November 12, 2025 • 35 mins
On this week's episode, Krystle and Julie talk through their top tips for tackling a day at Walt Disney World's EPCOT. With this park's immense size and four festivals each year, there is so much to do that it can be hard to decide on your priorities and how to spend your day. We talk about our tried and true strategies for having the best day ever at EPCOT!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Wonderlust and Witches, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
SPEAKER_01 (00:05):
I'm Julie and I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withfantastical vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wonderlust into reality.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us
as we dive into the sights,sounds, and stories of our
favorite destinations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
So grab your passport, pack your bags, and
let's embark on this journeytogether.
Hi everybody, welcome to episode77 of Wonderlust and Wishes.
Today we're going to talk abouttop tips for Epcot.
I love these episodes.
(00:41):
I love talking about strategyand all the fun things.
This is what this is our breadand butter.
We love talking about this kindof stuff.
So I'm excited for this one.
SPEAKER_00 (00:50):
Well, apparently everybody else likes these
episodes because they're some ofour top downloads.
So yeah.
We got big old, and you guys arehelping us get there.
Little downloads at a time.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
Yes, thank you very much.
So we don't have really a lot ofnews this week, so we're just
going to jump right in.
Starting with a park planningand strategy.
I suggest planning your parkstrategy around where you enter
the park.
Epcot has two entrances, one atthe very front where the
monorail is, and one at, Iguess, the back that is
(01:24):
typically called the back, Iguess, or the international
gateway.
It used to be like the secretentrance, but it's not really
anymore because it's because theSkyliners there.
So anybody that's on theSkyliner resorts, you come in
that way.
But as you all know, I don'tlove REMI's.
I it's not my favorite ride.
I could go without ever ridingit again.
(01:45):
But it is very popular.
And if you're trying to getRemmies for early park entry and
you're not coming in from theinternational gateway side,
you're at a major disadvantage.
If you're staying off property,you basically have no hope of
truly rope-dropping Rimmies.
You're still going to waitbecause more than likely you're
(02:06):
going to enter from the front ofthe park and you're going to be
behind everybody else that'salready come in for early entry
and everybody that was alreadyin line from coming in on the
Skyliner or walking from theEpcot resorts.
It makes more sense if you'recoming from the front of the
park, especially to buy alightning lane for Rimmings or
try to wait it out until maybecloser to park closing.
(02:27):
And to if you want to usestandby.
I would recommend the lightninglane for it, but I know that
doesn't always fit intoeverybody's budget.
It really, if you're coming intothe front, it makes more sense
for you to rub drop guardians ifthat is okay with the rest of
your party, depending on whattype of rides you you like.
So not everybody loves Guardiansbecause of the way it moves
(02:49):
around.
I think Guardians is the bestride ever, but not everybody's
cool with it.
I have two people in my familythat don't ever want to ride it
again.
Because it's it spins and ittakes you all over the place.
SPEAKER_00 (02:59):
Summer.
You get motion sick though andyou do fine.
SPEAKER_01 (03:03):
Oh yeah.
I love it.
I'm like hysterically laughingthe entire time.
SPEAKER_00 (03:07):
Unpopular opinion, get the lightning lane multipass
for Epcot, especially if you'rethere for rides.
And then like Julie's, you justneed to strategize.
So wherever you're if you'recoming in International Gateway
and plan on rope dropping, tryto get a lightning lane for test
track or frozen.
And whichever one you can't getas your tier one, that should be
(03:31):
your next stop.
Like you got to be strategicabout it a little bit.
SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
Exactly.
I'm gonna throw in some tips.
I asked Ella and Crystal askedJohn.
So we're gonna throw in tipsfrom them also as we're talking
through.
Uh, you can tell this is mychild.
Uh Ella's tip, her first tipthat she said is that Remy's is
terrible.
And get there early whileeverybody else is in line for
Remy's and go get other thingsdone that are more fun,
(03:58):
basically, is what she said.
SPEAKER_00 (04:01):
And this depends on the day, but so Ebcot typically
opens at 9 a.m.
The entire park doesn't open atthat time.
Like World Showcase might notopen till like 10 or 11.
And depending on who's workingthe ropes, you can't just look
at the Remy and see the line andkeep walking through World
Showcase.
(04:21):
They might push you around thefront.
So, from personal experience,don't think you can run through.
I've done it though.
So I think it just depends onthe day.
You can't bypass the front ofthe park to get to Frozen.
Right.
Be prepared.
It doesn't always open.
You might not have thingsavailable.
SPEAKER_01 (04:39):
Yeah, they actually stop you at like right there.
I at least if you go left atInternational Gateway, they stop
you right there at the UK-Canadaarea, right after the Joffreys
location.
They basically stop you rightthere.
SPEAKER_00 (04:58):
Well, it's just annoying because it's like the
other way, sometimes there's arope across it right there in
France, but then sometimesthere's not.
SPEAKER_01 (05:07):
Yeah.
You kind of don't know.
That's the hard part.
Okay.
The other thing is just reallylike with all of the parks,
utilize early park entry.
I think it's probably thebiggest perk of staying on
property.
Yes, it is early.
You have to get your you oryourself and the rest of your
party up and out the door, butthat extra 30 minutes is really
(05:29):
more than an extra 30 minutes.
It makes a difference and animpact the rest of the morning
that you're there because youcan get so much more done in
that first 30 minutes, and thenyou're already ahead all
morning.
SPEAKER_00 (05:44):
Yes, for sure.
And this goes hand in hand withsome of my other tips.
This park is massive.
It is so rough to crisscross.
You need some sort of plan,especially with your ride
lineup, or you will killyourself running back and forth.
Don't ask me how I know.
I think we've all made thatmistake before.
Well, like with the oldlightning lane system, you kind
(06:06):
of didn't have a choice.
So it was just whatever wasavailable.
SPEAKER_01 (06:10):
As a reminder, you know, Epcot has four worlds.
It has world celebration, worlddiscovery, world nature, and
world showcase.
But world celebration, worlddiscovery, and world nature are
all kind of the front half ofthe park.
And then world showcase is thekind of the back half of the
park.
It's massive.
(06:30):
And so, like Crystal said, ifyou're if you're jumping back
and forth, you could probably,if you, as long as you stay in
that front section or as long asyou stay in World Showcase, but
if you're trying to go back andforth, you're gonna be exhausted
soon.
Epcot's also a huge local park,especially on the weekends.
And if there's a festival, theylove to go to the shows and the
(06:53):
food booths during the differentfestivals.
If you cannot avoid going toEpcot on Saturday or Sunday,
just be prepared for theirlarger crowds.
And if you can go on a weekday,you'll probably get a little bit
less traffic than you would onthe weekends.
I mean, I know we've made themistake, you know, and it
wasn't, I don't want to say itwas a mistake yet.
We couldn't avoid it, but goingon like a Saturday and being
(07:16):
there at night on a Saturday,it's so crowded.
SPEAKER_00 (07:20):
Those evenings are especially rough.
SPEAKER_01 (07:22):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (07:23):
If you were coming from the front of Epcot and
there's any sort of line atSpaceship Earth, skip it.
Come back later.
If there's a line, either peopleare dumb and don't realize, or
it's a busy day.
So just try back again later.
You shouldn't wait longer than15 minutes tops.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:41):
Or it could just be too like it could be that
there's a lot of newbies andit's the first thing you see
when you come into the park, andpeople associate Epcot with that
big, you know, golf ball,basically.
And so I think that could alsobe part of it.
That it's right there when youfirst walk in.
SPEAKER_00 (07:58):
And then be like Crystal when she goes on the
ride for the first time and saysWTF.
What is the hype?
It's the best.
You have no nostalgia.
You'll be on my side, I promise.
Speaking of rides, let's let'smove on to rides, attractions,
and experiences.
(08:18):
Ratatouille has a sneaky singlerider line.
If you have older kids, or ifyou've done it before, or if
it's just like you and a friend,definitely take advantage of the
single rider.
It's hard to do if you havelittle kids, though.
So just depends on your party.
SPEAKER_01 (08:34):
Yeah, we're just I think single rider is amazing.
