Epcot Plan Critique and questions

[Pookie9922]

Howdy! I'm new to these boards and could use some strategy help.

My family (5: Me, DH, DS(10), DD1(8), DD2(6)) is going for WDW for the first time the week after Thanksgiving (Nov 27-Dec 4) This is a (most likely) one time trip, so I feel extra pressure to get everything just right. Plus I'm an overplanner, so ironing out all the details 6 months in advance feels just right. I also want to make sure our trip doesn't feel too regimented since I'm the only one of us that likes to plan ahead. DH won't plan but he usually appreciates that I do as long as I'm not running us around crazy.

We are from Southern California. We don't have passes to Disneyland anymore but we go about once a year. So some rides that are "duplicates" are lower priority. Like Nemo and Friends, for example. I know it's different, but it's probably not that different. On the other hand, Soarin' is high-ish because this is the first trip my youngest is tall enough to go on it.

I'll be asking for advice on the other parks as well, but Epcot is the first one I feel like I've kinda narrowed down enough to ask questions about.

Overview of our trip as I have it planned out so far...

Staying 11/27-12/4 at the Beach Club

Tuesday - Land at MCO at 4:30. Hoping to get a Beaches and Cream ADR for 8. (I think this should be enough time to get settled?)
Wednesday - MK I know this is an evening EMH, but we want to book end at MK and I'm hoping we'll be on California time enough still to take advantage of the EMH somewhat.
Thursday - DHS
Friday - Epcot
Saturday - Rest/Disney Springs/Resorts Probably dinner at Ohana
Sunday - AK
Monday - MK again
Tuesday - Fly home at 11am

Some of the crowd calendars put us at Light days, others put us at Moderate. So I'm guessing we will be low-moderate. The days I picked for each park don't seem to be recommended as low crowd days, but I was trying to avoid EMH - I don't think we can get up early enough, especially early in the trip, to do an EMH for Epcot.

My thoughts on Epcot...

We are staying at the Beach Club, so we will enter through the IG.

1. TT at RD
2. Mission Space Orange (FP+?)
3. Meet & Greet with BayMax & Joy and Sadness (Not essential, but would be fun, and it's on the way)
4. Soarin'
5. Living the Land (FP+?)
6. Spaceship Earth(FP+)
7. Lunch at Electric Umbrella
8. FEA (FP+)
9. WS with dinner in either Germany or Italy. Might get ADR for Via Napoli. Not sure what time though.
10. Circle back to FT for anything we missed - Pixar Shorts, Turtle talk, Aquarium, and any same day FP we can get.
11. Head south for Illuminations and back to IG

Questions I have...
1. Does it make sense to walk all the way from the IG to TT? The line for TT is slower than Soarin', right? Which is why I put it first. Then Mission Space since it's right there, to avoid trekking back across immediately to Soarin'. Or should we just make the trek and do Mission later with a FP+?
2. Do I use the FP+ on Mission if we are doing it second? Should I put that on Living the Land even though it doesn't usually have bad lines?
3. Lunch isn't a set #. I just don't have a good idea of how much we can do before lunch time.
4. What time should I try to get a FP+ for FEA?
5. How much time should we expect for WS? I'm a nerd and I think my kids will like a good portion of it (getting a pearl, acrobats, Agent P's adventure, plus all the desserts!) We don't need to linger but I do want to see a good portion of it.

I think that's all my questions. Am I on the right track??

Thanks!

 

[epcotobsessed]

1. Unless you're continuously going back and forth from World Showcase to Future World, I wouldn't stress about walking in Epcot - you'll do a lot of it! IG to TT is fine and the rest of your plan is mostly in order in terms of where rides are. I would eat at a WS restaurant (QS or TS) if you are going to FEA after lunch - most are much better than Electric Umbrella.

2. I have seen both with 0 wait in the middle of the day and both with a 40 (Land)-60 (Space) wait in the middle of the day, so it's hard to predict. You have 4 FP here, and the last one is FEA which you will definitely want a FP for if you are rope dropping TT - do you know you can only get 3 ahead of time and then you can choose a 4th, 5th, etc via the app? You will not need a FP at that time for Mission Space so I'd drop that one.

