EPCOT + Food and Wine strategy

[Betsyp]

My trip is in just over a week, and I’m trying to figure out what the best strategy Is for getting around EPCOT in terms of seeing the attractions/riding the rides I want to and still enjoying the Food and Wine Fest.

I’ll be at Epcot on Monday, November 7...and I also plan to hop to EPCOT after HS/lunch at Primo Piatto/Bar Riva on Thursday the 10th

I’ll be with my nephew and his GF, but because they work at Disney, they are there all the time - the urgency isn’t there for them. Technically it’s not there for me, either, as I now live on FL and have an annual pass. Still, it’s been quite a few years since I’ve been to WDW.

I know I want to skip Spaceship Earth, saving that for much later. I think it probably makes sense to do World Discovery/Nature, then make my way to World Showcase. Here it gets kind of complicated.

If I try and visit the different booths at the same time as I’m also wandering WS, taking in the films and rides (admittedly at WS, it’s just two rides), then given waits at booths, I may not get much done. It just doesn’t seem the most efficient way to get things done.

I wonder if it might be better to save Food and Wine for when I hop to EPCOT on Thursday. I have a late dinner at Wine Bar George that night, and if I forget lunch at the Riviera, then I could focus on the F & W fest (with some rides thrown in). The point of going to the Riviera for lunch was to take a break from the parks, but if I primarily focus on F & W and a few attractions, it will be a fairly relaxing half day.
This isn’t to say I wouldn’t visit any booths on Monday, but only if they fit in naturally (say French booth when I’m in France)..

Thoughts?

Thanks !

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Will you be at Epcot all day on the 7th, will you be rope dropping? Will you be staying on disney property? If so, you should take advantage of early theme park entry and RD either Soarin/TT or RD in reverse and make your way to Remy or FEA and go that route.

If you go the soarin/TT route, you can then hit the other area sights/attractions and make your way to WS by lunchish and then plan to ride FEA and Remy either during Fireworks or at park close. If you decide to do Guardians, the virtual queue and/or iLL$ purchase may also dictate how you plan your day.

If you RD and tour in reverse and do Remy/FEA first thing in the morning, your downside there is that there are no food booths open yet (I think belgium is the only booth open for breakfast) nor are all the shops. It's nice to walk around an empty area of the park at this time but outside of those two rides, you won't have anything to really do. When we do this, we usually take a lot of pics since there's really not a ton of people around so you can get some good shots. So it's likely that at some point in the morning, you'll end up going back to World Discovery/Nature to hit the other rides and doing a little back tracking. Not the end of the world if you can knock out those two rides but keep in mind if you are coming from the front of the park, hit FEA first since the guests entering from IG will have an advantage on getting to Remy before you. And then, you can save Remy for closer to park close if you want to ride, pay for G+, etc. And whatever you don't get to ride or eat on the 7th, just add it to your list on your next Epcot day. I would skip going to Riviera on the day you're also eating at Wine Bar George. I'm not a fan of two ADRs in one day since that eats up so much time you could be in the parks. Also, Epcot is really a pretty chill park now that a lot more of the construction walls have come down and imo, it's not a very intense experience, even on packed days. You can always find quiet spots and get away from people.

 

[Betsyp]

Will you be at Epcot all day on the 7th, will you be rope dropping? Will you be staying on disney property? If so, you should take advantage of early theme park entry and RD either Soarin/TT or RD in reverse and make your way to Remy or FEA and go that route.

If you go the soarin/TT route, you can then hit the other area sights/attractions and make your way to WS by lunchish and then plan to ride FEA and Remy either during Fireworks or at park close. If you decide to do Guardians, the virtual queue and/or iLL$ purchase may also dictate how you plan your day.

If you RD and tour in reverse and do Remy/FEA first thing in the morning, your downside there is that there are no food booths open yet (I think belgium is the only booth open for breakfast) nor are all the shops. It's nice to walk around an empty area of the park at this time but outside of those two rides, you won't have anything to really do. When we do this, we usually take a lot of pics since there's really not a ton of people around so you can get some good shots. So it's likely that at some point in the morning, you'll end up going back to World Discovery/Nature to hit the other rides and doing a little back tracking. Not the end of the world if you can knock out those two rides but keep in mind if you are coming from the front of the park, hit FEA first since the guests entering from IG will have an advantage on getting to Remy before you. And then, you can save Remy for closer to park close if you want to ride, pay for G+, etc. And whatever you don't get to ride or eat on the 7th, just add it to your list on your next Epcot day. I would skip going to Riviera on the day you're also eating at Wine Bar George. I'm not a fan of two ADRs in one day since that eats up so much time you could be in the parks. Also, Epcot is really a pretty chill park now that a lot more of the construction walls have come down and imo, it's not a very intense experience, even on packed days. You can always find quiet spots and get away from people.

Yep, all day at EPCOT - including Early Entry. We have a late dinner at LTT (8:55 pm), so at some point I’ll head back to CSR for a break.

Guardians is a wild card - so might FEA and Remy since my nephew’s GF has anxiety and she’s got some sort of pass we can use.

Your first option makes a lot of sense. Reverse RD could work - I’d have much of WS fairly quiet as I explore WS. I could potentially do both twice....and, since I am returning, then I don’t have to do everything that day. But, because of the booths not being open, it may not work as well as the first option.

That’s a great point about eating up so much park time on the 10th. More time at Epcot means more time to eat, do the rides again, enjoy the WS.....I was going to do mini-golf after EPCOT, but I might just go back to CSR, take a dip in the pool, and ready for dinner.

Thank you SO much - this has been a big help!