Epcot- Toddler touring?

[khmoorefield]

Hi all! I'm working on my touring plans and I'm having the hardest time with Epcot. My husband and I are travelling with our (at the time) almost 3 year old. We aren't sure if he will nap in his stroller (he stroller napped like a champ when we were in Rome at 13 months, but that was awhile ago) or if we need to plan to walk back to Beach Club where we are staying. Our general timeline for the day:

8am Garden Grill
9-11am Future World area
11am hoping for a Frozen FastPass+ but I'm thinking maybe later in the day and starting our World Showcase tour from the Canada side. If we started in Canada we could easily get back to our hotel from the International Gateway.
12pm Lunch at Cantina de San Angel (obviously this would not work if we started in Canada)
1-6pm World Showcase/possible nap break
6-7ish Coral Reef Restaurant- love the idea of eating underwater and think my son would enjoy it, but it seems like a hassle to walk all the way back to Future World. After dinner, we would do Spaceship Earth and then pick back up at World Showcase.

I guess my biggest hang ups are lunch and dinner. 1) Is Cantina de San Angel good? We've noted it because our son is picky and does like Mexican food. 2) Is dinner and making the trek all the way to Coral Reef worth it?

Any experiences or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[yorkieteacher]

-If you have a Garden Grill Breakfast, our little ones liked everything in the Seas pavilion next door-the Finding Nemo ride, the aquarium, and Turtle Talk with Crush. You could also meet some characters in that area-Wreck It Ralph in Imagination Pavillion, and the Fab Five, Joy and Sadness and Baymax in the old Innoventions are on that side of the park. You could go across to World Showcase then and ride the Mexico ride and eat lunch there about 11, try to fast pass Frozen about noon(or vice versa), then head back to your resort for a nap break. If you can enter the International Gateway later, you could then tour the rest of World Showcase staring wherever and ending up in the Seas again for Coral Reef dinner. Cantina de San Angel has average Mexican food, but it is very dark and the tables are very close together. I personally don't think Coral Reef is worth it, with so many other good choices around World Showcase, especially if you have seen the aquarium exhibits earlier in the day.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Assuming you are talking about the QS in Mexico (I'm guessing the PP thought you were talking about San Angel Inn), it is not dark. They have outdoor seating and during lunch they also allow you to sit in the restaurant area for La Hacienda de San Angel since it doesn't open for ADRs until dinner. We really enjoy the food there. My picky DH had the beef tacos at least 3 times on our last trip and the kids loved the empanadas.

I wouldn't underestimate how much there is to do in Future World. In addition to all of the characters and the Seas pavilion, you have the Nemo ride, Living with the Land (my toddler enjoyed looking at all the food being grown), the Figment ride, and all the cool stuff in the Imagination pavilion. We spent about an hour just in the last one with him playing on the light up carpets. Since you are going to be in Future World in the morning anyway, I'd hit up all of that (including Spaceship Earth) before moving on to WS. With a big breakfast at GG, you might not be ready to eat lunch until closer to 1, which should give you plenty of time in Future World. Then, head to Mexico, have lunch and go from there.

Personally, I would figure something else out for dinner. It is a hassle to trek from WS to the far side of FW for a Coral Reef ADR with a little one. We did a lot of bouncing back and forth in Epcot to make it to FPs and an ADR and it took up a lot more time than we expected. Also keep in mind that many of the tables at Coral Reef are not near the aquarium, so it may not be the super cool experience you are expecting. Since you can see the Seas Aquarium in the morning anyway (which has a lot more cool stuff to look at), I'd skip this ADR. Spend more time in the WS (take advantage of the often low waits for Gran Fiesta and ride repeatedly!) and grab QS somewhere when everyone's hungry, that way you aren't tied down to an ADR if you do need to leave for a break and aren't spending so much time in restaurants in one day. Maybe some fish and chips in the UK or some chicken and rice from Katsura Grill or Lotus Blossom would be simple enough to please him? You can order without the sauces on them.

