Studios tries to break the magic down and show you how they do it - the shows are all about giving you a chance to see how that magic is made. Whatever you do, don't miss Fantasmic!
• Best restaurants for couples:
  Hollywood Brown Derby - this is a pricey place to eat, but worth every penny.  The atmosphere is true Hollywood and the food is delicious.
  Sci-Fi Dine in Theater - eat in vintage-designed cars that are lit and have built-in tables. You eat while a black-and-white rendition of "scary" movie clips from the 1950s plays on a large projection screen.
• Best rides for adults:
  Tower of Terror
  Rock'n Roller Coaster
  Star Tours
• Best shows for adults:
  Lights, Motors, Action
  Fantasmic!

4. Animal Kingdom

• Animal Kingdom's charm is in the walking around between things.  The paths between Africa and Asia and Dinoland USA are beautiful and there are many beautiful sights to see.  If you don't like to walk, I wouldn't go here, but if you do, get a bottle of water or a cold soda and head out to explore with your camera.
• Personally, I don't think any of the restaurants in the Animal Kingdom are that amazing, but here are the ones I like best:
  Tusker House
  Yak and Yeti
• Best rides for adults:
  Dinosaur
  Everest
  Kali River Rapids
  Kilimanjaro Safari
• Best places to sit and relax:
  Asia has several nice areas to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or just rest for a few minutes.
  Africa's Wildlife Express Train allows you to sit and enjoy pretty views as you head to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Updates for September

Not feeling great this morning, I stayed home from church.  It gave me time to work on a few things for my upcoming trip in October.  I called tech support and spoke with a guy who knew everything.  Best 45-minute conversation ever. A few things I learned are actually really interesting:

The new fastpass+ program will not detract from visitors' ability to receive fastpasses when they arrive.  For those of you who haven't heard of the new fastpass+ program, it allows you to select virtual fastpasses on-line or in the My Disney Experience App/website.  When you arrive and are in the parks, these fastpasses can be changed (for example, if you thought you'd spend Thursday in Animal Kingdom but ended up going to EPCOT) and you can still get paper fastpasses when you are in the parks.

Here's what I learned today:

1. The number of paper fastpasses the distributing machines can hold are limited, but the number of virtual fastpasses that can be assigned are controlled by Disney each day.  
2. The fastpass wait time will not be longer - no matter how many fastpasses are distributed (both paper and virtual) - the castmembers will control the fastpass line to keep it short.  This system only rewards people who choose to use the fastpass system.
3. The regular line for rides may be affected by 5-10 minutes or so, but it will not be drastic or noticeable.  Disney has been testing this system since May and will continue to test it until they are sure it's awesome.

Animal Kingdom is going to start developing a new portion of the park featuring James Cameron's Avatar movies (the second movie is rumored to release in 2016) and the new part of Animal Kingdom is set to open in 2015 unless something slows it down.

I've been randomly selected to sample the MyMagic+ and Fastpass+ systems and will report back with my thoughts in mid-October.   I will also be eating in the newly re-opened California Grill and will give an in-depth review of the restaurant's updates.

Insider Tip: the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom alone can contain both Disneyland and the California Adventuere... what? Crazy, right?  I mean, I already knew that the Disney World property in Orlando was larger than the state of Rhode Island or the city of Manhattan, but man, that is one huge parking lot!

Surprising Your Kids With a Disney Trip

My husband and I are surprising our three youngest children with a surprise to Disney next month.  Our girls have been several times and ask periodically about when we can go back.  We drive (about 8 hours) when we go and bring just about everything but the kitchen sink with us.  Ours will be a fairly short trip - just 4 nights - but since we've done everything several times already, I think it will be great.  After we decided to surprise the kids, I began to do research about how to best reveal the big news.  And my research revealed a shocking consensus: surprising your kids with a trip to Disney should only be done with great consideration.

YouTube is filled with Disney surprises gone wrong and I don't want mine to go that way, so I have compiled some helpful tips below.

Things to consider before you decide to surprise the kids:

1. Does your child like surprises?  Some kids are planners, others are go-with-the-flow types.  If your child needs a lot of time to adjust to the idea of meeting giant costumed characters and being wowed by fireworks, they might not enjoy the surprise as much as you'd like them to enjoy it.  Also, would your child benefit more from helping plan the trip? When I was a kid, selecting dining reservations and planning out the trip was just as much fun for me as the trip itself.  I loved counting down the days and making binders full of reservation numbers and plans.  I know I'm a Disney nerd, but if your child a planner and has gone to Disney before, they may actually be disappointed that they didn't get to help plan the trip.
2. Has your child been to Disney before?  If they have gone and know what to expect, the surprise will probably be great.  They will be so excited that they are going to Disney right in that moment, that there will not be room for a negative response.  If they haven't gone before and don't know what to expect, the surprise may not be as big of a moment as you're hoping for - 
3. Can you (and whoever else knows) keep the secret? This is always a problem for me.  My family can't keep a secret for the life of them!  I told my parents from the get-go that this was going to be a surprise for my kids and yesterday at lunch one of my parents asked my kids if they were excited about their Disney trip.  Luckily, my kids are only 5,4 and 2 and didn't pick up on the slip.

