CRAZY Wait times today at EPCOT

[beepbeepimajeep]

New Year's Eve is the busiest day of the year at Epcot and for a very good reason. Nobody on this Earth or above it will ever be capable of creating a more spectacular fireworks show than the NYE Epcot ones, and once you see it you'll understand why there were 86,000 people in one park on one day last year.

 

[uncw89]

I confirmed today the wait time got up to 295 minutes for Soarin yesterday. Must have had issues with the ride which caused the extra long time as someone noted....or maybe not.....

Today is much more managable. Went to Studios right at opening until 12 and Toy Story was bouncing between 20-50 most of the am. Rode 3 times. Only waited 20 minutes for RR coaster around 9:30am.

Heading to Epcot now

Today was much better, of course this morning it was raining! We went to AK this morning, got there around 10 am and left by 12:30. During that time we rode Safari, Dinosaur, Expedition Everest(in the rain, yes, it was running!) and Kali River Rapids(twice!). Much better than yesterday at Epcot.
Glad to hear it was better for you at DHS and Epcot today!

 

[PrincessShea]

New Year's Eve is the busiest day of the year at Epcot and for a very good reason. Nobody on this Earth or above it will ever be capable of creating a more spectacular fireworks show than the NYE Epcot ones, and once you see it you'll understand why there were 86,000 people in one park on one day last year.

I wish they would show it on TV one of these years. The NYE show from New York that ABC does is excruciatingly boring. Wow. Look at that ball slide down the pole

 

[antmaril]

I have a good friend who called me from Epcot last night. She said the crowds weren't bad. They rode Soarin' and Test Track twice. Of course, it was raining until 2:00 p.m. and they got there at 9:00 a.m.

I think the crowds were much more manageable yesterday.

 

[wvdislover]

I can't even imagine! There's a reason we go to WDW in September

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Some people don't understand why someone would wait that long in a lineup for a ride. But.... if you've already paid to get into the park, what choice do you have? Go home, wait in lines, or walk around all day. Might as well at least get some attractions in as opposed to none!

That being said. I hate crowds, and am hoping to go to disney at the quietest time of year if possible! But if I was already there, and there were big crowds, I'd at least try and wait to go on something, as opposed to going on nothing. Some people travel from great distances and don't have the option of coming back another day!

If we are talking Epcot, You can use the extreme hours, fastpass the things you can fastpass - MAYBE waiting for a few lesser attractions, walk around the world showcase, take in the gardens, make masks, go to your resort pool, check out some resort activities, eat a meal, watch the fireworks, head to a different park and check out some of the non-headliners - especially something like the live performances.

I am also of the camp that won't wait over a certain amount of time for any attraction. I've been on all the headliners enough times - mostly with minimal wait that I KNOW full well that Soarin' is NOT worth the extreme wait. Heck, it's barely worth typical the half-hour wait it takes with a fastpass.

Beyond that, I've been many times over President's week and Easter. I've even been there for Thanksgiving. I have no desire to go over the Christmas break or to pay Christmas week prices.

Being what I would call a DIsney veteran - among the many things I've learned from trips to WDW...even when I venture to what is for me a new amusement park - say a one-time or first time visit - I won't wait over a certain amount of time for anything. No three miniute attraction is worth a two hour wait. If I think the park is worthwhile, I'll try to plan a second visit - I can usually tell if a location is worthy of that/in my budget. Crowd levels/crowd management is one factor. Even somehting lke visiting a major city - if the only way to get around is sitting in heavy traffic - then it's not a place I'm not likely to consider worth visiting multiple times.