Teaching Small children about Countries of the World is as easy as a trip to EPCOT

Teaching Small children about Countries of the World is as easy as a trip to EPCOT

Posted on 21. Nov, 2009 by Donald Duck in EPCOT

EPCOT is short for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” and as Walt Disney had envisioned was supposed to be an actual city where people lived and worked. It didn’t turn out that way. Walt died in 1966 and the vision changed a bit. No longer was a city planned, but a theme park was put on the drawing board.

While the entrance to EPCOT called “Future Word” has many wonderful rides such as Test Track, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth, the truly educational part of EPCOT is what is known as “World Showcase”. Here you can find a lake rimmed with various pavilions each themed as a different country.

Your kids will want to stay in Future World and enjoy the rides. Most kids think World Showcase is boring. It has very few rides but is full of culture. You’re going to have to be inventive to keep the little ones interested. Bribe them with candy, promise you’ll go on Mission Space, or make a game out of learning words from each language. However you do it, make sure they partake of the rich learning experience.

When you enter World Showcase from Future World it just seems natural to turn right and walk all the way around the lake in that direction. At least that’s what I do 90% of the time.

The first country you’ll come to is Canada. In Canada you see a large building known as “Hotel du Canada”. Canada has a wonderful show called “O’ Canada” which is a 17-minute Circle Vision 360 film showing the culture of Canada.

Each country you visit has shops and these shops have authentic goods imported from that country. It’s over the top that these shops are staffed with people from the country. These are usually students who have come to Disney World to work for a bit of time and see our culture. It’s amusing to me that we are watching them, but they are watching us as well and learning how Americans behave. I hope that’s a good thing.

Your next country is the United Kingdom with its shops and pub. You can get real fish n’ chips here.

On to France with its replica Eiffel Tower. In France you’ll find French restaurants, shops and if you are lucky, mimes teasing guests with their show. Make sure you see “Impressions de France” another fantastic moving film.

Just right next door to France is Morocco and its shops. You feel like you’ve transported back in time.
Now we go to the Orient, Japan and a large shop with wonderful goodies from the orient. The Bijutsu-kan Gallery there always has interesting displays in its changing exhibit.

After Japan we are suddenly back in America at the American pavilion. Here you can watch an animated show with Mark Twain and Ben Franklin. I almost forgot the most import part. Between Japan and America is a little stand selling funnel cakes. Oh the kids will love them.

Now to Italy. The music, the shops and chocolate, all tease your senses. Italy is relaxing and wonderful.

Each of the World Showcase countries has a special “KIDCOT” area that provides an opportunity for your child to interact with a native of the country you are visiting. Make sure you take advantage of that.

Now we travel away from Italy and on to Germany in just a few steps. In Germany you’ll find Hummel and Goebel collectables as well as German steins and cuckoo clocks. If you like German food, this is the place to stop and eat. The Biergarten is a German style buffet with entertainment and good times. You’ll eat German style which means you sit with other people at the same table.

China is next and not to be missed is “Reflections of China” another 360 degree movie. The shops at China are fun too.

Tired yet? Just a few more countries to go. Norway is next on the tour. Here your kids will love one of the best rides in EPCOT. “The Maelstrom” is a boat ride through the history of Norway. After you’ll be treated to a film about Norway. The shops of Norway are full of trolls. Big Trolls and small Trolls can be purchased. Your kids will like this country.

The last country we come to is Mexico. Featured is an Aztec Temple of Quetzalcoatl and inside you’ll find a wonderful Mexican restaurant, shops, and another boat ride. This time the ride takes you through Mexico’s culture. I doubt you can stop from smiling as you ride trough.

EPCOT can be a rich experience for your children and as you leave World Showcase there is one more learning adventure to be had that is fun for you and for the children. Soarin is a film/ride that makes you fly over California’s changing landscape. You feel, you hear, you see, and yes, you smell California. This is not to be missed.

Enjoy teaching your children about the world. It’s only a trip to EPCOT away.

