We’re taking you to the magical world of EPCOT at Disney World! In this episode we share everything you need to know to make the most of your one-day visit from the best rides and hidden gem bathrooms to festival tips, must-try drinks, and what to eat in every country around the World Showcase.

We highly recommend staying at the nearby Signia by Hilton in Orlando. It is a Disney affiliated property with a free shuttle to the park and an amazing lazy river!

• Tips for planning the perfect one-day EPCOT itinerary
• How to use Lightning Lane and the Disney app to your advantage
• The best rides to prioritize (and how to ride Guardians of the Galaxy twice!)
• Where to eat, drink & explore in every World Showcase pavilion
• Festival highlights and when to visit for the best weather

There’s a lot more things to do in Orlando outside of Disney World, check out our curated Viator Experiences List for our best recommendations.

We have a few other episodes on Disney parks around the world, if you love Disney too, check out our episodes featuring Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland!

Find a great flight deal to Orlando by signing up for Thrifty Traveler Premium and watching the daily flight deals (points & cash) that are emailed directly to you! Use our promo code TS10 to get $10 off your first year subscription.

EPCOT Travel Guide – Episode Transcript

0:35

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad Podcast. Today we are taking you to Disney’s Epcot.

I’m really excited to talk about this episode about Epcot. I don’t want to say we are Disney adults, but let’s not kid ourselves.

0:53

We’ve had episodes talking about Disney parks or adventures to them around the world.

Why we’re talking about Epcot today is Kim has finally gotten on the Epcot bandwagon and went to Epcot when you were recently there.

What earlier this here, right, Kim, mid February, mid February.

1:11

So you love the park?

We love the park.

I think it’s one of the most unique Disney parks.

That’s not specifically a Disneyland or Magic Kingdom with the castle, right, one of the special theme ones.

So we’re giving you guys the inside talking all about Epcot, its uniqueness, and why you guys should go, and of course, how to hack it and get the most out of your Disney day.

1:32

The first time Jamal and I went to Epcot, we it was our first time at Disney World and this was way back in like 2012, 2013, so over 10 years ago.

And then we just had finished all of the Disney World parks and we finally started to go back to them.

1:51

And when we went back to Disney World for a second round, we started with Epcot again.

And when did we go?

Jamal like 2 years ago, we.

Went two years ago, yeah, I believe it was 2023.

Was it nice?

We’ve been to Epcot twice and like Britney said, the first time we went to Epcot, the reason why we did that, the first of the Disney World 4, is because it is the most unique of the parks that they have there.

2:14

There’s nothing like that in terms of the rides, theming or anything at our native California park.

So this is one of the most unique and rightfully so.

It’s a great park.

I’m excited to talk about that.

Kim, what drew you to Epcot?

It was actually how much people talk about how much they love it.

2:32

It’s a foodie haven.

We are going to talk about drinking around the world, which is what really caught my eye.

And I will say I do love that.

If you’re going to go eat and drink, it’s amazing for that, but it’s not like what you typically think of for parks where you’re gonna go on rides and that’s what the day is.

2:52

The hype was high.

It is good, but the hype was high.

OK.

So you’re saying it didn’t live up to it though, but you still thoroughly enjoyed?

It I’m really glad that I went OK, but it’s I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite Disney park OK, but I did love it.

OK, OK, fair enough.

3:09

Real quick then, what’s your favorite Disney park?

Shanghai Disney.

OK.

OK, that’s.

The top one for well, that’s true, but when I say that I’m also thinking favorite Disney park that’s not actually a castled park, you know, so possibly that might be favorite.

That’s a non castled park, Animal Kingdom, Animal Kingdom.

3:27

There you go.

All right, Well then we’ll have to do an episode on that later.

But a little bit about Epcot, you know, we kind of mentioned it.

It is one of the Disney World four that they have in Orlando, FL.

This is actually the second Disney park.

So this is the first time Disney ever built a park that was not a castle oriented one that we’re used to again with like Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, etcetera.

3:51

And the reason why they built this one is originally like when Walt Disney decided California was too small, he needed to branch out to Florida.

He already had visions of this park.

He never got to see Disney World in Florida open, nor obviously this park, but he had an idea of an experimental prototype Community of Tomorrow.

4:12

And if you haven’t caught that, that’s the acronym right there for Epcot, where it just showcases human innovation, cultures, etcetera.

And he originally wanted people to live in the park actually, as well as come in and visit it, but that was never really the case.

4:29

Of course, it’s just a ticketed amusement park, but it really acts as a year round world’s fair themed to exactly what I just talked about, human innovation, how we interact with the land, technology, and of course, showcasing different cultures.

4:44

So this park opened in October of 1982.

So again, first time Disney had ever built a second amusement park at one of its locations.

So this is the trailblazer.

Did not know that.

That’s what the acronyms did for.

Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

5:01

Exactly and.

Maybe one day people will live there.

Yeah, maybe one day.

So like I said, it acts as a year round World’s Fair.

Of course, all Disney parks, they have their lands with different themes.

Here in Epcot, they’ve transitioned over time to having different areas.

5:17

They’ve always had the World’s Showcase where they have the pavilions of the different cultures.

We’ll talk about those countries where they have the pavilions made off of, but they have World Celebration as one of the lands which actually highlights like Human Progress Celebration, World of Discovery, which is clients and tech oriented, and then of course, World of Nature, which if you can’t tell nature, so agriculture, oceanic discovery, etc.

5:44

So really, everything tied to human activity.

Well, we like to start with tips, so let’s give some tips for visiting Epcot.

When we visited Epcot it’s been either in January or February and it’s been warm of both times, so I can only imagine year round, especially in the summer, how warm it can be.

6:05

And the parks are pretty big.

So wear comfy shoes and then wear something for that’s light, comfortable hat, sunscreen and all of that because it’s going to be warm no matter what time you visit.

I love to go to Disney parks, but I want to say this is probably the best tip because Florida, no disrespect to Florida, I’m just going to say it.

6:26

Weather during the summer, disgusting, humid.

I don’t know how anyone spends all day standing in line in that heat and humidity.

So really go when the weather is more appropriate because it’s always going to be warm.

But yeah, do not go Midsummer.

That’s just going to be outrageous.

Lines are going to be long and it’s going to be hot and gross.

6:43

I will be going at the end of July not to Epcot but another Disney park.

No, but that’s in California though.

No, you’re going back to Florida and doing that.

Well then you can come back and let everyone know how bad of an idea that.

Was don’t get some swap backs.

Better plan your I will.

6:59

Not be wearing nude shorts this time.

Another tip is to stay at a Disney affiliated hotel.

There are some perks.

You will be closer and also Disney affiliated hotels have a shuttle, a free shuttle that will take you to and from the park at a scheduled itinerary for free and you get in 30 minutes early.

7:19

And I know you, Jamal, are real stickler for getting there on time.

Yes, I love to get there on time if I’m not at the park at least like 30 minutes before it opens.

Doesn’t have to be Epcot.

Any amusement park.

I feel like the day’s already lost.

Especially at Disney.

You could get so many rides in within that first hour to really get the most of your money.

7:38

And if you can actually get in an extra 30 minutes early before general opening to the public, that’s, I mean a game changer.

Caveat with that of course if you’re staying on Disney property, Disney affiliated hotel, it’s going to be more expensive but up to you to figure out if that is a pro worth your money.

