I’ve been trying to decide how to split the thousands of photos we took up into posts for hours now. I’ve decided I’m going to do 4 posts, each one dedicated to one of my favourite parks, then I shall do a 5th & final post as a round up of all the other parks & places we visited. Just a pre-warning, they will all be super photo heavy, as I’m awful at editing photos down to a small selection!
I’m starting with Epcot as it’s my favourite Disney park. Epcot (or Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) is a park dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, international culture and technological innovation. The park consists of two main sections ‘Future World’ which houses innovative rides, interactive attractions/displays & huge aquariums. Whilst the ‘World Showcase’ is a collection of 11 different countries each with their own little pavilion around the lagoon. Each country is made to give you a small taste of each place with traditionally styled architecture & decoration, representations of the most famous landmarks & traditional shops & restaurants which are all staffed by citizens of that country as part of the Cultural Representative Program.
I love the mixture of science & culture Epcot has, I know it’s a slightly Disney-fied version, but as these are two of my greatest loves it’s no surprise it’s my favourite. It’s absolutely surreal walking around the World Showcase crossing over from one country into another & I loved the fact that all the staff in the shops were actually from that country, it’s a really nice touch & adds to the surrealness of it all. I also thought it was amazing that the products in the stores were authentic & imported instead of cheap replicas made for the park. Being imported meant they were a little overpriced, but personally I’d much rather buy something authentic & of high quality as a souvenir than a cheap plastic version made for tourists. Japan, Mexico, Italy & Morocco were my favourites, I could have spent hours wandering around them. I actually did spend way over an hour in the main shop in the Japan section, nerding out over all the manga & anime (guilty pleasure!) merchandise, beautiful traditional clothing & imported food!
Future World has so many fun interactive/educational displays to play with & I love their huge aquariums, but my favourite ride there was ‘Mission Space’ a space shuttle launch simulator that I assumed would be a little rubbish but is actually pretty realistic & really puts your stomach in your throat with the G-Forces it exerts! The perfect ride for an adrenaline junkie like me! Of course we had to do ‘Spaceship Earth’ (the golf ball!) too, a time machine type journey from the beginnings of man right up to today & how communication has shaped our society. It was really interesting & I still can’t get over how lifelike some of the Disney animatronics are!
Spaceship Earth Mural / Inside Spaceship Earth
Mission: Space
‘Gravity Wheel’ in the queue for Mission: Space / A little scared after reading the mass of warnings on the ‘launch ticket’!
Huge aquariums – I could stand here watching the fishes all day long!
Baby clownfish / Creepy Nemo toys
Happy dolphins!
France
Italy
Beautiful Venetian Masks
Japan
Japanese Gateway / Beautiful replica architecture
Studio Ghibli plushies!
Gorgeous kimonos / Food!
Germany
Morocco
Moroccan style souk
China
Lucky Buddha statue / Exhibition of miniature replicas of the Terracotta Army
Looking out across the World Showcase lagoon
Getting ready to watch the fireworks from the Japan pavilion / I couldn’t resist buying the Totoro plush, it’s one of my favourite movies!
‘IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth’ fireworks show
Throughout the photos I am wearing : Topshop Boutique Cashmere Tee / H&M Denim Shorts / Lux Coronette Lion Claw Pendent / AJ Morgan at ASOS Cat Eye Sunglasses
Nikki says
wow lovely pictures!!
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Laura Blair says
This looks absolutely mental! I’ve never been anywhere like this, never been to anything Disney related at all actually. The sheer size looks overwhelming! I absolutely love aquariums, my friends think they’re boring and try to drag me past them whenever we go anywhere with one, so it’s nice seeing that someone else likes them and I’m not bizarre! Looks like you had an amazing time, too.
FAIIINT says
It really is, it’s so overwhelming! The sheer size of the park (I think 300ish acres from what I remember!) & the fact that the buildings in the countries are all full scale is just crazy! We spent an entire day 9am-11pm there & I still could have easily spent a second day there checking out everything I missed!
How can anyone find aquariums boring?! They are so beautiful & amazing! I’m like a fish out of water though & love the ocean, so I guess maybe I’m a little biased! ;)
Marlene says
Welcome home to sunny….err…..grey England :P I’ve only ever been to Disneyland in Anaheim but Disney World in Florida is on a much grander scale. I can’t believe they even have little Japan or Terracotta soldiers there!!! My daughter would just flip over this. I’ve heard that Euro Disney isn’t that great but still costs a fortune so I guess one day……we might just hop on the plane to visit Disney World.