I just we just don't ever use itbecause I'm that person that I
don't I want to ride withwhoever I'm with, and I just
would rather wait.
But not everybody is that way,and it can make a huge
difference in how in your waittime.
Do not skip out on Grand FiestaTour.
I don't think it's as much of asecret as it used to be.
(08:56):
It used to be this little likehidden secret ride.
I think more people know aboutit now, but it is inside the
pyramid that's in the Mexicopavilion.
There's actually a ton of stuffinside that pyramid that you
wouldn't expect.
You walk in and there'sbasically like this little
marketplace with these littleshops, little booths with
shopping.
And then it also has the SanAngel in restaurant that's in
(09:21):
there as well.
So they got a lot going on.
And you walk past basically wentpast all of that, and the ride
entrance is kind of to the backleft.
SPEAKER_00 (09:31):
This is one of John's tips, too.
He said the tree's caballero isalmost always a walk-on.
It's a great sit and chill outof the sun kind of place.
SPEAKER_01 (09:40):
It is.
It's so it's so awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (09:42):
So John and his love for boat rides because it's
basically a nab.
SPEAKER_01 (09:49):
It can be.
They are relaxing and it's dark.
It's a dark boat ride.
SPEAKER_00 (09:54):
And if you haven't been on this ride in a minute,
they have updated the graphics.
And they are amazing.
So definitely give it anotherchance.
SPEAKER_01 (10:02):
So for Ella, this these are her do's and don'ts
for rides.
She says, don't ride Remy's, doride Soren, so don't skip Soren,
don't ride Mission Space Mars.
So there's a Mars and there's anEarth.
So the Mars is the more extremeversion.
Even if you have a pretty toughstomach, I think this one's can
(10:23):
be rough because Ella doesn'treally have those issues that I
know of, or she hasn't, shehasn't in the past, and if this
took her out, don't skip testtrack and don't skip out on
Moana's, which is Moana'sjourney of water.
She just calls it Moana's.
It doesn't, she doesn't want touse all the extra words when she
talks about it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:42):
She's a true Disney person if she doesn't.
Let's see.
Ask to sit in B1 and Soren.
So like on course B row one.
Take it to middle tops so youdon't see like feet dangling
above you.
You don't see Eiffel Towerbending, although I heard it
doesn't anymore.
But this is the this is thespot.
(11:03):
There's not really a bad spot towatch Luminous around the World
Showcase.
I quite enjoy this show.
There's a good Coco Toy Storymashup in there that gets me
every single time.
So this is a good one.
Yeah, what's waterworks when Iwatched it.
Speaking of crisscrossing thepark, did you know you can
actually take a boat across theWorld Showcase if your feet are
(11:24):
done?
It's not the quickest way to getaround, but it might take you
half hour, but go for it.
SPEAKER_01 (11:32):
And you might die of gasoline fumes, but you know.
SPEAKER_00 (11:37):
A lot of people don't realize that you don't
have to ride the Nemo ride tovisit the aquarium.
That line can get super longsometimes.
So just to walk around and gothrough the gift shop, and
there's so much to do to there.
Bruce has like an educationalscavenger hunt.
You can see the manatees.
There's turtle talk.
See if you can spot the divers.
Speaking of Turtle Talk, Johnsays if you have little kids,
(11:59):
you should not be missing TurtleTalk Crush.
Again, dark, AC place to sitdown.
Also, adult humor.
Very interactive.
My kids always get picked forsome reason.
They always have the funniestthings to say.
SPEAKER_01 (12:11):
Also, something that's kind of fun.
Right outside of the Germanypavilion, there's a little
German train town.
It's fun to watch it.
Rob showed me an article.
It was it was being funny.
I think it might, it was eithera reel or a meme or something
like that, that said it was likebreaking news.
The train fell off the track atDisney World, and it was a
(12:34):
little Germany train.
SPEAKER_00 (12:37):
John had best parked for rides.
This is his favorite park.
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
That's interesting.
I don't think people associateEpcot with rides as much.
SPEAKER_00 (12:44):
So but he he said Cardians, he said test track, he
said Brozen, he said Soren.
Yeah.
He said Tracy Caballeros.
He could, he's fine with Rimmys.
He's never been on SpaceshipEarth and he's never been on
Living with the Land.
So he didn't even add those tohis list.
SPEAKER_01 (13:03):
I can't believe he hasn't.
He needs to add Living with theLand to his sleeping I know his
tour of sleeping with the Land.
SPEAKER_00 (13:10):
I always go with like a shoulder swap while
they're like doing guardians,I'll run over or like soaring.
I'll go do that.
And he's finding food while I'mwriting.
So it's not always his priority,I guess.
SPEAKER_01 (13:23):
So moving on to food, dining, and drinks.
Epcot is for sure very famousfor its four festivals.
For the most part, there's afestival going on pretty much
all the time.
There are little breaks inbetween them, but make sure when
you're going to check out ifthere's a festival happening,
(13:46):
because you need to have a planof action because there's always
extra shows and experiences.
They have food booths there.
The food booths are a wholevibe.
There are like people go just togo to these food booths.
There's always a foodie guidethat you can use, and they have
festival booth guides availableonce you enter the park.
So you know where to go or youcan see what the different
(14:08):
booths have.
If you're going during afestival, you really should plan
to stop at multiple booths justto try a couple of different
options.
A lot of times people go andthey just graze on different
meals or different snacks fromthe food booths instead of
having like a meal meal.
SPEAKER_00 (14:27):
That would be me.
SPEAKER_01 (14:28):
That would be crystal, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (14:30):
We each get a small plate and share, and then you
can eat a lot more.
SPEAKER_01 (14:34):
Yeah, like a lot of people like go and they'll split
whatever's available and thenthey just go from booth to booth
to booth.
Just as an FYI, the upcomingfestivals for the next year.
The festival of the holidays forthis year starts on November
28th and goes through December30th.
I'm not sure if food and wineprobably goes through most of
(14:56):
the month this month.
And then there's like a maybe aweek break um over Thanksgiving.
Festival of the Arts is January16th through February 23rd,
2026.
There's a little bit of a break,and Flower Garden Festival
starts on March 4th and goesthrough June 1st of 2026, and
then Food and Wine.
(15:16):
There's a little bit of a biggerbreak over the summer,
basically, and then food andwine festival starts August 27th
and goes through November 21stof 2026.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
You all know me and my coke machines.
The best to embark are at RegalEagle.
They have the good ice andfountain machine and the
connections eatery if you're onthe front side.
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
Ella says she really liked Space 220.
She liked the food.
There's been criticism that it'snot worth the money, but she
really enjoyed it.
She loved the theming.
She loved like riding theelevator up to space.
She thought that was so fun.
And then she also had the poprock drink, and she recommends
it.
SPEAKER_00 (15:57):
If you listen to Ella and try for Space 220, miss
out on the reservation, you cancheck with the host about
getting a walk-up baravailability day up.
They don't have like a wait liston the app or anything.
You have to actually talk to thehost.
And this is specifically for thebar, not for the lounge, not for
the restaurant, but you can atleast experience space 220 and
(16:20):
what it has to offer.
SPEAKER_01 (16:21):
Yeah, it is fun.
It is a fun atmosphere for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (16:24):
Dawn's favorite quick service, if you are not
doing a festival booth, is theuh in Mexico, the San Angel, and
the one on the side of thewater.
Yeah.
Great food, but it's hard toalways find a table.
It's very hard to find a table.
But sometimes if you keep goingthrough the little pavilion
(16:46):
around the water side, therestaurant, they'll open some of
that seating in the back.
Mm-hmm.
In the water, it's hit and missbecause it depends on time of
day.
But that's our favorite quickservice.
SPEAKER_01 (16:57):
Earlier, I mentioned using the food booths as kind of
your meal, like going around toeach one and getting a little
bite here and there.
But on the flip side, Epcot isthe best park for great sit-down
restaurant options.
Compared to the other threeparks, it has by far the most
restaurants.
It has more than double whatMagic Kingdom has, and it has
(17:19):
four and five times whatHollywood Studios and Animal
Kingdom has, which is crazy whenI was looking at the numbers.
It's mind-blowing to think that.
