During the holiday period at Epcot, from November 27th - December 30th. the Park is transformed into an International Celebration of Christmas traditions from throughtout the World. It is highlighted by the Candlelight Procession with the live entertainment and decorations a sight to not to be missed.

Candlelight processional is held on Selected Nights at The American Gardens Theatre, telling Christmas stories narrated by Celebrity Speakers, accompanied by a 50 piece orchestra and a Full Mass Choir. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the narrators this year. It is very popular, as you can imagine and fills up very quickly, so you need to get there early. You can pre book with a meal package which guarantees your seat at the show and the fireworks. (We didn’t and took our chance by getting there early). 

It is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and to see and share the magic feelings with people from all over the world but most importantly, your own family. It is truely an amazing atmosphere which we will share again when our next visit takes in Christmas.

Add this to you “Must Do” list, not forgetting The Osborne Lights.

Have a great Christmas at Disney

Mary & Larry

The first time we took our two older children to Epcot, they were both under five.  Get there early when the park opens and since World Showcase opens later than Future World, you’ll start there!   The first thing you’ll see on entering the park is Spaceship Earth (it resembles a giant golf ball)!  This is a very slow moving pleasant attraction that is fine for toddlers.  If your child is afraid of the dark, though, it may be best to avoid this one.  

The Universe of Energy pavilion has one of our favorite attractions at Epcot, “Ellen’s Energy Adventure”.   Your children may enjoy this, or they may be very frightened of the life-like dinosaurs that move and roar.   Use your judgment on this one! 

Not to be missed in Future World with pre-schoolers are The Living Seas pavilion and The Land Pavilion.  They will particularly love “The Seas with Nemo and Friends” as well as “Living with the Land”.   My children particularly enjoyed this and wanted to go back on the boat ride again and again!   They were quite enthralled with the trip through the Disney greenhouses where they saw unique new-age growing methods in practice plus a number of unusual fruits and vegetables.

Before leaving Future World, you’ll want to take in one more attraction, “Journey into Imagination with Figment” at the Imagination! Pavilion.   My kids really enjoyed this ride led by a very lovable purple dragon named Figment.   Let me warn you, though, that you won’t be able to get that song out of your head!

This is a good time to go back to the villa for a nap!  You can return late afternoon or early evening to take in the World Showcase.  When you return, depending on the age of your children, stop in to one of the gift shops and consider purchasing a Passport for them.  This will keep them busy as you tour the country pavilions.  You can read more about this item here:

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Before you enter the World Showcase, check out the times for the various live performances.  There will be a variety of acts outside the different pavilions and some of these may appeal to your children.  So, plan on taking a few of these in as you stroll through the countries.  Most of the main attractions in this area of the park will not be suitable for young children.  The Maelstrom seems tame enough but there is a fast drop and a frightening troll that really disturbed my children so I don’t recommend it!  There are beautiful films in China, France and Canada but the short attention span of your young children will more than likely only allow you to attend one of these.  If that’s the case, we found “Reflections of China” to be a great choice.  The one main attraction that will be suitable and most enjoyable for little ones will be  “El Rio Del Tempo” in the Mexico pavilion.  This is a very pleasant and beautiful boat ride through a very colorful and festive world!

If you managed to get a nap break in at some point during the day, you’ll want to stay and see “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth”!  All of Epcot comes to “light” with this most spectacular grand finale laser light show.  Your children will be in awe – so will you!!

During October the Food and Wine Festival is in full swing and gives the visitor the opportunity to sample speciality dishes from, not only the cuisines of countries permanently represented in Epcot but also from several other guest countries whose temporary stands, dotted around the lagoon, cannot fail to attract those with an appetite to try something a little different.

We tend to enter the park via the International Gateway and stroll in an anti clockwise direction in the hope of timing our visit to coincide with a performance from the Japanese drummers whose energetic and rhythmic routines are truly exquisite.

This spot is also provides a great photo opportunity with the Japanese arch set against a red sky with the familiar Spaceship Earth globe as the backdrop.

We’ll probably get a quick bite to eat from one of the temporary stands, the Australian Kangaroo steaks can be recommended, and then walk towards the American Garden Theatre which probably holds around a thousand people. This is located adjacent to the Great American Adventure and is attractively set amongst trees with fairly lights suspended from their branches.

