Epcot - DisneywithIzzy

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Norway

Who knew that Norway could be so warm? Norway is a popular destination since you can meet and greet Princess Anna and Queen Elsa from the movie Frozen. Norway looks just like a Norwegian town square.

Food: Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is the perfect place for princesses! Here you can meet princesses for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You should probably have a dining reservation because it gets crowded here so don’t be surprised to be waiting for a while. You can also find sandwiches and pastries at Kringla Bakeri og Kafe. I would recommend trying the School Bread from here.

Entertainment: The Norway Pavilion has a popular ride called Frozen Ever After. This line is REALLY LONG!! First, you will see Olaf and Sven decorating for the Winter Festivals. The grandfather troll tells the tale of how Anna and Kristoff meet. Towards the end of the ride Elsa is singing Let It Go, then the ride starts going backwards! What a pleasant surprise! Afterwards, you can go meet Princess Anna and Queen Elsa at the Royal Sommerhus.

Shopping: The Wandering Reindeer has Frozen toys, clothes and much more! Curious and Collectibles has interesting books on trolls, Vikings and much more such as clothes and toys.

Don’t forget to get your passport stamped!

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Germany

The Germany Pavilion has a small village area with shops and restaurants. In the middle of the plaza, a statue of St. George slaying a dragon is shown (look at the picture above). Don’t forget to check out the model train! It’s really cool!

Food: The Germany Pavilion has two restaurants called Biergarten and Sommerfest. At Biergarten, you sit with another family. It feels like you’re outside because of the black ceiling. Biergarten is a buffet with potatoes, breads, chicken, sausages, German Cheesecake, and much much more! I had lots of different foods that tasted delicious! While you eat, a live band plays as well. Sommerfest is a quick service restaurant.

Shopping: Germany has lots of places to shop. Der Teddybar is a toy shop with finger puppets and, you guessed it, teddy bears. Volkskunst has felt hats, famous books, cukoo clocks, and awesome hand painted eggs. Das Kaufhas is full of soccer balls and jerseys that are perfect for soccer fans. Karamelle-Kuche sure has a lot of food! This store has caramel apples, caramel corn, fresh caramel, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, fudge, and marshmallows.

Entertainment: Marget Almer and The Bavarian Band perform 5 days per week outside at the pavilion. You can also meet Snow White in Germany.

An Interview with a Five Year Old

Hello everyone! Today I thought it would be a great idea to interview my little five year old brother Al. Here is how it went:

Izzy: Hi Al, I hope it’s okay if I interview you for my blog?

Al: Okay.

Izzy: Which is your favorite park?

Al: You know it. Epcot because it has my two favorite rides, Test Track and Spaceship Earth.

Izzy: Why are Test Track and Spaceship Earth your favorite rides?

Al: Test Track because you get to design your own car and the ride goes really fast. Spaceship Earth because at the end you see the moon, you ride backwards and I like the music. That’s all.

Izzy: Do you have a favorite pavilion in Epcot?

Al: I like Canada because there is a show called “O Canada!” and at the end he says, “I have a fastpass for Soarin’. Hate to miss it.”

Izzy: Do you have a favorite snack at Disney World?

Al: The ice cream sandwich!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Macarons might be second.

Izzy: In Disney World the macarons are available in the France Pavilion. Do you have a favorite restaurant at Epcot?

Al: Garden Grill! I love that one!

Izzy: Who is your favorite Disney character?

Al: I don’t know.

Izzy: That is okay. Do you like when we stayed at Epcot until nine pm to watch Illuminations? (this is the light show)

Al: Yes I did.

Izzy: Al, do you know how many times you have gone to Disney World?

Al: Six times.

Izzy: Correct! Alright everyone, I think that’s all the questions I had for Al today. Thank you Al for letting me interview you.

Al: Okay, bye!

Izzy: If you wanted to know more on Test Track or Garden Grill, just click the search button on my blog and type the name in and an article about Test Track or Garden Grill will appear. Thanks for reading this article and bye!

