Best way to do Epcot tier 1 rides?

[hope23]

We have a group of 15 and everyone wants to do Frozen, TT and Soarin- I'm curious the best way to strategize for rope drop and FP+? Based on research, it looks like we should FP+ either TT or Frozen? We want to do TT more than once and have several kids, so single rider isn't an option.

Is Frozen still really busy at Rope Drop? Later in the day?

Thanks!!

 

[Klayfish]

Here's how it works....

1. Rope drop TT, get there as quick as you can
2. Immediately head for FEA, it's a fairly short walk and the standby line won't be long yet
3. FP+ Soarin'. The walk from FEA to Soarin' is fairly long, so that's why it's nice to have the FP+ for it. When you get off FEA, you can take your time getting over there. Set the FP+ for about 10:00am.

Doing that, you can hit all three within an hour...though your group size may slow that down a bit.

TT is easy to get as a 4th, 5th, etc...FP+. Probably not for a group that large, but break them up into groups of 3 or 4 and you'll get one.

 

[Accidental Magpie]

Or, rope drop Soarin', walk to FEA, walk back to use your first FP for Test Track. Why? If it rains, Test Track goes down. If you have a FP for it, they will honor it for the rest of the day. If you rope drop it, you're waiting in line.

 

[fairestoneofall]

When is your trip? Crowds play a role.

We went during a low-crowd time. We rope-dropped Soarin' (DH and DS rode twice) and had FP for Test Track for a little later. Later in the afternoon, we hit Frozen with a 25-minute posted wait.

 

[Klayfish]

Or, rope drop Soarin', walk to FEA, walk back to use your first FP for Test Track. Why? If it rains, Test Track goes down. If you have a FP for it, they will honor it for the rest of the day. If you rope drop it, you're waiting in line.

Yep, that works too. The main reason I suggest the order of TT, FEA, Soarin' is that it's an awful long walk from Soarin' to FEA and if you're trying to get on FEA standby, the line will continue to build. But you're right, rain can throw a monkey wrench in because TT will go down.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Or, rope drop Soarin', walk to FEA, walk back to use your first FP for Test Track. Why? If it rains, Test Track goes down. If you have a FP for it, they will honor it for the rest of the day. If you rope drop it, you're waiting in line.

This is what I would do.

 

[okilydokily]

Usually if you get in FEA line right before 9, the wait is minimal and no FP riders are getting on. But then you have to miss Iluminations.

 

[jsmla]

This won't work for everyone but I:
Rope drop Soarin'
Ride Test Track using Single Rider
FP Frozen

One thing in favor of a Test Track FP is that, in my experience, this ride has always had more down time than the others. In addition to any malfunctions, rain can shut down TT for indeterminate periods.

 

[StacyStrong]

My plan is to PPO Akershus, run to FEA, hop in line at Soarin,and then FP test track for around 10:30

 

[elgerber]

Here's how it works....


TT is easy to get as a 4th, 5th, etc...FP+. Probably not for a group that large, but break them up into groups of 3 or 4 and you'll get one.

We were there the week after Labor Day, low crowds, and not one of the 5 days we went to Epcot, did TT show up as a 4th FP. Soarin I was able to get, and even FEA once, but TT never was an option. This was for 4 people.

 

[RN2003AZ]

We were there end of June. We had a group of 8. We rope dropped FEA with minimal wait. From there we walked to TT and waited maybe 40 minutes. We had a FP for Mission Space at 10:30 and then had FP for Soarin at 11:30. Had lunch at Sunshine Seasons first then hit up Soarin before the 12:30 cut off. Worked perfectly!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Wow. I'm the anomaly in this. We RD TT AND get a FP for TT. We like it that much. Soarin is next, but FEA sounds like a good plan with Soarin after that.

 

[gharter]

We usually do EPCOT several days during F&W, so we can FP each on different days.
If we were to do all 3 in one day, I would
RD TT, walk to FEA standby and FP Soaring for 10. Then LWTL after Soarin.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We RD’d Epcot yesterday with no FPs in hand. Results can vary on any given day, but on this day, we...

Did FEA first. Walked off the ride at 9:18am.

Went to Soarin. Have a pic of the pre-show at 9:52am.

Did a medium amount of refreshing along the way and finally got a FP for four at TT for 4pm. I could never get this one to budge any earlier, although was only lightly trying.

Also did Figment and Nemo before 11 - plus obligatory kids play time at each.

With two headliners plus some secondary rides and no FPs (and really no plan at all frankly), we felt we got a lot done in two hours and were happy campers.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with the suggestion to FP+ TT. It goes down so often. There have been multiple trips where we couldn't ride it at all because of technical difficulty, storms, etc. As others have said, if it goes down, you will get a multiple experience FP+ which you can use for Soarin' or other Tier 2 rides. Personally, I would RD Frozen, do Soarin (wait times have become much lower since the third theater was built) and FP+ TT.

 

[Klayfish]

We were there the week after Labor Day, low crowds, and not one of the 5 days we went to Epcot, did TT show up as a 4th FP. Soarin I was able to get, and even FEA once, but TT never was an option. This was for 4 people.

Dunno. Never been a problem for us. Sometimes it takes a bit of refreshing, but we always get it...often just 10-15 minutes in advance.

 

[monorailrabbit]

We have been burned so many times by RD TT and then it goes down. We won't ever waste precious time waiting for it now. YMMV. We typically either RD Soarin' or FEA and then get FP for TT.

 

[scard192]

Dunno. Never been a problem for us. Sometimes it takes a bit of refreshing, but we always get it...often just 10-15 minutes in advance.

same for us, both EPCOT days last trip we got TT as a 4th or 5th FP+. book whatever time is available and keep refreshing; the time keeps moving up.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We always PPO Garden Grill then head over to Soarin right after, often riding it twice. Then we FP TT. (I agree with getting a FP for this as it always seems to be down). We love Epcot so we spend multiple days there each year, FPing FEA on our WS day. I realize not everyone can or even wants to do this, but it works great for us.

 

[Babs1975]

We've always done RD TT, then over to Soarin. Never had an issue...we've been lucky. But here's my question...what are the waits like around noon for Frozen? We've skipped it in the past because it was nutty and my older kids don't care about it, but was hoping to ride it this trip if it was 30 minutes or less? Is there a chance of that around noon or no?