Yeah.
I mean, I look when I waslooking at it, you know, Epcot
has, I think, like 19 or 20options, and Hollywood Studios
and Animal Kingdom have likefour or five each.
It's really no matter what foodor vibe you're looking for, they
(17:41):
they're gonna have it.
So they have you know very fancyoptions that are more expensive,
but then they also have kind ofa more relaxed feel as well.
Ella has um a couple ofadditional tips for food.
She says to go to Karamakucheand get lots of Worthers.
SPEAKER_00 (17:59):
This is on John's list too because it is amazing.
He's made me like bring himthrough the airport the caramel
cookie sandwich.
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
Oh, yes.
I always have to bring back thedark chocolate caramel squares
for Rob.
I always get the giganticturtle, it's so good.
It's my favorite from there.
And Ella also says to go get afunnel cake from the American
Pavilion.
SPEAKER_00 (18:22):
Oh, very nice.
John's other is getting thecroque glacé.
It's ice cream, it's like an icecream sandwich in a brioche bun
in France.
It's not everybody's cup of tea.
I think we've talked about itbefore.
We love it because it's like thewarm outside, the cool, cold
inside.
Just go simple with it.
Don't overthink it.
That's a favorite.
(18:42):
And then his other one that hementioned was Club Cool to try
all the different sodas.
And everybody should try theBeverly.
SPEAKER_01 (18:50):
You definitely should ask unsuspecting people
to try that Beverly for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (18:54):
Oh, yeah, we definitely did that for my
father-in-law the last time wetook him.
All right, family and kidactivities.
One of my favorite things aboutEpcot is just how much my kids
love it.
Do not underestimate it andthink it's just an adult part.
It is for kids too.
They're always something to dofor the kids.
I think Julie's gonna talk moreabout there's kid cot stops,
(19:16):
there is the Play Disney app,and you can play the Dovetails
Adventure.
There are festival scavengerhunts.
There are so many things forthem.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Yeah, I have a couple of things.
If you have a kiddo that lovesanimals and science in general,
you could spend hours, trulyhours, at the aquarium.
Because believe me, I have withmy child, she wants to look at
everything.
And the aquarium is pretty big,it's a pretty big space, and
there's lots to look at.
(19:46):
There's a Dory scavenger huntthat comes with a free little
booklet with stickers, and asyou get to each experience, you
you know add your sticker to thebook.
It's a super fun thing.
And like Crystal mentioned, youalso have Kid Cot.
There are Kid Cot fun stops ateach of the 11 international
pavilions.
There is some type of craft orexperience that teaches the
(20:08):
children and adults really aboutthe different cultures around
the world.
In the Mexico pavilion, it isnear Mexico Folk Art Gallery.
In the Norway pavilion, it's atthe Puffins Roost China
Pavilion, it's near the exit ofReflections of China in Germany.
It is at Bonkus.
(20:29):
I'm probably saying that wrong.
Italy pavilion, it's outside ofLa Bottega Italiana in the
American Adventure Pavilion.
It's outside Art of Disney,Japan Pavilion, it is in the
jutsu con gallery, Morocco.
It's at the marketplace in theMedina for the France Pavilion.
(20:50):
It is at the Souvenirs deFrance, and then United Kingdom
at the Toy Soldier, and thenlast but not least at the
Canadian Pavilion.
It's at the exit of Canada farand wide.
And they are very easy to spot.
There is a big sign that saysKidcot fun stop.
And I think the signs areyellow, so they stand out and
(21:10):
you can see them.
SPEAKER_00 (21:11):
To go hand in hand with the Kid Cot thing, this is
the most educational park.
If you need a school excuse,Ebcot is your place.
You are learning about differentcultures, you're looking
learning about like differentcycles of the earth, you're
learning about space, the watercycle.
Every corner of this park issecretly educational, and I will
that.
Yeah, it's great.
I dare say that this is also thebest park for characters,
(21:35):
especially if you have princesslovers, you have storybook
dining at Akrishish, the RoyalBanquet Hall, and you get four
or five, six princesses,depending on the day.
You also see Anna and Elsa inNorway, Jasmine in Morocco,
Milan in China, Snow White inGermany, Aurora and Belle in
France, Moana Near and JourneyWater, and then Mary Poppins and
(21:58):
Alice aren't officialprincesses, but you'll see them
in England as well.
SPEAKER_01 (22:02):
Moving on to some options for relaxation or just
like downtime, kind of chillingout.
This is a great park toliterally stop and smell the
roses.
One of the things that theywould have been working on,
anybody that's been to Disney inthe last like four to five years
knows that there were walls upat Epcot for a majority of that
(22:22):
time because they've beenworking on reimagining
everything and the walls arefinally down.
And they came down, I believe,last summer.
Like for the most part, they allcame down.
And when I say last summer, Imean like 2024 last summer.
They created this beautiful areain world celebration, this
garden area.
And they have flowers and plantswith benches where you can just
(22:43):
sit and chill out.
They generally rotate throughthe different flowers and plants
depending on the festival themeat that point.
So I love being in this area,especially early morning when
there's not a lot of people inthe park yet.
It's also right next to theStarbucks.
So that's a nice perk as well.
SPEAKER_00 (23:02):
We know why you go there.
I also had on my list that thisthere are lots of places for
downtime or just slow going.
Moana's Journey of Water throughthe countries, the English
gardens, the Canadianwaterfalls, the water feature in
Morocco, Street and Sphere inItaly in Morocco, the band in
Canada.
Do not underestimate going backinto the countries.
(23:25):
There's more than just like thefront facade.
Like there's more.
Absolutely.
If you see a door closed, tryit.
If it opens, go for it.
Like there's so much many hiddenlittle things.
SPEAKER_01 (23:37):
Ella says, again, you can tell this is my child.
Go to the Starbucks and then sitin the gardens and relax for a
little bit.
She did say it doesn't have tobe Starbucks.
She said you can get it any anykind of treat, but to go sit in
that little space because it'sit's a nice quiet spot.
SPEAKER_00 (23:54):
That's funny.
John also mentioned the gardensin Canada is a good place to
escape the crowds.
I think you've seen more thewaterfall.
There's just like the whole likelittle place back there.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
Yeah.
If this is an adults-only trip,I would focus on rides first
thing in the morning.
So like get there, hit therides, get as much done as you
can, and then around lunchtime,kind of walk over to World
Showcase and just mosey aroundthe entire World Showcase.
(24:28):
Like Crystal was saying, like goand explore in the different
areas, get yourself some adultbeverages, get some food from
the booths, and just don't haveany kind of major plan.
Just walk around.
And then if you do want to do asit-down meal, do sit-down meal
later in the evening and try totime it so that you can see
(24:50):
luminous potentially.
There's a couple differentplaces you could sit.
If you want to time it right,you can sit at the Rose and
Crown.
Um, they have outdoor seating,La Hacienda de San Angel.
There's the water seating thatCrystal was just talking about,
and then also Spice Road table.
They all have outdoor seatingthat's right there around the
lagoon, and it's a great spotfor fireworks if you can sit
(25:12):
down at the right time.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
Our favorite bathrooms are the ones on the
outside of the Odyssey building.
They are good and centrallylocated, they are always empty,
and there's the baby care centeris right there too.
You need that.
SPEAKER_01 (25:28):
Yeah, we were just talking about before we started
recording that for some reasonpeople don't go over there, and
it's like one of the best spots.
SPEAKER_00 (25:36):
Although I dare say I use that bridge between the
Odyssey and like up to Guardianslike four or five times on an
Epcot day because I use that asa cutthroat.
I don't use like the main track.
SPEAKER_01 (25:47):
Yeah, yeah.
And I don't think people use it,they just don't.
They don't associate it withgoing back to Guardians.
Another thing that if you arestaying at an Epcot resort or a
Skyliner resort, it's super easyto go back to your resort, to
chill out for a little bit,maybe rest, get off your feet,
and then come back right beforeLumina starts to see the show.
(26:11):
It is one of my favorite thingsabout staying at an Epcot resort
or this or a resort that's onthe Skyliner.
It's so easy to do.
And then I have one last thingfrom Ella, which is a little
odd, but she says to look at thedolls by the chocolate shop.
