Aug 6, 20222 min read

Guide to Rides at EPCOT

Before we get started, we need to explain a few things.

Our rating system:

5 stars is reserved the best of the best in all of Walt Disney World. We use this sparingly.

4 star rides are what we consider "must do" attractions. We are generally disappointed if we don't get to experience it on a trip.

3 star rides are rides we enjoy just fine, but aren't terribly disappointed if we can't do them.

2 star rides are things we usually skip, though you might want to experience them once in your lifetime. These are often originals, historic, or quaint experiences.

1 star rides are those we skip.

Ride types that might need some explanation:

360 Theater Experience - In these, you either sit or stand in a room in which the theater screens wrap all the way around the circular walls, immersing you in a show from all angles.
4D Theater Experience - 3D viewing, plus special effects you can feel.
Omnimover - This is a continuously loading system of ride vehicles that then typically travel as a sedate speed through scenes.
Dark ride - The ride is typically a sedate ride, but in a darkened building because the special effects are created with black light. Other than that, there is nothing "dark" about it. This is a unique kind of ride developed at Disneyland and then Walt Disney World.

We struggled a bit with "ride type" for this park. EPCOT is often where the most technological advances are used in rides and attractions and some ride types just defy words, but we did our best.

For each ride, we've created a "card" that shares our rating (how much we would recommend this ride), the ride type, whether it is eligible for Lightning Lane (LL) or Individual Lightning Lane (ILL), and a "kid factor" - That is, can you take your children on it without traumatizing them or breaking the rules. We'll also provide our honest description of the ride.

EPCOT is a lot more than just rides and attractions, which we will get into in later posts. We can easily spend an afternoon or evening here without visiting any attractions because of food, scenery, shopping, and live entertainment. EPCOT attractions also tend to lean more educational. You'll learn something, or at least be inspired, on almost every attraction.

We excluded "expo" type areas, which Disney counts as attractions. It's pretty common at EPCOT to encounter interactive exhibits at the exits to some rides. If that's your thing, stay and play. But we don't view them as their own thing any more than we would the interactive queue to wait for a ride. EPCOT attractions also tend to exist inside "pavilions", so all are indoors and air conditioned. There are often other things like those interactive displays or food to purchase inside those pavilions as well.

Let's start with the single World Celebration attraction.