Epcot-what's best to do first?

[minnie-mouse]

We will be arriving at Epcot around noon on our day there. What's best to do first? Long lines? My girls are 4 and 6 so we will most likely be stickig to seeing characters, countries, Nemo ride, Journey into Imagination, etc. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.

[crltkcagle]

Normally I would say Test Track or Soarin but with girls that young maybe Nemo. Or you could head over to the countries and see some of the princesses!

[Kaps]

Soarin is always packed get a fastpass if you want to go on that before they run out. Space ship earth is always a nice start

[DizNee143]

i would start with the seas pavilion..and then go from there..if that seems kinda crowd..start with imagination..that never seems to have a line!
enjoy!!! :mickey:

[mermaidmarian]

Without equivocation, I would say Spaceship Earth. When my DS and later, my nephew were your children's ages, this was hands down their favorite WDW attraction. It was a must do whenever we were at Epcot (and some days ended with a trip over to Epcot to ride it before bed). Even after my DS (now 12 yoa) graduated to thrill ride big time, the love for Spaceship Earth remains. If you have not been to Epcot before, it is the first major attraction you will encounter after entering the park. "I" would put it first on my list, unless you really have to get to a FP distribution site to get tix for another must see attraction.

[brownie]

If you're arriving around noon, I'd try to get a Fastpass for Soarin and then checkout the Seas with Nemo and Friends followed by Spaceship Earth. You may not be able to get a Fastpass for Soarin by that time from what I've read, though.

[vws_and_disney]

I think Spaceship Earth is nice to do mid-way through the park. Its gives you a nice cool break.

[Jeniflower]

start with spaceship earth and then take your girls to nemo, they'll love that. after that figment is nice and living with the land is a must

[azcavalier]

Must get a Fastpass for Soarin' before you do anything else if you plan to try to ride it. And, since you'll be in The Land, you might as well ride Living with the Land. Hit The Seas and ride Nemo and then sit in Turtle Talk with Crush. Then let the girls run around in Innoventions, hit Spaceship Earth, etc while waiting for the Fastpass time to roll around.

[FromKnoxvilleto Disney]

I have a girl who is 11 and one 5 and have been many times with girls this age and here is what they love.
1. Turtle Talk with Crush at least 2 times
2. Nemo
3. Figment
4. Living with the Land
5. Spaceship Earth
6. characters around the World Showcase especially princesses

They both love Soarin' but at 4 neither of them were tall enough. If one will be upset that one gets on and the other doesn't would be my only question.

[bruin1344]

Soarin is always packed get a fastpass if you want to go on that before they run out. Space ship earth is always a nice start

I agree. Since Soarin is crowded and very popular, try to get fast pass to Soarin first unless the wait is short for the ride. If it is, then just go on it. I like to do Spaceship Earth first.

[darthmacho]

Normally I would say Test Track or Soarin but with girls that young maybe Nemo. Or you could head over to the countries and see some of the princesses!

This sounds like a great plan. I suspect the big rides will have long lines by the time you arrive. Go to Living Seas, the Land, and then off to World Showcase. i'm sure you'll find lots of characters there. :mickey: What fun!

I plan on breaking up Epcot into two days when I go this summer. One day for Future World, another day for World Showcase.

[Wishmaker]

I plan on breaking up Epcot into two days when I go this summer. One day for Future World, another day for World Showcase.

This is how we do it every year we go as well. We also have an unspoken tradition that we ride Spaceship Earth first also. We usually arrive around 2:00 in the park on our first day. This year I believe we will venture to The World Showcase after Spaceship Earth.
Happy Vacation to all!:mickey:

[minnie-mouse]

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions!

[mcjaco]

If you want to do Soarin' I'd head to The Land right away and get a Fast Pass. Be warned, by Noon you'll probably be getting early to late evening Fast Pass times by then.

The kids will love The Seas with Nemo, or Imagination, I'd head to one of those right after getting Fast Passes for Soarin'. Or do Living with the Land since you'll already be in The Land.

[Pop Centurion]

If it were me I'd go straight for a FP for Soarin' then go do Nemo & Turtle Talk with Crush. Most likely your return time for Soarin' will be a good time away so you'll be able to finish that side of FW then head over to the Character Greeting spot that's back by Innoventions West. Depending on your return time for soarin' you can then head over to the other side of FW to do TT, M:S, and UoE.
Don't forget to check out Innoventions. With girls that age i think they'll enjoy it. The East building is better IMO.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We went straight to Soarin and then doubled back to Mission Space and while my son was riding I got fastpasses for Test Track....

[BrerGnat]

I just came back from WDW with a 4 and (almost) 6 year old...boys, though.

These are the things they LOVED:

1. The playground structure set up for the Flower and Garden Festival (if you will be there during this, do NOT underestimate the popularity of this...it was crawling with kids ALL DAY).

