8 Significant Reasons Why You Should Skip an Epcot Park Day on Your Disney World Trip

Disney’s Epcot Park was revolutionary when it opened in 1982. Epcot World Showcase was (and still is) one of the most ambitious areas of a Disney theme park – representing and celebrating many (now 11) countries.

The park also had other areas dedicated to fun education. From the importance of eating well to imagination and more, it was great – and unmissable.

Historically, this has been the answer to many potential guests’ question: ‘what is so special about Epcot?’.

However, in the 2020s, should you skip Disney’s Epcot theme park on your next vacation?

Despite my glowing compliments, I’m going to recommend that some people may not need to visit Epcot on their next vacations.

Whilst this may not apply to you, there are a number of reasons why this park may not be worth your time and money.

This post is all about the 8 major reasons why it can make sense to skip an Epcot park day on your upcoming Disney World vacation.

Epcot Park

1) Limited Thrill Rides

We all know that Disney World isn’t home to the *most* exhilarating rides in the world (or even in Orlando).

However, rides like Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios, Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom and Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, are quite thrilling.

Epcot, on the other hand, has hardly any attractions that are remotely scary.

Until 2022, Epcot didn’t have any roller coasters.

In May 2022, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, became the first roller coaster at Epcot – despite the park being open since 1982.

Sure, Test Track (which is closed for refurbishment – due to reopen in 2025), is a mildly thrilling ride – but it’s not a roller coaster.

If you’re hoping to spend a Disney park day on tons of roller coasters, Epcot is probably one of the worst parks for you.

2) More Shopping & Dining Opportunities Than Rides

World Showcase Limitations

The World Showcase provides a chance to tour 11 Epcot countries, all in one day. Sounds amazing, right?

And don’t get me wrong, it is – if you’re happy to spend more time shopping and dining than actually on rides.

Despite this area of the Epcot park having 11 pavilions, it only has 3 rides in World Showcase:

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – France Pavilion

Frozen Ever After – Norway Pavilion
Gran Fiesta Tour Featuring The Three Caballeros – Mexico Pavilion

Lack of Epcot Rides in General

There are only 11 Epcot Park rides in total – and most of these are slow moving rides (like Journey Into Imagination with Figment and The Seas with Nemo & Friends). These are skippable rides for many guests – especially if you’re not visiting with young kids.

3) Less Characters in Epcot

When planning a Disney World trip, meeting character may be really important to you.

So you should be aware that there are fewer opportunities to see characters at Epcot compared to some of the other parks like Magic Kingdom.

Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely character meet-and-greets in Epcot, as well as two Epcot restaurants which are also character dining locations (Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and Garden Grill).

But, there is no Epcot parade or large stage shows with iconic Disney characters at this park.

If you would like to see lots of characters, Epcot is not the best park for this.

4) Seasonal Events May Alter Experience

Disney hosts 4 festivals each year:

Epcot International Festival of the Arts
Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
Epcot International Festival of the Holidays

On average, these festivals are 1-3 months long, so more often than not, there is a festival running at Epcot.

Sometimes this can make your experience better. For example, the Flower & Garden Festival makes Epcot look so much prettier – with gorgeous topiaries and even a butterfly garden!

And Candlelight Processional (evening events with a choir, orchestra and celebrity narrator who tells the story of Christmas) takes place during Festival of the Holidays.

On the contrary, seasonal events can make your experience worse. They can lead to bigger crowd sizes (particularly on weekends).

5) Arguably The Worst/Most Boring Park for Kids/Younger Guests

Epcot has historically been known as the “educational” park. From teaching you about farming to transportation and more, Epcot’s reputation makes sense.

Although this is interesting to many guests, it can be a little boring for kids.

That being said, Epcot has distanced itself from being educational. Now, it is in the process of becoming a dumping ground for Disney IP (not to the level of Hollywood Studios – but not too far away).

