Epcot Touring with 2 Adult Newbies

[js]

Hi.

We will be having my BFF and her mom join my mom and me in Disney in September. They are having two full park days (Epcot and MK) and their arrival day, they are to land at 9:00 am and we are taking it easy, by GF pool, 7 pm dinner ressies at GF Cafe, stroll to Poly, and perhaps take monorail to BLT to have a drink at ToTW. Both moms will be using a scooter (both active, 73 and 81).

Please can you take a look at below and let me know what you think of the Touring Plan for our Epcot day:

Walk to Poly from GF and get on the Epcot monorail at TTC. I believe I asked once on the Transportation Board if this would be the same amount of time for moderate/fast walkers vs. getting on at GF and transferring and it seemed it would be worth it or same to walk to Poly to get monorail and my BFF and I like to walk.

Leave GFVs approximately 7:10 am and walk to Poly to the TTC.
Take monorail to Epcot
Do the monorails to parks usually start earlier than an hour ahead of schedule?
If so, we will leave earlier. I want to be ahead of the RD crowds (so do they).

RD Soarin, especially that they can take the scooters directly up to the loading area.
Standby The Land
9:30 am - 10:30 am FP Test Track
10:30 am - 11:30 am FP Spaceship Earth
11:30 am - 12:30 pm I need to find out if my friend/her mom want to meet Mickey/Minnie, etc., if so, I will do the Character Meet. If not, I will do the Pixar Short Film.
I'm hoping after tapping into TT, I can move up SE and do the same for the 11:30 am FP, but should be done with those three by 11:30 am.
Figment (will there be a line? Not sure, haven't done in a very long time)
Nemo (will there be a line? Not sure, haven't done in a very long time)

If they want to stay and do CS for lunch, we will do that and head back or we will head back to GF, eat there and relax.

I will see if I can get a FP about 5 pm or 6 pm for Soarin or Spaceship Earth or Frozen if they want to do another attraction at night (I know it will be difficult, it is not a deal breaker and they won't know what they are missing) or we will go back about 5 pm - 6 pm and walk around the countries. They will be interested in doing this.

8:00 pm Rose and Crown Illuminations Dinner

Let the crowds dissipate and head back on the monorail to GFVs.

Please let me know what you would do differently. I don't care if we have to backtrack, the moms will have scooters and my bff and I don't care if we walk.

Thank you very much. Will be posting MK today/next week

 

[karensi]

Sounds good to me but just commenting so as to bump your post.
Hoping you get some suggestions.

 

[starrysky]

I would say if the lines for the buses aren’t long you might be as quick doing that and not taking the monorail.
I would not waste a FP on Figment or Nemo as they tend even at busy times to be quick lines. Pending on how long the line is for the land you might be able to fit one in after that before your TT FP runs out.
I agree with the idea of a character meal, can recommend Garden Grill for that. No Minnie but you do get Pluto, Mickey, chip and dale.
Keep in mind that F&W is on which can make WS very crowded and hard to navigate for some reason especially by Canada/UK and by Mexico. So if you have ADR at 8pm I would recommend giving yourself a good amount of time to get there. 3 hours can go very fast

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

There are a couple thoughts...

Food and Wine Festival time...If you are going on a Saturday, good luck! Sundays can be bad as well but starting in the afternoon. Friday's get bad in the evenings.

I wouldn't fastpass the PIXAR film festival. Use that on Journey Into Imagination or Nemo just in case you want to give those a try.

The 8 p.m. Rose and Crown is fine. There is a small negative that most people don't think about. 90% of the time, Illuminations smoke heads right towards the UK. Also, it is very easy to get a spot around the lagoon for the show (I personally recommend Italy). There are also wheelchair/ECV seating in Germany that isn't usually full. If you want to eat at Rose & Crown, I would just do a normal dining reservation and save the money (unless you are going very close to or on the closing night of Illuminations).

 

[mamaofsix]

I think they will like touring the countries more so than doing SE or Soarin' twice at the end of the day. I would imagine they would love the boat ride in Mexico, the film in France, Voices of Liberty, etc. etc. Give yourselves lots of time to explore World Showcase Start at Mexico and tour clockwise around the lagoon until you get to the UK for dinner.

