Epcot after Illuminations .. what's open? What do people do to kill time and avoid (m

[bajanswife]

the rush out of the park?

 

[Mom2Ashli]

The World Showcase is still open, and of course the gift shops.

 

[bajanswife]

About how much time would we have to browse after the show? Just wondering, cause if there's quite a bit of time then we would keep some of the shops til after the show to visit, rather than spend time in there before the show (when we could be doing something else!).

 

[CarolMN]

I like to just sit on a bench, people watch and just enjoy the WS after dark. My absolute favorite, though, is to find a bench within sight and sound of the dancing fountains in FW. It's absolutely gorgeous at night.

Best wishes -

P.S. IMHO, this method of leaving EPCOT after IllumiNations is far, far superior than being in the middle of the "stampede."

 

[theresaruth]

We don't like to rush out of Epcot or any theme park right away. We will take a walk around the world showcase, most of the attractions in the process of closing but some of the shops are still open. Good opportunity to get some shopping done.

 

[muguet27]

We were just there this past weekend and ended the day at Epcot on both Saturday and Sunday. Although the "Disney" gift shops were still open, we noticed that the World Showcase country gift shops were all closed by the time Illuminations ended. What we did was slowly make our way out of the World Showcase, taking pictures of the country pavilions lit up and enjoying the empty spots inside them, like the little square behind United Kingdom where the little performance gazebo is, and the area by the fountain in Italy. On Saturday, after leaving the World Showcase we stopped by the little fountain/play area where kids can play in the water and rested. After most of the little kids were gone we took our shoes off and played in the water ourselves...it felt so nice on tired feet and made us feel like kids too (we're 24, 26, 28, 46, and 52). Then we just watched the fountain and Spaceship Earth behind it. Also, we found the area where there are fiber optic lights in the walkway and watched that for a while.

Epcot at night is my absolute favorite place to be, so I enjoyed every second of it and drew it out as long as I could. By the time we got to our bus stop at around 10, the area was clear and we just sat on the benches and waited for the next bus.

 

[Simba's Mom]

None of the shops in WS are open, at least they haven't been whenever we go. We usually grab a snack before Illuminations begins, then sit on a bench after Illuminations, finishing our snack, listening to the music, and watching everyone else rushing. Just people-watching!

 

[BonnieA]

I sit on my bench (usually over by Japan), watch the CM's clean up and listen to the TOD/TON parade music play. Love to hear that music, hope it hasn't changed. Then after about 20 minutes I take my time going out toward the main gate. The parking lot is never backed up by that time and I can easily find my car since most of the others are gone.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Our usual last night tradition is to grab a snack before Illuminations (the chocolate cream pie from Electric Umbrella works pretty good for us!), and then work our way to the fountain after the fireworks. There are a few tables at the bakery where we love to sit & watch the fountain perform & people watch as the guests leave the park.