Are you concerned about going to Disney World when you have someone with you who won't or can't ride rides? Are you worried that they will be bored or that they will feel left out? Put those fears to rest because Disney World is packed full of options for those who can't ride typical theme park rides. In this article, we discuss all of the options in detail for EPCOT. For a brief overview of all of the parks, check out our general post on Disney ride-free guide.
One of my biggest Disney cringes is when I hear people say "we're skipping EPCOT because we have little kids". EPCOT is an amazing park for littles and non-riders. You can spend an entire day in the park just eating and drinking (and taking photo shoots with your margarita, lol). Every season has a different festival with its own theming, food, shows, and activities. Check out our Seasons of Disney post to find out all of the specifics of each festival. We were a homeschooling family for many many years. I always counted our EPCOT days a school days because there are so many learning opportunities here. Disney is an amazing field trip!
EPCOT offers quite a few rides that have no drops, spins, acceleration, or quick stops. Journey Into Imagination with Figment, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, and Grand Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros are all slow moving rides that do not have any age, height, or medical restrictions. If you are not afraid of heights, Soarin' is awesome as well (although there is a 40 in height requirement). Even though The Kiddo is now a teenager, she still loves Grand Fiesta in Mexico. There is usually a less than 15 minute wait for this slow moving boat style ride, so we usually ride it multiple times. In fact, if we ever get separated at EPCOT, I know I can always find her on this ride. If you have Donald Duck fans in your group, this is a must do as the whole ride is centered around Donald! Poor Donald doesn't get the love he deserves.
Inside of the building with The Nemo ride you will find a huge 2-story aquarium, which is actually the second largest aquarium in the country! Lots of Cast Members (CM) are walking about to point out fun facts about the residents and answer any questions. There are lots of learning opportunities here. Heck, the teenage Kiddo still has a blast in there. And keep you eye out for some of the famous residents that were featured on the Disney+ show Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom. If you are scuba certified, you can dive inside of the massive aquarium tank. If you are not certified, there is still a water experience you can enjoy. These do have age restrictions and cost an extra fee. A friend just did the dive experience with her entire family and claims it's the best dive they have ever done! Time slots must be reserved in advance. Turtle Talk with Crush is found in this same building. This is an interactive "show" where Crush from Finding Nemo is there live to answer all of your turtle related questions. A CM behind the scenes is voicing Crush, so he responds to all questions in real time.
If you have a Disney Visa, there is a Disney Visa Card meet and greet at this park. For this, you do need to either show your physical card or your digital credit card. I don't carry a lot of stuff with me, so I open the Chase app and show them my card in the app. Every time we have gone it has been Minnie and Pluto, but I've heard they occasionally have other characters. The meet and greet is located in the building directly across from the exit of the Figment building. Also beside of the exit to Figment is Pixar Short Film Festival. This is a screen show of the best Pixar shorts but done in 3D (you wear 3D glasses). It's a new way to experience the shorts. Mickey and Minnie meet and greet is here as well.
While we are talking about meet and greets, EPCOT does have a couple of park specific characters that you can't find anywhere else. Both located in the same building (and actually directly across from one another), you can meet Joy from "Inside Out" and (brand new for fall 2023) you can meet the little spark of imagination himself.... Figment! Find them in the giant glass pyramid, which is the Journey into Imagination ride. You do have to enter through the exit doors if you don't want to ride the Figment ride (it's the gift shop, so just go ahead and walk in). Elsa and Anna meet in Norway. In the UK pavilion you can find both Alice and Mary Poppins. You can meet Alice in Magic Kingdom as well, but this is the only place outside of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that you can meet Mary Poppins. She's one of my favorite meet and greets. She used to appear at breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, but that restaurant has not yet reopened. EPCOT is the ONLY place in all of Disney World to meet Mulan. She is of course in the China Pavilion. All of the Fab Five meet at various locations around EPCOT. In Mexico, you can find Donald in this super cute outfit. He's always a family favorite meet and greet. Various Princesses can be found in their respective countries throughout World Showcase.