7:57

There are some Disney affiliated hotels that are part of the Hilton Honors program, so if you work it out right you could use points.

There you go.

Another really good tip, and it’s become this way with any Disney park and I think a lot of amusement parks now is download the affiliated app for that amusement park.

8:15

If you don’t have an app now, more specifically, actually the My Disney Experience app that’s specific to Disney World.

I mean, you can’t do anything.

You can’t get your fast passes.

And that’s an ancient word that doesn’t exist anymore.

But if you’re a Disney person, you still refer to it as a fast pass, right?

You have to register your part.

8:31

Tickets are on there now and you really do need that and it’s a great tool beyond because it will tell you what the line wait time is for each attraction.

You can kind of have a game plan without having to go to that line or attraction.

See how long it is, Decide to change your mind.

8:47

You have U to the second, U to the minute wait times.

You can also make restaurant recommendations through that app.

Excellent.

Yeah.

And see what the carts have serving like for food wise too.

Like when we were in Tokyo, I was looking at it to see what does this food cart serve so I can decide is that where we want to go or not?

9:05

That’s fantastic.

Another tip for you guys is to load your whole group’s ticket if you’re going with a group onto the app so you can make, book, make the booking for everyone at once.

If you guys all want to ride together, it’s a great way to do it.

Otherwise then if you’re doing it per person, you may get different times and you may not be able to ride together.

9:25

Yep, see so how Look at how everything is oriented and tied to the app now.

Like if the app is really an integrated experience as part of Disney.

So you do need that.

And another good tip, I mentioned Fastpass earlier but read up on Lightning Lane.

So Fastpass was Disney these original way of bypassing the long wait times.

9:46

You used to be able to actually take your park ticket, go to the entrance or exit of that attraction.

It would spit out a ticket for you to return within an hour window and you got to bypass the entire wait time and you would wait no more than 510 minutes, you know.

10:02

So if a line was two hours long, here you are 510 minutes when you come back at that window.

They have gotten rid of that free system, unfortunately gotten cheap.

I’m just going to come out and say it’s a sad thing, but it has actually happened and turned it into Lightning Lane at Disney World.

10:18

So you need the app to utilize that and now you actually have to pay to get your return time to bypass the line.

So it’s no longer free purchased through the app.

And I think they even charge you based off of how busy the park is that day, how long the wait time is at the time that you actually are trying to utilize it and purchase it.

10:38

So there’s lots of things that are funky about it.

And I’m not talking about like Lightning Lane.

If you go to Disneyland, they call it Genie Plus.

So the Disney parks don’t even have a uniform system now for what they’re evolved Fastpass is.

So read up on it.

10:53

The rules, they change it constantly.

What rides are allowed, what aren’t.

I don’t want to go on to all that now because things always change.

But read up on Lightning Lane.

And I will say, after going two months ago now, I wish that I had bought in the Lightning Lane because there were some rides we waited an hour to get on and there was one ride in particular we never got to get on.

11:13

Which ride was that?

The Guardians of the Galaxy.

Very, very disappointing.

What buzzkill that is.

That’s probably the best ride at Epcot.

I will say now, I loved it a lot, but all the more reason for you to go back.

And I know you said you weren’t in love, in love with the park, but I know you like drinking around the world.

11:30

We’re going to talk about that later, so we’ll give you an excuse to do it again.

And the Lightning Pass will help you with your drinking around the world excursion because you’ll be able to move through faster and move on to the next pavilion.

Yes.

And along with researching the Lightning Lane, Disney has implemented what’s called virtual queues, where you can’t even decide to show up to the line at that ride and stand in it.

11:53

You actually have to through the app, get a reservation to do the standby line, not even paid to come back and bypass to actually do that.

Guardians of the Galaxy when you went was the virtual queue.

They’ve recently taken that away as of the end of February.

12:08

So you just barely missed it and you would have been able to probably use the lightning lane or just stand in line.

They’ve taken that away, but point being, double check whatever park you’re going to, if they’ve reinstituted the virtual queue or if any new attractions are virtual queue and how to work that if that’s the case to ensure that you can ride that ride.

12:29

Kim, when you went, did you stay at a Disney property?

Yes I stayed at the hilt Insignia.

It did have a free shuttle and it’s a great property.

They have an amazing lazy river, they have tons of restaurants on site, great bar on site, great rooms.

12:45

I loved that hotel.

I would definitely stay there again.

We have not stayed on property for actually we did stay on property.

We stayed in the all.

Stars.

We did.

We did.

We stayed in their budget Disney hotels when we went the first time it.

Was way back in 2012.

13:00

That’s it for being a budget hotel.

I mean, it was an elevated like Motel 6 theme.

I don’t want to say themes to Disney because, I mean, it was a sports theme.

I mean, it wasn’t terrible.

Don’t get me wrong.

It wasn’t like, oh, it’s a gross Motel 6, but you’re getting no frills with it, right?

13:18

It’s what you would expect on Disney property.

We did that for the perks that actually came with staying on hotels there.

Of course, what the perks are change as time goes on.

But yeah, that that’s what we did.

But later on in the the future, if we go back again, it may be worth doing that.

13:35

And there could be other incentives.

Like we just got back from Tokyo again.

We went to Tokyo Disney Sea.

They opened a new land.

In order to even get into that land, you had to stay on Disney property.

But they took that away and we were fortunate enough that they didn’t have that requirement when we went.

13:54

But just a month before, we knew other people who had gone to Tokyo to go to the Disney parks and they weren’t able to get into the land because they weren’t staying on Disney property.

All these rules, I know I don’t like it.

I mean I still will go to Disney but like I really don’t like all these rules but all.

The rules?

14:10

It really is the happiest place on Earth.

You can Magical day, you can definitely have a good time.

So I know you stayed at the Hilton, but there are a couple properties that are close particularly to Epcot because I know we’re kind of going on Disney tangents, but we’re really focusing on Epcot here too.

So if you are going to be going to Epcot, several properties that are close by are going to be the Disney Beach Club Resort, the Disney Boardwalk Inn and the Disney Yacht Club, and these are within walking distance.

14:37

So if you’ve never been to Disney World before, Disney World property is the size of the entire island of Manhattan.

It’s huge with the park spread all over the place, other activities, hotels.

So these are some of the big name ones that are right by Epcot Walkable Inn.

So you don’t have to take the shuttle.

14:53

You could just walk and not have to worry about that time and ideally get that 30 minutes early.

You’re right there.

Yacht Club has a great steakhouse too.

Oh, very nice.

Did you eat at it then?

I did.

Excellent.

And you don’t have to go to Epcot to eat out.

There, of course, it’s a you don’t.

Actually have to go to any Disney park to go into these resorts and walk around the property.

15:12

Yeah, that’s one of the things that I like about it.

I mean, it’s like a large Downtown Disney, so to speak, if you’ve only been to California.

But again, size of the island of Manhattan, it’s huge, so.

Size matters, yes.

So I’ve heard before.

So we talked a little bit about what to wear while you’re there, but when should you visit?

15:31

We talked, we talked about this a little bit and we’ve been in January and February, Kims going to brave it out and go in July, but the best time to go is September through March when the weather is better, definitely.

Yeah, I was there in February.

Was still sweaty.

Yeah, and hot.

You could expect that in Florida, but it’s going to be worse when you go during the summer.

