Epcot with a 6 year old 1/2 day park?

[VGCgroupie]

I have searched and Ive seen people say they need 2 days or more to do Epcot. I have never been to Epcot. Im looking at the attractions and maybe Im just not realizing what various attractions actually are. My son just turned 6. I know he will not have interest in things like site seeing and learning things about other countries. He likes rides and characters. With that said do you think its possible to do Epcot in half a day 5pm-11pm? We are going in 3 weeks. Thanks! (hes a night owl and 11pm is no big deal for him)

 

[a1tinkfans]

Well Epcot’s draw imho is the sights/amazing eats/learning .. it’s beautiful but for attraction only... yes, u could just go attraction to attraction and have enough to do to take up up your time slotted. Without FP, not sure how that’d work. Someone else can give you a better time frame.
Characters... yes but not like pre Covid times ... I believe Disney is really trying to have them out and about to satisfy those that seek them... from a distance.
beautiful park, myriad opportunities to see and do and Eat
Have a great time and enjoy!! Great memories with mine when little. And as Adult, even better lol.

 

[Gearbm95]

I have searched and Ive seen people say they need 2 days or more to do Epcot. I have never been to Epcot. Im looking at the attractions and maybe Im just not realizing what various attractions actually are. My son just turned 6. I know he will not have interest in things like site seeing and learning things about other countries. He likes rides and characters. With that said do you think its possible to do Epcot in half a day 5pm-11pm? We are going in 3 weeks. Thanks! (hes a night owl and 11pm is no big deal for him)

With current crowd levels, you could do every ride in Epcot between 8-11pm quite easily.Your longest waits will be Frozen/Test Track and those should top out at around 20mins after 8pm.

Journey Into Imagination, Living With the Land, Nemo, and SE should all be less than 10mins or walk on after 8pm.

 

[scrappinginontario]

My daughter is 12yo and we've been visiting Disney since she was an infant. Ever since she's been able to choose, she's said Epcot is her favourite park! You should be able to get lots done between 5 and 11 but you may find you'll want to add more time the next time you're there!

 

[VGCgroupie]

With current crowd levels, you could do every ride in Epcot between 8-11pm quite easily.Your longest waits will be Frozen/Test Track and those should top out at around 20mins after 8pm.

Journey Into Imagination, Living With the Land, Nemo, and SE should all be less than 10mins or walk on after 8pm.

awesome thanks!

 

[mickeymom22]

From the time my kids were little they loved Epcot. Things to do and see for a 6 year old: Test Track, Frozen Ever After, Soarin', Livin' with the Land, Mission Space (green is the milder ride), Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush, looking around the Living Seas Pavillon, Gran Fiesta Tour (boat ride in Mexico Pavilion), Journey into Imagination, watching the water fountains, watching the model train in Germany, looking at all the cool stuff in the Japan store (Mitsukoshi), and looking for characters. Something yummy to eat: something caramel from Germany.

I am not sure if all those things are currently running or not. I would also suggest Kidcot stations and the interactive areas in the some pavilions, but I don't think any of those are running either.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

We spent 8 hours there with a 5 year old and didn't do test track, Frozen, or soarin'. The only thing we did in World Showcase other than rides was listen to Marimba de Americas, 1 Kidcot stop, looked at the train in Germany, and ate ice cream. If you want to hit all the rides, it might be a full-day park. I guess we did spend a lot of time in the Seas area though (my 5 yr old currently wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up), and we saw the Pixar film Festival and awesome planet movie.

 

[VGCgroupie]

From the time my kids were little they loved Epcot. Things to do and see for a 6 year old: Test Track, Frozen Ever After, Soarin', Livin' with the Land, Mission Space (green is the milder ride), Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush, looking around the Living Seas Pavillon, Gran Fiesta Tour (boat ride in Mexico Pavilion), Journey into Imagination, watching the water fountains, watching the model train in Germany, looking at all the cool stuff in the Japan store (Mitsukoshi), and looking for characters. Something yummy to eat: something caramel from Germany.

I am not sure if all those things are currently running or not. I would also suggest Kidcot stations and the interactive areas in the some pavilions, but I don't think any of those are running either.

Thanks! Glad I asked because the descriptions on the WDW site didnt make it sound fun.

