Epcot question

[Rebelina]

Hi everyone!

We (DH, DD-4 and myself) are going to WDW in May. Here is a quick snapshot of our trip:

Sat. 5/14 - Arrive in Orlando
Sun 5/15 - MK
Mon 5/16 - Sea World
Tue 5/17 - DHS
Wed 5/18 - Rest Day/Resort Day
Thur 5/19 - IOA
Fri 5/20 - MK
Sat 5/21 - Leave Orlando

With this game plan we are only going to spend 3 days at WDW parks. I went to UT to buy our park tickets and they had a special of buy 4 days for the price of 3 days. I obviously couldn't pass it up. Since we have that extra "free" day we want to do Epcot. I would love to go on the Saturday that we arrive so our DD can take advantage of the garden fest and the extra character meet and greets. Is this a bad idea? We arrive in Orlando at 1pm. We need to get the rental car and check in at the resort before heading to Epcot.

My second thought is to skip the rest day and go to Epcot then but our resort (Orange Lake) looks awesome and I think we will all need a rest day. Plus, the garden fest sounds amazing!

What would you do? Will we be able to enjoy Epcot for 5 or 6 hours? Is there even a possibility of being able to do TT or Soarin' with getting there so late? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[travelfanatic]

Well, I may be a little bias here as Epcot is my favorite park! With that being said, I would rather spend 5-6 hours there than not at all. We just got back on Sunday & we went to Flower & Garden Festival. Too me, it is gorgeous and Epcot never looks better with all that color. You might be able to still get FP's for test track but I doubt there will be any left for Soarin late in the afternoon. You can always ride stand by maybe since you are going in May it won't be too bad! I would definitely go to Epcot on your first day! Illuminations is pretty awesome too! Have fun on your trip!

 

[Balt ravens fan]

I would skip IOA and SeaWorld go to EPCOT both days, but if that is not an option, I would do midday rests at the resort and do Epcot on Wednesday. Spend 4 hours everyday at the resort in the pool / water park or taking a nap or both in the afternoon.

Do Early, break then late - best way to do Disney

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I'd skip the rest day, I can rest when I'm dead (or at home). I'd use the arrival day which is just partial to explore the resort and get settled in.

And I'd skip the parks across town too, but that's just me. A 4yr old is not going to be able to enjoy most those parks have to offer.

 

[Rebelina]

Thanks for the advice! For some clarification, our DD (she will be two months shy of 5) has been begging us to go to Sea World for over a year so that is a must for her. We have even booked a dolphin encounter for her as she is completely obsessed with dolphins.

Also, we have free tickets to IOA through my work so we felt that was too good of a deal to pass up.

 

[JimmyV]

This is clearly a Disney-biased crowd, but I will try to be objective. When my DD was 4, she loved SW every bit as much as she loved WDW, as she was more enthralled with seeing real animals than she was with seeing people dressed up as animals (or princesses). So SW was a "must do" back then. (Not so much anymore). Also, SW essentially served as our "day of rest" since with a 4 year old, (and lower crowds), you do not need to attack SW with breakneck speed and endurance. So if SW is meaningful for your DD (or you and your DH for that matter), keep it on the schedule.

That said, I cannot give the same recommendation to IOA for a 4 year old. Not sure that your family (especially a 4 year old) will be into it that much. But if it is a "must do for you", I would try to make the SW day a "leisurely" day, (all things considered) and go to Epcot on what you have planned as your "rest" day. And to try to make it more of a mid-trip rest, I would swap the DHS and SW days, meaning that your SW day would be more toward the middle of your trip when you would need the rest the most. (Caveat: I have not checked park hours or "best day" options for your dates, so I don't know if switching your DHS day is feasible).

 

[~Tonga Wingo~]

You could also consider doing a half day in DHS and then going over to Epcot.

As an adult, I have trouble finding enough to do there to keep me there a full day. I know others probably feel different. However, I don't ride TOT or RnRC. I've done the back lot and the other rides so I basically do Toy Story, see Indiana Jones, Beauty and the Beast and Ariel. My sister will ride RnRC standby and we'll leave for somewhere else. I don't know if you'll be able to fill a full day with a four year old or not at DHS. You could also consider hopping to Epcot for part of your MK days if you didn't want to give up your rest day.

Personally, I would not spend a day resting in Florida and would go to Epcot. I spend so much money to go it seems like a waste especially when you can add an extra day at Disney sometimes as low as $10 or $15.

 

[Balt ravens fan]

Thanks for the advice! For some clarification, our DD (she will be two months shy of 5) has been begging us to go to Sea World for over a year so that is a must for her. We have even booked a dolphin encounter for her as she is completely obsessed with dolphins.

Also, we have free tickets to IOA through my work so we felt that was too good of a deal to pass up.

