WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?

12:00 P.M. We like the food court downstairs in The Land because you don't need reservations and everyone can get something different, from salads to spuds to barbecue. (Leigh recommends the killer chocolate-chip cookies.) If you're up for a meat-and-vegetable meal, there's reservation-required character dining upstairs in the Garden Grill Restaurant.

WONDER WORLD

1:00 P.M. Having spent the morning at Future World, we head to World Showcase. It's laid out in a 1.3-mile circle around the World Showcase Lagoon, so we start at the opposite side from where we'll be having dinner. We plan to end up in Mexico at 5:30, so we start in Canada.

Wherever you begin, drop by any gift shop and pick up Epcot Passports for your children. As you visit each country, an attendant stamps the kids' passports and writes their names in that nation's language. Jordan, a collecting fiend, propels us from country to country in a quest to fill his book. (He later took it to school for show-and-tell.)

Each of the 11 nations is staffed by citizens of the country represented. Disney recruits, relocates, houses and, if necessary, teaches English to the attendants, shopkeepers and waiters. When a young man working a vendor's cart in Italy sees Jordan's soccer shirt, he heads him an inflatable ball. Leigh still has the origami ornament a woman from Japan helped her make during our Christmas visit.

STREET SCENE

1:30 P.M. Allow time to relax and take in one of the many street shows. I love the United Kingdom's World Showcase Players doing a silly send-up of the King Arthur legend, complete with audience "volunteers." Leigh, an oldies junkie, gives a solid thumbs-up to the British Invasion, Beatles clones who perform around the corner in the garden gazebo. This entertainment is neatly tailored to each country--acrobats in China, fire-eaters in Morocco, opera singers in Italy.

TIP: The street shows are a better choice than some of the indoor attractions for a family with preschoolers. If your kids get restless or fussy, you can just amble on.

TOWER POWER

2:30 P.M. At the Kidcot Fun Stops outside each country's pavilion, you'll see that each nation teaches kids a craft or indigenous game. The kids spent a half hour in blue smocks painting pictures of the Eiffel Tower in France. It turned out to be our all-time best Epcot photo op.

STARS AND STRIPES

3:30 P.M. You don't have to be a history buff to enjoy the patriotic show in THE AMERICAN ADVENTURE, which has some of the most complex Audio-Animatronics Disney has ever developed. The Ben Franklin robot actually walks upstairs to visit Thomas Jefferson. The show doesn't flinch from less glorious moments either; the scene where Mathew Brady photographs a family in conflict over the Civil War has literally brought me to tears.

TIP: Afternoons are ideal for taking in shows such as The American Adventure or Impressions de France, which let you sit.

SUPPORT THE LOCAL ECONOMY

4:00 P.M. You see things at Epcot that aren't available elsewhere in Walt Disney World: German wines, Chinese silk robes, an entire shop devoted to English teas, hand-knit Norwegian sweaters. Kids' souvenirs, such as plastic Viking helmets and rubber samurai swords, are available from the outside vendors.

TIP: I limit impulse buys by giving the kids a certain amount of Disney Dollars for souvenirs when we enter the park. The bills, available from Guest Relations and the ticket booths, come in denominations of $1 (Mickey), $5 (Goofy) and $10 (Simba), and are accepted anywhere in Walt Disney World. When my children were little, I had them convinced that this was the only form of currency the parks accepted. They're onto me now, but Disney Dollars remain a family tradition.

STARSTRUCK

4:45 P.M. Looking for another fun and unique photo? During the afternoon, characters appear around World Showcase in their "home" nation. Aladdin is in Morocco, Alice hangs out in the United

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated June 2005.