Still think it's a good idea? Then do it! But based on a lot of YouTube results, I highly recommend you don't tell them you are going to Grandpa's house (or any other place) and then change the destination to Disney.  Even if Disney is 100 times better than the place you told them you were going, the general results seem to be disappointment (especially if they've never been to Disney and don't know how awesome it is).

Now to the best part: fun ways to reveal the big news! Whatever you do, don't forget to break out the video camera for the big moment!

1. Character phone call - this can be done through Disney or you can have a friend call and pretend to be a character inviting your kids to come to Disney for a visit.
2. Fill a piggy bank with coins and call it your Disney Fund - you can build this up for weeks or months in advance.  When you are ready to announce your trip, decorate it and set up that video camera. Put it out on display and call the kids to come see the piggy bank!
3. Invitation - you could do a space-themed Buzz Lightyear invitation that includes a cool nerf gun and a letter from Buzz or a royal invitation from their favorite princess along with a princess crown/tiara. You can have it in a wrapped box and place it on your front doormat.  Send them upstairs, ring the doorbell, and step back... 
4. Gifts - wrap up a gift (autograph book and pen, Disney photo album, or a new favorite character plush toy from the Disney Store) and add a tag that says, "Bring this with you to Disney tomorrow!"
5. Clues - you can do a series of challenges, such as a scavenger hunt to find Disney items that are hidden around the house or have them search for letters (DISNEY) and then have them unscramble the letters to figure out where they're going.
6. Free Disney World park maps make a great part of your announcement http://customizedmaps.disney.go.com/.

Feel free to chime in with more ideas.  My husband and I are leaning toward giving the girls a series of gifts in the car on our way there, but we're not set on any one way yet. Any suggestions are welcome!  I will post a video of our reveal after our trip. 

Disney for Adults - Outside of the Theme Parks

The view from dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge's Sanaa restaurant.

Believe it or not, Disney has plenty to offer adults.  Both in the parks and at their resorts, there are plenty of things to do without your kids and some of them are really romantic.  This article covers the fun couple activities outside of the theme parks.

Most Romantic Meals:

1. Dinner at the California Grill in the Contemporary resort. [TEMPORARILY CLOSED]
   Reservations are absolutely necessary for this, and you will want to make them as early as possible since this is one of Flordia's most popular and highly rated restaurants.  I try to be seated an hour before the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom and request a castle view.  During the fireworks show, they dim the lights and play the fireworks music in the restaurant as you watch the fireworks from above!  If you can't get a castle view or a reservation at a time that's compatible with the fireworks, plan to eat before or after them and head out to the 4th floor viewing area.  You can still watch the fireworks and enjoy the wonderful food at the Contemporary.
2. Dinner at Sanaa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge
   Try to plan your reservation for around sunset (check for the time @ weather.com).  Arrive 30 minutes prior to your reservation and walk around the resort - giraffes are generally all around you - and after dinner, head down to the main lobby and ask about the night vision tours.  They normally start between 8:30/9 o'clock and will lend you night vision goggles so you can walk around the resort and see the nighttime animal activities.  It's really neat and completely free.
3. Dinner at Spirit of Aloha at the Polynesian ResortThis is pricey, but totally worth it if you've never been to a luau.  It tends to run about $65 for adults (or two dining credits if you are using the dining plan) and seating times are normally 5:15 and 8:00.  

Fun Couple Activities

1. Carriage Ride at either the Fort Wilderness Campground or the Port Orleans Riverside Resort.  This costs ($45 for a 25-minute ride) and reservations are necessary (call 409-939-7529).  Keep in mind, when you come to pay you must bring cash - they don't accept credit/debit cards or checks.
2. Surrey Ride around the Boardwalk circle ($20 for 30 minutes).  You can rent one for 2, 4, or 6 people and the ride is very pretty.  30 minutes was long enough for us to go around 3 times, I believe and it was really fun.

Free Activities

1. Walk along the beach at the Polynesian Resort and watch the Magic Kingdom's fireworks show, Wishes.
2. Walk around Disney's Boardwalk Resort before watching the EPCOT fireworks at 9pm.  While you're there, you can always play carnival games, and eat "boardwalk" food (pizza, fried food, ice cream, funnel cakes, etc).