Epcot seems to be the one Disney park that my friends like to skip when they have kids, so this post will prove that you can enjoy it as a family.
Rides are limited, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time. In fact, we completely forgot about our fast passes when we were here, because we were having so much FUN!
I will say we spent the most in this park, but we don’t regret any money spent. If you like food + drinks, this post is for you!
We arrived at Epcot when it opened, which I believe was at 9 AM. Since we stayed at The Polynesian Resort, we were able to ride the monorail to Epcot, but we did have to get on two separate monorails, so keep that in mind.
Food wise, not much was open at 9, so we headed to Canada for a quick breakfast treat.
Riley and I got donuts, which were very good, but HUGE!
Then we walked over to Norway so John could get the school bread.
I didn’t try it, but he loved it and said it’s a must try!
We killed some time visiting Anna + Elsa, since the line wasn’t long.
By this time it was around 10:00.. so I picked up my first marg in Mexico, since it was right beside Norway.
If you LOVE a good Margarita, Choza De Margarita makes some great ones. This ones the La Choza Clasica and it was amazing. They use a Black Ant Salt around the rim, which has a kick to it, but I loved it.
I should probably note that John and I shared most of the food + drinks we tried, so we could try everything we wanted. This helped save cost + allowed us to be functioning adults. Ha!
We weren’t aware before we got to the park that every country has a station set up for kids. At the stations they stamp your passport + give them a postcard about the country their visiting! Riley loved this, and it was her mission to collect all 11.
After a quick movie about China, Riles collected her postcard and then we were off to get a picture with Mulan.
We also had no idea there was a Princess at almost every Country, so we made it our mission to get a picture with as many as we could.
Most Princesses are only there at certain times, so make sure you check the app.
I will say, the Princesses were a key point to Riley enjoying all the countries, while we tried out all the food + drinks.
Next stop, Germany!
John loves beer + German food, so he was excited for this country.
John enjoyed a beer while Riley colored her postcard. I needed something to snack on if I was going to continue to try more drinks, so I ended up at Nudel Gratin.
I’m a light weight when it comes to drinking… and I had a full day of it, so I ate as much as I drank.
The only thing I really cared to try was the Mac-n-Cheese, so that’s what I got. If I’m being honest, it wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t bad. I just don’t love baked mac-n-cheese, but it was a snack credit, so I liked that.
We wanted to try the Apple Strudel from Nudel Gratin, but sadly they were out of it. So make sure you try it if you visit Germany, because I’ve heard it’s amazing.
Also, Snow White’s in Germany, so make sure you stop by to say Hi!
Italy.
Italy will always be one of my favorites, and the Belini’s aren’t bad either.
Fun fact: My Great Grandparents (on my Dad’s side) came over by boat from Naples to America back in the 20’s. My Grandfather Cono was born soon after they arrived.
I went with a Peach Bellini and probably could have stayed in Italy all day, trying drinks.
Italian food is always hit or miss for me, because in my mind, no one makes a better meal than my Grandma Mae, so we went with just a quick snack.
Riley loves pizza, so we headed over to the Pizza al Taglio window, and ordered a slice of cheese and pepperoni.
Riley had all intentions of eating both, but after devouring the cheese, she decided to let Mom + Dad share the pepperoni.
This might be one of my favorite pictures of her. She lives for pizza, and watching her eat it was so fun. She was so content watching the birds eat off the ground while stuffing her face with her favorite food.
Does it get any better than that?
After eating way too much pizza, we went to collect + color her postcard, and we got to watch Sergio “The Italian Clown Juggler” put on a show.
Very strange, but neat all at the same time.
We didn’t do much in America, but we did make sure to get some popcorn and let Riley color her postcard while John drank a beer.
Japan.
Sadly, we didn’t try any food here, but we did get a drink and let me just say, I still think about it.
It’s called the Tokyo Sunset (from the Sake Bar) and if you try anything from this post, let it be this!
I sipped on this while we walked through the Mitsukoshi store and let Riley pick out a treat. Of course she went with a strawberry marshmallow type of candy, and she hasn’t stopped talking about them since.
Morocco!
My second favorite country!
