Kidcot Fun Stops at World Showcase

Jackson gets his Ziploc Kidcot Fun Stop bag in Mexico at Epcot World Showcase

Many people seem to think that World Showcase in Epcot is just for adults. That’s not true at all! In fact, each country in World Showcase has a special area dedicated just to the little ones. Kidcot Fun Stops give kids an opportunity to be creative and learn about the host country.

About Kidcot Fun Stops:

Over the years, the free activities at the Kidcot Fun Stops have changed. For a long time, you went from country to country collecting stamps on a Duffy Bear cutout on a stick, with the option to personalize it by coloring it as you went. This summer, Ziploc has started sponsoring the Kidcot Fun Stops and the Duffy cutouts have been replaced with traveler cards you can collect and store in a Ziploc bag that looks like a suitcase.

The goal is to collect all 11 activity cards. If you do, you’ll get a bonus postcard that says “I Traveled the World Showcase at Epcot”. This is a real postcard that you can either keep or fill out and send to a friend or family member. (There are mailboxes around Walt Disney World and several locations for purchasing postage)

The traveler cards feature the name of the country on a banner that resembles that country’s flag. Each card also lists the country’s capital city, as well as a fun detail about the country as told by a Disney character. There is also a blank area that says “Make a new friend in (name of country)”. The cast member will write a message or draw a picture in here for you.

On the back of each traveler card is a scene you can color that goes along with the story from the front. The cards are only 3.5 inched by 5 inches, and the pictures have a lot of detail, which may make it difficult to color for smaller children.

In addition to the traveler cards, each country also provided a sticker. There is no space for the stickers on the cards, so it is up to you what you do with those.

Our Kidcot Fun Stop Experience

We were disappointed to hear that the Kidcot Fun Stops had changed, mostly because the Duffy cutout was the last remaining evidence of his once being the ambassador to World Showcase. Our kids loved meeting Duffy and both have Duffy bears (Jackson even brought his Duffy to Toy Story Land wearing a Buzz Lightyear costume). We also enjoyed seeing the creative ways our kids and the even the cast members would color Duffy.

While the level of interaction between kids and the cast members always varied from country to country, there seems to be even less reason to interact with this new activity. Out of 11 countries we visited, there were only 3 instances where the traveler card wasn’t pre-filled and the cast member took time to talk to Jackson. Each of those cast members asked his name and wrote in on the card in their native language.

The other big change is the coloring. The Kidcot Fun Stops still provide markers for coloring the back of the traveler cards, but with each card having its own detailed scene, this can take quite a bit of time. With the old Duffy-on-a-stick, we let the kids color a little bit of it at each stop. That allowed them to take a bit of a break in each country, but still let us move along at a decent pace around World Showcase. With the new cards, we skipped the coloring altogether because we wouldn’t want to rush him trying to color something so detailed, and we didn’t have all day.

The handle on our Ziploc bag also tore a bit and we were able to find some tape to fix it at one of the gift shops.

Where to find Kidcot Fun Stops:

The Kidcot Fun Stops in each country can sometimes be as hard to find as a hidden Mickey. When we first started doing this activity with our kids, we remember wandering around looking for the next stop. Here is a handy list of where you can find each stop to help you save some time and energy.

Mexico Pavilion (On our most recent visit, the Fun Stop was located next to the fountain inside the shopping plaza. It used to be up in the art gallery when you first walk in)
Norway Pavilion (at The Puffin’s Roost gift shop, which is just to the left of the entrance to Frozen Ever After)
China Pavilion (In the gift shop on the left of the pavilion after you pass the restaurants. It’s on your right shortly after you pass the Buddha statue.)
Germany Pavilion (in Der Teddy Bear section of gift shop, in the back right of the pavilion)
Italy Pavilion (outside, in a little alcove on the right next to the gift shop)
American Adventure Pavilion (outside, between the gift shop and restrooms)
Japan Pavilion (head straight back and it will be just before the entrance to the gift shop and Kawaii art gallery)
Morocco Pavilion (In the market place towards the back of the pavilion. Head straight past the fountain, through the arch, and look for it just by a doorway on your right)
France Pavilion (In the gift shop way in the back next to the bakery.)
United Kingdom Pavilion (at The Toy Soldier shop, which is almost the last room on the right hand side)
Canada Pavilion (at the exit of O Canada! Follow the path toward Le Cellier, then turn right and head down to the overhang)

How to make the most of your experience:

In our opinion, the best part of the Kidcot Fun Stops has always been the chance for kids to talk to Cast Members from those countries. Cast members at each station are always willing to go the extra mile to help your child learn more about their country. And while getting a little something to remember each country by is very cool, it’s even better when it’s personalized! To get the most out of their experience, your child can:

Ask how to say hello in a new language.
Ask how to say a specific word in their language.
Have the cast member draw their country’s flag.
Ask to have the cast member write their name in their language (This is a great idea in China, Japan and Morocco)
Ask a question to learn more about their holidays, food, traditions etc.

In the end, your child will have a memorable and unique souvenir. And hopefully, they’ll have learned a little something along the way.

Have your children visited Kidcot Fun Stops? What did they like about it?

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Best Walt Disney World Rides and Attractions for Little Ones | Adventures in Familyhood

Friday 7th of July 2017

[…] Kidcot Fun Stops (Future World)~Collect stamps and create a personalized souvenir at any or all 11 of these World Showcase craft stations. […]

Lynn

Friday 18th of July 2014

Lots of great info!! My kids love stopping at these stations and we usually have the rule they can only color one thing or use one color or we'd spend our day at the kid cot stations :)

baseballmickey

Sunday 3rd of August 2014

Thanks, Lynn. We know what you mean. Our kids would probably color a completely new Duffy at each country if they could. It would be the only thing we did that day if we let that happen. One color, one section, or one part at each station is our rule too.

Cindy Howell

Saturday 12th of July 2014

Thanks for the great info! On our trip, we had no idea you could do all of that. The boys colored their Agent Ps on the first stop, but no one told else what else we could do. We will be sure to remember next time!

We're glad you found the post useful, Cindy! Thanks for reading!