Epcot - why the two parts

[monkey Q]

Can you get in to eat at the restaurants with out having admission to the park that day? I don't understand why there are two halves listed.

 

[homerjay316]

Epcot was originally two different theme park ideas that were combined.

They keep different hours. I always assumed this was because World Showcase was primarily a fine dining, adult evening alone, get a little drinky, sort of place. More appropriate later in the evening than first thing in the morning. Its a single park and admission is required to eat at any of the restaurants.

 

[PictureJumpr]

Epcot itself is divided into two sections - Future World and World Showcase.
Each half has its own hours - Future World opens much earlier, and World Showcase closes later (except for the big-draw attractions like Soarin, which stay open until the later closing time). Minor/less popular attractions in Future World close at 7 instead of 9.

All of the Epcot restaurants in either section of the park do require admittance to the park to eat there. I suppose they list them seperately to show that some may open later, and some may close earlier, than others based on which section of the park they are located in. I have found this mostly affects CS locations and snack carts, as we have had ADRs at Future World TS restaurants after 7pm many times.

HTH