Disney World: Epcot

Our final day of visiting the Disney World parks was spent at Epcot. I had visited Epcot during a family trip when I was 16, but only had a few, vague memories, most of which involved being really hot! And while it was hot the day we went, we will have good memories of our visit there. 

The Girls on the Go after Mission: Space

Inside the ride at Test Track- we were going really fast!

The view of the World Showcase side of Epcot, from across the lake

Germany pavilion

Gate to China 

Meeting a troll in Norway

Viking Girls on the Go

Ni Hao, Mulan!

Elliott was disappointed Mushu was not there with Mulan.

Bonjour, Belle!

Meeting Jasmine and Aladdin in Morocco

The drumming Jamm-itors

The only treat we bought in four days at Disney- a Mickey shaped ice cream sandwich, which I made them share. 

Family photo in front of the "big ball", Spaceship Earth

"Hold your arms up. No, higher. Like, really higher.... Oh, never mind. Click!"

So pretty at night!

Fireworks during the IllumiNations show. These were the best fireworks I have ever seen, and when combined with the music, lights and images, it was amazing! 

One thing to know about Epcot is that it is BIG. You could easily waste a lot of time walking around if you weren't purposeful about where you were going. At least there are interesting things to see in Future World and the areas for each country are just beautiful. Also, there are a lot of attractions that many kids would probably find interesting if they were on a school field trip, but might not be in the mindset to enjoy while on a Disney vacation. So if you are going to Epcot with kids, it's a good idea to read up on what each attraction entails and make some decisions ahead of time about what will be worth your time and walking. There were quite a few things we did not visit, but used that time to finally meet some Disney characters. Of course my girls are old enough to understand that they are just actors playing a character, but they still enjoyed it, and all of the characters were great- they really play the part and talk to each child for a minute. We also left the park for a while in the afternoon and took a nap at the hotel. Here's what we liked at Epcot:
Loved it!
Soarin'
Test Track
IllumiNations show (except Elliott, who may have thought it was supposed to be a parade and was slightly bored)
Meeting Belle, Mulan, Jasmine & Aladdin 
It was fun
Mission: Space
Three Caballeros 
Maelstrom 
Turtle Talk with Crush
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Designing race cars and making commercials in Test Track pavilion
Trying sodas of the world at Club Cool

We had a good day at Epcot and ended our time in the parks on a good note. The girls were sad it was over, but as we stepped off of the monorail for the last time, we were all smiling!