Anyone ever tour EPCOT in reverse

[Dominion]

The touring plans I've seen tend to recommend going to EPCOT early, sprinting to TT or Soarin' first, then FP+ the other later that morning and then doing the other attractions on the same side as your started on. My kids are not early risers, and they're not really sprinters especially when they will be tired, so I was wondering if it makes any sense to just sleep in a bit and start the day at EPCOT on the international side, doing some of the shows, having lunch and working our way back over to FutureWorld for some of the rides there? There isn't too much they would do - maybe Soarin, TT, TurtleTalk, Nemo and Character Spot would be the ones they would do. Obviously I could FP+ a few of those. Has anyone ever tried this? Does it work out OK?

Thanks!

 

[supersnoop]

The touring plans I've seen tend to recommend going to EPCOT early, sprinting to TT or Soarin' first, then FP+ the other later that morning and then doing the other attractions on the same side as your started on. My kids are not early risers, and they're not really sprinters especially when they will be tired, so I was wondering if it makes any sense to just sleep in a bit and start the day at EPCOT on the international side, doing some of the shows, having lunch and working our way back over to FutureWorld for some of the rides there? There isn't too much they would do - maybe Soarin, TT, TurtleTalk, Nemo and Character Spot would be the ones they would do. Obviously I could FP+ a few of those. Has anyone ever tried this? Does it work out OK?

Thanks!

You have to choose between Soarin', Test Track, and Living with the Land for one fastpass. That's why people say to do one and fastpass the other. So, if you do get a fastpass for one, you'll be waiting in a long line for the other. If you're okay with that, then touring backwards should be fine.

 

[minnie mum]

I suppose you could do that. But WS doesn't open until 11:00, and unless you are at an Epcot resort, you have to go all the way through FW to get over there. Plus, some of the FW attractions close at 7:00. And you still can't FP both TT and Soarin with your first 3 FPs due to tiering.

 

[MataHari22]

If I did it that way, starting out at 11am each Epcot day, I'd need 3 days to do everything I wanted, since it already takes me 2 days.

 

[Dominion]

If I did it that way, starting out at 11am each Epcot day, I'd need 3 days to do everything I wanted, since it already takes me 2 days.

Yeah I know what you mean. I'm just trying to take a more relaxed approach to this trip - its just me and my kids (5 and 7) and I kind of want to make it about what they want to do and try to go more at their pace, rather me have me rushing them around to everything we can possibly do, kwim? Its going to be tough for me to do that though!!!

 

[Dominion]

I suppose you could do that. But WS doesn't open until 11:00, and unless you are at an Epcot resort, you have to go all the way through FW to get over there. Plus, some of the FW attractions close at 7:00. And you still can't FP both TT and Soarin with your first 3 FPs due to tiering.

We are staying at an EPCOT resort, so that's one reason why I'm considering this as an option. I didn't realize some of the attractions close at 7 thought - good to know!!!

 

[MataHari22]

Yeah I know what you mean. I'm just trying to take a more relaxed approach to this trip - its just me and my kids (5 and 7) and I kind of want to make it about what they want to do and try to go more at their pace, rather me have me rushing them around to everything we can possibly do, kwim? Its going to be tough for me to do that though!!!

Because of my health, I've had to slow my roll a bit, which has been hard to do for me, I was always the person to run flat out for my full vacation. I think making the trip more about what they want to do, and moving more at their pace sounds like a great thing to do. Quality over quantity with them, for sure. Hope you have a wonderful time.

 

[Rosebud123]

Sounds good to me! We're staying at an Epcot resort in early Sept and plan on 2-3 Epcot days. One won't start until 1, but we still plan on hitting FW first.

 

[CQuinn]

I love the way future world looks at night, so I love that plan! It'd be even better if it's an EMH night.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Yup, I do this often, if I understand you right. Come in the IG, eat breakfast at Les Halles in France, then start touring World Showcase starting right at 11:00. Depending on how touring is going for me, I might eat TS lunch in WS before heading to FW in the afternoon/evening. One advantage is that FW tends to be very quiet then, although I definitely need to have a FP+ for Soarin or Test Track (usually I plan for 2 days, or am lucky enough to use the single riders line at TT). But Spaceship Earth is often a walk-on or very short wait at that time of day, and Living with the Land is a short wait. That's my preferable way to tour Epcot.

 

[Ambear]

We did this cause we had an 11:30 lunch at San angel inn. So we just went there when we got to epcot and then after lunch we toured the countries. Then we used our fastpasses in the later afternoon. It worked out well I think! We didn't do soarin though... It's just not our favorite. But we were able to do everything else. Nemo, figment, spaceship, Ellen, mission space, living with the land didn't have long lines. Only test track and soarin did.

 

[BillyBoy1304]

We hit the Land Pavilion at about 7:30 a few weeks back and had no wait for Living with the Land or Soarin'. Not sure if this was a typical experience, but we literally walked onto Living with the Land and had a boat to ourselves.

 

[phoebusII]

Our normal routine is to arrive at rope drop, ride either Soarin' or TT, and FP+ the other. We will use the other two FP's in the morning, filling in with the rides which traditionally have less wait times, then tour WS in the afternoon. This has worked really well for my family.

However, on New Year's eve, we toured Epcot completely differently. World Showcase opened at 9:00 a.m., so this was not a routine operating day, but for a special day like this working the park in the opposite direction worked very well. We had an early breakfast at Akershus and then had the WS nearly to ourselves until about 11:00-11:30. We saw several of the street shows, managed to see Donald, Aladdin and Jasmine, Alice, Mary Poppins, and Pooh and Tigger with only short waits. As we were coming out of the UK a huge wall of people was walking into WS. It was an amazing spectacle to watch. I would say to pay careful attention to the operating schedule and plan your day accordingly, as it makes the most sense. As I said, this was not a day with a typical schedule, but on days like this touring in the opposite direction can work well.

That being said, FW was crowded in the afternoon (Soarin had a 240 minute wait - yes, that's right, 4 hours), but we had our three FP+'s and had scheduled a Behind the Seeds tour. New Year's Eve at night was a completely different story.

Also, for those heading to WDW for Christmas, Hollywood Studios was nearly empty Christmas morning. Most people didn't arrive until about 11:00. It was wonderful and very surprising.

 

[AriesAriel]

Yeah I know what you mean. I'm just trying to take a more relaxed approach to this trip - its just me and my kids (5 and 7) and I kind of want to make it about what they want to do and try to go more at their pace, rather me have me rushing them around to everything we can possibly do, kwim? Its going to be tough for me to do that though!!!

We had a princess breakfast and left there before the park even opened to go to Test Track. In just that short walk, there was an hour wait already.

 

[loves to dive]

I think as long as your kids are o.k. with maybe standing in a few lines and you get the FP for what you really want, it's a good idea. We do it often since we stay in Epcot resorts and my son and DIL, while adults still like to sleep in. Since we are at the back gate, it just makes more sense for us to walk through WS and enjoy it before it gets too hot then go over to FW later in the day and make the circle that way.