Scott Ames owns a vacation home near Walt Disney World and has been going to Disney Theme parks since 1971. His vacation home is for rent by the week and more information can be found at: http://www.orlandogatherings.com

Building A Better Mouse: The Story Of The Electronic Imagineers Who Designed Epcot


$19.95

On October 1, 1982, The Walt Disney Company opened its EPCOT Center to the world, heralding changes that would take the Disney property in Florida from a mere theme park to a world-class resort destination. Authors Steve Alcorn and David Green were there, as employees of Disney’s WED Imagineering. “Building a Better Mouse” tells the tale of the “hundreds of mostly young, mostly bright and all embarrassingly idealistic people” who worked on Epcot, and gives a unique insider’s perspective on what it was like to be in the trenches as a Disney Imagineer in the early 1980s, from pixie dusting – when new employees are indoctrinated into all things Disney – through the craziness of the engineering design process, right up until the last frantic dash to opening day. It is a breathtaking, breezy, E-ticket ride of a book, required reading for both hard-core Disneyphiles and people interested in the business side of themed entertainment. >>Read More

The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom


$7.49

Sure, it’s the Happiest Place on Earth, but how much do the 45 million-plus people who visit the Disney World theme parks annually really know about it? From where to find all the hidden Mickeys to the truth behind Madame Leota’s ring at the Haunted Mansion, readers learn all about the hidden magic that permeates these fabulous resorts in this tell-all handbook. Readers also get the insider’s take on:The smell of home-baked cookies on Main Street in the Magic KingdomThe Fountain of World Friendship in Epcot that contains water from rivers and oceans around the globeWalt Disney’s opening day speech tapped out in Morse Code in FrontierlandThe eco-friendly benches (recycled milk jugs) in the Animal KingdomTwo versions of The Great Movie Ride at Disney’s Hollywood StudiosComplete with secret tips from Disney’s Imagineers, this book is the perfect in-park companion for Disney World fans. >>Read More

The Music of Disneyland: Walt Disney World and Epcot Center

CD made in 1988 for sale exclusively in Walt Disney theme parks. Contains 28 various songs from Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Epcot Center. Music from the Main Street Electrical Parade, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours, The Haunted Mansion, Spaceship Earth, and many more are included. >>Read More

The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World–Updated!


$9.95

The Imagineering Field Guide series answers the question: “What would it be like to walk through a Disney park with an Imagineer by your side?” A lot of fun, actually! And extremely interesting. The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World provides that experience-explaining large concepts and pointing out subtle details, revealing stories, back stories, and Imagineering insights never before heard, and showing sketches, paintings, and schematics used to develop the look of each attraction, condensed into a portable, easily referenced park guide. These user-friendly, beautifully illustrated guides are innovative and entertaining books that will enrich the guests’ time at the happiest places on earth. And now the series is being updated to include all the new attractions, shows, and lands in the Disney parks. Who better to tour you around the Disney parks than the Imagineers who created them? And what better than to have the most recent insider information?  It’s all in the Imagineering Field Guides. >>Read More

The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World


$5.26

Second in this line of pocket-size paperbacks, this one answers the question: “What would it be like to walk through Epcot with an Imagineer by your side?” The Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot provides that experience: pointing out details and telling stories, back stories, and Imagineering insights never before heard, condensed into a portable, easily referenced park guide. These user-friendly, beautifully illustrated guides are innovative and entertaining books that will enrich the guests’ time at the happiest places on earth. >>Read More

Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration


$55.00

If anyone could corner the millennium, Disney could. In presenting the theme music to its millennium celebration at Epcot Center in Florida, the megacorporation attempts a grand, musical year-2000 salute. Naturally, World Millennium Celebration weaves plenty of fiery brass, warm sting passages, stirring voices, and a mix of space romance and Earth adventure into the fabric of this fantasy work. Executive Music Producer Steve Skorija’s task seems to be providing a backdrop for live performance, a scrim to unfurl behind the spectacle. And in doing so, the themes “Reflections of Earth,” “We Go On,” “Tapestry of Nations,” “Promise,” and “Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand” (complete as a gospel version as well) have an “Up with People” undercurrent that is ambiguous even as it is mildly diverting. On those merits, Millennium Celebration succeeds as a score. But for sheer entertainment value, the CD needs to give us more of the legendary mouse’s magic and less of its roar. –Martin Keller >>Read More

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply

Powered by Yahoo! Answers