3. Your plan depends on how long the wait for Soarin' is, which is why it's better to get your FP all in a row - that also allows you to get additional FP (including Soarin, possible, even though it's a Tier 1) after you finish the first three

4. As early as possible so that you can get additional FPs

5. This one is hard to give an exact time for. Two hours if you move quickly through each. Several more if you really want to explore each pavilion and do the rides/movies/shows in each.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

My first thought, if you are entering through IG it probably doesn't make sense to walk all the way to TT first. TT sometimes has issues right at park opening, which could really throw a wrench into your plans. Here's roughly what I would do:

1. Enter through IG and go straight to FEA
2. Ride TT in Single Rider line
4. Mission Space (FP+)
5. Baymax, Joy & Sadness
6. Turtle Talk, Nemo if the lines are still short enough
7. Living with the Land
8. Lunch at Sunshine Seasons (I think the food is better than Electric Umbrella, and it's in the same building as Soarin)
9. Soarin (FP+)
10. Spaceship Earth (FP+)
11. Spend rest of afternoon/evening in WS

Also, not related to Epcot but I always advise against making an ADR on arrival day. So many delays can happen and you don't want to be charged the no-show fee if you're running late or just don't feel like going after a long day of travel.

 

[Cinderella94]

My first thought, if you are entering through IG it probably doesn't make sense to walk all the way to TT first. TT sometimes has issues right at park opening, which could really throw a wrench into your plans. Here's roughly what I would do:

1. Enter through IG and go straight to FEA
2. Ride TT in Single Rider line
4. Mission Space (FP+)
5. Baymax, Joy & Sadness
6. Turtle Talk, Nemo if the lines are still short enough
7. Living with the Land
8. Lunch at Sunshine Seasons (I think the food is better than Electric Umbrella, and it's in the same building as Soarin)
9. Soarin (FP+)
10. Spaceship Earth (FP+)
11. Spend rest of afternoon/evening in WS

Also, not related to Epcot but I always advise against making an ADR on arrival day. So many delays can happen and you don't want to be charged the no-show fee if you're running late or just don't feel like going after a long day of travel.

Can the 6 year old do the single rider line? I thought you had to be 7?

 

[Alesia]

My first thought, if you are entering through IG it probably doesn't make sense to walk all the way to TT first. TT sometimes has issues right at park opening, which could really throw a wrench into your plans. Here's roughly what I would do:

1. Enter through IG and go straight to FEA
2. Ride TT in Single Rider line
4. Mission Space (FP+)
5. Baymax, Joy & Sadness
6. Turtle Talk, Nemo if the lines are still short enough
7. Living with the Land
8. Lunch at Sunshine Seasons (I think the food is better than Electric Umbrella, and it's in the same building as Soarin)
9. Soarin (FP+)
10. Spaceship Earth (FP+)
11. Spend rest of afternoon/evening in WS

Also, not related to Epcot but I always advise against making an ADR on arrival day. So many delays can happen and you don't want to be charged the no-show fee if you're running late or just don't feel like going after a long day of travel.

They have a 6 year old, so the single rider line isn't an option, but otherwise this is a pretty good plan.

I very rarely eat table service at Epcot. We prefer to snack our way around the world Showcase. There are just too many delicious options to tie ourselves down to one thing.

Like @ENJDisneyFan I normally wouldn't recommend an ADR on arrival day, but unless you have a major delay, you won't have a problem making it. Just be aware that they'll charge the no show fee if you don't make it, so if you're not okay with that, don't make the ADR

 

[Klayfish]

We are staying at the Beach Club, so we will enter through the IG.