If you still would prefer starting the WS in Canada, then maybe grab a QS lunch in FW at Sunshine Seasons or Electric Umbrella before heading over, or stop in the UK for lunch, go around the WS counter-clockwise and stop at La Cantina for dinner.

 

[yorkieteacher]

Assuming you are talking about the QS in Mexico (I'm guessing the PP thought you were talking about San Angel Inn), it is not dark. They have outdoor seating and during lunch they also allow you to sit in the restaurant area for La Hacienda de San Angel since it doesn't open for ADRs until dinner. We really enjoy the food there. My picky DH had the beef tacos at least 3 times on our last trip and the kids loved the empanadas.

You are right! I get those mixed up continually!

 

[khmoorefield]

-If you have a Garden Grill Breakfast, our little ones liked everything in the Seas pavilion next door-the Finding Nemo ride, the aquarium, and Turtle Talk with Crush. You could also meet some characters in that area-Wreck It Ralph in Imagination Pavillion, and the Fab Five, Joy and Sadness and Baymax in the old Innoventions are on that side of the park. You could go across to World Showcase then and ride the Mexico ride and eat lunch there about 11, try to fast pass Frozen about noon(or vice versa), then head back to your resort for a nap break. If you can enter the International Gateway later, you could then tour the rest of World Showcase staring wherever and ending up in the Seas again for Coral Reef dinner. Cantina de San Angel has average Mexican food, but it is very dark and the tables are very close together. I personally don't think Coral Reef is worth it, with so many other good choices around World Showcase, especially if you have seen the aquarium exhibits earlier in the day.

Yes, we plan on visiting the Seas and the Imagination Pavilions! We're also going during the Flower and Garden Festival, and based on looking at the 2019 map, their should be plenty of cool stuff (and food!) without having to commit to Coral Reef. Thanks!!

 

[khmoorefield]

Assuming you are talking about the QS in Mexico (I'm guessing the PP thought you were talking about San Angel Inn), it is not dark. They have outdoor seating and during lunch they also allow you to sit in the restaurant area for La Hacienda de San Angel since it doesn't open for ADRs until dinner. We really enjoy the food there. My picky DH had the beef tacos at least 3 times on our last trip and the kids loved the empanadas.

I wouldn't underestimate how much there is to do in Future World. In addition to all of the characters and the Seas pavilion, you have the Nemo ride, Living with the Land (my toddler enjoyed looking at all the food being grown), the Figment ride, and all the cool stuff in the Imagination pavilion. We spent about an hour just in the last one with him playing on the light up carpets. Since you are going to be in Future World in the morning anyway, I'd hit up all of that (including Spaceship Earth) before moving on to WS. With a big breakfast at GG, you might not be ready to eat lunch until closer to 1, which should give you plenty of time in Future World. Then, head to Mexico, have lunch and go from there.

Personally, I would figure something else out for dinner. It is a hassle to trek from WS to the far side of FW for a Coral Reef ADR with a little one. We did a lot of bouncing back and forth in Epcot to make it to FPs and an ADR and it took up a lot more time than we expected. Also keep in mind that many of the tables at Coral Reef are not near the aquarium, so it may not be the super cool experience you are expecting. Since you can see the Seas Aquarium in the morning anyway (which has a lot more cool stuff to look at), I'd skip this ADR. Spend more time in the WS (take advantage of the often low waits for Gran Fiesta and ride repeatedly!) and grab QS somewhere when everyone's hungry, that way you aren't tied down to an ADR if you do need to leave for a break and aren't spending so much time in restaurants in one day. Maybe some fish and chips in the UK or some chicken and rice from Katsura Grill or Lotus Blossom would be simple enough to please him? You can order without the sauces on them.

If you still would prefer starting the WS in Canada, then maybe grab a QS lunch in FW at Sunshine Seasons or Electric Umbrella before heading over, or stop in the UK for lunch, go around the WS counter-clockwise and stop at La Cantina for dinner.

We plan on all of the Future World attractions! There's a few attractions I've never done (Living with the Land for one, so excited to experience it!) and some that I know my son will really enjoy and get the chance to run off some energy. Thank you for the awesome suggestions and the tip about the picky eaters at the Mexican QS!