The older I get the more and more I appreciate Epcot. While Walt Disney World is usually labeled as a childish place, I believe Epcot is more for adults.  There is much more history to Epcot than most people realize.  The original name for the theme park was EPCOT Center.  The park started out as an idea Walt Disney had for a futuristic community.  The community was to be called the “Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow,” which is where the acronym EPCOT rooted from.

Unfortunately, that community was never built following Walt Disney’s death in 1966.  After the opening and success of Magic Kingdom in 1971, the Walt Disney World company was ready to tackle another project.  They made their way back to Walt’s EPCOT idea and made it into a theme park instead.  One side of the park would be Future World, which would live up to Walt’s innovative and forward-thinking ideas.  The other side of the park would be World Showcase.  World Showcase features 11 countries where guests can experience the culture, the people, and the food.

EPCOT Center opened in Orlando Florida on October 1, 1082, exactly 11 years after Magic Kingdom opened.  The park was very much anticipated and offered a different kind of family entertainment experience.

Now that we have covered some background on Walt Disney World’s second park, let’s review my top five attractions!

#5: The Seas with Nemo & Friends

This attraction was not always one of my favorites, but I have recently come to appreciate it! The ride takes guests in clam-shells on an undersea adventure with Nemo and his friends.  While this can be fun for little ones, my favorite part of this attraction comes after the ride has ended.  Once guests exit the ride, they are given the opportunity to explore inside of The Seas, which is a two story building filled with different fish-related activities.  The first floor features rooms with tanks of the different fish from Finding Nemo.  There is also Turtle Talk with Crush, an interactive learning experience where guests can ask Crush their own questions! On the second floor, guests can get a closer look at other aquatic creatures.  My favorite recent memory in The Seas was on the second floor when there were manatees in the tank.  We learned facts about them and watched them get fed lettuce!  Epcot restaurant The Coral Reef is also located inside of the same building.  Guests can enjoy a seafood dinner with amazing drinks, floor-to-ceiling aquarium walls, and get to see the occasional scuba diver swim by!

Fun Fact:  The main tank within The Seas holds 5.7 million gallons of water!  To give you an idea of the size, The aquarium is so large that it could fit Spaceship Earth inside of it!  With over 6000 fish inside, all of that room definitely comes in handy!

#4: Living with the Land

Living with the Land is an underrated attraction that everyone should ride at least once.  Every time I’m in Epcot, I make time to visit this ride.  Located inside The Land pavilion along with Soarin’, Living with the Land is a perfect pass-time when you are waiting for your FastPass+ reservation for Soarin’.  This boat tour attraction takes you on a 14 minute journey that ends in a unique way!  After the indoor part of the attraction where guests are exposed to different habitats and types of land around the globe, guests move into The Land’s greenhouse facility.  This greenhouse features nine-pound lemons, mickey-shaped pumpkins, and tons for forward-thinking and innovative methods of farming!  While traveling through the greenhouse, each boat is narrated with facts about each of the plants inside. Living with the Land even features aquaculture, which includes fish, eels, and even alligators! One of the best things about this unique ride is that there is almost never a wait!

Fun Fact:  If you ride this attraction and still find yourself wanting to know more, Living with the Land offers its own greenhouse tour called Behind the Seeds!  For $16 per person guests can get a one-hour tour of the fish farm and the four greenhouses.  With interactive activities such as releasing ladybugs into the greenhouses, learning about new growth methods such as hydroponics, and visiting the fish farm during feeding time, who wouldn’t want to go Behind the Seeds?

#3: Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth is not only Epcot’s park icon, but it is also a ride!  The attraction takes you on a journey through the history of communication and explains how it all came to be.  In the beginning of the attraction, your picture is taken.  Once guests reach the top of the ball and finish the history of communication, they will be asked to answer a series of questions pertaining to the future.  Based on how guests answer these questions, a futuristic world demo is created for them!  The story will feature their picture and will explain what their day-to-day life might be like with the futuristic technology.  This activity toward the end of the ride is both creative and interactive for guests!  Since Siemens sponsors this attraction, they actually have a Siemens lounge located inside the building for employees and special guests!

Fun Fact: Although Spaceship Earth is a Geodesic Sphere, Walt Disney World guests won’t have to worry about getting wet from the rain water cascading off of it!  Spaceship Earth features a unique gutter system that takes the rain water and channels it through the structure and eventually draining it directly into the World Showcase Lagoon!

#2: Soarin’

Soarin’ is an attraction that was originally built in Disney’s California Adventure park.  The original attraction opened in Anaheim, California in 2001 and eventually opened a second location in Orlando, Florida in 2005.  The ride takes guests “hang-gliding” over different sites all over California.  With each scene, the audience experiences different sights, sounds, smells, and even wind patterns!  Soarin’ is currently the most popular attraction in Epcot when referring to FastPass+ availability!  Considering the attraction is so popular, it is nice to know that each ride cycle is capable of holding 87 guests! Despite such a large capacity per ride cycle, Epcot is currently adding a third theater to its Soarin’ pavilion to cut down on wait times for guests!  At the D23 convention this year, it was officially announced that Soarin’ Around the World will be coming to both Disney’s California Adventure and Epcot next year!

Fun Fact: If you find yourself waiting in the stand-by line for this attraction, Disney keeps you entertained!  Soarin’ has an interactive queue with lots of group activities to help the time pass quicker!

#1:Test Track Chevrolet

While Soarin’ is one of my favorite Disney attractions, Test Track will always be my favorite Epcot attraction!  To me, Test Track represents the original idea of Future World in Epcot which is forward thinking and futuristic ideas.  When the attraction opened in 1999, it was much anticipated and one of a kind!  Until 2012, the attraction was sponsored by General Motors.  Chevrolet re-branded the attraction in 2012 adding many new features and futuristic touches to the existing attraction.  Test Track now allows guests to customize their own vehicle prior to boarding the ride! Once you load into your ride car, your custom vehicle is linked as well.  Guests can compare their creation side-by-side with others in their car and each test helps to determine the winner!  Adding these futuristic and interactive touches to Test Track was necessary to keep it fresh and popular!

Fun Fact:  Despite popular belief, this attraction is the fastest in Walt Disney World at a top speed of 65 MPH!  The attraction was originally meant to reach speeds of 95 MPH, but due to Florida’s legal speed limit and other safety reasons, the speed was reduced to 65!

Honorable Mentions:

The American Adventure

Gran Fiesta Tour

Maelstrom (RIP)

Well there’s my top five for Epcot!  I look forward to seeing all of the upcoming changes in the near future for this park!  Walt Disney always intended for Walt Disney World to never stop changing and always get better, so I know that good things are on the horizon!  Did my top five surprise you?  What’s your Epcot top five?  Let me know!

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