A Day at Epcot | Our British Family Holiday to Orlando Disney

Today was Epcot day. When researching Disneyland, before coming to Florida, I’d read mixed reviews of this park and some recommendations suggesting that we wouldn’t need a full day here. Well as it turned out, Epcot ended up one of my personal favourite places we visited in our ten day holiday, so I thought I’d share our Disney diary of our first experience of Epcot park…

We started our day as we had most park days – with a quick take away pastry from the Mara Restaurant at The Animal Kingdom Lodge hotel where we were staying, before heading over to the transfer bus.

First off, Epcot feels like it breaks the mold of the Disney park premise – in that although its split into zones similar to the others, rather than each being Disney themed, into Epcot has been designed to almost represent our planet instead. Creating the feeling that you are almost venturing around the globe, as you travel around the theme park. For me this park out of them all would appeal to those who are not so Disney focused. There’s also lot of different elements that I think would make this park the most appealing to those visiting without children too.

Trying Disney Food at Epcot from the UK

Before coming to Florida, my son Albert had been readying up all about the different Disney treat foods he wanted to try (from consuming a lot of Disney related videos on TikTok and YouTube!) and as most of these seemed to come from Epcot, we arrived with the idea we’d do a bit of foot trail today too. Our plan was to sample different foods from each of the different country zones as we walked around.

First up soon after arriving in the park, we came across a stand selling one of the most iconic Disney snacks of all, a Mickey pretzel. I was surprised but after only a couple of bites both my children were done. They really weren’t into them at all. For me though, this giant salty doughy pretzel was my carb heaven. It’s plain sprinkled with large salt grains and comes with a cheese dipping sauce. Well I say cheese – it’s actually called ‘cheese flavoured sauce’! I also saw one of the main ingredients was corn syrup, so you can imagine how synthetic it tasted. But wow it was good. It was like that edge McDonald’s fries have that you can’t describe, but means you can’t stop eating them. So bad, but sooo good. I loved it!

As we arrived into the park, the surroundings are beautiful. It has a different feel to the magical kingdom we’d visited the day before, with a stunning backdrop of greenery and pretty floral gardens – the colours all cleverly choreographed to complement the surrounding buildings and attractions. It’s certainly one of the most peaceful environments to walk around, that we encountered at Disney Land. The idea with Epcot is that its designed to not only mirror our physical geographical world, celebrating the individualities of the different continents, but also offers you the chance to explore science, looking at space and the different life cycles surrounding us.

Our Favourite Rides at Epcot Park

The first attraction we visited was a seated ride through history, learning about the evolution of the modern digital age. Although we chose it more because it was close to where we were and didn’t have a big queue – it was far more fun than it sounds, with super impressive effects. Again similar to the surroundings at Epcot park, it was different to other Disney rides we had already experienced. It very much encompassed the premise of Epcot that I’ve just mentioned, of celebrating the wonders the world around us, rather than focusing on bringing to life a Disney story.

It was an interactive tour of the digital age, so informative but still with enough of the techy Disney magic to make it thrilling! There’s a point where the lights and movement make it feel like you’re flying through the sky and that was truly amazing.

We also all enjoyed visiting the sea life centre. It made a nice change to all the rides and it’s always welcome, having a bit of time in air con, away from the Florida heat. Alongside the aquarium at Epcot there’s a few different ocean themed rides too that were good.

The Little Mermaid ride felt particularly special to me. I was my favourite Disney film as a little girl and its done very well – you sit in a shell and travel through the world under the sea while enjoying the classic songs from the film.

The other attraction all four of us loved at Epcot, was the Finding Nemo talk that we stumbled upon really. Its called the Turtle Talk with Crush and again this wasn’t an experience I went into with big expectations. Really in the moment it was more about needing another break from the heat – so the opportunity to enjoy a sit down in the air con, coupled with the lightning lane availability swayed it to be our next destination. I assumed we were going into a talk about marine life but it ended up one of the most memorable attractions we experienced while away. To begin with, as you wait in the queue, there are screens with quizzes which was helpful to pass the time quicker with the kids. Once its time, you then head into a theatre set up with benches and a big screen at the front.

Essentially you are watching a talk with the character Crush from the film Finding Nemo, but it was so much more than we expected. Rather than a prerecorded talk with a few jokes and sea life facts as I imagined, instead the voice behind the turtle properly interacts with the audience in the moment, as its all live. The actor behind the voice was brilliant -answering the questions that came from the audience with clever humour, while also adlibbing jokes about what was happening around us in real time. It felt more like watching a live mini comedy show, that was just as funny for the adults as it was fun for the kids.

Honestly, if I have one tip for Epcot, for families visiting from the UK it would be – Make sure you visit the Talk with Crush and save it for the moment in the day when when everyone is all a bit hot and bothered and you need some light relief Disney magic, to perk you all up for the rest of the day.

Where we then spent the rest of our day at Epcot, was walking around all the different country themed areas, trying different foods and buying a few souvenirs. We found the coin pressing machines especially dotted around, were a cheaper way to buy token souvenirs from different spots, that have made a nice keepsake to bring home too.

Each countries zone is done very well, the sheer size of the installations is a lot to take in, with such clever attention to detail. The British area did made us laugh though with their take on what constitutes British food, and their interpretation of Englishness! I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of a BLT scone, but having a look at all of it was certainly fun to do.

Our Biergarten German Restaurant Review

We also had a food reservation on this day, that I made via the Disney App before our holiday, which was lunch booked at the German themed restaurant.

Described by Disney as a chance to “Be transported to a traditional Bavarian village as you feast on German fare to the oompah beat of a lively Polka band. At biergarten-style tables, enjoy such rotating selections as bratwurst, rotisserie chicken, pork schnitzel and a variety of salads. Save room for Bavarian cheesecake and hand-pulled apple strudel, made fresh daily! Relax in the twilit atmosphere and raise a stein to over 200 years of Oktoberfest celebrations.”

It was certainly a lot of fun. A fully immersive experience transporting you out of the busy theme park, into a completely different environment. the kids were amazed by it all.

It’s very clever in making you feel as if you are in an alternative outside space – at an October Fest, complete with a live band and even full size trees against a skyline.

The food was buffet style with lots of choice and it was pretty good quality. I didn’t find any Disney food amazing if I’m honest and you always feel you’re paying an inflated price for what you get, but there was lots of meat as you’d expect at a German restaurant which did make it a tad heavy for such a hot day, (not that I’m moaning, I knew the type of food it was when booking) We all ate plenty though, going up a couple of times each to sample different things and there was a good selection that stretched across the entire hall. Albert especially loved the pork schnitzels and decided he wanted to try and recreate these when we get home.

The drinks were huge – the big tankards of ice cold beer especially went down very well after a hot morning exploring! After we were seated the waitress also told the children about a German fizzy drink where they mix Fanta and coke together! It sounded odd to me, but apparently it’s popular in Germany, the kids were keen and loved it. Even more so, as it came still showing the different colours, in an old fashioned beer glass. Again the meal was pricey, but then all Disney restaurants so far have been. I’d say out of all of them though, this one felt the best value for money, not good value, they are all too expensive in my opinion – but this one definitely felt like an experience as much as a meal and one we will all remember.

Have you visited Epcot before? or are planning to – I’d love to know what you thought, or if there’s any questions you’d like to ask about our trip to Orlando pop them below in the comments.

Some great Disney products I’ve found online, perfect for a Disney holiday…