15:51

But you may want to go during the summer.

And I’ll tell you why, right?

Because Epcot, like I mentioned, is pretty much a permanent World’s fair.

One of the unique things that people really love about Epcot is pretty much every month or every quarter, so to speak, calendar year, quarter, they have a different theme or festival that goes on.

16:10

And those different festivals draw people to it where there’s just different themings within the park.

And even within the World Showcase, which again, we haven’t mentioned the countries that have the pavilions, they will always have the staple restaurants, food items, etcetera.

But during these festivals they actually have unique foods, bites, beverages, etcetera that you can try in addition to their permanent offerings.

16:35

So during the month of January, it’s the International Festival of the Arts.

So that’s January through February, so you could read up specifically on what’s each festival is, what it offers, but that’s the first one in the year during that time.

That’s that was happening when I was there and I did try some unique food.

16:53

So I’ll have like pop up stations that are from food from a different country, Yeah.

Yeah, we were there when we went in January.

Same thing pop up stations and my favorite thing was like a beef Wellington that we got.

Who my favorite thing was like this empanada and this delicious soup.

17:11

The food offerings are worth it, so you should go and of course read forums, blogs and get tips and advice from people who have experienced the food before so you can figure out what you want or try it all.

I’m not going to sit here and say every bite that you put in your mouth is going to be delicate and Oh my gosh, so delicious.

17:26

But a lot of them are really good and.

They’re not that expensive when you think about Disney, correct.

The drinks on the other hand.

They’ll get you on the drinks.

It’s an FM hard type moment for you the consumer then at that point, but March through June, that’s when they have the International Flower and Garden Festival.

17:45

So usually the Disney parks are always landscaped and manicured well with flower themings, etcetera.

But they go above and beyond during this time because of course it’s a flower and garden festival.

But don’t think you’re not getting different food offerings and drink offerings because you are.

18:01

They’ll rotate that and then August through November is the International Food and Wine Festival.

So again, different things, even though it’s food and other stuff and these ones too, they take it to another level during the food and wine.

And of course November through December is going to be the festival of the holidays.

18:18

So more food themed around holidays and comforts, drinks and winter of that nature so.

It almost makes me want to go at different times of the year to hit all of these different festivals.

That’s how they get you.

That’s how they get you.

See, I’ll go back in March.

You see how the Flower and Garden Festival lasts so long?

18:37

It’s because they know, man, people don’t really want to come during the summer, but let’s just ride it out through the summer.

So that’s the longest.

There’s nothing in July when you’re there.

Less people.

There you go, you can look at it that way.

Less people, they’re not going to be there for the festivals.

There are rides at Epcot, even though it is more centered around food and drinks.

18:55

There are some rides.

We mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy, which I did not get to go on, but is it true that Guardians of the Galaxy is essentially Tron?

I would say it is a mix of Tron and Space Mountain, and I don’t want to say Magic Kingdom Space Mountain at Disney World because that ride is absolute trash, but Space Mountain at Disneyland Park in California and other locations where they have Space Mountains because they’re substantially better.

19:24

I would say it is a hybrid mix of that, of course, theme to Guardians of the Galaxy.

So, yeah, if you’ve ridden Tron, or if you haven’t ridden it and done your research of the one in Shanghai and now what they have in Florida at Magic Kingdom, plus with Space Mountain, it’s that hybrid mix.

It’s really, really fun.

19:41

Brittany is not a Guardians of the Galaxy fan.

And by that I’m not talking the ride, just she’s never really paid attention to the movies.

Yeah, exactly.

I don’t think you have to to really enjoy it.

Had she seen them, I think she would have liked it more.

But nevertheless, you still really like the ride.

19:57

Yeah, I do still like the ride.

Yeah, and even in California, Tower of Terrors now theme to Guardians of the Galaxy.

Right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I mean, I do like that too as well.

So they’re putting in those IPS all over the place, but that the roller coaster cars actually spin on three 60s as you’re going throughout the track.

20:17

So it makes it a little bit more fun that way.

Some of them are free spin, some of them are controlled spins to put you and face you during certain areas inside or certain scenes inside the ride.

So really, really cool.

My favorite ride at Epcot was the Sword Around the World ride.

20:33

OK.

It was fun, it was beautiful, it was exhilarating and safe.

It’s very mellow.

It’s very mellow, that’s for sure.

But it’s a good one.

They put, they lift you up, they simulate you like flying over the world.

It used to be just soaring.

20:49

And they opened that ride originally in California, California Adventure, and it was themed to soaring over California and all its unique landscapes and things.

But they’ve evolved that ride over time throughout all the Disney parks to be soaring over the world, just different scenes and showcases of different areas.

21:05

And that is a nice, beautiful ride.

But beyond it just, oh, it’s sailing you when you’re looking at a screen, let’s just say you fly over a Rose Garden as a good example.

They’re going to pump the air in there to smell like roses or yeah.

Or when you fly over the ocean, you smell that salt and ocean smell.

21:23

So very sensory oriented as well.

That’s a really, really good ride.

Spaceship Earth is one of my favorites.

So that.

Was good one.

Spaceship Earth is the center icon of Epcot, which is the, I don’t, I forget how you say it, like geodesic sphere.

21:40

And the inside of the ride is really just a slow mover.

But it takes you through human evolution from like caveman era to modern time and estimates of what humans are going to be able to do in the future of just showing like, oh, this is how humans evolved when we first had fire here.

21:58

Now we’ve invented riding in the printing press and blah, blah, blah.

So really cool.

Definitely fits with the the theme.

So it’s a slower ride, but really?

There’s 2 lines you can get on.

One is more shaky, 1 is more tame.

My Co worker who’s a Disney adult had said like if you get motion sickness, go in the tame one.

22:17

We went in the not tame 1 and I was nervous.

I was like Oh my God, it’s going to be crazy.

And they have all these warnings about motion sickness and all this stuff and I was tense the whole time.

So I didn’t feel like I enjoyed it.

It wasn’t.

It wasn’t scary.

You’re thinking of mission space.

Mission space.

22:32

That’s the one where they launch you in the rocket.

Yes, yes, yes.

At this one is.

That’s also a ride.

Oh, then maybe I missed this one.

When I oh, spaceship Earth is the center ball that’s there they have that big ball of the planet too, that’s at the start of mission space, right.

And you’re right.

So I guess let’s transition onto that one.

22:49

There’s another one again fitting with the space and technology theme, where you are on a mission and they launch you into space to Mars I believe specifically.

Is it not so?

Yeah, they have two sides where you can choose the tame or not tame as you had described.

23:05

Where we say the tame or not tame is.

They will really put the pressure of G force on you to simulate like you are launching off.

Sounds scary.

I know it’s not well, they’ve they’ve tamed it down from what it used to be because a lot of people legit would pass out or puke.

And of course, you could imagine I.

23:22

Was going to puke.

I was like prepared with a bag and yeah, it’s really not that scary.

It’s not that scary, but they have tamed it down over time.

And I feel like this episode is important for this reason.

First of all, I miss what was in the ball and if I had listened to this episode I would have known to go in there and then.

23:38

Second, I would have known this ride isn’t as scary as it is made out to seem.

Yeah, You know, the first time we went to Epcot, I told the same thing to Brittany.

I said this ride is either you get motion sick or you don’t.

Brittany, she’s prone to motion sickness.