And I think she means CaramelKuche.
I don't think they're alwaysthere.
(26:31):
There's sometimes this littlekind of little pop-up kiosk area
that has they're like porcelaindolls.
And for whatever reason, thegirls always like to stop and
look at them.
They're not all themed to likeDisney princesses, but they do
have Disney princess versions ofthe dolls.
And they are very pretty.
But she thought that that wasimportant to note.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
Jumping into your most important list here.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
Moving to the coffee spots, I definitely think this
was a good ad for our top tips.
So for Epcot, you have theConnections Cafe in World
Celebration.
That is the Starbucks location.
And it is because it's new, theyre- completely redid all of this
in this area.
(27:19):
So it's brand new.
It's a larger space than theStarbucks and the other parks.
So you don't feel like you'recrammed in there because some of
the other, some of theStarbucks, the other parks, like
the line goes out the doorbecause there's just not enough
space to hold all the people.
And this one definitely hasaccounted for that for Joffrey's
(27:39):
locations.
If you are coming in from thefront entrance, so where the
monorail is, there is aJoffrey's right next to where
the monorail station is.
It's like as you're walking in,it's on the left.
If you're coming in from theinternational gateway side, you
want to go left after you crossthe bridge.
And that well, I guess theinitial bridge, the initial,
(28:01):
like as you're walking up thehill, you want to go to the
left.
And there is one between, orit's like right on the edge of
the UK and Canada.
I think it's officially inCanada, but it's like right
there on the line.
If you are venturing between thetwo halves of the park, there's
a location next to DisneyTraders.
That is just inside WorldShowcase side of the park, and
(28:23):
it's kind of going in thedirection of Mexico.
So if you're coming from thefront of the park, you're going
to take kind of a slight left orgo to the left to go towards
Mexico, and it's right there.
In the American pavilion, thereis one on the Italy side, like
it's almost actually in Italy,like right as you're walking
from Italy into the AmericanPavilion, it's on, it's right
there.
And then World Discovery, it isclose to Guardians.
(28:46):
If you're actually coming out ofthe Connections eatery and
you're heading towards Guardian,you'll you'll see it.
It's right there.
And as you can tell, I've beento all of them.
I know exactly where they allare.
SPEAKER_00 (28:59):
And then we're gonna hop into my most important list:
the shopping.
These are also you just uniqueexperiences because Ebcot is
full of them.
Each country, I feel like, hassomething unique.
But Japan, you can pick a pearlout of an oyster that you can
get set in like a piece ofjewelry.
You can just take the pearl.
Very cool experience.
(29:20):
They do like drums and the wholething.
And it's like relatively likedecent price.
It's not astronomical.
In Germany, you can watch glassblowing or you can create glass
art at the uh glassnut kiosk.
You can make like a nightlight,you can do like a picture frame,
just a fun different souvenir.
(29:41):
They probably have ornamentsthat you could do right now, I
think.
Yeah, probably.
And they'll like send it to you.
There's the behind the scenestour with Olivia with the land
at the Seas Pavilion.
You can do Die Quest, you canactually die.
You do need to be certified.
(30:02):
In the Mijikoshi departmentstore in Japan, you can find a
replica samurai sword and buyit.
Take it home with you.
In the UK, you can get yourpersonal family crest in the
crown and crest shop.
In Italy, you can get Venetiancarnival masks.
And also in Germany, you canfind$2,000 cuckoo clocks.
(30:22):
And one of my favorite stops inGermany is the Steif stuffed
animals.
You can get Mickey and Minnieand Pooh.
And we have an adorable puppy inour house, and they're the
cutest.
You can find unique pre-packedsnacks like potato chips from
China in each of the pavilions.
(30:42):
And then another one is I'mgonna butcher this.
Le Vins de France is acompletely different kind of
experience.
It's kind of hidden inside thegift shop.
It's right across from LaArtisan de Glass.
And then here you can buybottles of wine and champagne to
take home, but you can also buywine and champagne by the glass.
(31:04):
And everybody raves about thechampagne bar, but it's just
like unique and they havedifferent flights.
And then John's tip was he lovesthe store in Japan.
I mean Mitsuhi Department Store.
It just keeps going.
It like wraps, like you go inand goes around the left, and it
(31:25):
just yeah.
You can find Mario in there.
SPEAKER_01 (31:29):
You can find it's crazy the amount of stuff that
they have in there.
SPEAKER_00 (31:33):
I was talking to John, we just daydream all the
time about our travel plans forthe year.
And if I asked him if he couldpick one park for a day, he
would pick Epcot over and overagain.
We love Epcot so much, it'sdefinitely our favorite.
I know Magic Kingdom has thatrep, but even my kids, they love
Epcot.
So don't underestimate thispark.
SPEAKER_01 (31:54):
Yeah.
Actually, when we were there, Iguess about a month ago, we were
trying to decide if we weregonna go to another park other
than the other than the MagicKingdom, and everybody, like
hands down, was it was Epcot.
Like if we were gonna go, thatwas gonna be our option.
So it's definitely one of Rob'sfavorites.
(32:15):
A lot of times, like even oncewe come back, no matter what
park we were at earlier in theday, a lot of times the girls
and I come back to the resortand we're just hanging out at
the pool or you know, doingnothing, he'll take Skyliner
over to Epcot and just walkaround, just to give himself
like time away just to himself.
And he loves to walk around thepark.
SPEAKER_00 (32:34):
It hurts my heart when people are like, we want to
do three days and we're gonnagive Epcot.
Like, there's so much there.
Because if you've been and likeexperienced it, people just have
no idea the sheer volume ofthings you can find to do.
SPEAKER_01 (32:51):
Yeah.
Even I was when I was thinkingabout it, I don't necessarily
think about it as a heavy ridepark.
I think of all the other thingsthat you can do.
But as you were talking aboutJohn listing out all the fun
rides that are there, it hasgreat options for the rides.
And it just on top of it, it hasall these other options that you
(33:13):
can go do.
It's a very versatile park.
So if you have some people thatwant to do just rides, and you
have people that don't want todo rides, like all of you can go
and have something that you canenjoy at Epcot.
SPEAKER_00 (33:24):
For sure.
We need to get him on thepodcast, it would be hilarious.
He was trying to list out histop 10 rides over all of Walt
Disney World.
And I think five or six of themwere Epcot, and then you had
like one from one park, one fromanother park.
High and above, the majority wasEpcot, and then you had one or
two sprinkled in from the otherparks.
SPEAKER_01 (33:42):
I'm thinking maybe if we can get John and Rob
together once they like meet inperson and then get them on the
podcast, they would behilarious.
SPEAKER_00 (33:53):
I might we might just have to get them like
talking, and I might just turnon a voice memo and just as a
fun as episode because they bothclaim they're not Disney Adult,
but they have very strongopinions about this place.
SPEAKER_01 (34:07):
Yeah.
And the whole like, I don't wantto be on mic.
People are afraid of being onthe microphone.
SPEAKER_00 (34:11):
Not us.
Thanks for hanging out andlistening to all of us.
SPEAKER_01 (34:18):
This is such a fun episode.
I love really truly, I know Isaid the beginning, but I love
these episodes.
These are my favorite to gothrough.
Love pulling out the things thatwe all love and that our
families love to do, but alsobeing able to turn them into
tips for all of you to benefitfrom some of the experiences
that we've had and we've kind oftried and true methods that
(34:40):
we've used to go to the parks.
SPEAKER_00 (34:42):
I think that's all we have today.
So if you would do us a30-second favor and go leave us
a review, it would be the bestholiday gift to us, please.
SPEAKER_01 (34:50):
It is.
It's that time of year.
It's the most wonderful time ofthe year, and we would enjoy
some additional reviews to helpour little podcast grow.
Thank you so much, everybody,for listening this week.
We appreciate all of you.
We hope you all have a wonderfulweek, and we'll talk to you next
week.
Bye.
(35:18):
Thanks for tuning in to anotherepisode of Wonderlust and
Wishes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
And remember, the world is fullof wonders waiting to be
explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
Welcome to Wonderlust and Witches, the
podcast where we explore theworld one destination at a time.
