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EPCOT

Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

“Walt Disney World’s n°1 place to get drunk”

It’s not easy to describe EPCOT. Some people consider it as a Disneyfied world’s fair, others just come here to get drunk and fat. One thing is sure: EPCOT definitely isn’t an ordinary theme park. It opened as EPCOT Center in 1982 and it currently is the 9th most visited theme park on the planet. EPCOT is directly linked to the Walt Disney World Monorail System, which makes it super easy (and lots of fun) to travel between EPCOT, Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center.

ROLLER COASTERS

EPCOT hasn’t offered a roller coaster for almost 40 years. However, this changed in 2022 due to the addition of Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind. This Vekoma ride was installed on the former location of Ellen’s Energy Adventure, which closed in 2017. Cosmic Rewind has a total length of 1.7 kilometres, which makes it the longest coaster in Florida. But that’s not the only feature that makes this ride impressive. The Imagineers created an elaborately themed queue, two great pre-shows and a first-class coaster experience. Cosmic Rewind contains a backwards launch, spinning cars, catchy pop music and some of the most qualitative projections in the theme park business. Despite its thrilling nature, the ride isn’t overly intense. I’d define it as a family thrill, just like Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort.

DARK RIDES

EPCOT is dominated by a 55-metre tall sphere. This is one of Walt Disney World’s most famous landmarks, but it’s more than just a recognizable structure. This sphere also houses Spaceship Earth, an enormous dark ride dedicated to the evolution of communication. Fortunately, this really isn’t as boring as it sounds. Spaceship Earth features great audio-animatronics, beautiful scenes and a world-class soundtrack. And there’s even more good news: a ride on Spaceship Earth lasts surprisingly long and queues are usually very manageable.

Spaceship Earth isn’t the only dark ride at EPCOT, but the others are considerably smaller. There’s a short Finding Nemo OmniMover attraction, Living with the Land is an educational dark ride focused on agriculture, Figment hosts a dark ride about your imagination and the Mexican area offers a little boat tour starring The Three Caballeros. Nothing too special, but it’s all very cute. And then there’s Frozen Ever After at the Norwegian pavilion. This is a medium-sized dark ride as well, but it often generates the longest wait times in the entire park. Frozen has been a success story since its 2013 release, so it’s no surprise that this dark ride became this popular. Still, we find it overrated. This is probably due to the fact that we recently went to Hong Kong Disneyland, which boasts a modernized version over Frozen Ever After. And after seeing those beautiful, life-like audio-animatronics in Hong Kong’s Frozen ride, EPCOT’s version just fails to impress.

EPCOT’s newest dark ride can be found at World Showcase’s French pavilion. It’s called Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and it’s a carbon copy of the Ratatouille dark ride at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. I’m in love with the ride’s beautiful station and the music, but the overall experience remains underwhelming. Ratatouille actually feels like it’s a Universal ride that ended up at Disney World. It mostly relies on 3D screens and it lacks a real finale. Don’t get me wrong… this attraction is obviously a perfect fit for the French pavilion, but it’s very mediocre if you compare it to other modern Disney dark rides. I wouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes to ride it.

AROUND THE WORLD

Just like the other Walt Disney World parks, EPCOT is divided into several lands. The northern half of the park is home to World Celebration, World Nature and World Discovery. However, the largest area is known as World Showcase and it can be found at the shores of a huge lagoon. World Showcase features 11 pavilions dedicated to different countries. Despite the fact that many E-ticket rides are located at World Nature and World Discovery, World Showcase definitely wins when it comes to atmosphere. It’s a wonderful feeling to take a walk around the lagoon, while admiring the architecture and trying some local delicacies. By the way… World Showcase is at its best during the International Food & Wine Festival, which takes place on an annual basis. During the festival, there are even more ways to get tipsy at EPCOT. Yay!

Wine tastings are a great way to get a glimpse of foreign cultures, but there are more ways to see the world. How about a ride on one of EPCOT’s flagship attractions? Soarin’ Around the World is (nearly) identical to the versions in Anaheim and Shanghai. I’ve always loved Soarin’ over California and in my opinion, the new version has the same strengths. Unfortunately, it has the same weaknesses as well. Soarin’ can be a fabulous attraction if you’re assigned the best seats, but it can be an underwhelming experience if you’re directed to the wrong seats. In that case, you’ll have to settle with a curved Eiffel Tower and a malformed Taj Mahal. Fortunately, Soarin’s legendary soundtrack remains extraordinary, no matter what seat you’re in.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

EPCOT is an unusual theme park and therefore, it deserves unusual attractions. One of those unusual attractions is Mission SPACE. The ride simulates a flight to Mars and that’s quite an extraordinary experience. As Team Orange, we’re treated to strong g-forces and turbulent manoeuvres. This mission to Mars counts as Walt Disney World’s most intense attraction and it’s definitely not suited for those who suffer from motion sickness. However, there’s some kind of light version (Team Green) that doesn’t feature Mission SPACE’s most nauseating movements.

Speed plays an important role in Mission SPACE, but it’s not the park’s fastest attraction. This honour is reserved for Test Track. I mostly remember this attraction in its original form, but Chevrolet has treated the ride to a huge makeover in 2012. Test Track’s characterizing test dummies disappeared and they made way for a virtual world full of screens and neon. The modernized ride looks very appealing and the experience is still as awesome as it used to be. By the way… Test Track has a separate queue for single riders and this line is usually very short. If you don’t mind riding alone, this might be an ideal way to minimize your wait time.

If you’ve visited Walt Disney World between 2020 and 2024, you probably noticed that EPCOT was undergoing a massive transformation. Especially the World Celebration part of the park seemed to be a huge construction zone. Fortunately, visitors are now finally able to experience the new EPCOT. Some of the largest novelties are CommuniCore Hall (a multi-purpose space that will play a major role in the EPCOT festivals) and Dreamers Point, a green space in the centre of the park. Another great addition to the park is Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana in the World Nature section. This interactive walk-through is highly themed and its exotic surroundings match perfectly with Orlando’s climate. Journey of Water proves that not every new ride should be an E-ticket.

NIGHTTIME ENTERTAINMENT

During Walt Disney World’s 50th birthday, EPCOT seemed to be the park that benefited most from the celebrations. The Spaceship Earth sphere received a new lighting package and in World Showcase, Harmonious was presented as the park’s new nighttime spectacular. Interestingly, many die-hard Disney fans didn’t like the show and its enormous barges. Disney noticed Harmonious’ poor reception and started working on a new fireworks show. On 5 December 2023, Luminous – The Symphony of Us debuted on World Showcase Lagoon. It features incredible fireworks, but that’s probably the only thing I really like about it. I’m not a huge fan of the musical score and the narrator’s interventions feel unnecessary most of the time. So… please tell me in all honesty… Am I the only one who actually preferred Harmonious?

WORTH A VISIT?

Love it or hate it. EPCOT shows a side of Disney that most of us didn’t know. I can imagine that some people don’t like the park because of its unusual concept. EPCOT may be a little short on actual rides, but the park makes up for that with its great dining options and the wonderful atmosphere. Large parts of the park don’t feel Disney-ish, but that’s actually EPCOT’s unique selling point. It’s a different, mature kind of theme park with lots of hidden secrets. I appreciate Disney’s Animal Kingdom and I thoroughly enjoy Magic Kingdom, but EPCOT undoubtedly remains my preferred theme park at Walt Disney World.

What’s your favourite pavilion at World Showcase? Are you a member of Team Green or do you prefer Team Orange? And are you happy that Frozen Ever After is being rebuilt at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at EPCOT during a visit in April 2024.