We always love visiting Epcot during our Walt Disney World vacations. There is a lot of new changes coming to the park over the next few years however, we thought we would share what we currently consider to be the Best Epcot Shows and Rides.
Epcot is one of the larger Disney Parks with lots to see and do. Hopefully, we can give you some good ideas of what to expect and plan for when visiting Epcot.
Epcot is currently split into four main areas: World Nature, World Celebration, World Discovery and World Showcase. You can find a full map of Epcot on the Disney World Website here. All these areas contain Disney attractions to enjoy. Lets jump into the best Epcot attractions.
Find Out More About Epcot:
- What’s Inside the Epcot Ball?
- What Rides are at Epcot
- Epcot World Showcase Guide
- The Japan Store at Epcot
- Helpful Epcot Tips
- Best Breakfast Locations at Epcot
- Epcot Drinking Around the World
- Take a look at our Epcot Disney Genie Plus Guide
Our Top 5 Best Shows at Epcot
Let’s take a look at our favorite shows that we have enjoyed the most at Epcot.
5. Turtle Talk with Crush – Great if You Have Young Children
Location: SeaBase
This 15 minute screen based show allows the audience to interact live with Crush and features some familiar faces from the Finding Nemo movies too. Turtle Talk is a great little sit down show if you have young children. It will keep them entertained and you can sit down and take a break at the same time too whilst spending time in the Seas Pavilion.
4. SeaBase
Not really a show as it is a large aquarium exhibition but I wanted to include it. SeaBase is the main building that The Seas with Nemo and Friends is located inside (some may refer to it as the Nemo and friends pavilion). This is an aquarium attraction where you can see a large variety of different sea creatures such as sea turtles, dolphins and angelfish. It is definitely worth having a look around SeaBase when you come off the Seas with Nemo ride.
3. Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
Location: Next to Journey into Imagination with Figment
This is a very enjoyable collection of Disney and Pixar shorts that are shown in 3D. You will usually find that you will get to see a fun 3D Mickey Mouse short followed by some wonderful Pixar short. This is usually an easy Epcot attraction to get into and it is very enjoyable too.
A great show to see after riding Journey into Imagination with Figment.
2. The American Adventure
Location: The American Adventure Pavilion (opposite the America Gardens Theater)
Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain take you in a journey through America’s past in this 30 minute show featuring animatronics, music and film. I always enjoy this show and it is a great opportunity to sit down for half an hour away from the sun. A nice way to relax while you enjoy and learn about the story of America.
Before the show you can also enjoy looking around the American Heritage Gallery inside the building and if you are lucky you might also get to see the Voice of Liberty singer perform.
1. The Evening Fireworks
Location: Epcot’s World Showcase Lagoon
Illuminations was a great firework show that took place on the Lagoon and was briefly replaced by Epcot Forever which we were also lucky enough to also see. Harmonious is a very exciting replacement with structures that produce water fountain displays whilst showing images from many Disney movies.
It is a spectacular nighttime show covering the entire world showcase area that we finally got to see on our last Disney vacation. The combination of water effects, with the imagery and fireworks is spectacular.
You can find our Epcot Tips here
Our Top 5 Best Epcot Rides
Let’s dive into our top 5 best Epcot rides. See if you agree with my favorite rides and if you are currently planning a Walt Disney World Resort vacation these might give you a good idea of what to expect at Disney World’s second oldest theme park.
5. Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros
Location: The Mexico Pavilion
Height Restriction: Guests can be any height
Located inside the Mexico building on World Showcase, take a boat ride through Mexico as Disney characters Jose and Panchito chase Donald Duck whilst taking in all of the Mexican culture. A fun ride for all the family using screen technology as well as animatronics. The Gran Fiesta Tour is a nice ride that features famous Mexican landmarks whilst featuring the Three Caballeros. Usually on a normal day you can pretty much walk straight on to this ride. This is one of the easiest of Epcot’s rides to get on, but is worth riding.
4. Frozen Ever After
Location: The Norway Pavilion
Height Restriction: Guests can be any height
Frozen Ever After takes you on a journey through Arendelle on a slow moving boat ride inside the very popular dark ride building. Using state of the art animatronics you will meet the characters Olaf, visit Elsa in her Ice Palace as well coming across Anna and Kristoff. There is one small drop towards the end of the ride but in general this is another fairly gentle ride.
If you have kids that are fans of Frozen then they will love it. This ride is the furthest away from the main entrance at the front of Epcot with it being in the Norway section of World Showcase. Be prepared for a bit of a walk if you are heading to Frozen first.
This is a very popular attraction which usually has high wait times. It is usually easier to ride by using an individual lightning lane pass.
3. Soarin’ Around the World
Location: Inside the Land Building (Below Living with the Land)
Height Restriction: Guests must be 40 inches or taller
Take a hand gliding tour of the world taking in the Great Wall of China, Sydney Harbour, the Swiss Alps and the Taj Mahal just to name a few of the sights. Soarin’ is a big screen based attraction using a flight motion simulator and it is a ride system that is a lot of fun.
You need to be 40 inches tall to fit into the ride vehicle so that is something to consider if you have younger children as you may need to do a rider swap. Definitely a ride to experience during your Disney World vacation. Like Frozen this is one of Epcot’s most popular attractions with high wait times and an individual lightning lane using the Disney Genie Plus service can make it easily accessible.
2. Test Track
Location: World Discovery
Height Restriction: Guests must be 40 inches or taller
Take a high-speed thrill ride in Test Tracks six-person simulation car ride vehicles. Test Track is a lot of fun. Hit speeds of over sixty miles per hour on the thrill rides race track but before that you need to design your own virtual vehicle. During the wait for the ride you are taken into the Chevrolet Design Center where you design your vehicle using a big touch screen display.
Your car will then get tested for Capability, Responsiveness, Efficiency and eventually Power (the really fun fast part of the ride). The ride is part indoor where you experience rough terrain and dodge obstacles before hitting the outdoor power test where you really feel some speed. Test Track is another tier 1 ride so again a lightning lane pass may be needed or a dash from rope drop to avoid a long wait time.
1. Spaceship Earth
Location: World Celebration
Height Restriction: Guests can be any height
Classic Epcot and Disney Dark Ride entertainment all enclosed inside the iconic Spaceship Earth. I love a slow moving dark ride (especially Disney Dark Rides) and this one does a wonderful job of telling a story. You take a journey through time learning how the human race has communicated and shared information through the ages.
Lot’s of animatronics are to be enjoyed along with a space ride section with views of Planet Earth, and you can get a glimpse of the future on the screen in the ride vehicle as you descend at the end of the ride based on the information you gave at the start. A great dark ride and my number 1 pick when it comes to the best Epcot attractions. An iconic Epcot ride you have to experience.
Try to ride Spaceship Earth later in the day. The crowds should have spread out across all of the park and all the rides meaning shorter wait times compared to earlier in the day when many guests line up for this great ride.
You can find our full Epcot rides and attractions covering all the rides here.
We also have a full World Showcase Guide here too.
The Best Shows and Rides at Epcot
I hope our favorite and best rides at Epcot along with our Show choices has given you some inspiration for your own Disney World vacation. Epcot has a lot to offer guests of all ages and over the next few years it is only going to get better. Please feel free to share this post on social media. If you are a Pinterest user, you can pin the image below.
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Take a Look at the rest of Next Stop WDW…
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Thanks for stopping by.
Darren
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