After all, look at this list of more recent IP-heavy attractions in Epcot:

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Journey of Water, inspired by Moana

Frozen Ever After
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Although Epcot will never beat Magic Kingdom for being the best family-friendly park, it’s arguably better than it used to be.

But bear in mind, that there are only a few attractions for younger kids to see characters they may know – which may make Epcot a less important park to visit for some guests.

6) Epcot Does Not Have the Best Nighttime Show

Between 1999 and 2019, Epcot had an iconic nighttime show – IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.

Since 2019, Epcot has had 3 nighttime shows that have one thing in common: they are less popular than IllumiNations.

From terrible to lukewarm reactions, Epcot is no longer seen by many as having the best evening show at Disney World.

Since December 2023, the nighttime show at Epcot has been Luminous: The Symphony of Us – which is a solid show … but

Is it as extraordinary as Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom? No.
Is it as ambitious as Fantasmic! at Hollywood Studios? No.

Are the Epcot fireworks good? Yes.

But should you go to Epcot just to see Luminous: The Symphony of Us? Unless you *really* like firework shows in general, no.

7) Drinking Around The World Can Cause Chaos on Occasion

If you’ve visited Disney’s Epcot Park before, you’re probably aware of 2 trends:

Eating around the world
Drinking around the world.

This is where people go to each pavilion at World Showcase, and try food and/or alcohol from every country.

As I mentioned, there are 11 countries – so if you’re drinking at each of them, things can go downhill fast!

Now, I’m not saying that Epcot is full of people who have been drinking too much (after all, it is a Disney park and not a glorified bar or club).

But if there’s going to be any disorderly behavior at a Disney World park, it’s most likely going to be the one with the largest drinking culture.

8) Universal is Opening Their Third Park Soon

Planning an Orlando theme park vacation in the second half of 2025 and beyond?

Your time may be better spent at Universal – particularly their third theme park, Epic Universe.

This new theme park is opening on May 22nd, 2025.

It will have several lands (which look impressive based on concept art released) and 11 rides on opening (including a plethora of roller coasters).

Will this new, shiny and (most likely) popular theme park make Epcot feel outdated and somewhat uninspired? Perhaps.

If you’ve visited Epcot before, or you want to see the latest innovations, your time may be better spent at Universal Studios Orlando – Epic Universe especially.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Epcot Park

What 11 countries are at Epcot?

United States
Mexico
Germany
United Kingdom
Norway
France
China
Japan
Canada
Morocco
Italy

Do you need a park ticket to eat at Epcot?

Yes, you will need a valid Epcot tickets if you would like to dine there.

This is the same if you’re looking to visit an Epcot festival or experience any of the attractions.

Is Disney Epcot worth it?

To determine this, you’d need to answer these questions:

Do you mind that Epcot doesn’t have many thrilling rides (and rides, in general)?
Do you mind that the park centers more around shopping and dining?
Will there be a festival on when you visit? If so, are you interested in that festival?
Would you like to see the nighttime show at Epcot?

If you are answering ‘yes’ to at least some of these questions, an Epcot park day may make sense for you.

Which theme park is best Magic Kingdom or Epcot?

This will vary from person to person, however, Magic Kingdom has more attractions (both thrilling and family-friendly), making it better for a lot of guests.

However, if you’re looking for more diverse shopping and dining options, Epcot is better at providing that.

Ta Ta For Now

Priorities matter, and sometimes Epcot doesn’t align with everyone’s plans.

Whether you’re budgeting time, don’t want to overspend on Epcot park tickets, prefer other parks, or want to relax more at your hotel, it’s all about personal choices.

Do you want to visit Epcot Park on your next Disney World trip? Or, is it easily skippable for you? Let us know what you think!

This post was all about the 8 major reasons why it can make sense to skip an Epcot park day on your upcoming Disney World vacation.

8 Significant Reasons Why You Should Skip an Epcot Park Day on Your Disney World Trip

Epcot Park

1) Limited Thrill Rides