The Epcot Experience

Well…I am sorry to say that Chris & I were both extremely disappointed with Disney’s Epcot Center Park.

First of all, let me say that I lived in San Diego (a long time ago) for almost 10 years and my ex and I made many trips to Disneyland in Anaheim. It was always a great time. There were tons of rides and interesting exhibits. Disneyland/Anaheim was very well laid out and, while there were a couple rides with regular long lines, most had enough staff and vehicles that the wait times were reasonable.

Epcot is approximately double the size of Disneyland/Anaheim and that created the first problem. The park is spread out around a large man made lake and the only option to get from one end of the 300 acres to the other, besides walking, is a boat that transports hotel guests into the park which you can ride from one side of the lake to the other. Admittedly, I am not as young as I used to be, but I feel fortunate that I am still quite ambulatory. A large percentage of the Epcot guests were much older than I, many of them in wheelchairs or electric carts. Between the huge area and the Orlando heat (which was, thankfully, only 88° the day we were there) both Chris & I were pretty beat up by the time we got home. Disneyland/Anaheim has numerous modes of transportation (monorail, train, buses, trolleys, horse drawn wagons, overhead gondolas) to get around in the park. I was surprised that Epcot was not the same way.

Upon entering the park, we were in the “Future World” area. The first building we entered was called “Innovations”, but basically it was one big product showcase for Siemens. There were numerous interactive activities (life sized video games) designed to display different Siemens “innovations”. Also inside this building was a “House of the Future” which we toured. That was kind of cool. The tour guide pointed out all the different items in the house that are used to make it more environmentally and user friendly (complete with manufacturer promotion, of course). Since we are very green conscious we really enjoyed the “house”. The down side is that it is not likely that the average homeowner will have the means to purchase most of the highlighted items.

One of the “rides” I wanted to get on was called Soarin’ and was billed as a hang-gliding experience through California. When we first arrived there was a 60 minute wait so we, instead, took a boat ride called “Living With the Land” which turned out to be a “thrill” ride through greenhouses. No, I’m not kidding. On display were plants from different parts of the world, new ways to grow plants (ie: eggplant trees) and a look at small tanks of Tilapia, shrimp, eels & alligators being farmed for food. After departing the boat we checked in again at Soarin’ and the wait was up to 65 minutes. Well, maybe we should get some lunch and try again. Thirty minutes later, will full bellies, we discovered the wait time was now 100 minutes so we gave up.

Note: Epcot has a “Fastpass” system whereby you can swipe your admission card (which has your id and fingerprint electronically imbedded so you can’t share it) at some of the rides. The attendant then gives you a specific time to return and you can go ahead of the line. Only a limited number of Fastpasses are allowed per ride and it is first come first served. Unfortunately, we were not given this information when we purchased our tickets and did not discover it until we returned home.

The other ride we were interested in was the Chevrolet (product promotion again) Test Track. The premise behind this was that you would design your own virtual custom vehicle and then ride it on a test track (which looked a lot like a roller coaster). It looked like fun but, again, the wait time was well over an hour and the day was getting long.

I wanted to see the “American Heritage” show which was in the middle of the International Communities on the exact other end of the park. By the time we began the journey around the lake we’d already been on our feet for at least a couple hours. The lake is quite pretty as it is surrounded by beautifully manicured grass and flower gardens and baskets of flowers are “floating” all over the water but it is a long, long walk to the other side.

The “World Showcase” is designed as replicas of villages in different countries. Canada is at one end of the semicircle and Mexico is at the other. In between are Great Britain, France, Japan, Italy, China, Norway and Morocco. Morocco is the only pavilion that is actually sponsored by the country it represents…the rest have corporate sponsors. The American “host” pavilion is right in the middle. By the time we reached Canada we were beginning to drag. I was hoping for some sort of display about each country with some information about its history, culture, people, etc. but it turns out they are just cute villages of restaurants and trinket shops (featuring Disney characters in country costumes of course).

We were beginning to think a cold beer would be in order but since it would likely slow us down we decided to wait until we got to the end. We know from experience that Mexico has some very good beer. Hah! Turned out that the only beer available in the Mexican Cantina was Corona Light! Corona is owned by Anheuser-Busch. So we skipped the $4.00 bottle and went home to the RV where we could relax with a cold Dos Equis. 

When we got to the American Experience we entered the pretty Colonial style building and found ourselves inside a large rotunda with benches around the perimeter. It is reminiscent of most capitol buildings and was a cool (think air conditioning) respite from the Orlando heat. Sitting on a bench, we rested our weary joints and began reading the quotes on the wall panels around the rotunda. At first I thought they were quotes from important figures in American history but I soon realized this was not the case. I was sitting directly across from a quote by Ayn Rand, a very radical Russian author who promoted “Objectivism” over Democracy. Not exactly an American historical personage. The main feature of “The American Adventure” is a film about the history of the United States which is narrated by animatronic figures of Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin. At several points during the movie different animatronic scenes rise from the stage to illustrate particular events. I enjoyed the presentation but, after greatly detailing events in the 1700’s and 1800’s I was sad to see more recent history (ie: the Civil Rights movement) get short shrift. By the end of the film the producer had resorted to quick flash pictures of Americans such as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King.

Do I sound like an old curmudgeon? Well, admittedly I have been getting pickier in my old age. We paid $14 for parking and $89 per person for admission so I really felt that the experience should have been a bit more “fun”. The gardens were beautiful. We saw three musical groups who were very entertaining. The food was decent and not exorbitantly priced. But…that is not what you go to a Disney park for. You go to be excited and amazed. You go to have fun. To be reminded what it is like to be a kid. Unfortunately, Epcot fell far short of my expectations.