Before touring Morocco, we stopped in and got the Tangier’s Breeze to sip on while we walked around. The bartender made Riley a special drink so she didn’t feel left out.
Of course a cheers was required!
Princess Jasmine’s in Morocco, so we waited for about 5 minutes to get a picture with her.
Afterwards, we walked around to look at everything. We didn’t eat here either, but I regret that 100%. Everything smelt amazing.
I took Riley to get her postcard, and let me just say, I was beyond impressed with the girls at the table. Unlike some of the other tables throughout the countries, the Moroccan table stood out. Both girls were super friendly and actually engaged with the kids. This honestly made me want to stay in Morroco and just spend the day with them.
But there was still many countries to see, and we were on a mission to get to every one of them.
Next stop, France.
It was beyond time for a snack, so we headed to L’artisan Des Glaces, where I got the Strawberries & Cream Macaroon Ice Cream Sandwich and it was ahhh-mazing!
John got a sweet tart, but devoured it before I could get a picture. Ha! (Both were a snack credit)
On our way out of France, there was a show going on in front of Les Chefs, and it was pretty insane! Probably one of the best street performances we saw.
In France, you can sometimes see Belle + the Beast, Princess Aurora, Marie from the Aristocrats and even The Hunchback of Norte Dame. We skipped on Aurora, because she was going to be at the dinner we were going to later.
United Kingdom.
We didn’t get to spend much time here, but we did stop in the Rose & Crown pub so John could get a beer + some fish and chips.
This pub was popping! Lots of people, fun music and everyone seemed to be having a great time! John and Riley were feeling the enviroment, so they did what they normally do, and blocked out the world while they danced around.
Lot’s of fun was def had, all while eating french fries with some yummy fish. What’s not to love, right?
United Kingdom was beautiful. Plenty of spots for great pictures, but honestly I was living in the moment, enjoying time with my family, so I didn’t even use it’s beauty as a background for a picture. #noregrets
Canada.
Canada was our last stop, before we headed back to Norway for dinner. We went straight to the Canada Pavilion to watch a short film, and it made me want to book a vacation asap!
Hopefully that will happen somewhere in the near future.
It was getting close to our dinner reservations (6:30 PM) so we headed back to Norway and of course I picked up one last margarita at Choza de Margarita.
This time I got the Fuegi Verde… and we didn’t love it. Huge bummer, I know.. but it just wasn’t good and we ended up throwing half of it away. It wasn’t your typical Jalapeño Marg, more bitter than spicy, so if you’re looking for some heat… this one isn’t it.
If you love Margarita’s, I’ve heard the Margarita Flight at La Cava del Tequila is supposed to be great.
Norway.
We had dinner reservations at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and had about 20 mins before they were ready for us, so we walked around and let Riley get her postcard.
This is where the Frozen ride’s located, so make sure you get a fast pass for it! It’s one we missed when we forgot about our passes, but we’ve done it before and loved it.
You can get wet on this ride if you sit on a certain row.. so make sure you ask an employee which one it is when you get on the ride.
Dinner at Akershus was good. You start with a buffet with meats + cheeses and you can also make your own salad. After that, you order your main course from a menu.
I got the stuff ravioli and it was very filling. It was so good that I’d def get it again.
The princesses come around to each table to sign your book + take a picture, so of course this was Riley’s favorite part.
My phone was dead by this point, so I relied on John to snap the pictures… and that was a big mistake. They’re all blurry, so they’ll have to be a memories that weren’t captured. Ha!
When dinner came to an end, we were beyond exhausted, so we ate our dessert and headed back to the monorail to go back to The Polynesian. It was a jammed packed day, and we had so much fun just winging it.
Disney can be really fast paced and often hard to enjoy.. so I urge you to go without a plan and take in all Epcot has to offer. I’ve learned when I do this, these end up being some of our best days in Disney.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I wish we had more time to enjoy everything the countries had to offer, but it was fun trying something from each one.
Leave a comment below on some of your favorites in Epcot + check back on Friday for our Hollywood Studios round-up!
I hope everyone had a great three-day weekend, and Tuesday didn’t hit you too hard!
xoxo- Lauren
Marie says
Great post, I love the plug you gave your Grandfather cono and Grandmother mae! Glad you had fun!