Epcot has so much to see and do (read part 1, then part 3). Future World has several exhibits for kids to play with hands-on. Since the culture of the World Showcase may not be appreciated much by younger ones, there are some other great things that kids of all ages will enjoy. In addition to some quality reading, you will definitely like the Kidcot Fun Stops and the Kim Possible Adventures.
Kidcot Fun Stops are in each country pavilion. We bought an Epcot Passport Kit for $10 which included a passport, stickers for each country, and a big pin. Some make their own but we ‘splurged’ as it was also a souvenir. Your child just gave the passport to the person at the Kidcot, who then stamped it and wrote a little message in their language.
They also had a Duffy bear on a stick (can’t think of what to call it) to color in. Based off some online suggestions, we decided to have my daughter just color part of the drawing at each stop instead of getting a new one each time. That worked out nicely because we also got a great collection of stamps on the handle as well as her name written in other languages on the back. The most fun for me was watching my husband carry that around!
The Kim Possible Adventures are just plain cool! They give you a small flip phone (clearly tells you that it cannot be used outside the park or to make calls) which gives you a story and specific clues to follow. You can pick up a Kim-municator at various spots in the park. We got my daughter’s in Future World which set her first mission in Italy – perfect since we were going there to eat right after.
There is a different case for each country and the topics vary from. A short cartoon is shown identifying the mission and ‘villians’. You are then instructed to go to different areas in that country pavilion and look for specified hot spots. When your child (or you) are in the right area something will happen. In Japan, water began to fall from a rock in the pond. In France, what looked liked a normal bookcase was actually a screen that revealed fingerprints. The most surprising was the whole clock tower in the main square in Germany opening and playing music with figurines chasing each other. While we were in front of the beer stein display on a mantle in the Germany gift shop, this is what happened:
This was something that I enjoyed as well. I didn’t feel guilty though because I saw several parents getting into the action and some childless adults too.