Epcot Afternoon strategies?

[elizke]

Hello all. We are leaving this Friday and we are newbies. Thanks to much advice here and hours of reading books and strategies, everything is planned the best way it can be I think for the four and a half short days we'll have.

We are planning to go to Epcot twice, both times in the afternoon. Once to FW and once to WC. Just the way it has to be. What do you suggest for the really popular rides? Think we'll get on Soarin' at all? Any chance for Crush?

Has anyone done this successfully or did you pretty much have to just skip the popular rides?

Thanks!!
E.

 

[Bob P]

Depends on the time of year you are going. If you will be there at peak season, FastPasses for Soarin' will likely be gone and the standby wait will probably be 60-90 minutes. If it's an off-peak time, the standby line will still be quite long but there may be FastPasses left.

Ditto for Test Track.

Crush is a slow loader...one group in, sit down, run the show, that group leaves, next group in, etc....again, a lot will depend on the time of year you are going.

Edited to add: sorry, I completely missed the fact that you are going at the end of the week. I think crowds should be manageable at the end of April, but the standby lines for Soarin' and Test Track will still be long by mid afternoon.

Enjoy!

Bob

 

[estnh]

We'll see you there--we're leaving Friday, too!

I agree with Bob--Soarin and Test Track fast passes will likely be gone by afternoon next week. You'll be able to do Spaceship Earth, Ellens Energy Adventure, Maelstrom, and some of the shows, and probably Mission Space if you are so inclined after the bad publicity this week.

Other than Maelstrom, which is fun, World Showcase really doen't have many rides, but it is a wonderful place. There are street performers and many types of food and drink to sample. You didn't mention your kids ages, but WS is more enjoyable for adults than young children. (I'd be happy to go to WDW for a week and never leave World Showcase!)

Are there any EMH during the time you are there? Depending on what time you get there on Friday, the schedule shows EMH evening hours this Friday. This would solve your problem regarding the popular rides.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[erikthewise]

My suggestion: go to touringplans.com (the official website for the Unofficial Guide), cough up $6.95, and download the Afternoon Touring Plan. Just do the things in Future World -- if you have time left over you could do some of the minor attractions there.

It will help if you make sure your FW afternoon is on a weekday when Epcot does not have EMH.

I'd say DO NOT do Soarin' or Test Track without a fastpass, unless the standby wait miraculously drops to 30 min or less. They are great rides yes but not worth the 60-90 minute waits that are typical on busy afternoons. If you have someone who is a fast walker, give them all the tickets and send them to one of these attractions as soon as you arrive to get fastpasses and rejoin you. There is no need for everyone to go to get fastpasses! I'd suggest trying Test Track because it's a little less popular than Soarin' right now.

Turtle Talk is a tough ticket.
We got in line at 10:15 during a slow time of the year, and just barely made it into the next show. Your wait may well be an hour or more. It's a wonderful show for young children, but they are exactly the ones who should not be put through the long wait that may be necessary on a busy afternoon.

There are some very good things that can be done just about anytime. Energy Adventure, Spaceship Earth, and Honey I Shrunk the Audience are good things to do in mid-to-late afternoon.

If you really want to do all the top attractions at FW, you need to rearrange so you can spend one morning there.

 

[elizke]

Thanks everybody for your input. I'm thinking we will try the one person bee line for Soarin', try to get to all the rest mentioned, and skip Crush.

We are leaving Friday but have to go to a wedding in Tampa first. We won't actually get to DW until early afternoon Sunday, which is when we'll go to FW. Wish we had more days to play with, but it's better than nothin' ! : )

Thanks very much!!
E.