EPCOT Touring Plan for Parents with Small Children: Updated for COVID-19 Closures

Today we highlight our EPCOT touring plan for parents with small children that reflects the closures due to the ongoing pandemic. This plan is designed for parents of children ages 3 to 8 who wish to see the very best age-appropriate attractions in EPCOT. Every attraction has a rating of at least 3.5 stars (out of five) from pre-school and grade-school children surveyed by our site and The Unofficial Guide book. The plan keeps walking and backtracking to a minimum.

STEPS

1) Spaceship Earth

Start the day with a ride on Spaceship Earth.

Epcot’s signature landmark, Spaceship Earth spirals through an 18-story geosphere, taking visitors past animatronic scenes depicting mankind’s developments in communications, from cave painting to printing to television to space communications and computer networks. Spaceship Earth ranks high with all ages.

2) Rest

If you’re hungry, grab some lunch. If not move on to the next ride and eat any time between now and after you ride Test Track. (Note: It may seem early for lunch so soon after arrival, but with EPCOT’s late opening time, young children may ask when is it time to eat at the first whiff of food.)

3) Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

Make your way to the Mexico pavilion and ride the Gran Fiesta Tour.

The Gran Fiesta Tour is a slow-moving boat ride that incorporates animated versions of Donald Duck, José Carioca, and Panchito—an avian singing group called The Three Caballeros from Disney’s 1944 film of the same name.

4) Frozen Ever After

Head to Norway and ride Frozen Ever After.

Frozen Ever After is a nice boat ride through the pretend kingdom of Arendelle. The premise is that you’ve arrived just in time for the Winter in Summer celebration, in which Elsa will use her magical powers to make it snow during the hottest part of the year. Nearly every major and minor character from the original film is represented, from Olaf the snowman to Sven the reindeer, along with much of the soundtrack’s songs with brand-new lyrics.
5) Test Track

If your kids are tall enough, try Test Track in Future World East.
Test Track takes guests through the process of designing a new vehicle and then “testing” their car in a high-speed drive through and around the pavilion. Guests board a six-seat ride vehicle, attached to a track on the ground, for an actual drive through Chevrolet’s test track. The vehicle’s tests include braking maneuvers, cornering, and acceleration, culminating in a spin around the outside of the pavilion at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour. Test Track is one of EPCOT’s most popular rides.
6) Mission: SPACE Green

Start your astronaut training at Mission: SPACE on the green mission.
Guests enter the International Space Training Center, where they’re introduced to the deep-space exploration program and then divided into groups for flight training. After orientation, they’re strapped into space capsules for a simulated flight, where, of course, the unexpected happens. Each capsule accommodates a crew consisting of a group commander, pilot, navigator, and engineer, with a guest functioning in each role.
7) The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Go to the Seas pavilion and ride The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
The Seas with Nemo & Friends is a hightech ride featuring characters from the animated hit Finding Nemo. You ride in a “clamobile” for your journey through the aquarium. The attraction features technology that makes it seem as if the animated characters are swimming with live fish. Almost immediately you meet Mr. Ray and his class and learn that Nemo is missing. The remainder of the odyssey consists of finding Nemo with the help of Dory, Bruce, Marlin, Squirt, and Crush. Unlike the film, however, the ride ends with a musical finale.
8) Journey Into Imagination With Figment

Visit the Imagination Institute and ride Journey Into Imagination With Figment.
Journey into Imagination takes you on a tour of the zany Imagination Institute. Sometimes you’re a passive observer and sometimes you’re a test subject as the ride provides a glimpse of the fictitious lab’s inner workings. Stimulating almost all your senses (thank goodness for no taste tests!), it hits you with optical illusions, a room that defies gravity, and other brain teasers. All along the way, Figment (a purple dragon) makes surprise appearances. Ranks high with Pre- and grade-schoolers.
9) Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival

Go next door and watch the Disney & Pixar Film Festival.
This theater screens three 3-D shorts— Pixar’s Feast and Piper and Disney’s Get A Horse.
10) Living with the Land

Walk to the Land Pavilion and ride Living with the Land.
The boat ride takes visitors through swamps, past inhospitable farm environments, and through a futuristic greenhouse where real crops are grown using the latest agricultural technologies.
11) Soarin’

Staying in the Land Pavilion, take a ride on Soarin’.
Soarin’ is a thrill ride for all ages. Rows of seats swing into position, making you feel as if the floor has dropped away, and you’re suspended with your legs dangling. You embark on a simulated hang-glider tour, with IMAX-quality images projected all around you and with the flight simulator moving in sync with the movie.
12) Eat Dinner

Use your remaining time to ride anything again, or try something new. Don’t forget to grab dinner.

There’s no FastPass+ being offered at this time so you’ll have to do only stand-by lines. Don’t forget, you can customize and optimize this or any of our other touring plans using our personalized touring plans creator on the site or in our mobile app, Lines. Be sure to check out our other touring plans that will help you save time and money in Walt Disney World.

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