1. TT at RD
2. Mission Space Orange (FP+?)
3. Meet & Greet with BayMax & Joy and Sadness (Not essential, but would be fun, and it's on the way)
4. Soarin'
5. Living the Land (FP+?)
6. Spaceship Earth(FP+)
7. Lunch at Electric Umbrella
8. FEA (FP+)
9. WS with dinner in either Germany or Italy. Might get ADR for Via Napoli. Not sure what time though.
10. Circle back to FT for anything we missed - Pixar Shorts, Turtle talk, Aquarium, and any same day FP we can get.
11. Head south for Illuminations and back to IG

Questions I have...
1. Does it make sense to walk all the way from the IG to TT? The line for TT is slower than Soarin', right? Which is why I put it first. Then Mission Space since it's right there, to avoid trekking back across immediately to Soarin'. Or should we just make the trek and do Mission later with a FP+?
2. Do I use the FP+ on Mission if we are doing it second? Should I put that on Living the Land even though it doesn't usually have bad lines?
3. Lunch isn't a set #. I just don't have a good idea of how much we can do before lunch time.
4. What time should I try to get a FP+ for FEA?
5. How much time should we expect for WS? I'm a nerd and I think my kids will like a good portion of it (getting a pearl, acrobats, Agent P's adventure, plus all the desserts!) We don't need to linger but I do want to see a good portion of it.

I think that's all my questions. Am I on the right track??

Thanks!

Weclome!!!

I think there's a much better way to get to the rides you want than what you have listed.

I agree with doing TT first if you're there for rope drop. No reason to do it later and have to either burn a FP+ or go single rider, you should ride as a family.

From there, I'd suggest going straight to FEA. You won't need a FP+ at that point, it should only be 9:20 or 9:30am at that point and the line won't be long. It's a short walk from TT to FEA. If you do these two steps, you'll be off FEA by 9:45am and have done 2 of the "big 3" attractions at Epcot.

Make your Tier 1 FP+ for Soarin', and you can do it anytime after you get off FEA. You can do it right away, later, whatever. I'm not a hard core planner at all, so I'd be very neutral as to the order of the rest of things. Land, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Pixar, Figment really don't need FP+ anyway. If the line for them spikes and seems long, come back later. Get FP+ for Mission Space if you're doing orange (green doesn't need FP+). You can also pick up any of them very easily as a 4th, 5th, 6th FP+. You could even get another FP+ for TT, Soarin or FEA, they're not all that hard to get.

Joy and Sadness meet and greet does tend to get a long line, so you'll have to decide if you want to wait (no FP+ for this is available), bump another ride in favor of it, or skip it.

As for how much time in WS, that will truly depend on how much of it you really want to do. Our family finds it fairly boring, so we don't spend more than an hour or two. But if you're into all the offerings it has, you can spend an entire day there.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Can the 6 year old do the single rider line? I thought you had to be 7?

They have a 6 year old, so the single rider line isn't an option, but otherwise this is a pretty good plan.

Good point on the 6 year old....I overlooked that in the OP. I think my plan still applies though, the line for TT shouldn't be too crazy if they go right after FEA.

 

[Klayfish]

Good point on the 6 year old....I overlooked that in the OP. I think my plan still applies though, the line for TT shouldn't be too crazy if they go right after FEA.

The line for TT will build significantly faster than it does for HEA. My concern would be if they did FEA first, by time they get to TT it'll be 9:20ish. By then, TT standby will probably be a solid 30-45 minutes.

 

[Cinderella94]

Weclome!!!

I think there's a much better way to get to the rides you want than what you have listed.

I agree with doing TT first if you're there for rope drop. No reason to do it later and have to either burn a FP+ or go single rider, you should ride as a family.

From there, I'd suggest going straight to FEA. You won't need a FP+ at that point, it should only be 9:20 or 9:30am at that point and the line won't be long. It's a short walk from TT to FEA. If you do these two steps, you'll be off FEA by 9:45am and have done 2 of the "big 3" attractions at Epcot.

Make your Tier 1 FP+ for Soarin', and you can do it anytime after you get off FEA. You can do it right away, later, whatever. I'm not a hard core planner at all, so I'd be very neutral as to the order of the rest of things. Land, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Pixar, Figment really don't need FP+ anyway. If the line for them spikes and seems long, come back later. Get FP+ for Mission Space if you're doing orange (green doesn't need FP+). You can also pick up any of them very easily as a 4th, 5th, 6th FP+. You could even get another FP+ for TT, Soarin or FEA, they're not all that hard to get.