SPEAKER_01 (00:05):
I'm Julie and I'm Crystal.
As travel agents withfantastical vacations, we are
here to share our passion fortravel and help you turn your
wonderlust into reality.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
From hidden gems to bucket list adventures, join us
as we dive into the sights,sounds, and stories of our
favorite destinations.
SPEAKER_01 (00:21):
So grab your passport, pack your bags, and
let's embark on this journeytogether.
Hi everybody, welcome to episode77 of Wonderlust and Wishes.
Today we're going to talk abouttop tips for Epcot.
I love these episodes.
(00:41):
I love talking about strategyand all the fun things.
This is what this is our breadand butter.
We love talking about this kindof stuff.
So I'm excited for this one.
SPEAKER_00 (00:50):
Well, apparently everybody else likes these
episodes because they're some ofour top downloads.
So yeah.
We got big old, and you guys arehelping us get there.
Little downloads at a time.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (01:03):
Yes, thank you very much.
So we don't have really a lot ofnews this week, so we're just
going to jump right in.
Starting with a park planningand strategy.
I suggest planning your parkstrategy around where you enter
the park.
Epcot has two entrances, one atthe very front where the
monorail is, and one at, Iguess, the back that is
(01:24):
typically called the back, Iguess, or the international
gateway.
It used to be like the secretentrance, but it's not really
anymore because it's because theSkyliners there.
So anybody that's on theSkyliner resorts, you come in
that way.
But as you all know, I don'tlove REMI's.
I it's not my favorite ride.
I could go without ever ridingit again.
(01:45):
But it is very popular.
And if you're trying to getRemmies for early park entry and
you're not coming in from theinternational gateway side,
you're at a major disadvantage.
If you're staying off property,you basically have no hope of
truly rope-dropping Rimmies.
You're still going to waitbecause more than likely you're
(02:06):
going to enter from the front ofthe park and you're going to be
behind everybody else that'salready come in for early entry
and everybody that was alreadyin line from coming in on the
Skyliner or walking from theEpcot resorts.
It makes more sense if you'recoming from the front of the
park, especially to buy alightning lane for Rimmings or
try to wait it out until maybecloser to park closing.
(02:27):
And to if you want to usestandby.
I would recommend the lightninglane for it, but I know that
doesn't always fit intoeverybody's budget.
It really, if you're coming intothe front, it makes more sense
for you to rub drop guardians ifthat is okay with the rest of
your party, depending on whattype of rides you you like.
So not everybody loves Guardiansbecause of the way it moves
(02:49):
around.
I think Guardians is the bestride ever, but not everybody's
cool with it.
I have two people in my familythat don't ever want to ride it
again.
Because it's it spins and ittakes you all over the place.
SPEAKER_00 (02:59):
Summer.
You get motion sick though andyou do fine.
SPEAKER_01 (03:03):
Oh yeah.
I love it.
I'm like hysterically laughingthe entire time.
SPEAKER_00 (03:07):
Unpopular opinion, get the lightning lane multipass
for Epcot, especially if you'rethere for rides.
And then like Julie's, you justneed to strategize.
So wherever you're if you'recoming in International Gateway
and plan on rope dropping, tryto get a lightning lane for test
track or frozen.
And whichever one you can't getas your tier one, that should be
(03:31):
your next stop.
Like you got to be strategicabout it a little bit.
SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
Exactly.
I'm gonna throw in some tips.
I asked Ella and Crystal askedJohn.
So we're gonna throw in tipsfrom them also as we're talking
through.
Uh, you can tell this is mychild.
Uh Ella's tip, her first tipthat she said is that Remy's is
terrible.
And get there early whileeverybody else is in line for
Remy's and go get other thingsdone that are more fun,
(03:58):
basically, is what she said.
SPEAKER_00 (04:01):
And this depends on the day, but so Ebcot typically
opens at 9 a.m.
The entire park doesn't open atthat time.
Like World Showcase might notopen till like 10 or 11.
And depending on who's workingthe ropes, you can't just look
at the Remy and see the line andkeep walking through World
Showcase.
(04:21):
They might push you around thefront.
So, from personal experience,don't think you can run through.
I've done it though.
So I think it just depends onthe day.
You can't bypass the front ofthe park to get to Frozen.
Right.
Be prepared.
It doesn't always open.
You might not have thingsavailable.
SPEAKER_01 (04:39):
Yeah, they actually stop you at like right there.
I at least if you go left atInternational Gateway, they stop
you right there at the UK-Canadaarea, right after the Joffreys
location.
They basically stop you rightthere.
SPEAKER_00 (04:58):
Well, it's just annoying because it's like the
other way, sometimes there's arope across it right there in
France, but then sometimesthere's not.
SPEAKER_01 (05:07):
Yeah.
You kind of don't know.
That's the hard part.
Okay.
The other thing is just reallylike with all of the parks,
utilize early park entry.
I think it's probably thebiggest perk of staying on
property.
Yes, it is early.
You have to get your you oryourself and the rest of your
party up and out the door, butthat extra 30 minutes is really
(05:29):
more than an extra 30 minutes.
It makes a difference and animpact the rest of the morning
that you're there because youcan get so much more done in
that first 30 minutes, and thenyou're already ahead all
morning.
SPEAKER_00 (05:44):
Yes, for sure.
And this goes hand in hand withsome of my other tips.
This park is massive.
It is so rough to crisscross.
You need some sort of plan,especially with your ride
lineup, or you will killyourself running back and forth.
Don't ask me how I know.
I think we've all made thatmistake before.
Well, like with the oldlightning lane system, you kind
(06:06):
of didn't have a choice.
So it was just whatever wasavailable.
SPEAKER_01 (06:10):
As a reminder, you know, Epcot has four worlds.
It has world celebration, worlddiscovery, world nature, and
world showcase.
But world celebration, worlddiscovery, and world nature are
all kind of the front half ofthe park.
And then world showcase is thekind of the back half of the
park.
It's massive.
(06:30):
And so, like Crystal said, ifyou're if you're jumping back
and forth, you could probably,if you, as long as you stay in
that front section or as long asyou stay in World Showcase, but
if you're trying to go back andforth, you're gonna be exhausted
soon.
Epcot's also a huge local park,especially on the weekends.
And if there's a festival, theylove to go to the shows and the
(06:53):
food booths during the differentfestivals.
If you cannot avoid going toEpcot on Saturday or Sunday,
just be prepared for theirlarger crowds.
And if you can go on a weekday,you'll probably get a little bit
less traffic than you would onthe weekends.
I mean, I know we've made themistake, you know, and it
wasn't, I don't want to say itwas a mistake yet.
We couldn't avoid it, but goingon like a Saturday and being
(07:16):
there at night on a Saturday,it's so crowded.
SPEAKER_00 (07:20):
Those evenings are especially rough.
SPEAKER_01 (07:22):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (07:23):
If you were coming from the front of Epcot and
there's any sort of line atSpaceship Earth, skip it.
Come back later.
If there's a line, either peopleare dumb and don't realize, or
it's a busy day.
So just try back again later.
You shouldn't wait longer than15 minutes tops.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:41):
Or it could just be too like it could be that
there's a lot of newbies andit's the first thing you see
when you come into the park, andpeople associate Epcot with that
big, you know, golf ball,basically.
And so I think that could alsobe part of it.
That it's right there when youfirst walk in.
SPEAKER_00 (07:58):
And then be like Crystal when she goes on the
ride for the first time and saysWTF.
What is the hype?
It's the best.
You have no nostalgia.
You'll be on my side, I promise.
Speaking of rides, let's let'smove on to rides, attractions,
and experiences.
(08:18):
Ratatouille has a sneaky singlerider line.
If you have older kids, or ifyou've done it before, or if
it's just like you and a friend,definitely take advantage of the
single rider.
It's hard to do if you havelittle kids, though.
So just depends on your party.
SPEAKER_01 (08:34):
Yeah, we're just I think single rider is amazing.
I just we just don't ever use itbecause I'm that person that I
don't I want to ride withwhoever I'm with, and I just
would rather wait.
But not everybody is that way,and it can make a huge
difference in how in your waittime.
