EPCOT opening strategy that worked!

[SCOTTOHIOCPA]

Myself, DW, DD 13, and DS 7 hit EPCOT on Saturday, June 11th. The park had an average crowd for summer, perhaps because it rained all day.

We arrived about 5 minutes before the 9:00 rope drop. Once the rope dropped, we headed straight to Soarin', along with half of the crowd. My DS 7 walks kind of slow, so about 300 people beat us there. I immediately got FPs for Soarin' at 9:40 and then we got in the stand by line. We rode Soarin' and it was awesome! then came out and went over to Living with the Land which had no line - we walked on and the boat left half full. Then I went over to TT and got FPs right at 9:40 when our Soarin' FPs hit their time. Meanwhile, my family got a drink and chilled in the land while I got the TT FPs. When I returned, we used our FPs ride Soarin' for the second time. Then we walked over to TT and used our FPs to ride. Then we went on Mission Space with a 5 minute wait and when we came out, we got another FP for TT. By this time it was about 11:00.

This plan worked really well, so I thought I would share it with all of you.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

WOW!!!! Cool plan!!! We'll have to try that out!!!

 

[ncbyrne]

DH and I will be trying a plan like this (and your MK train plan too!) on our next trip. Seeing Soarin' is a top priority and TT is one of our all time favorites. We have no intention of going on Mission to Space, but there's so much to see in Epcot!

 

[LITTLEKID58]

You did really good... Soarin is the best

Liz

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

I am sorry but I cannot figure out what is TT.

 

[BikeFan]

I am sorry but I cannot figure out what is TT.

TT=Test Track

 

[Leota]

Sounds great!

 

[donzac27]

Wow...that sounds like a great plan. Every summer when we go the first thing we do when we get to Epcot is run over to TT to get fastpass because they always go really fast. One time we got there around 10:30am and all the Fastpasses for TT were gone for the day. Now I am wondering which Fastpass I should get first, TT or Soarin'.......we will be in Epcot on July 3rd which I know will probably be a busy weekend so now I am undecided....help.

 

[kirbsam]

I am glad that worked for you. I will be entering through the international gateway, and didn't know if I should try to grab a fastpass for tt or head right to soarin. I am going to soarin. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Myself, DW, DD 13, and DS 7 hit EPCOT on Saturday, June 11th. The park had an average crowd for summer, perhaps because it rained all day.

We arrived about 5 minutes before the 9:00 rope drop. Once the rope dropped, we headed straight to Soarin', along with half of the crowd. My DS 7 walks kind of slow, so about 300 people beat us there. I immediately got FPs for Soarin' at 9:40 and then we got in the stand by line. We rode Soarin' and it was awesome! then came out and went over to Living with the Land which had no line - we walked on and the boat left half full. Then I went over to TT and got FPs right at 9:40 when our Soarin' FPs hit their time. Meanwhile, my family got a drink and chilled in the land while I got the TT FPs. When I returned, we used our FPs ride Soarin' for the second time. Then we walked over to TT and used our FPs to ride. Then we went on Mission Space with a 5 minute wait and when we came out, we got another FP for TT. By this time it was about 11:00.

This plan worked really well, so I thought I would share it with all of you.

Go on, Rambo!!!!!

Honestly, when we hit Epcot in early December, we are definitely using this plan! Thanks for the tip!

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

TT=Test Track

Thanks--I was on line this morning at 6:00 a.m, too early for my brain to be fully functioning.

 

[jswalker1981]

Does Epcot have a smaller amount of time in between getting fastpasses? I thought you had to wait for two hours to get another FP, or can you get one when the return time hits for your first FP?

 

[java]

Thank you we are going to try to do it that way as well- what will slow us up slightly is Baby swap- so my kids will ride it twice at once while dh and I take turns. I was wondering which way to work the 3 in.

 

[snappy]

Does Epcot have a smaller amount of time in between getting fastpasses? I thought you had to wait for two hours to get another FP, or can you get one when the return time hits for your first FP?

You can get another 5 minutes after the return time hits for the ifrst FP, the time is printed on the FP. Be sure and check the time though, sometimes (not often) a time earlier than the start of the FP window is printed so you can get the second one even earlier.

 

[whithouston]

We will definitely have to try that. We are going to EPCOT early on the first day we are there. We will most probably get a FastPass for Soarin', and then go ride it in the Standby line. Then go over to TestTrack and then come back to Soarin'. Thanks!

 

[AngelEyes]

So people are heading for Soaring instead of TT and M:S? I'll have to remember that!

 

[Toni300z]

I miss Disney already. Wahhhhhh
Sounds like a great plan!

 

[reedycreek]

cool plan, thanks for sharing. those lines for soarin are insane.

 

[hockey mom]

Great plan!

Epcot is the one park I used to relax in because hubby is a GM employee so we never wait in line for this ride, but with Soarin on the list we will have to have some sort of strategy.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I was at Epcot in May and noticed that Living with the Land loads much quicker now that everyone is getting a FP for Soarin'. Used to be that the stand-by line for Land took forever due to the FP. It seems to move really fast since Soarin' opened.