23:55

So being the good husband that I am, we weren’t married at that point in time, but being the good husband that I am, I really wanted to ride the intense one.

But I was like, this is my first time at the park.

I want to ride it with Brittany.

I’ll ride the tame one and the tame 1 was just whatever.

24:11

But the second time we went back, I told Brittany sayonara, like, if you don’t want to ride the intense one, I’m going to go ride it by myself.

You could ride the baby one and.

That’s what happens after you get married.

I know and then since then they after I rode that.

Hard one.

24:27

No, I.

Didn’t I didn’t.

So I separated.

She went on the easy one.

I went on the hard one.

Come to find out when I ride the hard one, I was like, that’s not that bad.

And I asked like a Disney, Disney cast member as they’re called, like is it really that intense?

You guys still have the signs?

They’re like, we still have the signs, but we’ve toned it down like a lot, a lot.

24:45

So it’s not like what it used to be.

Did you write test track Kim?

No.

That’s another one where you get to create your a speed car and then you put it on the track and you get to see where it places and so.

25:01

I think that was closed.

There were a couple things closed when I went.

So maybe mid February is not the best time to go.

OK, well, we had gone in February.

I thought what that time?

Was in February.

And stuff was open, so maybe it’s just scheduled refurbs.

But of course, during slower times of the year, especially right after the holidays when it’s really busy in Disney parks, that’s when they’ll do their scheduled maintenance closing.

25:22

I guess that’s something we should have put in tips if you’re planning trip a lot of times ahead of time, they’ll put online on the Disney website what rides are going to be closed.

And maybe you should look into that to make sure a ride that you want will be open.

But of course, things and hiccups could happen and it’s not scheduled to close, but will close.

25:38

But yeah.

Because you also said the ride in the Mexico Pavilion, the Grand Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros, was closed as well.

And I was very sad about that.

Yeah, it’s fun, but right I really.

Wanted to do that one.

What a shame.

We’ll see.

That gave you more time to go drinking around the world though, which again, I’m really excited once we start talking about that because Brittany and I, when we did it, had a couple drinks, but we did not get one at every pavilion.

26:02

I believe you did you.

Guys could handle it.

We probably.

Couldn’t I?

No, I can handle it.

Brittany can’t handle it.

I’m not gonna lie.

You’re.

Sweet.

A lot of the drinks are.

Mall can handle it.

We’ll have to.

Go One of my favorite rides I Epcot is the Ratatouille Adventure.

Yeah, the France Pavilion.

26:18

So fun.

It’s one of the trackless rides.

We actually originally wrote it at Paris Disney, and so we got to ride it again finally when we went back to Epcot in February.

Yeah, because they didn’t have it the first time there that was exclusive to the Disneyland Paris, But now they’ve brought it here to Epcot, which is a really good one.

26:36

I like that one.

And one of my favorite rides that they do have there is actually going to be Living with the Land.

Oh, I love that one.

It’s so simple.

You’re on a boat and you go through like greenhouses where they’re growing food, but it’s also educational where they’re telling you about the growing process again, maybe even the history of human agriculture.

26:58

And it seems silly and tame, but then it’s really cool because you’ll actually see workers in there actually taking measurements of sizes of the crops.

And they tell you a lot of the food that we grow in here is actually used in the food that we sell in the park, meals, restaurants, etcetera.

So in that sense it is, I don’t want to say self-sustaining because of course the park itself is not, but they use a lot of the stuff in there within the park.

27:21

But again, Epcot, even though it has lots of big thrill rides, some of the rides are very educational and that’s not really your thing.

But this is one of the unique things that I appreciate about Epcot because even somebody like myself who is a big thrill ride seeker, a simple ride like this, like I really appreciate, like I love riding this.

27:39

Road This was another one I missed.

Wow.

Kim, when I asked you originally, I said, did you ride all the rides?

You’re like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And we’re sitting here talking about the rides and I’m like, dude, you’ve missed like so many good ones.

Well, I tried to do this one at the end of the day and the line was too long.

27:56

We weren’t going to make it in because we were drinking around the world and lost all the time.

And I went with my friend Valentino and he’s a great videographer, so I have a ton of great video content of me drinking around the world, and I think that maybe took time.

And then the rides.

28:12

Just maybe you need 2 days at this park.

Like one day to like do ride stuff and one day to just go crazy.

Yes.

At the World.

Yeah, I don’t want to say don’t have fun, but maybe you need to go with mom and dad to kind of like rain you.

Because I also showed up an hourly.

Party foul, but did you ride the Frozen ride?

28:30

Yes.

Waited an hour in line for that ride, Yes.

Yeah.

Good one though, yeah.

That’s a good one.

And there’s lots of other rides too.

We mentioned the highlights of them.

There’s a couple other ones for sure, but I don’t want to say not worth noting.

But at the same time, those are the main highlights, I think journey of.

28:48

Water.

The Moana one, I liked it.

It’s not a ride you walk through, it’s like a garden and water things.

But you can wave at the water and it will wave back at you.

Nice.

I don’t think we did that was going to say they did.

How could you miss?

That I don’t think they had it when we were there.

I don’t think it was open or else.

It might be new.

29:04

In it, you know, Dad over there won’t let us miss a thing.

Especially if it’s new.

Especially if it’s new.

I want to ride back.

Yeah, I know.

Well, this is a park.

That meet me there in July, hey.

I don’t know about July, but it’s my birthday month, so I may just do it to be like, OK, but July Florida, no, I don’t think so.

29:24

So, Kim, if you were to give recommendations on how to handle your day in hindsight, what would you recommend?

I would recommend starting in Canada and then working your way around the pavilions that way because Mexico, in my opinion, is the best pavilion.

It’s beautiful, it has the best food, the best drinks, and that’s where you want to end.

29:43

There’s also a Speakeasy inside of the Pyramid Pavilion.

The tequila tasting and all that would be a great place to end the night, Yeah.

So when we’ve mentioned this earlier when we’re talking about it, so as we’re kind of getting on, I want to talk about the pavilions here.

30:00

The in the World Showcase area, there are several countries that have pavilions in them.

Of course, they’ll have a lot of the food and drinks local to that culture.

Maybe there’s a specific ride to there, like the Ratatouille one of course takes place in France, because if you’ve seen that movie, it also takes place in France.

30:18

The Frozen ride takes place in the Norway pavilion.

Because Frozen Norway for the royalty, for Elsa and Anna and all that jazz, right?

But you have Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, America.

30:36

But don’t think it’s just all America, you know?

It’s colonial America is what it’s really themed to when you’re over there.

Italy, Germany, China, Norway and Mexico, in that order, counterclockwise.

So you’re saying if you’re going straight into the park, start in Canada, which would be the pavilions to the right, and work your way all the way around the lagoon to the left?

30:58

Yes.

So those are the country pavilions that they have there.

So that is a good strategy.

There are rides in the pavilion, but most of the rides are up front when you first enter the park, minus those handful that I had actually just mentioned.

31:14

So I guess it really depends what you want to do with your day.

The first thing you should have said though, Kim, is show up not an hour late, which you did not say, but that should have been #1 #2 when you handle the pavilions, that’s the way to go.

I don’t necessarily disagree, although I’ve seen stuff online that say start in Mexico because they have the better drinks and then that way when you get to the not so good ones, you don’t realize it because you’re several in different strategies, right?