Do not skip out on Grand FiestaTour.
I don't think it's as much of asecret as it used to be.
(08:56):
It used to be this little likehidden secret ride.
I think more people know aboutit now, but it is inside the
pyramid that's in the Mexicopavilion.
There's actually a ton of stuffinside that pyramid that you
wouldn't expect.
You walk in and there'sbasically like this little
marketplace with these littleshops, little booths with
shopping.
And then it also has the SanAngel in restaurant that's in
(09:21):
there as well.
So they got a lot going on.
And you walk past basically wentpast all of that, and the ride
entrance is kind of to the backleft.
SPEAKER_00 (09:31):
This is one of John's tips, too.
He said the tree's caballero isalmost always a walk-on.
It's a great sit and chill outof the sun kind of place.
SPEAKER_01 (09:40):
It is.
It's so it's so awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (09:42):
So John and his love for boat rides because it's
basically a nab.
SPEAKER_01 (09:49):
It can be.
They are relaxing and it's dark.
It's a dark boat ride.
SPEAKER_00 (09:54):
And if you haven't been on this ride in a minute,
they have updated the graphics.
And they are amazing.
So definitely give it anotherchance.
SPEAKER_01 (10:02):
So for Ella, this these are her do's and don'ts
for rides.
She says, don't ride Remy's, doride Soren, so don't skip Soren,
don't ride Mission Space Mars.
So there's a Mars and there's anEarth.
So the Mars is the more extremeversion.
Even if you have a pretty toughstomach, I think this one's can
(10:23):
be rough because Ella doesn'treally have those issues that I
know of, or she hasn't, shehasn't in the past, and if this
took her out, don't skip testtrack and don't skip out on
Moana's, which is Moana'sjourney of water.
She just calls it Moana's.
It doesn't, she doesn't want touse all the extra words when she
talks about it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:42):
She's a true Disney person if she doesn't.
Let's see.
Ask to sit in B1 and Soren.
So like on course B row one.
Take it to middle tops so youdon't see like feet dangling
above you.
You don't see Eiffel Towerbending, although I heard it
doesn't anymore.
But this is the this is thespot.
(11:03):
There's not really a bad spot towatch Luminous around the World
Showcase.
I quite enjoy this show.
There's a good Coco Toy Storymashup in there that gets me
every single time.
So this is a good one.
Yeah, what's waterworks when Iwatched it.
Speaking of crisscrossing thepark, did you know you can
actually take a boat across theWorld Showcase if your feet are
(11:24):
done?
It's not the quickest way to getaround, but it might take you
half hour, but go for it.
SPEAKER_01 (11:32):
And you might die of gasoline fumes, but you know.
SPEAKER_00 (11:37):
A lot of people don't realize that you don't
have to ride the Nemo ride tovisit the aquarium.
That line can get super longsometimes.
So just to walk around and gothrough the gift shop, and
there's so much to do to there.
Bruce has like an educationalscavenger hunt.
You can see the manatees.
There's turtle talk.
See if you can spot the divers.
Speaking of Turtle Talk, Johnsays if you have little kids,
(11:59):
you should not be missing TurtleTalk Crush.
Again, dark, AC place to sitdown.
Also, adult humor.
Very interactive.
My kids always get picked forsome reason.
They always have the funniestthings to say.
SPEAKER_01 (12:11):
Also, something that's kind of fun.
Right outside of the Germanypavilion, there's a little
German train town.
It's fun to watch it.
Rob showed me an article.
It was it was being funny.
I think it might, it was eithera reel or a meme or something
like that, that said it was likebreaking news.
The train fell off the track atDisney World, and it was a
(12:34):
little Germany train.
SPEAKER_00 (12:37):
John had best parked for rides.
This is his favorite park.
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
That's interesting.
I don't think people associateEpcot with rides as much.
SPEAKER_00 (12:44):
So but he he said Cardians, he said test track, he
said Brozen, he said Soren.
Yeah.
He said Tracy Caballeros.
He could, he's fine with Rimmys.
He's never been on SpaceshipEarth and he's never been on
Living with the Land.
So he didn't even add those tohis list.
SPEAKER_01 (13:03):
I can't believe he hasn't.
He needs to add Living with theLand to his sleeping I know his
tour of sleeping with the Land.
SPEAKER_00 (13:10):
I always go with like a shoulder swap while
they're like doing guardians,I'll run over or like soaring.
I'll go do that.
And he's finding food while I'mwriting.
So it's not always his priority,I guess.
SPEAKER_01 (13:23):
So moving on to food, dining, and drinks.
Epcot is for sure very famousfor its four festivals.
For the most part, there's afestival going on pretty much
all the time.
There are little breaks inbetween them, but make sure when
you're going to check out ifthere's a festival happening,
(13:46):
because you need to have a planof action because there's always
extra shows and experiences.
They have food booths there.
The food booths are a wholevibe.
There are like people go just togo to these food booths.
There's always a foodie guidethat you can use, and they have
festival booth guides availableonce you enter the park.
So you know where to go or youcan see what the different
(14:08):
booths have.
If you're going during afestival, you really should plan
to stop at multiple booths justto try a couple of different
options.
A lot of times people go andthey just graze on different
meals or different snacks fromthe food booths instead of
having like a meal meal.
SPEAKER_00 (14:27):
That would be me.
SPEAKER_01 (14:28):
That would be crystal, yes.
SPEAKER_00 (14:30):
We each get a small plate and share, and then you
can eat a lot more.
SPEAKER_01 (14:34):
Yeah, like a lot of people like go and they'll split
whatever's available and thenthey just go from booth to booth
to booth.
Just as an FYI, the upcomingfestivals for the next year.
The festival of the holidays forthis year starts on November
28th and goes through December30th.
I'm not sure if food and wineprobably goes through most of
(14:56):
the month this month.
And then there's like a maybe aweek break um over Thanksgiving.
Festival of the Arts is January16th through February 23rd,
2026.
There's a little bit of a break,and Flower Garden Festival
starts on March 4th and goesthrough June 1st of 2026, and
then Food and Wine.
(15:16):
There's a little bit of a biggerbreak over the summer,
basically, and then food andwine festival starts August 27th
and goes through November 21stof 2026.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
You all know me and my coke machines.
The best to embark are at RegalEagle.
They have the good ice andfountain machine and the
connections eatery if you're onthe front side.
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
Ella says she really liked Space 220.
She liked the food.
There's been criticism that it'snot worth the money, but she
really enjoyed it.
She loved the theming.
She loved like riding theelevator up to space.
She thought that was so fun.
And then she also had the poprock drink, and she recommends
it.
SPEAKER_00 (15:57):
If you listen to Ella and try for Space 220, miss
out on the reservation, you cancheck with the host about
getting a walk-up baravailability day up.
They don't have like a wait liston the app or anything.
You have to actually talk to thehost.
And this is specifically for thebar, not for the lounge, not for
the restaurant, but you can atleast experience space 220 and
(16:20):
what it has to offer.
SPEAKER_01 (16:21):
Yeah, it is fun.
It is a fun atmosphere for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (16:24):
Dawn's favorite quick service, if you are not
doing a festival booth, is theuh in Mexico, the San Angel, and
the one on the side of thewater.
Yeah.
Great food, but it's hard toalways find a table.
It's very hard to find a table.
But sometimes if you keep goingthrough the little pavilion
(16:46):
around the water side, therestaurant, they'll open some of
that seating in the back.
Mm-hmm.
In the water, it's hit and missbecause it depends on time of
day.
But that's our favorite quickservice.
SPEAKER_01 (16:57):
Earlier, I mentioned using the food booths as kind of
your meal, like going around toeach one and getting a little
bite here and there.
But on the flip side, Epcot isthe best park for great sit-down
restaurant options.
Compared to the other threeparks, it has by far the most
restaurants.
It has more than double whatMagic Kingdom has, and it has
(17:19):
four and five times whatHollywood Studios and Animal
Kingdom has, which is crazy whenI was looking at the numbers.
It's mind-blowing to think that.
Yeah.
I mean, I look when I waslooking at it, you know, Epcot
has, I think, like 19 or 20options, and Hollywood Studios
and Animal Kingdom have likefour or five each.
