A touring plan for EPCOT?

[SaoPaolo90]

Hi,

We're going to EPCOT this September 18 (despite TouringPlans telling us not to...) and looking at how to plan our day. We were originally going to FastPass Frozen, though as ever that's fresh out of passes, so we know that we're going to have to FastPass something else and ride Frozen very early in the day.

My question is, what advice would you give on the best way of minimising waiting? My idea was that we'd FP Soarin', Spaceship Earth and Mission: Space for mid-morning. Then we'd rope drop Test Track, as Frozen presumably opens slightly later, then run to Norway for Frozen, then back into Future World to take advantage of our FPs. Though I think this sounds quite convoluted, and wonder if we're going to be wasting time walking around too much.

What does everyone else think? Is there a strategy you'd recommend for trying to get all the big attractions done in a day (bearing in mind the Food & Wine Festival) when getting FPs for Frozen is a no-go?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As an FYI, Frozen opens at 9 am. IMHO, I would RD Frozen, FP+ TT, Spaceship Earth and Mission:Space and do standy-by for Soarin'. Or, if you can do single rider line for TT if everyone in your party is 7 years old or older and is comfortable riding alone. If so, you could FP+ Soarin' and do single rider for TT. Just know, TT single riders do not go through the car design room.

 

[Klayfish]

If you don't have a FP+ for FEA, you're going to have to do a little walking, there's just no way around it. But here's how I'd do it...and it's very similar to what we did in late June, so I know it works.

RD TT first, no FP+. Reason why is TT is so dependent on weather, that if you wait you could run into issues. Plus, it's line moves slower by nature. From there, head over to FEA and ride standby. Then come back for FP+ for Soarin', MS and SE in whatever order you can get. If you do it that way, you can be done all 5 rides by lunch (set your FP+ for 10-11, 11-12 and 12-1).

 

[SaoPaolo90]

That was more or less my thinking too, as we'd be doing two standby rides (relatively) close to each other. What was the wait time like for FEA after riding Test Track? Almost wondering whether we should do that first. Not so keen to single ride Test Track as it's my girlfriend's first time in Orlando and we want to do as much as we can together.

 

[Klayfish]

We got to FEA around 9:45ish. The wait time was posted as 60 minutes (maybe it was 70, I forget), but our Lines App said it was actually only a 30 minute wait, so we decided to go for it. So glad we did. We waited 27 minutes. It will all depend on how many FP+ people come through while you're waiting in line. When we were there, very few FP+ people were coming through, so every boat was full of standby. That made the line move really quick.

In our experience, TT still has that massive flock of people running...literally...to it. So it will back up quite quickly. So RD is the way to go if you don't FP+ it. Besides, even as much of a total car fanatic as I am, I think the queue at FEA is a bit more visually interesting. So if I have to wait 20 minutes in a queue, I'd rather be in FEA than TT.

 

[SaoPaolo90]

Great, I'll bear that in mind. I think what we'll do is go for FPs starting from around 10:30 am so we can give ourselves an hour and a half to get through the first two queues then head back into future world and polish everything off. Thanks a lot

 

[DreamFlightCpt.]

If you have the time/passes, try and do future world one day and world showcase another. Or at least split the day In two. Do everything in one area, have a break and go back and finish the rest of the park. It allows you to take your time and experience everything in the park

 

[Disneymom1126]

I would rope drop FEA, then head back to Future World East and use FP+ for Test Track, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth. Then I would grab lunch and walk around world showcase. You can try throughout the day to get a 4th FP+ for Soarin (hard to come by, but people may cancel them) and if you don't get a FP+ I would plan to ride it later in the evening 45 minutes to an hour before Illuminations. With the 3rd theater, I feel like the wait for Soarin is probably better than the wait for other things...plus as someone else mentioned, Test Track goes down because of weather, so if you have FP+ for it they will give you a new return time or an anytime FP+ if it's down during your original FP+ window.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Great, I'll bear that in mind. I think what we'll do is go for FPs starting from around 10:30 am so we can give ourselves an hour and a half to get through the first two queues then head back into future world and polish everything off. Thanks a lot

Are you not factoring in SDFP at all? You've set up your account for SDFP and if you rope drop Epcot, you'll be able to get a SDFP for Soarin' or TT.

TT is still available for today and it's almost 10:30a ET. Rope dropping your arrival and using SDFP that DISers have been helping you set up will work to your advantage.

 

[DonJ123]

This probably does not apply to you but a Mission Space FP might depend on who is riding. Are you riding the faster or slower version? If the slower, you will typically not need a FP.