31:43

But.

I did do it the other way.

I went Mexico 1st and I was on a high.

I was like Mexico’s amazing.

I love Epcot and then it was like there was good.

Actually, France is amazing.

Yeah, I don’t feel like we’ve had.

31:58

I don’t think we’ve gone all the way around just in that order.

I think we’ve kind of bopped around here and there.

And bopped around.

Yeah, you kind of have to go.

You do, but we didn’t necessarily stop in them and then we would go to another one and then kind of like just go back and forth.

32:14

There’s also different things that happen at different times, so you may want to go up, come back.

Yeah, because like in the Germany pavilion, as a good example, you could sit in a bench area that makes you feel like you’re in a beer garden.

And then you have people in lederhosen and Dendrells come up, they’re going to play traditional Bavarian style music.

32:32

Really puts you in the atmosphere and vibe like you’re actually there.

So you’re right at the pavilions.

They do have, I don’t want to say specific shows, but characters, so to speak, that will come and really immerse you in the theming of the country that you’re actually in.

You know, we are the travel squad, so we do have to talk about the bathrooms.

32:51

Yes, Disney has great bathrooms.

They’re all over the place.

In my experience, I found the best bathrooms to be by the racetrack, the family restroom in particular.

It’s clean, it’s spacious, it’s even a little romantic if I do.

I was going to feel like, how did you end up in the family bathroom?

33:08

Don’t ask.

The worst bathroom is the very small.

Also family bathrooms by the BBQ spot in America.

Like it.

The lines are crazy.

Just go a little bit further and there’s a bathroom with like 20 stalls.

It’s much.

Better leave it to America to have some of the worst bathrooms.

33:25

I’m in America.

No, right.

Well, Kim, you went more recently than us, so why don’t you tell us a little bit more about your experience, especially the drinking around the world.

That’s one of the famous things to actually do.

If you Google Epcot things to do, I promise you there’ll be forums talking about this.

33:42

Brittany and I, of course, have gotten drinks and food from the pavilions, but we never went around in a full circle and said I’m getting one drink and one food item for sure from all one.

Each one of these you did, maybe not the food, but for sure the drinks, right?

So tell us a little bit about your experience.

33:59

So the drinking around the world is you get one drink from each pavilion.

There’s 11 pavilions, so you’re going to get 11 drinks.

I went with one other person and we both got a different drink at each spot.

There’s a lot of different drinks to choose from it.

There’s not just one type of a drink at each place, which I did not know.

34:18

I kind of thought there’s one classic drink for each country, but that’s not the case.

See, I would have had to split all 11 drinks.

Now I do think that’s a good strategy.

Some places I think we should have shared a drink.

Other places like France had amazing drinks and you would have wanted your own.

34:36

Speaking of the France pavilion side note, they have amazing macarons in the back and freshly made French bread that you can get to and.

Yes I did.

I just didn’t want to baguette at the.

Time.

No, for sure.

I agree.

That’s something that you got to be like, I’m really craving to just eat a baguette, no doubt.

34:53

But you go back there and you smell the fresh, fresh baked bread and you’re like, oh wow, you know, So they have good stuff in the pavilions for sure.

Yeah, I remember like we were going to talk about Canada.

It’s a very pretty area, but there’s nothing super impressive about the Canadian Pavilion.

35:10

But when we went, we really wanted to try poutine.

And so they during the Festival of the Arts, they actually had like a special poutine with like a meat topping on top of it.

So we did get that while we were there.

In Canada they have a show you can go watch.

So you go into this big room with 360° screens and it shows you Canada the beautiful and and it’s it is beautiful to watch the drink there ice wine.

35:36

I love ice wine.

Ice wines good.

Yeah, and I do have a confession, Squatties.

Let’s hear it.

I did not complete see around the world.

Wow.

Because we started in Mexico, we showed up an hour late, we lollygagged.

By the time I got to Canada, I still had a full drink from the UK.

35:55

So you did not have the ice wine?

And yeah, I.

Did in fairness, I don’t want to say ice wine is not anything special because ice wine is good and Brittany and I have a couple bottles from our Canada trip that are still waiting to be opened.

But you’ve had ice wine before, so it’s not like.

Has she?

36:10

Has I thought you?

Have have you not I think.

So.

Whoa.

And I already did message.

I did.

I know, I know I did.

And I had already committed to saying no, I’m not gonna get the drink because they’re sweet too.

So I speeded out and then as we were leaving I saw the menu and I was like I swine.

36:27

See, I thought you had it before, and I was going to say, oh, so at least what you missed out on isn’t something that you’ve never had, OK.

But see, this might have put her over that.

She might have needed another biohazard bag.

Oh, we don’t want another.

Situation.

Well, if you want to know what Bernie’s talking about, you know, just DM us.

36:42

But there’s a good story with Kim and wine and a party and a a bag in the back of the seat.

And I’m sure you’re.

Going to need biohazard bag too after Napa.

That’s true.

So you also went to the UK, you had a drink there.

What drink did you get in the?

36:58

UK The UK was my least favorite pavilion.

They do have the red photo phone booth.

Thing yes, I know you love to take photos in phone booths.

I do and I did go in there.

The restaurant in there is themed like a pub or what it looks like in the movies when you see like they’re in the UK and London or anywhere else.

37:17

And of course, having been to London and the UK, their pubs really do look like that, so you feel like you’re there.

Anything else going on there?

No, it’s just really thin.

There’s not any really good shows or something.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it was Crown Royal drinks was UK’s thing.

37:34

I didn’t like that.

I ended up getting a cider that was like a 20 oz cider, a little too much cider.

And one of the main food, one of the main food items that they have there is fish and chips.

And we know you don’t like fish, so you’re not going to eat that anyway, so.

If you’re looking for little things to eat there, they have really good tea and biscuits.

37:53

We have done that.

So another option if you don’t like the cider and then you can get your ice wine in Canada.

Yeah, I’m.

Going to have a redo.

Epcot Part 2.

You touched on it a little bit, Jamal, but France is a great pavilion.

38:08

I got ahead of myself just because it is a very exciting one with all the culinary offerings that they have, plus with the Ratatouille ride, it just really enhances it.

But they have good stuff there.

The Eiffel Tower’s there.

Yeah, the tower in the background, beautiful Parisian type of city that they have is like the landscape and can’t miss Ratatouille.

38:31

And I do have a tip for Ratatouille.

If you’re.

Not sold on going together as a group.

They do have a single writers line that moves much faster, yes.

Yes, yes, they have it and some other attractions within Epcot and Disney parks do so that’s something very good point.

38:49

Maybe going back to just tips in general is you’re right, if you’re not keen on, oh, I must ride this with the people I’m with and you don’t want to buy the Lightning Lane and it offers a single rider for sure do it when we were just in Tokyo Disney, Disgustingly busy.

39:05

Way different than the time we had gone to Tokyo Disney before in 2019 when we got done with the day early just for whatever reason it’s so busy now and they only had two rides that allowed for single rider and we rocked it.

Otherwise it would have been a three hour wait.

39:22

So, single rider at Paris, way to go.

Yeah.

And then Jamal mentioned get the macaroons.

We got like a four pack and Jamal and I split them and they were so delicious.

I love macaroons.

The drink here is also great.

They’re like frozen slushes.

39:37

They have an orange one and a lemon one.