It's really no matter what foodor vibe you're looking for, they
(17:41):
they're gonna have it.
So they have you know very fancyoptions that are more expensive,
but then they also have kind ofa more relaxed feel as well.
Ella has um a couple ofadditional tips for food.
She says to go to Karamakucheand get lots of Worthers.
SPEAKER_00 (17:59):
This is on John's list too because it is amazing.
He's made me like bring himthrough the airport the caramel
cookie sandwich.
SPEAKER_01 (18:07):
Oh, yes.
I always have to bring back thedark chocolate caramel squares
for Rob.
I always get the giganticturtle, it's so good.
It's my favorite from there.
And Ella also says to go get afunnel cake from the American
Pavilion.
SPEAKER_00 (18:22):
Oh, very nice.
John's other is getting thecroque glacé.
It's ice cream, it's like an icecream sandwich in a brioche bun
in France.
It's not everybody's cup of tea.
I think we've talked about itbefore.
We love it because it's like thewarm outside, the cool, cold
inside.
Just go simple with it.
Don't overthink it.
That's a favorite.
(18:42):
And then his other one that hementioned was Club Cool to try
all the different sodas.
And everybody should try theBeverly.
SPEAKER_01 (18:50):
You definitely should ask unsuspecting people
to try that Beverly for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (18:54):
Oh, yeah, we definitely did that for my
father-in-law the last time wetook him.
All right, family and kidactivities.
One of my favorite things aboutEpcot is just how much my kids
love it.
Do not underestimate it andthink it's just an adult part.
It is for kids too.
They're always something to dofor the kids.
I think Julie's gonna talk moreabout there's kid cot stops,
(19:16):
there is the Play Disney app,and you can play the Dovetails
Adventure.
There are festival scavengerhunts.
There are so many things forthem.
SPEAKER_01 (19:25):
Yeah, I have a couple of things.
If you have a kiddo that lovesanimals and science in general,
you could spend hours, trulyhours, at the aquarium.
Because believe me, I have withmy child, she wants to look at
everything.
And the aquarium is pretty big,it's a pretty big space, and
there's lots to look at.
(19:46):
There's a Dory scavenger huntthat comes with a free little
booklet with stickers, and asyou get to each experience, you
you know add your sticker to thebook.
It's a super fun thing.
And like Crystal mentioned, youalso have Kid Cot.
There are Kid Cot fun stops ateach of the 11 international
pavilions.
There is some type of craft orexperience that teaches the
(20:08):
children and adults really aboutthe different cultures around
the world.
In the Mexico pavilion, it isnear Mexico Folk Art Gallery.
In the Norway pavilion, it's atthe Puffins Roost China
Pavilion, it's near the exit ofReflections of China in Germany.
It is at Bonkus.
(20:29):
I'm probably saying that wrong.
Italy pavilion, it's outside ofLa Bottega Italiana in the
American Adventure Pavilion.
It's outside Art of Disney,Japan Pavilion, it is in the
jutsu con gallery, Morocco.
It's at the marketplace in theMedina for the France Pavilion.
(20:50):
It is at the Souvenirs deFrance, and then United Kingdom
at the Toy Soldier, and thenlast but not least at the
Canadian Pavilion.
It's at the exit of Canada farand wide.
And they are very easy to spot.
There is a big sign that saysKidcot fun stop.
And I think the signs areyellow, so they stand out and
(21:10):
you can see them.
SPEAKER_00 (21:11):
To go hand in hand with the Kid Cot thing, this is
the most educational park.
If you need a school excuse,Ebcot is your place.
You are learning about differentcultures, you're looking
learning about like differentcycles of the earth, you're
learning about space, the watercycle.
Every corner of this park issecretly educational, and I will
that.
Yeah, it's great.
I dare say that this is also thebest park for characters,
(21:35):
especially if you have princesslovers, you have storybook
dining at Akrishish, the RoyalBanquet Hall, and you get four
or five, six princesses,depending on the day.
You also see Anna and Elsa inNorway, Jasmine in Morocco,
Milan in China, Snow White inGermany, Aurora and Belle in
France, Moana Near and JourneyWater, and then Mary Poppins and
(21:58):
Alice aren't officialprincesses, but you'll see them
in England as well.
SPEAKER_01 (22:02):
Moving on to some options for relaxation or just
like downtime, kind of chillingout.
This is a great park toliterally stop and smell the
roses.
One of the things that theywould have been working on,
anybody that's been to Disney inthe last like four to five years
knows that there were walls upat Epcot for a majority of that
(22:22):
time because they've beenworking on reimagining
everything and the walls arefinally down.
And they came down, I believe,last summer.
Like for the most part, they allcame down.
And when I say last summer, Imean like 2024 last summer.
They created this beautiful areain world celebration, this
garden area.
And they have flowers and plantswith benches where you can just
(22:43):
sit and chill out.
They generally rotate throughthe different flowers and plants
depending on the festival themeat that point.
So I love being in this area,especially early morning when
there's not a lot of people inthe park yet.
It's also right next to theStarbucks.
So that's a nice perk as well.
SPEAKER_00 (23:02):
We know why you go there.
I also had on my list that thisthere are lots of places for
downtime or just slow going.
Moana's Journey of Water throughthe countries, the English
gardens, the Canadianwaterfalls, the water feature in
Morocco, Street and Sphere inItaly in Morocco, the band in
Canada.
Do not underestimate going backinto the countries.
(23:25):
There's more than just like thefront facade.
Like there's more.
Absolutely.
If you see a door closed, tryit.
If it opens, go for it.
Like there's so much many hiddenlittle things.
SPEAKER_01 (23:37):
Ella says, again, you can tell this is my child.
Go to the Starbucks and then sitin the gardens and relax for a
little bit.
She did say it doesn't have tobe Starbucks.
She said you can get it any anykind of treat, but to go sit in
that little space because it'sit's a nice quiet spot.
SPEAKER_00 (23:54):
That's funny.
John also mentioned the gardensin Canada is a good place to
escape the crowds.
I think you've seen more thewaterfall.
There's just like the whole likelittle place back there.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
Yeah.
If this is an adults-only trip,I would focus on rides first
thing in the morning.
So like get there, hit therides, get as much done as you
can, and then around lunchtime,kind of walk over to World
Showcase and just mosey aroundthe entire World Showcase.
(24:28):
Like Crystal was saying, like goand explore in the different
areas, get yourself some adultbeverages, get some food from
the booths, and just don't haveany kind of major plan.
Just walk around.
And then if you do want to do asit-down meal, do sit-down meal
later in the evening and try totime it so that you can see
(24:50):
luminous potentially.
There's a couple differentplaces you could sit.
If you want to time it right,you can sit at the Rose and
Crown.
Um, they have outdoor seating,La Hacienda de San Angel.
There's the water seating thatCrystal was just talking about,
and then also Spice Road table.
They all have outdoor seatingthat's right there around the
lagoon, and it's a great spotfor fireworks if you can sit
(25:12):
down at the right time.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
Our favorite bathrooms are the ones on the
outside of the Odyssey building.
They are good and centrallylocated, they are always empty,
and there's the baby care centeris right there too.
You need that.
SPEAKER_01 (25:28):
Yeah, we were just talking about before we started
recording that for some reasonpeople don't go over there, and
it's like one of the best spots.
SPEAKER_00 (25:36):
Although I dare say I use that bridge between the
Odyssey and like up to Guardianslike four or five times on an
Epcot day because I use that asa cutthroat.
I don't use like the main track.
SPEAKER_01 (25:47):
Yeah, yeah.
And I don't think people use it,they just don't.
They don't associate it withgoing back to Guardians.
Another thing that if you arestaying at an Epcot resort or a
Skyliner resort, it's super easyto go back to your resort, to
chill out for a little bit,maybe rest, get off your feet,
and then come back right beforeLumina starts to see the show.
(26:11):
It is one of my favorite thingsabout staying at an Epcot resort
or this or a resort that's onthe Skyliner.
It's so easy to do.
And then I have one last thingfrom Ella, which is a little
odd, but she says to look at thedolls by the chocolate shop.