The concerts last for half an hour appeal to all tastes. Artists such as Sheena Easton, Sister Hazel and David Cassidy were all performing during the Food and Wine Festival.

The culmination of the day’s events is the Illuminations, Reflections of Earth firework spectacular which takes place every evening at nine o clock and visitors tend to claim their favourite vantage spots up to an hour before. In our opinion this just isn’t necessary because viewing all around the lagoon is more or less unobstructive.

We tend to ease our way around the United Kingdom pavilion which not only provides great views of the lagoon but also givers us the opportunity to slip quietly out of the park once the fireworks have finished.

If there is anybody reading this that hasn’t yet seen Illuminations then we can tell you that, in our opinion, this is the best firework display in Disney and should not be missed.

Your are greeted by Spaceship Earth, a very large silver ball which contains a ride that takes you through a brief history of man and the achievements that have been made.

From here you can choose your path to different worlds, You can choose to go to The Seas, this is a water experience, again you will find places to eat and rest but most important a glimpse into the underwater world of the fish. It matches the experience of scuba divers without getting wet and gives you and your children an opportunity to learn about a new world.

From here you should go to “The Land” here you will see the methods used to grow our daily food, and the fascinating Hydroponic Gardens, where they grow food without soil. To tell you more might spoil the experience but suffice to say that if you do not consider how to do this at home you will be one of the few.

Walk on to Imagination, this is a ride where your imagination is tested, there are few rides where adults and children can dream of things you have done and will do.

From here you can launch into the Culture experience as described above or go across to the Test Track, this as its name suggests is an exhibit about the history of the Motor Car, interesting to see the past but equally is the concept of how we will travel in the future. Only a few steps away from this is another method of travel, which is Mission Space, it explains where we started our journey into space and where we are trying to go, done only as Disney can. Your final experience in this area of Epcot is Universe of Energy, I wonder what this can be, you will know when you have experienced the wonder of EPCOT.

Whatever you decide to do this Park is one for all the family, a true family place, a place to be entertained and a place to wonder. Have a great day.

Our choice on this visit is going to be visiting The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival (runs through June 1st 2008). There is a great programme for us “Oldies” for live entertainment which is all included the Ticket Price. The artists appearing this May are:-

May 1 - 3 Arlo Guthrie
May 4 - 5 The Searchers
May 6 - 10 The Tokens
May 11 - 15 Davy Jones
May 16 - 17 Jose Feliciano
May 18 - 20 Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals
May 21 - 24 Gary Puckett
May 25 - 27 The Cowsills
May 28 - June 1: Tony Orlando.

We will be at Davy Jones’s concert to bring back memories of the good old 60s!!  

The flower & Topary arrangements are outstanding as you enter the Park amd wander around the grounds. Peter Pan’s Neverland Garden, a children’s area, along Imagination Walkway from Future World to World Showcase. The pirate ship-themed garden features whimsical topiaries of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell and Tic Toc Croc.

Future World flower beds planted on the shores of East and West Lakes  take the shape of nautical flags representing letters (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) that spell a message to be decoded by guests.

The zany Three Caballeros — Donald Duck, parrot Jose Carioca and Panchito, the Mexican charro rooster come to life as topiaries to celebrate their new Epcot show, “Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros” in the Mexico pavilion.

Other beloved Disney characters like Lady and the Tramp and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are perfect photo spots for more memorable pictures

HAVE A NICE DAY!!!!

Mary & Larry

After our first visit to Epcot, we set a goal to dine in each and every one of the extraordinary sit-down restaurants in the World Showcase.   Last year, we finally accomplished this – what a thrill!  Now the World Showcase restaurants are extremely popular as you can well imagine.   A good thing to know is that when it comes to eating anywhere in that section of Epcot, you had better plan ahead.  Think about where you would like to dine and the first stop on entering the park (if you haven’t called ahead!) should be to guest relations to make your reservations for lunch and/or dinner.

