For most families a trip to Walt Disney World means visiting Mickey Mouse and flying high with Dumbo or screaming down the elevator drop at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Hotel but culture can be part of the fun. Epcot’s World Showcase gives families a chance to visit parts of the world they may have only read about in books.
Located at the far end of Epcot, the World Showcase takes you on a tour of eleven different countries. I’m not just talking about a building with artifacts. In pure Disney style, each country has been recreated to represent the area, the buildings, the landscape, like you’ve been transported across the sea.
Some places offer shopping, ideal for picking up souvenirs just as if you actually visited the country. Our two favourite countries for shopping has to be Mexico and Japan. You’ll also see cultural performance pieces such as Flag Dancing in Italy (I didn’t even know this was a thing), Kodo Drummers in Japan, even a lumberjack competition in Canada. If you’re feeling peckish there are lots of dining options whether you prefer table service like dinner in Mexico’s La Hacienda de San Angel or grabbing something quick fish and chips at United Kingdom’s Yorkshire County Fish Shop.
Our Junior Style Blogger and I had a chance to travel the world in a day and share some of our favourite highlights in this video:
Kids join on to become a secret agent and using their communicator device they are sent on a scavenger hunt. We ran out of time our our world adventure but it reminds me of the now closed Kim Possible Adventure which had the kids exploring all over a specific country (video below). Don’t expect the kids to stop after completing one mission.