2. Spaceship Earth. We rode it 4 times in three days. They LOVED it.

3. Innoventions, particularly the Great Piggybank Adventure.

4. The aquarium part of the Seas pavilion. They HATED the ride. There are some dark/scary parts, and they were both trying to escape that clamshell like their lives depended on it! You can skip the ride, though, and still see the rest of the stuff in the pavilion. They LOVED seeing the fish in the tanks!

5. The Land boat ride. They were very interested in this.

6. The playground at Mission Space. It has tunnels and stuff. I took them there while my DH and his brother rode M:S. So, if someone in your party wants to ride, this is a good place to take the kids. There are also interactive computer games in this area.

7. The Imagination pavilion, minus the ride and the HISTA 3-D movie. They liked the stuff inside the Kodak computer area and LOVED the jumping fountains outside.

8. At night, World Showcase! All the light up toys and stuff, plus the music makes it SO festive and our kids loved it. Not so much during the day.

They would NOT ride Test Track (the loud roar coming from the ride scared both of them). We have Soarin here at home, and my youngest doesn't like it, so we skipped that, although MOST kids like it. ;)

We spent the majority of our time at Epcot. Seas pavilion was always no wait, along with Imagination. Spaceship Earth has VERY long lines until late afternoon/evening. Innoventions was rarely crowded.

[hurdlertwin]

Something you may want to try is taking them to "Japan" and walking through their store. It's huge and they have a really cool tank of oysters that people can buy and after a little show done by the cast members receive the pearl in their oyster. I did it and it was one of the coolest experiences of my visit.

[ransam]

i would try to get a couple fast passes, then see the countries if you can. come backa and go to sea pavilion and cool off. then to imagination. then your fast passes. by that time the park will be slowing down. Do you have park hoppers? if you do i'd plan on hitting fast track, soarin', or any thing like that you didn't see during illumiations, then come back one of your other nights and see illumiations.

[DisneyFr33k]

When we visited for our first time, our kids were 4 (boy) and 6 (girl). The would ride ANYTHING.... not like today - my son (now 10) won't ride "tummy drop" rides. Mission Space was new, no green option, and my kids both rode that (my son is very tall for his age). None of us were impressed with Soarin' so we've not ridden that since.

So I guess it is what your kids are into. If thrill rides our out, as previous posters put it, Spaceship Earth is good. Kim Possible might be a little old or them. Also, the quiet boat ride in the Mexican Pavilian is good. My kids rode that over and over when we ate there one year. The ride in Norway was fun too!

Good luck and have fun!

[LudwigVonDrake]

Soarin' since the lines are always so long.

[mrmcgiv]

If i remember correctly, the princesses and characters are done at the world showcase at about 6:00 pm or so, I would do a few things in FW. (FP soarin', spaceship earth, The seas and land pavillion) and head to WS to see some characters. When my kids were 2 and 5 the afternoon we spent in the WS was one of the best times!

[hurdlertwin]

also, getting some fast passes for soarin before you start is a great idea, it's something that you can do later on in the afternoon when the kids are getting tired to give them some relaxation time.

[Fastpasssteve]

Immediately go to The Land Pavillion and get a FastPass for Soarin'. Remember to get a FastPass for each person in your party. Then take a look at The Seas or go see some characters and take a few pictures. Make sure to go on Spaceship Earth. It is a lovely, cool ride made for the heat of the day.

Your little ones may not enjoy Mission: Space.

Some other cool rides your girls may like is: the boat ride inside the Mexico Pavillion. It's cool inside the pyramid...it even has a smoking volcano.

Maelstrom: the boat ride in Norway

The Land: a boat ride that takes one through all the climes of planet earth and shows how they grow food there in The Land Pavillion.

They would also enjoy seeing the Chinese Acrobats and musicians.

The Singers in the America Pavillion are quite something. Check them out.

Also...Mary Poppins and some other characters sometimes appear during the afternoon in the Great Britain section of the World Showcase...sometimes out in the open, sometimes in one of the shoppes.

Enjoy.

[Scorpiosammy]

I would recommend either the World Showcase, or something like Test Track, Universe of Energy, or The Land. Test Track stays quite busy throughout the day it seems but you may get lucky (which is why my DH and I always try that 1st :mickey: )

I strongly recommend doing Spaceship Earth or even Nemo at the end of your time at Epcot. Both of those attractions thin waaaay out with no wait later on in the day. Since SE is literally the 1st attraction you come to, I'd say 75% of guests start with that ;)

Have fun!

[5MemphisTiggers]

All excellent suggestions. I would also pick up a schedule for the various acts around WS -- the Chinese acrobats, Jaminators (if listed), the street performer in France (can't remember what it's called) and the drummers in Japan. All very neat acts, and a good reason to walk around WS.

Kim Possible is also a lot of fun for the kids.

[Michelle15]

I really like to do space ship earth first.