Epcot Question

[Goofy Rulz]

We are planning a June trip and will be hitting MK, MGM & AK. We are not fans of Epcot (don't hate us). We would just rather be entertained than educated on vacation. But our kids have never been and show an interest whenever we watch the planning video (which is like, every weekend). Anyways, we may purchase an extra day and hop over to Epcot for the evening on the day we arrive. But looking at the calendar for June, it says that Future World closes at 7 and World Showcase at 9. We would probably head over to the park around 5:00. Is it even worth it?? The main reason we would be going would be to check out TT and Soarin, but at that time of day, I'm sure the FP would all be used up. If we don't do this we would do the Wishes Specialty Cruise instead. Which would you do?

 

[WDWNicole]

I read on another board that TT and Soaring and the other popular attractions stay open until 9:00.

We did a Wishes cruise also, but I would recommend Epcot - you can see Illumnations at 9:00.

 

[estnh]

First, I gotta say that Epcot is our favorite park, and never once did I feel I was being educated there!!! Give it a chance and i promise you'll change your mind.
It is a wonderful place!

You are right, however, in saying the fast passes for Test Track and Soarin would be gone by 5PM, unless you went during an evening extra magic hours.

 

[AmyBWV99]

I agree with the previous post - we've never felt we were being educated at Epcot. In fact, quite the opposite. With the largest variety and availability of alcohol available at WDW, truly enjoying Epcot actually kills more brain cells than any other park.

 

[isyt]

I don't know what park you are going to in the morning but maybe you can enter Epcot at 9a and run to Soarin and TT , maybe MS. All are great rides and you cound be done by 10:30a and head to your next park. My kids ( 4, 6 and 8) all love Epcot and will even pick it over MK sometimes!! Have a great time!!

 

[LoveWDW]

Epcot is our favorite, but we are two adults so I don't know about what children would like. It is nice to broaden their horizons- let them see what buildings and culture, to some extent, are like in other countries- maybe sample foods from other countries. For the rides, probably spending just a couple hours there would not let you ride Soarin and maybe not TT either.

 

[Goofy Rulz]

First, I gotta say that Epcot is our favorite park, and never once did I feel I was being educated there!!! Give it a chance and i promise you'll change your mind.
It is a wonderful place!

You are right, however, in saying the fast passes for Test Track and Soarin would be gone by 5PM, unless you went during an evening extra magic hours.

That being said - is it worth the time to go there? I don't know how long the waits normally are on these rides, but I'm sure long. I wouldn't mind waiting an hour, but definitely no longer than that.

 

[Tazicket]

I used to dislike Epcot, too. It is, however, DH's favorite park. He's all cultural and stuff. But I love him anyway. Epcot is pretty cool. I really enjoy the hands on sciency stuff like they have in Future World. The food is good, too.

It's growing on me.

 

[estnh]

That being said - is it worth the time to go there? I don't know how long the waits normally are on these rides, but I'm sure long. I wouldn't mind waiting an hour, but definitely no longer than that.

Without fast passes my guess is that both of these rides, which are two of the best in WDW, would be around 90 minutes.

 

[Tazicket]

By the way...Soarin' is worth just about any wait. It's absolutely breathtaking! I don't know what avg lines are like for it, though, since Dh and I rode it when they were testing it for people before it officially opened.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

If you go at 5, you'll probably get on Soarin, then by that time it's time for dinner, then probably hit the stores in whatever area you decide to eat for dinner, then it will be time to get a spot for illuminations. The other alternative is to hit Soarin, Test Track, then grab dinner, then illuminations.

You probably will not get all that much done if you hit it at 5. Just my 2 cents.

Although Soarin, dinner at one of the restaurants, and illuminations is probably 3 of the top 5 things Epcot has to offer.

Given a choice between that and a wishes cruise, I'd take Epcot.

Epcot was our least favorite of the 4 parks too. WS has nothing for kids except the coloring for the most part. And if you have to add coloring to get the kids to get into it, well they can color at home.

IMO Epcot with kids is best done by sticking to future world, and then doing one or two countries. Save the rest of them for the next visit.

 

[Dawgdad]

We are not fans of Epcot (don't hate us). We would just rather be entertained than educated on vacation. QUOTE]

Just to let you know - I have been to Epcot probably 50 times since it opened in 1982 and I have never learned anything. (LOL)
Seriously, the "educational" tag got pinned on Epcot very early and it has never really been able to shake it. I say, you learn something everywhere you go. Test Track, Soarin', Mission Space, Honey I shrunk..., Maelstrom, Body Wars. All entertainment. As far as that goes, I would say you would be more educated at your local zoo than from Epcot. I hope this helps persuade you to visit this great park (just not on Wed, March 8th - that's when we'll be there and we want the park to ourselves...)

Russ

 

[Tidus]

Are your passes non-hopper? IMO I wouldn't necessarily buy an extra day, but if you have or change to hoppers, then you can go on the same day as AK. My kids enjoyed meeting all of the characters in AK, but we were done the park by 3. My kids loved Epcot the most. They were 6 and 8 at the time. They loved going in the different stores, especially Japan (Yugioh cards and Hello Kitty!).

 

[lpizzuro123]

It is not all educational - we find it not even a little educational. TT and Soarin' are two great rides. I would try to head to EPCOT earlier in the day. TT has a "singles" rider line which is usually shorter than FP or the regular line. Soarin' will definately be long so if you get there earlier you can maybe get a FP. There is alot of interesting things to see in World Showcase. Lots of shops and good places to eat from all over the world. There is a water ride in Norway, a boat ride in Mexico and a movies in China, Canada and France. Yes, the movies are about the country but they are beautiful. You can catch bellydancing in Morocco, have italian pastries in Italy and see the Beatles in United Kingdom. There is a great 3D Movie callled "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, in the Journey to Imagination pavalion and a huge aquarium in the Living Seas. Not sure when you said you were going in June but the Flower and Garden show is on till June 11. There are great toperaries and concerts in the American Garden Theater. Here is the schedule for June.

Tony Orlando May 30-June 1
Arlo Guthrie June 2-5
The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie June 6-7
Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone June 8-11

Actually, our favorite thing about EPCOT is IllumiNations. It is their nighttime show (9:00 pm) featuring:

* A 13-minute night-time spectacular on and above World Showcase Lagoon.
* Earth Globe is the world's first spherical video display system, wrapped in 15,000 LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes).
* 1,105 shells are used for each show; 34 firing positions. Shells come from China, Italy, U.S. and Japan.
* Shell types: comets, candles, mines, shells, tailed shells, crossettes, scattering bees, whistles, reports/salutes, ground effects, floaters.
* Four fountain barges each pumping 4,000 gallons of water per minute.
* A 150,000-pound inferno barge uses 37 nozzles to shoot propane flames skyward.
* A full color spectrum of lasers, including four custom Disney colors (lagoon blue, mint green, pumpkin orange and lavender).
* Walls of flames and a giant torch climb 40 feet above World Showcase Lagoon.
*Wonderful music

Illuminations alone keeps us going back to EPCOT. You can watch it anywhere around the water in World Showcase. Get there early enough to get a good spot on the water. I think you will enjoy this more than the Wishes cruise. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Wishes also - but this is your chance to do something different.

Let us know what you decide.

Linda