Joy and Sadness meet and greet does tend to get a long line, so you'll have to decide if you want to wait (no FP+ for this is available), bump another ride in favor of it, or skip it.

As for how much time in WS, that will truly depend on how much of it you really want to do. Our family finds it fairly boring, so we don't spend more than an hour or two. But if you're into all the offerings it has, you can spend an entire day there.

I agree with this plan. We always start with TT and it works well for us.

 

[stsomewhere]

Instead of a rest day/ disney springs- I would add another park day- maybe another day at Epcot. There are different storytellers through the world showcase for the holidays. Maybe start in the afternoon, visit monorail resorts- the will be decorated for the holidays.

Did you want to go to the Christmas party at MK?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Howdy! I'm new to these boards and could use some strategy help.

My family (5: Me, DH, DS(10), DD1(8), DD2(6)) is going for WDW for the first time the week after Thanksgiving (Nov 27-Dec 4) This is a (most likely) one time trip, so I feel extra pressure to get everything just right. Plus I'm an overplanner, so ironing out all the details 6 months in advance feels just right. I also want to make sure our trip doesn't feel too regimented since I'm the only one of us that likes to plan ahead. DH won't plan but he usually appreciates that I do as long as I'm not running us around crazy.

We are from Southern California. We don't have passes to Disneyland anymore but we go about once a year. So some rides that are "duplicates" are lower priority. Like Nemo and Friends, for example. I know it's different, but it's probably not that different. On the other hand, Soarin' is high-ish because this is the first trip my youngest is tall enough to go on it.

I'll be asking for advice on the other parks as well, but Epcot is the first one I feel like I've kinda narrowed down enough to ask questions about.

Overview of our trip as I have it planned out so far...

Staying 11/27-12/4 at the Beach Club

Tuesday - Land at MCO at 4:30. Hoping to get a Beaches and Cream ADR for 8. (I think this should be enough time to get settled?)
Wednesday - MK I know this is an evening EMH, but we want to book end at MK and I'm hoping we'll be on California time enough still to take advantage of the EMH somewhat.
Thursday - DHS
Friday - Epcot
Saturday - Rest/Disney Springs/Resorts Probably dinner at Ohana
Sunday - AK
Monday - MK again
Tuesday - Fly home at 11am

Some of the crowd calendars put us at Light days, others put us at Moderate. So I'm guessing we will be low-moderate. The days I picked for each park don't seem to be recommended as low crowd days, but I was trying to avoid EMH - I don't think we can get up early enough, especially early in the trip, to do an EMH for Epcot.

My thoughts on Epcot...

We are staying at the Beach Club, so we will enter through the IG.

1. TT at RD
2. Mission Space Orange (FP+?)
3. Meet & Greet with BayMax & Joy and Sadness (Not essential, but would be fun, and it's on the way)
4. Soarin'
5. Living the Land (FP+?)
6. Spaceship Earth(FP+)
7. Lunch at Electric Umbrella
8. FEA (FP+)
9. WS with dinner in either Germany or Italy. Might get ADR for Via Napoli. Not sure what time though.
10. Circle back to FT for anything we missed - Pixar Shorts, Turtle talk, Aquarium, and any same day FP we can get.
11. Head south for Illuminations and back to IG

Questions I have...
1. Does it make sense to walk all the way from the IG to TT? The line for TT is slower than Soarin', right? Which is why I put it first. Then Mission Space since it's right there, to avoid trekking back across immediately to Soarin'. Or should we just make the trek and do Mission later with a FP+?
2. Do I use the FP+ on Mission if we are doing it second? Should I put that on Living the Land even though it doesn't usually have bad lines?
3. Lunch isn't a set #. I just don't have a good idea of how much we can do before lunch time.
4. What time should I try to get a FP+ for FEA?
5. How much time should we expect for WS? I'm a nerd and I think my kids will like a good portion of it (getting a pearl, acrobats, Agent P's adventure, plus all the desserts!) We don't need to linger but I do want to see a good portion of it.

