4 Lies Cast Members Tell You to Keep You Happy at EPCOT

Disney wants to do everything they can to make your experience in the parks magical, even if that means telling a few white lies.

Spaceship Earth

We’re not saying Disney lies about EVERYTHING, but there are a few things left unsaid, insinuated, or blatantly lied about to keep you and every other guest happy (and coming back). We’re uncovering four fibs that you might have heard in EPCOT.

The “Exclusive” Snacks and Souvenirs Are Not Really Exclusive

If you’re wandering around World Showcase at EPCOT, you might stumble into a few shops or visit some of the kiosks. Here, you’ll find neat souvenirs from each of the respective countries.

Mitsukoshi

Disney has created these spaces to make them feel very exclusive. You step into the country pavilions and you’re temporarily transported away from the United States. This makes it seem like everything inside the store or kiosk is ONLY available in that country or at Disney World, nowhere else.

So many Lay’s chips at the China pavilion

But that’s really not the case. If you walk through your local Wal-Mart or many grocery stores, you’ll probably see several of these “exclusive” snacks. And, of course, with Amazon, you can purchase nearly everything from around the world (likely at a cheaper price).

Character Paloozas Are Random

Character paloozas are a fun thing to experience if you ever get lucky enough to do so! These character events seem to happen randomly for the sole purpose of surprising guests. They often take place between the UK and Canada pavilions or between other pavilions, and there will be an assortment of characters, often rare ones.

EPCOT Character Palooza

Cast Members will tell you it’s random and just your lucky day because they wanted to surprise guests, but the truth is, these character paloozas are trainings for the character attendants. It’s a low-stakes way for the attendants to learn the ropes of their new job. So when you interact with the characters, you’re helping them all out by giving them opportunities to learn. It is still a great surprise, though, so be on the lookout while you’re visiting!

Free Food

Occasionally, you might be lucky enough to get free snacks while in the parks (this can happen at any of them not just EPCOT). Cast Members might make it seem like they’re pixie dusting you and giving you something for free, and while it is certainly a kind gesture, it’s more often so the food doesn’t go to waste.

You might have this happen to you at Starbucks locations around the parks!

We see this happen most often at the park’s Starbucks locations. If an order was made incorrectly, someone ordered wrong, or something else went wrong, instead of throwing away the food or beverage, they might offer it to someone for free.

Connections Cafe (Starbucks) Line

We have also experienced snack kiosks giving items like pretzels, turkey legs, and popcorn away for free at the end of the night. These foods have been heated and would get tossed in the trash, so instead of wasting food they might offer it to late night guests.

Mickey Pretzel

These free food moments are never guaranteed and should never be expected, but they are really nice when they happen. Plus, it’s a great way to not let so much go to waste!

Characters Have To Go “Prep” Specially for You

We once were in line for the Figment meet and greet when a Cast Member told all the kids in line that Figment was SO excited to meet them that he had to go get new colored pencils and draw them. It was very adorable and made all the kids feel so special.

Figment!

While this is super cute, we have to let you in on a tiny secret — it’s more than likely that Figment just needed a break and to meet up with a different VERY special “friend” ?. But kids don’t need to know that; they just need to know how special they are and that Figment (and all the other characters) care about them all.

Figment meet and greet

The magic is so important to Disney that they’re sometimes willing to lie a little. But, hey, these little white lies do make us happy, make us feel special, and keep the magic alive.

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