The first stop for us was Morocco.  Why? Well, we had been to French restaurants, and Italian restaurants and Japanese restaurants and Mexican restaurants and so on, but  NEVER had we eaten at a Moroccon restaurant!  I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical when we entered Restaurant Marrakesh, but what a pleasant surprise!!  The food was unbelievable and the live music and belly dancers created a most unusual ambience. My personal favorite was the Beef Brewat roll.   Everything on the menu was new to me so it was hard to decide what to order.  I ordered one of the combination dinners (Taste of Morocco) – I highly recommend this as you get to sample several specialties. 

The Biergarten was a favorite of my husband’s.   We had lunch there on one of our several visits to Epcot and the buffet consisted of mostly cold German specialties at the time.  I’m not a big fan of German food so this was challenging for me, but I have to say that the selection was large and even I left satisfied!

At Chefs de France we had a dining experience that I will not soon forget.  If you’re looking for romance and luxury, this is the place.  We had a lovely evening (kids stayed with grandma and grandpa!) – I had the Filet and my husband had the sole.   This restaurant gets an A+ for amazing preparation and presentation as well as flavor. 

A favorite of the kids is La Cellier Steakhouse in Canada.  Two things come to mind when I remember our experience there – first, the amazing assortment of breads (yum!) and second, how wonderful the server was with the children!   They will never forget the meal they had there because the waitress made it so special for them.   She conversed with them down on her knees at their level, brought them treats and told them stories of her native country, Canada.  Sadly, I don’t even remember what we ordered but the kids can’t wait to return!

Another good one for the kids was L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante in Italy.   In the lobby was a viewing area where the kids could watch pasta being made while we waited for our table.  This was Italian food at it’s best!

The San Angel Inn in Mexico is one we have returned to already!  I enjoyed the Plato Mexicano as it offers you the opportunity to try several specialities.  My favorite is the chicken enchilada – very flavorful!

In the mood for some awesome fish and chips?  The Rose and Crown Pub is the place to go if you are!  I have to say that I haven’t had better than the Harry Ramsden’s fish and chips.   I won’t have anything else when I return, but my husband says that the Cottage Pie was to die for!  For all of you UK visitors, this may be commonplace but for us, this was a real treat!

Our family enjoyed Teppanyaki in Japan.  If you’ve ever been to a Japanese Steakhouse, then you know what to expect.  You are seated around a hibachi grill and entertained by the chef as he prepares your meal.   Even though the food was good and the chef was very talented, I would probably not return as this is an experience that I can have elsewhere!  We felt the same way about Nine Dragons in China.  Don’t get me wrong – these are great restaurants, but personally, I much prefer to take advantage of the other wonderful and unique dining opportunities when visiting the World Showcase!

Before entering the World Showcase, stop at the gift shop at the entrance and purchase an Epcot Passport for each of the children.  They are very reasonably priced, of a very high quality and make a great souvenir to take home afterwards.    The package contains a few items including a cool pin showing a traveling Mickey surrounded by each of the flags of the various countries.  (My children wore their pins proudly!)  The main item is a very realistic looking “passport” book with a 2 page spread for each of the World Showcase countries contained in a very durable plastic case.   A collection of stickers is also enclosed.  There are 6 stickers for each country.  One names the country showing that county’s flag surrounded by mouse ears (cute!) and the remaining 5 show pictures of points of interest located at that particular country’s pavilion.

We purchased these passports the first time we took our children to Epcot.  We had them go on a “scavenger hunt” to locate the various spots depicted on the stickers – when they located one, they were allowed to remove the sticker and paste it on the appropriate page of their passport.   

We stopped at the Kidcot station at each country along the way and got their passports “validated”.   The young people stationed at the various posts were so friendly and many of them not only stamped the passport but also added a nice message in the “notes” section of their particular country.

The passport served double-duty for my children as they found the extra pages at the end very handy for collecting autographs from their favorite characters that they met throughout the park.

 My children were so absorbed with the “hunt” and the task of getting each page of their passport stamped, that we didn’t hear one complaint all day long.  We adults thoroughly enjoyed our visit and the kids had great fun while getting an education (little did they know)!

My kids often take out their passports, which are truly their very own “personal travel record”, and have fun remembering their very first tour of the Epcot World Showcase.