I think that's all my questions. Am I on the right track??

Thanks!

I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest you FP+ TT. TT is the one Tier 1 that goes down a lot due to malfunctions and weather. If you show up at RD for TT and it's down, it's going to throw your whole plan off. You'll either have to wait until it starts running or, keep checking the app and wait times to see when it starts and then head back and wait in a longer standby line. If you FP+ TT and it goes down, you will be issued an anytime FP+ to use on TT when it starts running again or on a different attraction.

This is what I would do:

RD FEA
Soarin'
Living with the Land
Meet and Greet with Baymax
Spaceship Earth FP+ (11:30 am - 12:30 pm)
lunch at Electric Umbrella
TT FP+ (12:30 - 1:30)
Mission Space FP+ (1:30 - 2:30)
Then you have the rest of the day to leisurely explore WS or start getting extra FP+ for FW attractions and then head into WS. I would suggest going to Biergarten for dinner. Via Napoli is good, but Biergarten has a more unique, immersive atmosphere. Just know you will be seated with another family or two at Biergarten if you choose to go.

 

[gap2368]

I would FP test track for sometime in the morning as this ride goes down a lot ( I think I read somewhere it was down 40% of the morning any where from a few minutes to a few hours) when it goes down anyone with a FP will get an any time FP to use at TT or any other ride. I would RD frozen Ever After and then go right to sorin have your FP for TT starting about 60-90 minutes after the park opens and then do your other FP

Touring plans did a video on RD EPCOT

 

[MrInfinity]

There's no ideal way to do Epcot as you see from the varied responses. I like your original thought of doing Frozen later in the day. I don't like going into the WS and back out. Frozen is cool to do while you're back in the WS and you're done with your running for the day. Along that line, I would do Test Track and Soarin first. LWTL while you're in the Soarin pavilion, then come out and hit up the smaller rides. Figment now, followed by SE and MS with Fast Passes. Set those around 11 and 12. A little later if you want to squeeze in the Seas pavilion. It's totally different from California... The video concept is similar but instead of boarding a submarine it's a fast-loading clamshell ride. 5 min wait. Then Turtle Talk is fun and your daughters are the perfect age for it, so I'd do that for sure. Then make your FPs for a little later, like 12 and 1. I'd put Frozen later in the day-- 2 or 3:00. I'm not a fan of burning your FPs as fast as possible to hopefully get more. I think that kills a more relaxing day to cram your rides in as fast as possible. Also a late-day FP won't be too useful since by the time you're in the WS you'll be looking to explore and eat for a while then cut and go via the IG and not return to FW later. Ditch Electric Umbrella. Have lunch in the WS on your way back to Frozen. But get a breakfast snack after Soarin at the cafe there so you aren't starving.

Another option that's even more relaxing is to not run to TT at all. FastPass this. This way you enter the park, make a left, do Soarin first, LWTL, Figment, Seas, then FastPass SE 10:30 MS 11:30 and TT 12:30. This way you end up doing one loop around FW and it leads you right into the World Showcase. The drawback is you'll wait standby for Frozen. But you'll have done a lot less walking up to this point.

 

[Klayfish]

One thing to consider about going from FEA to Soarin' is that it's a very long walk. That's why I always recommend trying to hit TT and FEA right at park open, they're close together. TT is very weather sensitive, but in our experience it's not common for it to go down first thing in the morning.

 

[Pookie9922]

Thank you for all the feedback. lol, I was not expecting 12 replies with 12 different strategies! And they all make perfect sense! I like the person who said there's obviously no ideal way to do it. Sounds like no matter what, I'll have to wait somewhere. So it'll be a matter of balancing a wait with how much we want to walk back and forth. At worse, we might have to wait a while for one ride and that would cut into our WS time or our time to do the smaller things in FW. But we would still be able to do all our "must do's" and most of our "would like to's". Does that sound like a correct assessment? Thankfully I have 4 more months of contemplating/obsessing until I have to commit to FPs! But this has given me good things to consider.