They’re both amazing.

And they also have the Beauty and the Beast sing along in this area too.

They do?

Did you watch it?

It wasn’t playing by the time I got there.

I think I made Jamal watch it once.

I think you did.

And did you sing along?

39:53

I did.

But you know Jamal, you know him.

He’s not going to sing along.

No, I’m not going to sing along to that.

I’ll enjoy the show.

But I hey, if I go drinking around the world with you, Kim, and it comes on, I might just feel a little bit more pep in my step to feel a little bit more loose and sing along.

40:10

So who knows?

That may happen.

But just circling back around to the drinks that you were so in love with here in the Paris Pavilion or France Pavilion.

Didn’t you say one time before that one of those ones was your favorite of the entire one or was it your OK?

It is OK.

Nice.

Definitely say probably the top two.

40:26

Maybe, maybe #1.

Wow, OK.

Look at that so and France Pavilion come in did.

Your friend get orange and you get lemon.

Yes.

OK.

And so that’s how you got to try them both.

Yes.

And which one would you pick if you had to just pick one?

Maybe orange?

40:43

They’re both so good though.

That’s what I would pick.

I’d pick orange over lemon.

Or just good too.

Where’s the double fist?

No, I’m doing halves.

Guy.

Yeah, you can’t double fist it.

Then you’ll miss out on the ice.

Wine in Canada.

Skip the.

UK and just get two in France.

Next up, Morocco.

41:00

I know I already said Mexico’s most beautiful pavilion, but Morocco is right there with it.

I loved this pavilion.

You know, when we actually went to Morocco as a country, this is my favorite thing about it, the architecture.

I love how pretty Morocco is, and I agree that this pavilion is just as pretty.

41:19

It’s.

Like winding alleys of decor everywhere.

It really is amazing.

They do a good job for the most part in all of the pavilions to make you feel like you’re really there.

But Morocco is one of those ones where, especially if you have been there, you can appreciate more how realistic they make this environment.

41:38

And you know why?

Why?

Because the Moroccan government was the only government that helped with the design.

And the bill, OK, See, they cared a lot.

They were like, let Morocco shine.

And I read that some of the Disney had reached out to some of the other countries or all of the other countries and no one else wanted to like participate.

42:01

So Morocco was one that did.

Well, they didn’t understand what Epcot was and was gonna be.

That’s kind of weird considering there is Disney in Japan and China.

But not at those times, not at.

The time that it was built.

OK.

Not at the time it was built.

Built in the 80s.

42:16

Because like I said, this was the first time that any other second gate was built for a Disney property.

But they didn’t even have Japan then at that point in time, and China’s definitely come later, only in the 2000s, so.

But super beautiful.

42:32

They have good food here too.

They have hummus and kebabs and mint tea.

Of course.

So typical Middle Eastern food in that region or pavilion.

So if you like that type of food, it’s going to be good.

The drink here is a spiked Moroccan tea.

42:48

It was so good, it was strong.

With Mint, I imagine right, of course.

I love Moroccan tea, it’s so good.

It is so good.

And I saw Aladdin and Jasmine walking around here and I was starstruck.

Did you get your picture with them?

No, no I didn’t.

43:04

Starstruck by Aladdin or Jasmine or both?

They look good and they fit right in there.

Yeah, even though it was Morocco.

It’s like a little Agrabah, huh?

That they were there.

Another one of my favorite pavilions is the Japan Pavilion.

43:19

There’s a lot of different buildings and it goes around a courtyard and I like it because there’s like the pools, the gardens, the bonsai trees and.

Pagodas.

Yeah, Pagodas, I do think that this is a very beautiful pavilion.

Yes, it is.

When I was there there was also a Japanese drum performance going on.

43:39

It was really nice.

Excellent.

Yeah.

And in the Japan pavilion in the back, they have an educational thing.

So not all of the pavilions will have an educational exhibit or a ride.

Sometimes it’s just here’s a theme.

Have you feel like you’re walking through the streets?

43:55

Of course, the food.

So each one is unique and different.

But the Japan one does have an exhibit that for educational purposes in the back that is rather large, telling you about like the history of Japan, samurai stuff.

Yeah, yeah, all that stuff.

Hello Kitty.

Absolutely.

44:11

And they have that Tory gate that looks over like the water.

Yeah, it’s a classic picture.

So if you’re looking for a picture spot, that’s a good one.

Definitely got some video here.

Speaking of a classic picture, I just want to make a shout out to two strangers that have left an impact on me.

And it was here at Epcot, Yeah, that Tory gate, that Brittany was talking about taking a photo in front of Japan with the lagoon in the background.

44:37

Brittany and I were taking a photo there, and we saw some other people.

And so instead of taking a selfie, we asked them, hey, can you take a photo of us, too?

After we had each gotten our individual photos, and they’re like, oh, yeah, great, no problem.

Can you take a photo of us?

And I said, oh, yeah, absolutely.

You don’t guess what the person handed me.

44:55

They sound good.

They handed me a classic camera with film that you need to actually like cock back.

Not even a digital one that I could see on the screen.

You really have to look through the frame and that’s going to be it.

And so it was a one and done.

45:11

And I asked him, do you want me to take a second one just in case this one didn’t turn out.

And he was like, no, that’s the whole point of this camera.

We’ll just see how it turns out.

And, you know, in a day and age where everyone’s all like, oh, I want the perfect photo.

These people were living in the moment with a classic camera of like, what’s it going to come out?

45:27

What’s it going to look like?

That’s half the fun when the film gets developed.

And I thought that was awesome.

It wasn’t even on a digital screen, you know, Like, it’s the one where you really have to put your eye up to it and see it.

And I don’t know why I’ll never forget that like.

Those disposable cameras?

Yeah, yeah, Yeah.

I thought that was just so awesome that in the year 2023 or 22 the last time we went, that people are like whatever from a photo.

45:50

I thought a reminder to just live in the moment.

They were.

They were enjoying their Disney day that way.

So love.

That.

So what did you drink?

In this pavilion, the drink here is the Violet sake.

That’s the one you want to get.

They do have a couple other ones, but this one is famous and it’s really good.

46:07

I do like sake.

That does sound good.

I like Korean pavilion.

Yeah, cuz then you would get soju cuz you’re all into soju now.

I am, which is almost like sake.

Pretty similar.

We’ll get it tonight when we go get Korean BBQ.

I can’t wait.

So they also have the American Adventure Pavilion which is designed in the colonial style.

46:28

Got to be honest, I was like America, really.

Yeah, I mean, of course in the Disney park, especially in America, they’re going to have it.

It’s not really hating on it, like it’s a bad one, but they’re not showing us anything.

I guess that we don’t know unless somebody’s going with young kids, family want to really show it off.

46:46

Like, I get it, but I’m not going to lie, this is a pavilion that I passed.

Kim did not pass it because apparently she had a restroom need here.

And as she said, they were terrible here in the American pavilion.

Maybe it was really themed to the colonial style that they have the building.

So like just old 1700s bathrooms, not really good on.

47:02

Is that the vibe you got in there?

Maybe that’s why this these people were taking so long in there.

I don’t doubt, but they do have a big room you can go into and there’s history and things posted all over the walls.

When I was in there, there was a singing group.

Oh, and it was actually very beautiful.

47:18

Yeah, they do have the shows and things that go on in this pavilion, so I don’t want to say like, for sure, Skip, but it’s one to me if I have limited time because I am a history person.

