Best way to tackle Epcot?

[Gregandmel]

We only have 1 full day to spend at Epcot. We've never been and have 2 kids ages 8 & 17. Going on a Wednesday, after 2 VERY full previous days so I'm somewhat afraid of "hitting a wall" on this dy. I understand Epcot is HUGE and we'll be doing a ton of walking. Really want to do Soarin', Mission Space, Test Tack, Spaceship EArth, and a few other things in Future World. Really excited about World Showcase and we have ressies at 7:40 at Rose & Crown to see Illuminations. Is it better to sleep in a bit and go directly to World Showcase and back track to the rides, or visa-versa? Any thoughts would be great. Thanks so much!

[Lightnin McQueen]

Hi,

We do Epcot in 1 day but we always have felt like we missed something, mainly around the world showcase. We can pretty much cover all we want to see, do and ride in futureworld and then move on to the world showcase afterwards.

Future World closes before World Showcase so doing the World first could leave you precious little time to get on the rides you mentioned.

We're gonna go early, do all we want to do in Future World and try the World Showcase anti clockwise this time, UK, France and so on and spend a little more time in the regions we normally power walk through to get a good view spot for IRofE. I hope this works for us and helps you in your planning.

Have a great trip.

Lightnin.

[diz_girl]

I wouldn't sleep in if I were you. EPCOT opens at 9 a.m., which should give you plenty of time to sleep if you get to bed by 11 p.m. Of course, check if there is morning EMH that day, so you can have more time at the park.

You should ride Soarin' at park opening (and maybe get a FP for it for a repeat ride), before the line gets long, and it will be long for the rest of the day. Then ride Nemo and JIYI and possibly Test Track. Then do World Showcase in the afternoon. You can rest to eat lunch and there are nice little nooks and crannies in WS to rest.

Then have dinner and go back to Future World to do Spaceship Earth (SE), Mission Space and TT (if you missed it earlier) and Ellen's Universe (or repeat any other rides in Future World). Never ride SE first thing in the morning. Everyone hits that first, but the lines get much shorter in the evening when everyone else has moved on to World Showcase. Spaceship Earth, Soarin', Test Track and Mission Space all stay open until 9 p.m., when the rest of Future World closes at 7 p.m. A lot of people don't know that and the lines at these rides can be much shorter (with the possible exception of Soarin') than in the morning.

Then settle down for the fireworks at 9 p.m. and enjoy!

[KAJUNKING]

imho epcot is a 2 day park, but if you only have one day i would check out the touring plans website and im sure they will have a one day touring plan for epcot that will tell you the best way to tackle it in one day

[Faver]

Epcot is HUGE:thumbsup:

I'd give Epcot two days, but if you're only doing one day, then I suggest, hitting Epcot at opening, take a hotel break, head back in the late afternoon, then go back for your evening festivities.....

[TINKERBELL_82]

Ahh, my favorite park!

If I were you- I'd be there for the rope drop in the morning- arrive at about 8:30.

The spend the morning doing Future World. If you time it right and utilize your FP's, you should be able to get all of the main rides in before 1pm.

Then mozie on down to the WS, starting with Mexico. You should hit England just in time for your ressies.

Have a great time! Days spent in Epcot are some of the best days of my life! :cloud9:

[Imagineer1981]

I agree with most other people. Do Future World first. Realize that Soarin', Test Track, and Mission: Space, all get very long lines because they are the thrill rides. Maximize Fast Pass. You may have to do 2 of the 3, go to World Showcase, then come back and hit the 3rd ride and do Ellen/Nemo/Crush, etc. England is right by Future world so the walk to dinner won't be that bad. After dinner do SE and anything else you missed

[Missy_Mouses_Dad]

We always get there "at rope drop". I fastpass test track, the rest of the family gets in line at Soarin. We have time in between to do some of the other sites. Don't forget pictures and autographs. One of the buildings (forget the name) has quite a few characters in the same building. We had a great time with Goofy last year. have fun. We leave Friday morning!!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I would go early and tackle the popular rides, do Soarin or Test track first and get fastpasses for the other, and then the other Future world rides....then if your kids are tired, go back to the room and rest and come back to World Showcase...there are only two rides in World Showcase so there aren't usually too bad of waittime.....

[SBETigg]

One day at Epcot is really not enough. I suspect you're going to want to make a return visit in the near future. You really want to plan and pare down your list of Must-sees.

World Showcase can take a half-day to walk around if you plan to stop, look, and take in some of the attractions. You have boys, so they may not love it. My teen daughter loves it. My son, sixteen on the last trip, didn't love it, but did enjoy a brief walk-through. When they were younger, neither one of them loved it much. Both kids have always loved the Maelstrom in Norway, the river ride in Mexico, and spending time in the UK area.

Future World could easily take a whole day. As others have said, get there in time for opening, do the big ones early on- Test Track and Soarin. Get to other things as you have time. You could actually end up getting most of it done, but it's not a park you want to rush through if you can help it. I prefer park hopping because we seem to get more done when we do half-day agendas in different parks vs trying to tackle one whole park in a day. Epcot in a day is exhausting. Epcot in half-day visits combined with other parks is so much more manageable.

[mdricks]

Get there early! If the park is busy, fast pass soarin' and single rider line MS and TT. IMO neither of these rides is enhanced by company and your kids are old enough to feel comfortable on their own. The single riders lines really move things along.

Even better yet! Sign up for the segway tour. The tour starts before the park opens and gives you a one-on-one tour of the WS. The segways are easy to use and I found the tour to be a real hoot. Not only do you get a great preview of the WS but it is a surprisingly relaxing way to start our day. A full circumnavigation of the entire park without walkin a step!

:number1:

[mdricks]

Ahh crud! Nevermind. minimum age for the segway is 16. :(

Never went with kids..........

[Daddy Mouse]

I agree that it is wise to get to the rides you want early. Take a break. Lastly do the WS one :marg: at a time.

[CaptSmee]

We always hit Future World firsts. We get Soarin' fastpasses, ride Living with the Land, have lunch, the after riding Soarin' usually hit The Seas, followed by Imagination. We then go back to the middle of the park and ride Spaceship Earth, get a Test Track fastpass, and ride both Mission Space and Universe of Energy. After cutting through Mousegear we hit up World Showcase and visit our favorite countries...