The only other thing that stuck out to me was the Test Track fp. At their ages, I'm not certain they would be able to handle the intensity of this attraction. Nemo or Figment would be a better choice...

Have fun!

 

[epcotobsessed]

Agree with all of the above. My mom is in her late 60s and couldn't handle TT. I would explain to your moms that it's *very* fast and intense and confirm that they want to try it. I think Frozen might be a better FP choice for them (since you are RDing Soarin). Also agree that you don't need to spend more for the Illuminations package unless you really want to/want to go to Rose and Crown. You can get additional FPs for whatever you want after you tap in for your third, just go to the MDE app and check what's available. Leave more time than you think to walk the World Showcase - especially for first-timers there is SO much to see and do. Have a wonderful time!

 

[LuckyPenny911]

Looks good to me! Rose and Crown foreverrr!

 

[CJN]

I would say if the lines for the buses aren’t long you might be as quick doing that and not taking the monorail.

With two people in the party using ECVs I’d always make monorail first choice over a bus. Loading is much, much, much easier. Plus the buses can only take two ECVs/wheelchairs at a time so even with a short line, depending on who else might be in line ahead of you, it’s not uncommon to have to wait for the next bus.

 

[js]

Thank you all very much. I have printed out your information and will take a look at it compared to what I currently have.

Few things:

*Although both moms will have scooters, they do not need scooters or walkers while at home. Both will be fine and my mom has used scooter before, we rent every year at Disney. The other mom will need to get use to it. My mom has been in the scooter at RD for FoP and SDD so is aware of the crowds but we will make sure the other mom can handle it before RD at MK and Epcot.

*My mom has been on TT many times. My bff said her mom will be fine with TT. If she doesn't want to go on, she just won't.

*I am not doing any character meals. I asked, they don't want to so that is fine. I was, though, thinking of using a FP for the Character Meet instead of Nemo or Figment. Is it a Tier 2?

*My mom and I met last night and decided to tour the countries with the two newbies and I will not get another FP, unless I can get for Frozen while back at the room resting. My mom reminded me of the show in America and the Voices of Liberty. I need to find out the schedule since I want this to be a do not miss attraction in the countries before our dinner.

*Rose and Crown. We booked the Illuminations Dinner at Rose and Crown and have paid for the event. I think it will be a good ending to the night.

*I thought about the busses to MK and Epcot but with two scooters not sure if they would be able to get on the same bus (but hoping they can when we go to DTD for Wine Bar George) but know they will be able to do so with the monorail.

Thank you for all your help. I appreciate it.

 

[ktlm]

My Mom is in her 80s, but still active. She would tell you (and it has not changed in the last 30 years) that her favorite thing in EPCOT is World Showcase (really that is probably her favorite place at WDW). She likes to visit all the countries, see the entertainment in the countries, do the ride in Mexico, see the movies in the countries that have them etc. You are going during Food and Wine. My Mom would either want an ADR in World Showcase (she is German, so she likes Biergarten), or would like to just sample all the Food and Wine booths as she made her way around WS. She definitely would not be okay with starting at WS at 5:00 p.m. That would not give her enough time there. She also would not be happy if we told her we were eating anywhere other than EPCOT. As the other poster said-- Saturdays during Food & Wine are crazy-- if you can do EPCOT on a weekday, I would highly recommend that. My Mom would much prefer Frozen to Test Track. It isn't the fast part of Test Track that is the problem-- it is the inside part where it is rough and slams you around. In any event, even if it didn't slam her around, she would be much much more interested in the Frozen ride. She has never been a thrill ride person though. You might want to think about a FP split-- with not everyone getting the same? You can always single rider TT.

 

[js]

My Mom is in her 80s, but still active. She would tell you (and it has not changed in the last 30 years) that her favorite thing in EPCOT is World Showcase (really that is probably her favorite place at WDW). She likes to visit all the countries, see the entertainment in the countries, do the ride in Mexico, see the movies in the countries that have them etc. You are going during Food and Wine. My Mom would either want an ADR in World Showcase (she is German, so she likes Biergarten), or would like to just sample all the Food and Wine booths as she made her way around WS. She definitely would not be okay with starting at WS at 5:00 p.m. That would not give her enough time there. She also would not be happy if we told her we were eating anywhere other than EPCOT. As the other poster said-- Saturdays during Food & Wine are crazy-- if you can do EPCOT on a weekday, I would highly recommend that. My Mom would much prefer Frozen to Test Track. It isn't the fast part of Test Track that is the problem-- it is the inside part where it is rough and slams you around. In any event, even if it didn't slam her around, she would be much much more interested in the Frozen ride. She has never been a thrill ride person though. You might want to think about a FP split-- with not everyone getting the same? You can always single rider TT.

