Been to Walt Disney World several times and looking for something new and different to try? Well, Disney offers many exciting tours for their guests to enjoy. This post will focus on the Around the World at Epcot tour. In this tour guests get to spend time on a Segway Personal Transporter exploring World Showcase before it opens to the rest of the park guests.
I was able to take this tour with my mom in May of 2010 and let me just tell you, it was a trip highlight! We began our tour by checking in with guest services. There we got our name tags and met the other members of our group and our safety instructor. After everyone was checked in we made our way over to Innoventions to start the training portion of our tour.
We started off by watching a video about the Segway and how it works. After seeing the video I was a little nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to figure it out and would look like a total fool just trying to stand and balance on the thing, but that nervousness was soon eased when we went out and actually began using them. The hardest part is just getting the feel for it, after that it’s not really difficult at all. I was shocked to learn how you make it go and stop though, I assumed that there were hand controls or something, but it is all run by where you place pressure on your feet – pressure forward, you go, pressure back, you stop. But, you can also make yourself back up by putting too much pressure on your heels – it’s a balancing act, but if I can do it, anyone can – really!
We learned how to stop, go, turn right, turn left, go uphill, downhill, around and over obstacles. By the time we left Innoventions and headed towards World Showcase, we all felt very comfortable on our Segways. We were able to go through most of the World Showcase countries and our guide, Elton, talked to us about many of the unique features in each country and kept us entertained with his wit and great stories.
We were able to stop once for a photo op.
My Mom and I
There is a small case on the front of the Segway where your camera and a few personal items can be stored, but most of your belongings will have to be left in the training room in Innoventions. It is not possible to drive the Segway and take photos, so you really won’t get an opportunity for picture taking outside of this one stop.
All too soon our tour was over and it was time to head back to Innoventions. This part was just a bit unnerving. Future World had been open for a couple of hours by this point and there were people everywhere, I was so afraid someone was going to try and walk between us or cut me off and I wasn’t going to be able to stop. Most people were very good about giving us our space however and many had serious looks of envy on their faces, wondering how they could drive around on their very own Segway!
We parked our Segways and went back into the room where we watched our video so that we could return our helmets and retrieve our belongings. We also were given this pin to remember our tour by.
There are a few restrictions to the tour that you should be aware of. All participating guests must be 16 years or older and must weigh between 100-250 pounds. The tour lasts between 2 and 3 hours and currently costs $99.00 per person and admission into Epcot is also required. To book this tour you can call (407)WDW-TOUR (939-8687) or contact me and let me take the stress out of your vacation planning. I would love to help you plan your next Disney vacation and my services are free!
Michelle Beam
michelle@travelwiththemagic.com
1-800-670-4312 ext 127