A Beginner’s Guide to the World Showcase: Spotlight on Japan

The Japan Pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot feels like you are in Japan! From the food to the shopping to the entertainment, Japan is definitely a pavilion to see.

At Teppan Edo, the chef cooks at the table!

Food: There are two table service restaurants in the Japan Pavilion: Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining. On my last trip we went to Teppan Edo. At Teppan Edo the chefs cook the food on the table in front of you! You also sit next to other families and share the table. The chefs also like to make a volcano out of onions. Update: Takumi-Tei is a restaurant that has 5 rooms inspired by a natural element. Takumi-Tei means “house of the artisan” in Japanese.

Shopping: Now let’s talk about the shopping. The Japan Pavilion has a huge store called Mitsukoshi. Everything in the store is from Japan. When I went to Mitsukoshi I bought a light purple fan and the cashier wrote my first name on it in Japanese! If you need a hand fan, go to the Japan Pavilion and you can get one in Mitsukoshi or at the Mitsukoshi kiosk outside of Teppan Edo.

Entertainment: Now let’s talk about the entertainment. Matsuriza performs Japanese Taiko Drumming several times a day. The drum performance is really interesting and after the performance the drummers introduce themselves to you.

If you’re going to Epcot to see the World Showcase Pavilions you might want to stop by Japan!

A Beginner’s Guide to Epcot Passports

At Epcot, in the World Showcase, they have many pavilions or countries you can visit to celebrate our diversity. A fun thing you can do is buy a passport in Epcot. The passport comes with stickers for each pavilion and a pin (not for pin trading, but it has a picture of Mickey and with all the flags for the countries in the World Showcase).

Cast Members add the stamp, date, time and a short message!

When you are in a pavilion, go to the Kidcot fun stop and a Disney Cast Member (that’s what they call everybody that works at Disney World) will stamp your passport, fill in the date and time and write something in their language.

Passports are fun because you might even learn a new language. Always be on the look out for the Kidcot fun stop! There is one in every country pavilion, even the United States pavilion. The passport at Epcot helps make going to the pavilions even more enjoyable. When you go to your hotel, you can put the stickers that come with the passport on it. After you have visited all the country pavilions every page of your passport will be full of pictures from the stickers and different languages.

Test Track Review

Height Restriction: Must be 40 inches

What I Like About It

Test Track by Chevrolet (real people, not actors) is located in Epcot and it is my little brother’s favorite ride. At Test Track you get to create your own car and take it for a spin! First, you enter a room where you get to choose the color for your car, the height of your car, and the speed and design of the car. Next, it’s time to get in your car! Scan your magic band or card when you are about to get on the ride and a picture of your car will appear! While in your car, you will be testing your car. The last test is the speed test. It’s a fun race against the other people on the ride who have also made cars! The ride goes outside, has lots of curves and goes really fast. The speed test is my favorite part of the ride.

This is my little brother’s favorite ride!

What I Don’t Like About It

When it rains, they close the ride. This is a pain but it happens to many rides in Disney World that are outside. If it rains and they close the ride, just come back later in the day. Hopefully, it will be open again. Also, there are long lines because the ride is popular, so it is helpful to get a Fastpass+.

FAST! My hair always gets in my face on this ride!

My Favorite Restaurant at Epcot

Epcot has the most restaurants to choose from, but my favorite restaurant at Epcot is Garden Grill. The restaurant is in the Land Pavilion and the restaurant even moves! In the background you can see scenes from the Living with the Land ride.

Notice Living with the Land is behind us.

At breakfast, for kids they serve Mickey waffles. For adults there are eggs, bacon, sausage, potato barrels (tater tots), fruit and a cinnamon roll sticky bun. My favorite is the cinnamon roll sticky bun. They bring all the food to your table. If you go to Garden Grill really early for breakfast, they sometimes let you on Soarin’ Around the World early so you don’t have to wait in a long line!

For lunch and dinner they have lots of foods including salad, turkey, pot roast, macaroni & cheese, french fries and vegetables. Best part is the dessert: berry short cake with whip cream! You also get to meet characters. Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale all come to your table.