FAIIINT says
Hehe! It was actually sunny when we got off the plane in England, but since then the weather has gone steadily downhill!
I’ve always wanted to visit Japan & so it was a nice little taster, I want to go even more now though! I actually missed the Terracotta Army exhibition when it was in London & was so gutted, so seeing a miniature version was a really nice surprise! It’s so lovely that your daughter is into things like that! :)
I’ve never been to Euro Disney myself, but know a few people who have been both there & Florida – they all agree that Florida is much much better! I couldn’t recommend it more & I’m sure your daughter would love it there & Epcot especially if she likes things like that! So much to see & do & such an amazing experience! :)
Marlene says
Bummer! I didn’t know there was the Terracotta Army exhibition in London. I missed it when I was in China because we ran out of time and wasn’t able to make it to Xian. My daughter has been talking about Disneyland for the longest time. A French friend of mine who’s a journalist was invited to cover the opening of Euro Disney a while ago wasn’t all that impressed. Oh well……Disney World it is.
Jo says
Such great photos :) I love the happy dolphin one so much..hehe. Looks like you had a great time.
Jo. x
victoria says
What a brilliant post! Thanks for sharing! I love cultures so the park sounds brilliant, love the photo of the dolphines! They really look like they are smiling to the camera, beuatiful animals. I can’t wait to see your other photos :) xxx
alicia says
Please tell me you got on that simulated spaceship ride. That thing blew my mind a few years ago. How do you simulate space travel??? They are geniuses.
FAIIINT says
Yes I did! It’s bloody awesome isn’t it?! Only Disney could make something like that! :D
Miranda says
This looks like such a fun time :)
XX,
Miranda
Melissa Araujo says
OMG i missed you on the blogsphere. I love your trip photos looks so magical and fun! I have been working tons and moving out this month has been painfully busy for me. Which made me post less lately. But justlike you I need to sort out photos sit down and post. Good to see you back xx
Maria says
Wow, this place looks insane and those Nemo toys are TERRIFYING!
Maria xxx
Xixia says
Oh gosh…I am so glad you’re back from your vacation. Is that selfish of me? I’m sorry if it is – your pictures are just too wonderful. :)
It has been 6-7 years since I have been to Disney World, and I wish I could go again, very soon. I feel like I was too young to truly enjoy it, which is odd, no? Since the attraction is geared toward little kids. But with Epcot at least, I think you have to be older to truly appreciate the splendor of what you see. I barely remember these places you show – if I visited them again now, there’s no way I’d forget.
Hahah, I think I’d spend the longest time in the Japan section too. Their architecture and design is just so clean and elegant, and all those plushies / manga…they’re too cute! What is your favorite manga / anime?
Ah, I had no idea they had a terracotta army exhibit there! And are those real dolphins…??? Oh goodness. :)
♥ x i x i a | thisisxixia.com
FAIIINT says
Hehe! Aw, thankyou, that is so sweet! :)
I totally agree with you, I think Magic Kingdom .etc are great if you’re little (I didn’t enjoy it *quite* as much as an adult) but places like Epcot really are much more amazing when you can truly appreciate it all! The same with Kennedy Space Center too, which we also did & there will be photos of soon! & yes they are real dolphins! :D
I’m a bit of a Japanophile! Their culture fascinates me (I guess because it’s so totally different to my own) & I so admire the Japanese aesthetic when it comes to architecture & design! I must admit, I had a very hard time only getting the Totoro plush, I wanted to buy the whole shop! Heh! My favourite series is probably Bleach, movie wise, I love Akira, Vampire Hunter D & of course, pretty much all of the Studio Ghibli ones too, the art work is so breathtaking! ♡
Giovanna says
Great photos! I absolutely adore Disney!!
xx
Giovanna
http://www.oliveandanarrow.com
Grom says
Great photos & look forward to the others. The one that took my breath away was you standing looking into the huge aquarium– FANTASTIC. To all Stephanies lovely blogger friends, i am her grandma that had the pleasure of baby sitting Nico for 2 weeks !!! Aged me 10 years !! lol. Keep all these SUPER blogs going, i Love reading them all. xxx
Izumi says
I <3 Totoro too! So love reading about your fun times!
Hybid Hunter | Hybid Hunter
steph says
didn’t even know epcot existed but it sounds really rad from your description of it. i love g-force rides, and anything stomach turning really, haha. love these pictures and how cute are the smiley dolphins?? <3