And I think she means CaramelKuche.
I don't think they're alwaysthere.
(26:31):
There's sometimes this littlekind of little pop-up kiosk area
that has they're like porcelaindolls.
And for whatever reason, thegirls always like to stop and
look at them.
They're not all themed to likeDisney princesses, but they do
have Disney princess versions ofthe dolls.
And they are very pretty.
But she thought that that wasimportant to note.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
Jumping into your most important list here.
SPEAKER_01 (26:58):
Moving to the coffee spots, I definitely think this
was a good ad for our top tips.
So for Epcot, you have theConnections Cafe in World
Celebration.
That is the Starbucks location.
And it is because it's new, theyre- completely redid all of this
in this area.
(27:19):
So it's brand new.
It's a larger space than theStarbucks and the other parks.
So you don't feel like you'recrammed in there because some of
the other, some of theStarbucks, the other parks, like
the line goes out the doorbecause there's just not enough
space to hold all the people.
And this one definitely hasaccounted for that for Joffrey's
(27:39):
locations.
If you are coming in from thefront entrance, so where the
monorail is, there is aJoffrey's right next to where
the monorail station is.
It's like as you're walking in,it's on the left.
If you're coming in from theinternational gateway side, you
want to go left after you crossthe bridge.
And that well, I guess theinitial bridge, the initial,
(28:01):
like as you're walking up thehill, you want to go to the
left.
And there is one between, orit's like right on the edge of
the UK and Canada.
I think it's officially inCanada, but it's like right
there on the line.
If you are venturing between thetwo halves of the park, there's
a location next to DisneyTraders.
That is just inside WorldShowcase side of the park, and
(28:23):
it's kind of going in thedirection of Mexico.
So if you're coming from thefront of the park, you're going
to take kind of a slight left orgo to the left to go towards
Mexico, and it's right there.
In the American pavilion, thereis one on the Italy side, like
it's almost actually in Italy,like right as you're walking
from Italy into the AmericanPavilion, it's on, it's right
there.
And then World Discovery, it isclose to Guardians.
(28:46):
If you're actually coming out ofthe Connections eatery and
you're heading towards Guardian,you'll you'll see it.
It's right there.
And as you can tell, I've beento all of them.
I know exactly where they allare.
SPEAKER_00 (28:59):
And then we're gonna hop into my most important list:
the shopping.
These are also you just uniqueexperiences because Ebcot is
full of them.
Each country, I feel like, hassomething unique.
But Japan, you can pick a pearlout of an oyster that you can
get set in like a piece ofjewelry.
You can just take the pearl.
Very cool experience.
(29:20):
They do like drums and the wholething.
And it's like relatively likedecent price.
It's not astronomical.
In Germany, you can watch glassblowing or you can create glass
art at the uh glassnut kiosk.
You can make like a nightlight,you can do like a picture frame,
just a fun different souvenir.
(29:41):
They probably have ornamentsthat you could do right now, I
think.
Yeah, probably.
And they'll like send it to you.
There's the behind the scenestour with Olivia with the land
at the Seas Pavilion.
You can do Die Quest, you canactually die.
You do need to be certified.
(30:02):
In the Mijikoshi departmentstore in Japan, you can find a
replica samurai sword and buyit.
Take it home with you.
In the UK, you can get yourpersonal family crest in the
crown and crest shop.
In Italy, you can get Venetiancarnival masks.
And also in Germany, you canfind$2,000 cuckoo clocks.
(30:22):
And one of my favorite stops inGermany is the Steif stuffed
animals.
You can get Mickey and Minnieand Pooh.
And we have an adorable puppy inour house, and they're the
cutest.
You can find unique pre-packedsnacks like potato chips from
China in each of the pavilions.
(30:42):
And then another one is I'mgonna butcher this.
Le Vins de France is acompletely different kind of
experience.
It's kind of hidden inside thegift shop.
It's right across from LaArtisan de Glass.
And then here you can buybottles of wine and champagne to
take home, but you can also buywine and champagne by the glass.
(31:04):
And everybody raves about thechampagne bar, but it's just
like unique and they havedifferent flights.
And then John's tip was he lovesthe store in Japan.
I mean Mitsuhi Department Store.
It just keeps going.
It like wraps, like you go inand goes around the left, and it
(31:25):
just yeah.
You can find Mario in there.
SPEAKER_01 (31:29):
You can find it's crazy the amount of stuff that
they have in there.
SPEAKER_00 (31:33):
I was talking to John, we just daydream all the
time about our travel plans forthe year.
And if I asked him if he couldpick one park for a day, he
would pick Epcot over and overagain.
We love Epcot so much, it'sdefinitely our favorite.
I know Magic Kingdom has thatrep, but even my kids, they love
Epcot.
So don't underestimate thispark.
SPEAKER_01 (31:54):
Yeah.
Actually, when we were there, Iguess about a month ago, we were
trying to decide if we weregonna go to another park other
than the other than the MagicKingdom, and everybody, like
hands down, was it was Epcot.
Like if we were gonna go, thatwas gonna be our option.
So it's definitely one of Rob'sfavorites.
(32:15):
A lot of times, like even oncewe come back, no matter what
park we were at earlier in theday, a lot of times the girls
and I come back to the resortand we're just hanging out at
the pool or you know, doingnothing, he'll take Skyliner
over to Epcot and just walkaround, just to give himself
like time away just to himself.
And he loves to walk around thepark.
SPEAKER_00 (32:34):
It hurts my heart when people are like, we want to
do three days and we're gonnagive Epcot.
Like, there's so much there.
Because if you've been and likeexperienced it, people just have
no idea the sheer volume ofthings you can find to do.
SPEAKER_01 (32:51):
Yeah.
Even I was when I was thinkingabout it, I don't necessarily
think about it as a heavy ridepark.
I think of all the other thingsthat you can do.
But as you were talking aboutJohn listing out all the fun
rides that are there, it hasgreat options for the rides.
And it just on top of it, it hasall these other options that you
(33:13):
can go do.
It's a very versatile park.
So if you have some people thatwant to do just rides, and you
have people that don't want todo rides, like all of you can go
and have something that you canenjoy at Epcot.
SPEAKER_00 (33:24):
For sure.
We need to get him on thepodcast, it would be hilarious.
He was trying to list out histop 10 rides over all of Walt
Disney World.
And I think five or six of themwere Epcot, and then you had
like one from one park, one fromanother park.
High and above, the majority wasEpcot, and then you had one or
two sprinkled in from the otherparks.
SPEAKER_01 (33:42):
I'm thinking maybe if we can get John and Rob
together once they like meet inperson and then get them on the
podcast, they would behilarious.
SPEAKER_00 (33:53):
I might we might just have to get them like
talking, and I might just turnon a voice memo and just as a
fun as episode because they bothclaim they're not Disney Adult,
but they have very strongopinions about this place.
SPEAKER_01 (34:07):
Yeah.
And the whole like, I don't wantto be on mic.
People are afraid of being onthe microphone.
SPEAKER_00 (34:11):
Not us.
Thanks for hanging out andlistening to all of us.
SPEAKER_01 (34:18):
This is such a fun episode.
I love really truly, I know Isaid the beginning, but I love
these episodes.
These are my favorite to gothrough.
Love pulling out the things thatwe all love and that our
families love to do, but alsobeing able to turn them into
tips for all of you to benefitfrom some of the experiences
that we've had and we've kind oftried and true methods that
(34:40):
we've used to go to the parks.
SPEAKER_00 (34:42):
I think that's all we have today.
So if you would do us a30-second favor and go leave us
a review, it would be the bestholiday gift to us, please.
SPEAKER_01 (34:50):
It is.
It's that time of year.
It's the most wonderful time ofthe year, and we would enjoy
some additional reviews to helpour little podcast grow.
Thank you so much, everybody,for listening this week.
We appreciate all of you.
We hope you all have a wonderfulweek, and we'll talk to you next
week.
Bye.
(35:18):
Thanks for tuning in to anotherepisode of Wonderlust and
Wishes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast platform.
And remember, the world is fullof wonders waiting to be
explored.
Until next time, happy travels.
Bye for now.
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