Does the world showcase open later than the front of EPCOT?

[fairytalelover]

One time we arrived at EPCOT in the morning and they wouldnt let us walk over to the world showcase for a while. They said it wasnt open yet. We didnt know why. Do they do this every day? Why?

 

[stamot]

To the information I have is that World Showcase opens at 11:00am

 

[MataHari22]

As far as I know, World Showcase opens at 11am. Always has since I've been going.

 

[fairytalelover]

As far as I know, World Showcase opens at 11am. Always has since I've been going.

and what time does the front part of EPCOT open? Same time?

 

[illinidp]

Usually 9.

 

[yarlenna]

9 AM for the front part - 11 AM for World Showcase

 

[sharonabe]

However, the bakery in France is now open for breakfast, so you can get back there before 11:00 now. I do not know if they will let you linger and walk around after you finish your breakfast, though.

 

[fairytalelover]

However, the bakery in France is now open for breakfast, so you can get back there before 11:00 now. I do not know if they will let you linger and walk around after you finish your breakfast, though.

Why the two different times ? Doesnt make sense.....

 

[DOOM1001]

The front of Epcot opens at 9am,WS opens at 11am but you can enter via the International Gateway by the UK and the bakery in France is open at 9am so you can walk through Canada,the UK and up to France but the only thing open will be the bakery.Another thing to note is that several years ago they used to say Future World closed at 7pm which was a little deceiving because the more popular rides still stayed open until 9pm,now they say the whole park is open until 9pm but the less popular attractions in Future World still close at 7pm(EO,Imagination,Innoventions,Universe of Energy,Living with the Land).

 

[DOOM1001]

Why the two different times ? Doesnt make sense.....

Because the majority of the people just start their day at the front of the park going straight to ride Soarin,Spaceship Earth or Test Track or another Future World attraction.WS is also more popular at night and those two hours in the morning would be pretty empty anyways and Disney can save a couple of bucks scheduling the employees a bit later,I've been to other parks who do a similar staggered opening like Busch Gardens in Virginia where the back of the park opens an hour or more after the rest of the park.It's also like restaurants after or before their peak time,maybe the hostess tells you it'll be a 15 minute wait and you see one fully sat dining room and a second dining room completely empty,the servers for that dining room aren't there yet or have already been sent home because it's not busy enough to warrant having it open.

 

[fairytalelover]

why do they open at two different times?

 

[ucfknight]

why do they open at two different times?

To save The Walt Disney Company lots of money every year.

 

[Robo]

When Epcot was a new park, both "halves" opened at the same time.

It didn't take long to see that World Showcase was basically empty until
about the start of "lunch time" every day.

 

[airynmanj]

However, the bakery in France is now open for breakfast.

 

[Micca]

When Epcot was a new park, both "halves" opened at the same time.

It didn't take long to see that World Showcase was basically empty until
about the start of "lunch time" every day.

I remember those days. WS was pretty much a ghost town if you went directly there when the park opened.

Right or wrong, the perception of the general public seems to be that WS biggest attraction is cuisine. I'd imagine that the company does save quite a bit of money by not having to staff WS prior to 11am.

 

[Simba's Mom]

It would be an interesting bit of trivia if someone could say exactly when they went to staggered opening (FW at 9:00, WS at 11:00). We also remember that on our first trip, in 1987, all of Epcot opened at 9:00. Sometime in the next few trips (the next few years), I remember the CM at reservations explaining about the new staggered opening times when we reserved our vacation. I remember that our only disappointment was that we'd no longer be able to eat breakfast at the French Bakery, so I'm so glad they reopened that again.

 

[jco_direwolf]

Is this going to become the pro change Norway thread so WS will now be open at 9a?

 

[jsilvers]

It would be an interesting bit of trivia if someone could say exactly when they went to staggered opening (FW at 9:00, WS at 11:00).

Around 1994-95. The oldest WDW guidebook on my shelf (Frommer's '96) indicates that by that time World Showcase routinely opened at 11am, but an excerpt from the 1994 Unofficial Guide available through Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=0jK...ring+future") refers to guests entering WS before 11am, which suggests that the policy hadn't changed yet.

 

[WEDWDW]

However, the bakery in France is now open for breakfast, so you can get back there before 11:00 now. I do not know if they will let you linger and walk around after you finish your breakfast, though.

Yes,Guests can stroll around World Showcase all they want to from Norway to Mexico to Canada to United Kingdom to France.

There are ropes between Norway and China and between France and Morocco.

The only things open are Akershus,part of the Norway Merchandise Shop,World Traveler,the France Bakery and the France Merchandise Shop adjacent to the Bakery.

I have also seen the Carts in Canada and United Kingdom open before 11:00 AM on occasion.