I like history.

Like, I know this stuff, but yeah.

But we do have international listeners who may not have had the American history lessons that we’ve had.

47:34

So of course there is a show that you can sit for.

There’s certain times that they play it throughout the day.

I didn’t actually go because we would have had to wait another 15 minutes.

So we’re like, let’s move on.

But if you’re interested, they do play a movie kind of like Canada does.

Did you eat any BBQ here?

47:50

No, but I did get a drink.

So the classic American drink here is the mint julep.

That’s not what I wanted.

So I ended up getting a mule.

OK, not a Moscow Mule, an American mule, just.

An American Mule.

You’re not a bourbon person, right?

Because isn’t that what goes in a mint?

Julep is bourbon.

48:06

I would have been all about it.

That’s my thing.

I love bourbon.

I’m going to be on Soju tonight.

With beer too.

Oh yeah.

Of course.

But you don’t want to do drink around the world and get beer though.

No, no.

And in fact, in the next one of the next pavilions, Germany, I also did not get beer.

48:22

OK, well, I take that back.

Actually in the drink around the world, maybe that’s the acceptable one to to get a beer is the Germany Pavilion.

But I’m anxious to hear what the other drink is because when I think of German alcohol preference and culture, that’s really the only thing that comes to mind.

Again, stereotypically, but yeah.

48:39

In between America and Germany though, there’s Italy.

I liked Italy a lot.

They had good drinks here too.

I always see the musicians, clowns, like the acts that they do kind of in that area.

Every time you pass through, there’s always something going on.

Well, you say the clowns are talking about people that are kind of dressed up in that Venetian type of style too, of like gestures and things like that, right?

49:02

Yeah, Italy’s a good pavilion.

Just as well.

What did you have to drink here?

I had a frozen Prosecco.

That sounds just like something you would want.

Yeah, it was really good.

I did hear that pizza here is great to get.

It’s like pretty affordable, 5:00-ish dollars a slice.

49:18

I did see people with the slices and I wasn’t.

Too intrigued by it?

I wasn’t pulled to get it actually.

Being it OK, OK, fair.

Fair Squatty’s If you have gotten the pizza and you thought it was good, just let us know.

But I did hear that the Italian restaurant here with the pasta is very good and I I missed saying this.

49:36

When we were in France I really wanted the Mac and cheese.

In France I was on the top of my list.

But it is such a big serving that I didn’t end up getting it like I would have liked.

Just a cup of Mac.

Right, so I need to share with people.

49:51

And you’re at Epcot too, so it’s like, how are you going to eat around the world if your servings are American size?

In France, that’s the irony of it too, right?

That’s crazy.

But as you can see, as we’re talking about Italy a little bit, right, and the other pavilions, not all of them are created equal.

50:08

Some are obviously better than others.

Again, as biased opinions.

We’re all going to have them when they’re there.

I don’t think anybody would go there and say, hey, everyone was equally as good in their own different way.

Some of them are just, you know for sure.

But Germany is next, going counter clockwise as we’re making our way around.

50:28

What did you drink if not beer?

Champagne and wine.

Champagne again, yes.

And we also got little shooters, liqueur shooters, OK.

You know, I’m just going to call you on this.

You tell me you don’t take shots and here you are going around.

And we got 2 drinks in Germany, so I guess I made-up for Canada.

50:47

Next time you need to save room for that ice wine, yes?

But I just didn’t want a big beer.

Like, you know, it’s hot, like.

But beers are so refreshing, Wine isn’t as refreshing.

Unless it’s a white wine, white wine could cool you down and depending on how heavy it be, that’s.

51:05

White wine.

Depending on how heavy a beer is too, it could also not be too good on a hot day.

But it needs to be like a really really light beer.

If it’s a really light beer, then I mean, I agree with Brittany, it’s probably nothing more refreshing on a super hot day.

But if you’re doing that much drinking, you’re right, that could be just too much in the gut, I think.

51:22

But Germany has really good food and really good sweets in this area too.

So Germany, don’t let this one be a sleeper pavilion.

I like the Germany pavilion a lot.

Big.

And there’s a lot going on in there, yeah.

Yeah, it’s designed to look like a German town and from different areas and regions, and it’s really cute.

51:39

There’s a clock tower and all of that.

But my favorite thing about Germany is the Carmel shop.

We got this one shortbread caramel thing.

It’s like shortbread butter caramel.

And it was so good, so good.

Sounds good.

We went into the Bavarian restaurant that they have there.

51:57

They have a buffet.

We didn’t do the buffet because we’re trying to eat from multiple spots and like one buffet and you’re done.

But inside, if you do sit down at the restaurant, they have a German band playing and You Can Dance and there’s the leader Hosen situation.

52:14

It’s really fun in there.

I tried to get Jamal to wear a pair of lederhosen while we were Oktoberfest and he did not.

And that is shameful.

Well, you know what, let me say something here.

We were just recently on an international trip doing an overnight jungle trek.

This is when we were in Thailand and there happened to be two Germans on it.

52:31

And I was talking about my experience when we went to Oktoberfest and they asked me did I wear the lederhosen?

And I told them no, I did not because all the lederhosen is like real leather.

It would be hot and heavy and the way you have to button to use the restroom because there’s no easy way or access on there.

52:47

And they said as Germans, I made a smart decision.

So, you know, Brittany wants to shame me for not wearing the leader hose in.

I had some locals tell me I did right, You know, especially if you’re drinking on October.

They were just trying to make you feel.

Good.

I don’t think so.

They they agreed with me.

China’s up next and we love China.

53:04

We’ve always loved China since our one of our very first episodes on China when we went there.

Love it.

And I like the pavilion here too.

The pavilion’s good.

They have a couple like exhibits again of history.

Their show or attraction is almost like the one that you said in Canada where it’s the 360.

53:20

You go in there and it shows you images and a storytelling about China.

So I like this pavilion a lot.

It’s very well themed.

Someone who likes Chinese food though all types of Chinese food from all the regions.

53:35

I wish their food here was better.

It’s just decent.

I feel like maybe I haven’t gone the right stuff here.

Egg rolls.

I heard the egg rolls were really good and they were good and they were affordable.

The other thing they had because of the Festival of the Arts was like, show me Shomu.

53:54

Shumai.

Shumai and they were really good.

OK, OK.

I just remember my experiences both times in China and just being OK and not anything stand out like some of the other food that I have.

In fact, egg rolls was egg rolls and Mac and cheese were on my list.

54:13

Oh, OK.

Yeah, well, you messed up on the Mac and cheese.

You did not mess up on the egg rolls, apparently.

And So what did you drink in China?

The drink here was a lychee bubble tea.

Alcoholic.

All of them were alcoholic, of course.

It was like this beautiful purple color with boba at the bottom.

54:28

I love lychee.

Really good.

I love bubble tea, so we’re going to have to go back.

I’m really inspired to go back now as we’re talking about this, quite honestly.

You know, we just did our international Disney’s on our last trip here when we went to Hong Kong and Japan and told Brittany, like, I’m going to go back to Disney, but I’m done for a while.

54:48

I like going to the international parks because there’s so much cheaper in terms of like cost.

But as we’re going through this one, like I’m really revved up for Epcot right now.

Like trip to Epcot is on my list.