EPCOT offers several shows. In the France Pavilion is a Beauty and the Beast sing along. This is not live actors, but rather a tale as old as time told by LeFou with the original animated film music and animation on a screen. It's a lot of fun and everyone young and young at heart gets into singing. In all of our years going to Disney, we had never seen The American Adventure show in the America Pavilion until this year. All I'm going to say about this is that two out of three of us fell asleep. It definitely is not on par with the Hall of Presidents at MK. Also inside of the American Pavilion you will find an a cappella group called The Voices of Liberty. This phenomenal group performs at scheduled times throughout the day. They sing in a large rotunda area which emphasizes their voices. It is truly a heartwarming and patriotic experience. If you like history, pop into the American Heritage Gallery for a small museum type area. In addition to shows, there are also several art galleries located throughout World Showcase.
You should definitely download the Play Disney app before your trip. Lots of cool games are on the app that are specific to the parks, themed areas, and rides, which are helpful in keeping you and your kids entertained while waiting in lines. EPCOT takes it a step further and has a DuckTales scavenger hunt that you can do in World Showcase on Play Disney. Kitcot Fun Stop locations can be found throughout World Showcase if you want something hands on vs being glued to your phone. Despite their name, these Kitcot locations are not just for littles. These stations are manned by Cast Members native to the respective country. The CMs are a wealth of knowledge and love sharing information and fun facts about their home countries with guests. A fun activity such as coloring is at each booth.
EPCOT is now the only park left that has a playground. It's hard being a kid with so much energy, but having to spend hours waiting in long lines all day. Honestly, I wish all of the parks had a small playground area for kiddos to burn off some energy and get out all of their wiggles. At the exit of both Spaceship Earth and Journey into Imagination with Figment are interactive play areas where kiddos can touch, create, play with touch screens and interactive flooring, and just run around and be kids exploring the world around them.
Food and drinks are the main reason many people love EPCOT so much. Throughout the year, different festivals take places. These festivals all boast special foods and beverages specific to that festival. Plate sizes are all tasting size portions, so one dish will not be a whole meal. Festivals draw huge local crowds with special musical guests and specialty foods that the park is usually packed full on weekends with local guests (pro tip, go to EPCOT on a weekday). It's a great way to try a food you wouldn't normally eat, or taste a small portion of something you would't want to spend $60 on just to taste. The Kiddo had always wanted to try octopus, but I never wanted to spend a ton of money on a full dish at a restaurant for her to maybe or maybe not like it. She tried it at Food and Wine a few years ago and loved it! Of course there are your standard restaurants that will be there day in and day out all year long. We have never had a bad meal at EPCOT except at Coral Reef (just don't). Each country boasts flavorful and unique dishes from their respective countries. At Via Napoli, water is shipped in directly from Italy to give the pizza dough an authentic flavor and texture. Now that's some serious attention to detail! Disney being Disney, they take food allergies quite seriously. My sister is anaphylactic to dairy. Disney is the only place she has been able to eat hibachi Japanese foods because the chefs and kitchen cast members take great care in preparing food separately. If you can't convince your non-riding family that Disney is going to be fun for them, lure them in with the promise of some amazing food! Make sure you are choosing wisely though, so check out this post to help.
Lastly, Disney just opened a brand new Moana walk through area called Journey of Water. This is a walk through "attraction" that features water as a focal point where guests can learn while exploring. While it's not all that exciting, there is a giant Te Fiti.
EPCOT is actually my top pick for park to visit with non-riders!!! I know everyone is supposed to say that Magic Kingdom is supposed to be your favorite Disney park, but EPCOT is actually my favorite. Honestly, I would be perfectly happy going to EPCOT and not riding a single ride. There is just so much to see and do (and eat and drink).
Hopefully you now have a good understanding of everything that EPCOT has to offer beyond the rides. I'm sure there are even more things that I am missing. Disney is constantly changing up their offerings, so make sure you check the website or app for current, up to date offerings during your travel time.
I hope this helps to give you a starting point when trying to plan your Walt Disney World Vacation. For help booking a room and park tickets check out Jillian with Destination Dreaming Travels. She's a FREE travel agent waiting to help you book your most magical vacation ever.
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