Epcot 11 am opening here to stay?

[Shannon G]

I apologize if this is already discussed in detail somewhere, and I know it's all speculation, but do folks think the 11 am opening at Epcot is here to stay? We are visiting WDW in October, and I am rethinking a couple of my park days. We have 6 days hoppers, and I had planned 2 days starting at MK, 2 starting at AK, 1 starting at Epcot and 1 staring at HS. We will use park hopping as well. However, we are attending Boo Bash one night, so now I am thinking of switching one of the MK park reservations for a second HS park reservation, and also moving our Epcot reservation to the day after we do the Boo Bash. If Epcot opening remains at 11, that would allow us to get a bit of a later start after being up late for the Boo Bash. However, I do want to be sure we are at Epcot for opening, since Ratatouille will be open at that point.

So what do people think? Is it likely that the 11 am opening is here to stay (which it appears it may be, since it is not changing over the summer), or do folks think they're likely to revert to an earlier opening?

 

[scrappinginontario]

I believe they will change eventually but when that will be, nobody really knows. Epcot has opened at 11 AM since everything reopened in July 2020.

As of today, Disney has published it's park hours up to an including Sep 4, 2021 and on all of those dates Epcot is scheduled to open at 11 AM.

Also, just a quick note that I will be moving your post to the Theme Park Plans board as you main questions are re: planning your trip.

 

[MomOTwins]

In your shoes, I would do one of my two AK reservations the day after boo bash. That way you'll have one day at AK you rope drop, and one day you show up later. Frankly, I can't imagine needing two full days to do AK--we did a half day in spring break, and were able to ride everything in the park. Also, AK wait times start out longest in the morning and get better in the afternoons, so showing up later doesn't hurt and may even make for a more pleasant experience.

Since you only have one Epcot day, it seems like you'd be rolling the dice too much to put it after boo bash. Opening Ratatouille may well result in Epcot opening early, and then you'd be tired all day.

 

[Shannon G]

In your shoes, I would do one of my two AK reservations the day after boo bash. That way you'll have one day at AK you rope drop, and one day you show up later. Frankly, I can't imagine needing two full days to do AK--we did a half day in spring break, and were able to ride everything in the park. Also, AK wait times start out longest in the morning and get better in the afternoons, so showing up later doesn't hurt and may even make for a more pleasant experience.

Since you only have one Epcot day, it seems like you'd be rolling the dice too much to put it after boo bash. Opening Ratatouille may well result in Epcot opening early, and then you'd be tired all day.

I should have included a bit more detail: the first four park days will be me, DD#2, and my mom. The last 2 park days DD#1 will be joining us, and wants to hit all 4 parks in those 2 days. One of those 2 we have park reservation at HS (to try for ROTR) with the plan to hop to Epcot (and hopefully get DD#1 on Ratatouille). The other day she is with us (last day of our trio) we have a park reservation at AK and plan to hop to MK (likely to have later hours than AK, and our preferred park to end our trip). The other day that we have an AK reservation we will likely take out hop to Epcot later - other than trying to get on Ratatouille, Mom & I would prefer afternoon & evening time there to enjoy the food & wine fest. We also currently only have one HS day reserved, as we usually don't spend a ton of time there, but I'm thinking now that we have extra time at MK because of Boo Bash, we should cancel an MK reservation & add a HS reservation - Mom has not been since Toy Story Land opened, and so that could be a focus one day, and when DD#1 is with us she wants to focus largely on Star Wars Land, so I think 2 HS days may be a good idea. It seems like 2 reserved days at MK is less necessary now that we will be attending the Boo Bash.

We tend to be rope drop people, especially if FP+ doesn't come back in some form before our trip. We tend to start early, take an afternoon break if needed, then head back to the parks. I thought that, if Epcot doesn't start having earlier opening time, having a park reservation any day other than the day after Boo Bash may make us feel like we are wasting time in the morning, just waiting for the park to open. At least if it's the day after Boo Bash it seems less wasted since it will allow us to sleep in a little.

Current itinerary:, with changes being considered:

Sunday: AK reservation, likely hop to Epcot
Monday: MK reservation - possibly hop to Epcot again
Tuesday: Epcot reservation - thinking of changing this to HS; Boo Bash in evening
Wednesday: MK reservation - thinking of changing to Epcot
Thursday - HS reservation, hop to Epcot
Friday - off property to attend niece's wedding
Saturday - AK reservation, hop to MK

 

[davidl81]

Epcot to us has become a barely half day park unless food and wine (let’s be honest just wine) is involved. In the main part there is Sorin, Test Track, and maybe Mission Space if you are into that. The new Ratatouille ride will be fun, and I guess Frozen if you have little ones. I guess what I’m getting at is until Epcot finishes it’s expansion I really don’t see it opening up before 11am, but I thought world showcase opened earlier?

 

[Shannon G]

Epcot to us has become a barely half day park unless food and wine (let’s be honest just wine) is involved. In the main part there is Sorin, Test Track, and maybe Mission Space if you are into that. The new Ratatouille ride will be fun, and I guess Frozen if you have little ones. I guess what I’m getting at is until Epcot finishes it’s expansion I really don’t see it opening up before 11am, but I thought world showcase opened earlier?

Pre-COVID, Future World opened earlier, and World Showcase opened at 11. Since re-opening the entire park has been opening at 11. If it weren't for wanting to be sure that we get on Ratatouille at some point, I'm not sure I'd reserve it at all, and would instead just hop there after starting at another park. Epcot for me is mostly about eating, drinking, & people watching, lol.

 

[glocon]

I think your idea of AK the day of Boo Bash and EP the day after is sound. It makes sense. Sleep in a bit the day after being up late at BB while having more time at a park the day of BB.

 

[WhitneyMB]

I have no intel on if the Epcot 11am opening is here to stay, but wanted to mention that we reserved an Epcot park pass the morning after our September Boo Bash with the hope of sleeping in. We’re also rope drop/afternoon break people, so we’re hoping this works well. Good luck with the planning!