Thank you. I appreciate this information.
While I will be there with my mom from September 4-14, my friends are only coming for a few days, even though they were invited as long as they wanted to be there. They will arrive on a Friday and have a 6 am flight that morning. My friend works nights so she really won't be getting any sleep prior to the 6 am flight so they asked if they can just hang around GFVs that day, tour the resorts, go to ToTW for drinks and we have dinner ressies at GF Cafe.

Saturday is Epcot and Sunday is MK (they leave on Monday morning. This was a last minute invite and my bff has her vacation days already planned out). I wanted to go to MK on a party day since thought it may be a little more quiet than a non party night and hoping a few locals will wait until later September/October when the weather may break a little but I do expect large crowds in WS. As much as I want to show them everything and wish they were staying longer, they won't miss what they don't know (I have to keep telling myself that LOL) so I figured the Illuminations dinner at R&C would be a nice ending to their first park day.

Thanks so much. I am going to do as much as the countries as we can.

 

[ktlm]

Saturday is Epcot and Sunday is MK (they leave on Monday morning. This was a last minute invite and my bff has her vacation days already planned out). I wanted to go to MK on a party day since thought it may be a little more quiet than a non party night and hoping a few locals will wait until later September/October when the weather may break a little but I do expect large crowds in WS.

2 days at WDW is better than no days at WDW!

We have been in the fall for probably the last 6 or 7 years (skipped one year in there). MK is usually less crowded on party nights-- although the park will close at 6:00 p.m. Is the party an option for you? The party is a whole lot of fun and Sunday nights usually aren't too bad as far as party crowds. The party would get them more park time, and the night time experience at MK- plus it is really fun to see all the guests dressed up. There are always some amazing costumes. The Halloween parade is great too. We love MNSSHP.

We usually stay in the EPCOT area and have been in the park on F&W Saturdays-- although usually for limited periods. If World Showcase is a priority, then I would say start over there right at 11:00 a.m. and plan to escape when the insanity kicks in. We are usually there in October, so maybe September won't be as bad, but WS is CRAZY crowded on Food and Wine Saturday nights. It can be hard to move through there on Saturday nights during F&W, and may be very hard to get the scooters through the crowd. I would say start there early, and when it gets awful either take a break and then come back for your Illuminations dinner, or move over to Future World (but keep an eye out because sometimes attractions can close earlier over there). Maybe you will get lucky and the crowds won't be too bad your Saturday.

 

[starrysky]

With two people in the party using ECVs I’d always make monorail first choice over a bus. Loading is much, much, much easier. Plus the buses can only take two ECVs/wheelchairs at a time so even with a short line, depending on who else might be in line ahead of you, it’s not uncommon to have to wait for the next bus.

Yes that’s true I was just thinking if it was quiet then maybe....
I’m sure OP that you will all have a brilliant time.

 

[js]

Thank you all very much.

I have been giving this day a lot of thought and think I will do RD and then not do all the attractions in FW so we are ready to be in the countries by 11:00 am and thinking in reading your posts, you would all agree.

Thinking I will do the following:

Leave GFVs approximately 7:10 am and walk to Poly to the TTC.
Take monorail to Epcot
Do the monorails to parks usually start earlier than an hour ahead of schedule?
If so, we will leave earlier. I want to be ahead of the RD crowds (so do they).

RD Soarin, especially that they can take the scooters directly up to the loading area.
Standby The Land
9:30 am - 10:30 am FP Test Track
10:30 am - 11:30 am FP Spaceship Earth
11:30 am - 12:30 pm I'll just do Pixar, even though I know we won't need a FP for that attraction.

I'm hoping as I tap into each FP, I can modify the next a little earlier. If not, after Spaceship Earth, we will head to the countries for 11:00 am. I think my friend/her mom would really enjoy the countries.

Thank you all very much!