I suppose the suggestion to do a second 1/2 day in the park on our rest day would fix all these issues. It's definitely a possibility since it's close to our resort. On our rest day, we wanted to swim if it's not too cold, possibly go to Disney Springs (although its somewhat low priority since we have Downtown Disney), see the Grand Floridian and eat at Ohana at Poly. Also my daughter really wants to do the drawing class at Art of Animation. That's her favorite thing from California Adventure. Can we do all that and still do more time in Epcot?

I very rarely eat table service at Epcot. We prefer to snack our way around the world Showcase. There are just too many delicious options to tie ourselves down to one thing.

Like @ENJDisneyFan I normally wouldn't recommend an ADR on arrival day, but unless you have a major delay, you won't have a problem making it. Just be aware that they'll charge the no show fee if you don't make it, so if you're not okay with that, don't make the ADR

I am looking forward to snacking my way through Epcot! I have my eye on the Caramel Chocolate Smore! The only reason we would do Via Napoli is so the hubby can have pizza. If not, I know he'll want the bratwurst in Germany.

As for the ADR on arrival day, I read that they tend to be generous with cancelling for flight delays, and don't charge you the fee as long as you call ahead and don't just not show up. And if that doesn't work, I could potentially move the ADR for later in the week (if there's a spot open) and then cancel it later, I think. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

So it'll be a matter of balancing a wait with how much we want to walk back and forth. At worse, we might have to wait a while for one ride and that would cut into our WS time or our time to do the smaller things in FW. But we would still be able to do all our "must do's" and most of our "would like to's". Does that sound like a correct assessment?

Exactly. There is no right or wrong strategy. With 3 headliners at Epcot you basically have to RD one, FP one, and wait for the other. But you should definitely have time to do all those plus a few more and have plenty of time left for WS. Good luck!

 

[Klayfish]

And they all make perfect sense! I like the person who said there's obviously no ideal way to do it. Sounds like no matter what, I'll have to wait somewhere. So it'll be a matter of balancing a wait with how much we want to walk back and forth.

No, there's no "right" or "wrong" way, but you can do the big 3 headliners without having to wait. The rest of the rides don't really have lines and/or are easy to get FP+ for. The only exception is Joy and Sadness, as there's no FP+ for that. Here's how we usually do it....

TT right at 9am
Get off and move quickly to FEA
FP+ Soarin'

If we have a 9:30-10:30am Soarin', we can have all 3 of those rides done by 10:00am fairly easily. Then the rest (outside of Joy and Sadness, which we don't do because we've already done) are super easy. In fact, we'll usually go back and do another of the headliners again via FP+ (it takes some work, but you can get them).

 

[DisneyLA2020]

Finding Nemo at Epcot isn’t anything like the rides at Disneyland because it includes the real aquarium. If your kids like Nemo or fish, it’s a must do and my still one of my sons’ favorites even though they are 10 and 13 because they love aquariums. As for touring - FP test track in case it breaks down - we got same day FP for Soarin and FEA (got TT too for that matter) over Christmas if you keep refreshing. I would do what I wanted in Future World then go to WS and leave out back when done too much walking otherwise

 

[cbl1]

With younger kids - when spending time walking around world showcase - the kids like to play the Phineas and Ferb game in each country. Keeps the kids entertained while adults get to explore around.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...y-agent-ps-world-showcase-adventure-at-epcot/

 

[OneinThree]

Some of the crowd calendars put us at Light days, others put us at Moderate. So I'm guessing we will be low-moderate.

Forget the crowd calendars. If it's not super busy, you've caught lightning in a bottle. I would be concerned however, with doing parks on EMH days as you suggest. Personally, I would avoid MK on Mondays but I can appreciate you wanting to sandwich your trip with that park.

How much time should we expect for WS? I'm a nerd and I think my kids will like a good portion of it

Not really much there for the young kids, outside of Frozen. For me, the highlight of WS is definitely the American Adventure show. The films in the other pavilions are really dated, as is the boat ride in Mexico. I'd hit Frozen for the kids, and maybe consider the others if I had left over time.