Visit Walt Disney World: Epcot Center

I always wanted to go to Disney World when I was a kid, but coming from a working class family with two brothers and two sisters, I wasn't ever able to go. When I reached adulthood, I lost interest (as most of us do) in going...That was until I was given a niece and a handful of nephews. Suddenly, my desire to go to Disney World was rekindled due to the fact that I wanted to experience from them what I would've experienced had I had the grand opportunity to go. So for 10 days or so, I experienced all four parks of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida through their eyes.

As one of the four amazing parks that in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Epcot Center is over 300 acres of scenic landscape—twice the size of Magical Kingdom. Epcot Center is divided into Future World and World Showcase.  At the end of the day, make sure you don't miss the nightly fireworks show, as it's like the Fourth of July at Epcot Center every night!  The best place to view it is on the United Kingdom/Canada side of the pavilion.  It's absolutely spectacular.

One of the most difficult things to do while in Walt Disney World is deciding on how to utilize your precious time. As there is so much to do and see, time is of the essence. The best advice that I can give to you is to plan out your day as this will enable you to budget your time wisely. Chances are that the most popular rides in Walt Disney World have equally the longest queues. Be prepared in some cases to wait up to 2 hours for some rides unless you have the luxury of an E-Ticket.

• Spaceship Earth-As on of the most recognizable icons, Spaceship Earth is the huge golf-ball looking behemoth you see when first walking into EpcotCenter’s main entrance. A 13-minute takes passengers through a time-line from the Prehistoric Age to the world of tomorrow.
• Innoventions-Tour the many innovations of humankind featuring some of the biggest contributors including Don’t Waste It, from Waste Management, The Great Piggy Bank Adventure from T. Rowe Price, Slapstick Studios from the Velcro Companies and many more…
• Universe of Energy-Let Ellen Degeneres, Bill Nye “The Science Guy,” Jeopardy’s Alex Trebek, and Jamie Lee Curtis take you on a tour to embark on the history of energy.
• Mission: Space-Blast off into space in this thrilling shuttle launch-simulator that takes you on a mission to Mars. When going on this, I was amazed that the ride felt so real—the G forces are incredibly realistic.
• Test Track-Sponsored by General Motors, Test Track shows you exactly what it would be like to test a new vehicle, in which you reach blistering speeds around the entire perimeter of the attraction including 50 degree bank turns.It is the fastest Disney attraction ever built.
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends-Join Marlin and Dori and many other characters from Pixar’s Finding Nemo while aboard a Clamobiles as they take you on a journey to explore the coral reefs.
• The Land-Is a 2.5 million square-foot parcel that is geared towards teaching visitors to appreciate and conserve our environment’s namesake. Its main feature is a lush greenhouse full of incredible horticulture, including a Mickey Mouse- shaped pumpkin.

• Imagination!-Join a small purple dragon named Figment on a journey aboard “The Train of Thought.” Visitors will be able to experience all five senses: Taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing.

The World Showcase features the unique food venues and themes of 11 of the most recognizable countries from around the world including:

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

I must say that visiting Future World was a lot of fun and exciting to my nephews, the World Showcase to me was the bigger treat among the two. I felt like I could spend an entire week there alone while trying out its many restaurants and perusing through all the many shops and kiosks these featured nations had in store. In one moment I was drinking real imported German beer from a stein and in the next was eating yakitori off a stick--followed by green tea ice cream for dessert! I wish I had such places near work for lunch, as I would never run out of something new to try.

I would probably have to create a separate hub to delve into all that the World Showcase has to offer. Rest assured, each of the eleven countries that are represented have more than one restaurant for you to enjoy, so come early and come hungry! Due to the fact on which restaurant I wanted to dine in, I decided instead to simply snack on everything I could find!

One of the most intriguing and unique venues was that of Miyuki, who uses hot rice dough to create edible animal and flower confections upon request. And while in Japan, the Mitsukoshi department store should not be overlooked, as it is a shopping mall within itself. While there, you can buy a ton of toys, including Hello Kitty and Pokémon items. There’s even an aquarium-like table where visitors can choose and buy their own pearl in which staff members will shuck the oyster for you!