My kids loved SeaWorld and hated Universal - very scary and dark for them.

But previously you asked what I would do - and that is skip both.

But given free tickets it is hard to pass up. Do the free tickets expire? Are they non-transferrable? (i.e. can you keep them for when they are older OR sell them?) You don't exactly sound sold on IOA.

 

[Rebelina]

My kids loved SeaWorld and hated Universal - very scary and dark for them.

But previously you asked what I would do - and that is skip both.

But given free tickets it is hard to pass up. Do the free tickets expire? Are they non-transferrable? (i.e. can you keep them for when they are older OR sell them?) You don't exactly sound sold on IOA.

The IOA tickets expire at the end of this year and I have to be there for anyone to use the tickets. MH is definitely excited for IOA and it looks like there will be a lot of fun stuff for our DD to do as well. We had planned our trip before we got the free tickets to IOA so we felt like we couldn't pass up the great deal even though it wasn't in our original plans.

 

[sharonabe]

You should be able to do quite a bit in FW even arriving that late. Consider whatever you do as a bonus! Afterall, the tickets were free, so you're not losing anything by going and doing whatever your DD desires!

If you're willing to skip Illuminations, you should be able to ride Soarin' as the last thing you do...just get in line before 9:00.

As for TT, they will probably still have FPs, but you can also check the wait time around 8:00 p.m. to see if the line has gone down.

 

[g-dad66]

If you're willing to skip Illuminations, you should be able to ride Soarin' as the last thing you do...just get in line before 9:00.

As for TT, they will probably still have FPs, but you can also check the wait time around 8:00 p.m. to see if the line has gone down.

This is good advice.

We were at Epcot on March 24, and there were still Test Track Fast Passes available at 6:00 pm. I couldn't believe it!

 

[JZCubed]

Both Test Track & Soarin' are FastPass attractions. You should be able to do both in a 5-6 hour window.....assuming FastPass is still available for TT.

 

[dolphindan1]

are you porposely leaving out Universal Studios and Animal Kingdom???...I would got to Epcot before I went to DHS or AK...We always go to Epcot on Arrival day and if you can get there by 3ish you should be able to get alot done...YOu may still be able to get FPs for Soarin and TT, TT is more likely....Also depending on how much you get done at MK you may want to skip that second MK day...I know that wont be popular I am just saying it may not be necessary....I would also not take a day off and maybe use that day at Epcot...You can always sleep in on your second MK day or hit resorts on arrival day...

Like I mentioned at first you may want to look into Universal Studios since you will be next door at IOA....just a thought to add to your confusion

Here si what I would do...

Sat. 5/14 - Arrive in Orlando...Epcot evening or resorts...Boarwalk..DTD
Sun 5/15 - AK
Mon 5/16 - Sea World
Tue 5/17 - IOA...OR DHS if you wanna see fantasmic
Wed 5/18 - Epcot...Univesal Studios if you get a full dose on arrival night
Thur 5/19 - DHS...NON fantasmic night...IOA if you go to DHS on Tues
Fri 5/20 - MK
Sat 5/21 - Leave Orlando

 

[fflmaster]

As others have said, you can get a lot done in just 5 hours. However, you will only be able to get most of future world and nothing in world showcase.

In my opinion I would do most of epcot on arrival day and then if you have park hoppers go back on your AK day. You should be done AK around 2-3pm.

 

[kaligal]

Instead of taking an entire day to do nothing but rest, try taking a morning off (say, the morning after you stay late to see Wishes) and an afternoon off.

Epcot is great. So is AK. So is US. You can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[dolphindan1]

Instead of taking an entire day to do nothing but rest, try taking a morning off (say, the morning after you stay late to see Wishes) and an afternoon off.

Epcot is great. So is AK. So is US. You can't go wrong with any of them.

Totally agree

 

[DCTooTall]

Are your Free IOA tickets the Walk in the Park tickets? If so, they should be valid until December 2012, not 2011 (I think early information said 2011, but the site currently says 2012. I haven't redeemed mine though so I can't say if the tickets/voucher themselves say something different).


That being said, IOA would likely end up being closer to a 1/2 day park for the 4yr old than a full day park. I love the park, but a lot of the attractions are aimed at an older crowd w/ height restrictions/etc, so depending upon crowds you may be able to get thru it pretty quickly. The Universal forum here might be a good resource to check to see what others with young children think of the park.

Even if you can find enough to keep them entertained and engaged all day, The Universal parks tend to close a lot earlier than the Disney parks, so you'd be back at your resort earlier than a comparable day at a Disney Park. It also would likely be more relaxed as well since with the central lake loop layout of the park it doesn't require the same type of commando attack as Disney does. So you may be able to get your relaxation between the more laid back days at Sea World and Universal, allowing you to take your existing Relaxation day and spend it at EPCOT.