Epcot - midday break or late arrival with littles?

[MCharpie]

We are planning on one day at Epcot with a 2-year-old and 4-year-old. We would really like to see illuminations (it's our last night at WDW). This day happens to be extra magic hours in the am. There doesn't seem to be a lot for our kids to explore prior to World Showcase opening at 11. Would you swim at the resort in the morning and arrive in the early afternoon (around 3) or arrive early and plan to take a midday break? We're staying at the Polynesian so transportation isn't the concern. Thanks for sharing your advice!

 

[Dreamin192]

We're going with a 4 year old and 1 year old twins and we found, last year when they were younger anyway, that midday breaks worked best. Ours do not sleep in, so a late start to the day will not benefit us in any way in the evening. We try to keep ours on their regular schedule as much as possible to prevent meltdowns. We're going to try the night time shows at each park but are going with the mindset that if it doesn't happen it's okay, especially since their normal bedtime is 7pm lol. We got a TPV room at the Poly specifically so DH and I could still see wishes

 

[MCharpie]

Thank you for sharing - we too are trying to stick to typical schedules - though my 4-year-old is outgrowing his naps (i'm sure Disney will be a different story!). I appreciate your perspective on evening entertainment. Our littles' bedtime is usually 7:30 so 9:00 may be pushing it - but it will be nice to try!

 

[jasmine91]

We have found that mid day breaks work best for us too. Some nights we have to skip fire works even with an afternoon nap, but on a few occasions, our DS (at 2yrs) would sleep right through them. We are going in 2 weeks with DS 4, and DD2 and plan to stick to the same break schedule. Our son LOVES Figment, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, and Nemo so we have enough to do in the morning there for sure! Have fun!

 

[StuckInKS]

We have travelled with multiple littles (our first trip was with 1, 2, 4, and 5-turning-6 year olds) and prefer late arrival over a break. We often arrive around 4-5pm and stay until close. Two of the biggest reasons are that its usually pretty hot when we go and the evenings are much cooler and we are usually in a value or offsite, so we're not able to just hop on the monorail to get back to our resort. It takes a lot of travel time, especially with 3-4 little ones, to go back to the room and then back to the park later (luckily, thats not a concern for you ). The ride lines are also much shorter a few hours before closing, compared to late-morning to early-evening when they are insane. It probably also depends on your kids' schedule. None of our kids have ever been nappers. Not one. They get up, have a slow start and are then go, go, go until bedtime. For us, breakfast, swimming and then the park would be the way to go.

 

[ErinF]

I was in a very similar situation as you on our first trip back in 2008. We were staying at the Poly and we had DS 4 and DD 2 at the time. We did rope drop at Epcot on the first day of our trip, then after lunch came back for a midday rest, and then went back to Epcot around 5. It worked great for our family, my kids were (well, still are) early morning risers and they needed the break to take a nap and be out of the sun. I remember we had reservations for Biergarten that evening and then we did a leisurely stroll around World Showcase. We did not stay for Illuminations though, as I knew my DS would be too sensitive to the loud noises. I do think there's fun stuff to explore in Future World like the Seas with Nemo and Friends--cute ride plus Turtle Talk with Crush and all the aquarium, my kids loved that and that ate up a bunch of time. There's also Living with the Land, while educational, it is still a fun boat ride for littles. And there's also the Imagination Pavilion. And you are right, transportation is not a concern, and is actually super easy from the Poly, as you can just walk next door to the TTC and catch the Epcot monorail. My kiddos were so enthralled with riding the monorail, it is like an attraction in itself. So if you go in the morning, then take a midday break, and go back in the evening, that's an extra round trip on the monorail!

 

[ArielSRL]

We are doing a midday break.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We never really did mid day breaks. My kids do better sleeping in then staying until we are done.

I also have to say that, even when they were little, Epcot Future World was a favorite. They like the Spaceship Earth, the new color exhibit in Innoventions, character spot, boat ride and movie in the land, Nemo ride into the aquarium, Turtle talk with Crush, and could spend forever watching the manatees and other sea life. The also loved the Imagination ride and playground. There are some great offerings for little ones!

 

[AllieBoo]

Mid-day breaks have always worked best for us. I would get there early, and do Nemo, Figment, living with the land and the Character Spot, then break for a nap or swimming and do WS in the later afternoon/evening.

 

[ktlm]

DD's first WDW trip was when she was 2. EPCOT was by far her favorite park after MK. We spent one day there open to close and did not feel we had enough time, so every trip since then we have spent 2 days there. There really is a lot for the kids to explore. We always just do stroller naps in the park. We discovered when she was 2 that the mid-day break did not work for her at all. All we got was a very unhappy kid that did not want to leave the park that refused to nap at the resort. Future World will have a lot to keep them entertained before WS opens at 11. There is the Nemo ride, the aquariums, Turtle Talk with Crush, Living with the Land (every preschooler I know has loved this one- something about those greenhouses), Figment ride, character meets, Spaceship Earth, etc. Your kids might like Illuminations, or they might not. DD hated Illuminations when she was a preschooler. At that height, they have to be up at the rail to be able to see it, and that was just too close to the noise and fireworks for her when she was little. Some little kids love it though.

 

[showers2flowers]

We are fans of the midday break. We head out early in the morning (well, as early as I can rouse them!), tour until about 1 or 1:30, then head back to avoid the hottest and most crowded part of the day. We don't have anyone in the nap phase anymore, but it's a nice break to just swim or chill in the resort for a while. We usually head back out around 5 or 6, depending on where we're headed. Even if you're not going at a particularly hot or crowded time, those mid afternoon breaks can be the difference between a happy family and a grumpy one, lol! Having said that, when my son was younger, we didn't push the nighttime shows. If he was done for the day, we didn't go. On our first trip, the only nighttime spectacular we managed was MSEP and Wishes. This year we were able to do that, Illuminations, and the Star Wars fireworks at DHS. Fantasmic (and soon ROL) are still on our Disney bucket list.