Yeah, The next pavilion is Norway.

As we mentioned, they do have the Elsa attraction here, which is a very big thing now.

55:06

They took out a previous ride that was very famous in there to retrofit it for Elsa, but.

What was the previous?

Ride.

It was called Malstrom, which talked about Norse culture.

And was it a boat ride too?

It was a boat ride, Yeah.

So they just used the same track and all they did was add the storyline for Frozen in there.

55:28

But this is a cool pavilion.

You know that famous black church that they have in Norway?

That’s one of the big icons of the pavilion.

But food wise, what did you end up getting Tim I.

Got a cinnamon roll type dessert.

It was really good.

Also for the drink, it’s a frozen coffee, so good.

55:46

That does sound really good.

Yeah.

When we were there, we got some school bread, which is kind of like a doughnut that was filled with like vanilla cream and then it was dipped in like coconut flakes and it was really delicious.

They have good stuff here.

56:01

The problem is there’s so much good stuff in certain pavilions.

I mean, I know what I just said about China, right?

But like Germany, France, Norway, especially if you like sweets.

And they also have good savouries too.

I mean, you could really, really decide to eat a lot.

And then when you go during festival time, it’s even that much harder because it’s like, oh, here’s the unique thing you need.

56:20

To go as a group and one person.

Yeah, a little bite one.

Thing and then cheers to your group.

Going with two is a little hard.

Yeah, but we are going to end in Mexico and that is your favorite pavilion.

Yeah, Mexico, it’s beautiful.

56:35

It has this big giant pyramid.

You know Mexico has pyramids.

Yeah, it’s like the Pyramid of Chichen Itza.

Yes, and if if I had not been prepped before, I wouldn’t have known you can actually go into the pyramid.

I actually did not know that.

You’ve never been inside, no.

Of course you have.

56:51

That’s where you got to go.

And they have the restaurant.

That’s where the entrance to the riot is.

OK.

Yes, I have but.

It doesn’t look like you can go in there, stairs up and then you can walk around it, but there’s no doors open, sign or anything.

But you go in.

57:06

It’s beautifully decorated inside.

There’s like shops and that Speakeasy for tequila tasting.

Guess the boat ride, which was not open when I was there unfortunately, because that was also on the top of my list.

I’m very disappointed about that, but it’s a great pavilion.

But you said the food was really good.

Jamal and I got food here and we were.

57:23

We thought it was OK.

What did you get?

What did we get?

I remember we ended up getting margaritas for our drinks.

But food wise, what did we get?

We didn’t get nothing.

Tacos.

Yeah.

I got tacos.

OK three tacos.

I can’t remember what type or if they were mixed, but they were good.

57:38

OK.

And we got frozen margs 1 lime one.

Yeah, mango.

I do love a.

Margar, I don’t want to say though, that the Mexican food was bad that we got there.

It’s just that I mean, we’re California native, so eating Mexican food outside of Mexico or California is like and then it goes that’s true, but you hey, there could be some really shitty.

57:58

Tacos.

I’ve had some shitty tacos, yeah, but these were not these.

Were OK, and I’m not saying that they were.

I just don’t think what we ate was stand outish because obviously we can’t even remember what we ate but we remember not liking it.

But we loved the margs.

Can’t go wrong with a marg.

Here we go.

Wrong marks are great.

It’s.

Really hard to mess up a marg.

Well, I’ve had some shitty.

58:15

Marks I have, I mean I have two.

Don’t ever order a marg from a dive bar.

OK fair enough, but I will say this and we’ll wrap up just the Mexico food debate and everything here.

More inclined and likely to get a shitty Taco than a shitty mark I would wager to say though, so less likely.

58:33

Yes, absolutely.

Any last thoughts on Disney World in general?

Disney World in general, like I mentioned, it’s just so huge, the size of Manhattan.

We’re just talking one of four parks, and by that I’m talking actual theme parks that they have there.

58:49

On top of that, they have two water parks, and then they have other attractions and things that you could do on property, like race cars.

Like you could literally drive like race cars on a race track.

They have golf, real golf, mini golf, all sorts of stuff.

59:06

All of the hotels that you can go to and it’s like, Oh well, why see a hotel?

But some of the hotels have free shows or things that you can do within the hotels.

So yeah, fun.

Theme very well.

Great food.

You can see the fireworks from Epcot.

Fireworks go off at Magic Kingdom right?

59:24

Yes, you can still see them from Epcot.

You can also great place to see them is from the beach at the Polynesian Hotel.

Great viewing right there.

You can hear the music too.

They have a free boat that goes to the different parks that you can ride.

That’s really fun.

They have a tram system that goes to the different parks, so you can really spend a lot of time at Disney World and not even go into a park at all.

59:45

Yeah, we were just talking with my sister and her husband and they were saying that their neighbors just did a two week trip to Disney World.

That’s so long.

I mean, I love amusement parks, but I would be, I would be done with that.

My mom is going real fast to Disneyland at those parks in LA for three days with my family and I’m like 3 days.

1:00:06

Well, you need one for each park now.

You used to be able to park hop and go back and forth.

You still can, but the way that they’ve changed their Fastpass system and other stuff, it really makes it hard to do.

So I would say like if you’re going, you should really do one day each park.

1:00:24

And that’s not something that you could do at Disney World because the parks are far away from each other.

I mean, Epcot is close enough to Hollywood Studios, but it’s not like in California where the differences are right in front of each other.

They’re pretty.

So.

Yeah.

1:00:39

Yeah.

So it would take time to go from park to park.

And again, these parks, you’re spending all this money, you don’t want to do that.

You want to spend your time exclusively in these because you can miss out like Kim did on the Mac and cheese and the ice wine.

You know, you got to And the right.

If she was there an hour early, I think she could have done it.

1:00:56

But, you know, yeah.

Kim, what you guys Disney World parks have you been to?

Epcot and Animal Kingdom and when I go in July it will be Magic Kingdom.

OK, well, let me tell you, when you go to Hollywood Studios, you’re going to be very disappointed.

Yeah.

Why?

1:01:12

That park sucks.

Is it mostly rides because I’m not into that?

I wouldn’t say it’s, I mean, I didn’t think it was mostly rides.

They’re starting to do that now with the expansion of putting Star Wars land in there.

They put in another signature attraction, I think it’s Mickey, Minnie’s runaway, like mine train or whatever it is that’s at the the front of the park.

1:01:34

And they’re doing a couple things here to it, but I just didn’t like it at all.

They have iconic rides there, but there’s the theming as a whole of a park I didn’t really like.

Yeah.

And the Magic Kingdom, it’s a good park, but I think Disneyland park is better, but that’s a biased opinion because Disneyland is our Home Park.

1:01:55

But I agree with you, Epcot animal Kingdom, those are awesome parks.

And I’m not saying don’t do Magic Kingdom because it’s fun, but like I’ve been to Disneyland park I would say well over like 50 times.

That’s not an exaggeration when we had our season passes over the years.

1:02:12

So like that park is just.

I like that one more than magic.

Shanghai Disney has ruined me.

Yes, it ruined it ruined us all, that’s for sure.

And then when we went just to Hong Kong right now and finished our last Disney park at Hong Kong Disney, being in China that way, I thought to myself, why is this park not like Shanghai?

1:02:29

So it was tough.

Well, Squadis, thanks so much for tuning in to our Epcot episode.