 

[MarkS2112]

Epcot is big with allot of walking so you can burn up five hours quickly. If it’s crowded during festivals that can eat more time However the festivals are great. My kids always love test track.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

Epcot is big with allot of walking so you can burn up five hours quickly. If it’s crowded during festivals that can eat more time However the festivals are great. My kids always love test track.

That’s what I was going to say- you’ll burn time walking across the park in addition to waiting in line for rides. We love Epcot, although part of the fun for us is walking around and enjoying the ambiance. I think it’s doable to complete your ride checklist in a half day but personally I would prefer to have a full day so you can relax and take it all in without rushing.

 

[mickeymom22]

Thanks! Glad I asked because the descriptions on the WDW site didnt make it sound fun.

Oh yeah...I forgot the Pixar movies super fun. My kids also loved to run around on the twinkly sidewalks if you are there at night!

 

[VGCgroupie]

We spent 8 hours there with a 5 year old and didn't do test track, Frozen, or soarin'. The only thing we did in World Showcase other than rides was listen to Marimba de Americas, 1 Kidcot stop, looked at the train in Germany, and ate ice cream. If you want to hit all the rides, it might be a full-day park. I guess we did spend a lot of time in the Seas area though (my 5 yr old currently wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up), and we saw the Pixar film Festival and awesome planet movie.

aww that so sweet he wants to work with sea animals. If we did half day I was considering skipping the aquarium areas.

 

[Timandalicia]

I have searched and Ive seen people say they need 2 days or more to do Epcot. I have never been to Epcot. Im looking at the attractions and maybe Im just not realizing what various attractions actually are. My son just turned 6. I know he will not have interest in things like site seeing and learning things about other countries. He likes rides and characters. With that said do you think its possible to do Epcot in half a day 5pm-11pm? We are going in 3 weeks. Thanks! (hes a night owl and 11pm is no big deal for him)

I’ve had 3 six-year olds and we go a lot. Your reasoning is sound.

 

[DISowned]

It's doable if you set the right expectations. You may not be able to do all the rides and enjoy the world showcase as well. I would try to see the flower & garden topiaries in the first part of the evening while it's still light out and save some of the tier 1 attractions for later in the evening (particularly test track) when the front of the park is very quiet. I have a 6 year old boy who loves test track, gran fiesta tour, spaceship Earth, journey into imagination, soarin', Frozen ever after. You'll want to budget some time for the grown-ups to enjoy the country pavilions as well. You'll also need to budget some time for food - maybe check out DFB videos and pick a couple of festival stalls to hit up. Finally, I don't know if shopping is on your list but many of the country pavilions have unique items that may be worth checking out.

I would strongly recommend bringing a stroller. EPCOT is a big park and it can make a huge difference for your overall enjoyment (even with a 6yo who may not normally ride in one). It can be very convenient just for having a place to hang/store your park bag/food/merchandise instead of carrying it on your person. Heck we even use it to store our "grown-up drinks" while we pop in to an attraction.

I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Don't forget about the world showcase scavenger hunts...right now they're doing the Egg-stravaganza and alot of kids really do like it (mine's 11 and still does them every trip) and they do a really good job with them. Grand Fiesta Tour in Mexixo, Beauty and the Beast sing along,...there's alot to do back there for kids but they aren'g going to see it and ask for it, it's up to you to show them

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

My grandson, 6 yrs old loved SPACESHIP EARTH and SOARIN

We started the afternoon with Spaceship Earth and then onto Turtle Talk w/ Crush
WE had lunch in the Mexican Pavilion.
He collected all the Passport stickers in all the countries.
We rode the 3 Caballeros in Mexico and Frozen ever After (Maelstrom) in Norway.
WE got a treat later in the evening in France
We saw the movie for Canada - it's new We stopped at the American Pavilion and listened to a Mariachi Band while we all took turns using the facilities inside the American Pavilion ( because they're that nice).
We wanted to stay late enough to see all the countries lit up after dark ( it was Jan1)
I think we had one pin trading in Epcot also ( its a Board now where they display pins and you choose and trade)
We bought a few candies in China
We ended the night with Spaceship Earth
He was never bored!
Unbelievably to me, we passed on Test Track and I think it was because he wanted to do Spaceship Earth again

Sorry I could've done this in order of countries
Looking back I can see we had sitting breaks at lunch, Mariachi, and our treat in France

 

[Lilsia]

My kids have always liked Epcot(they are grown now). Epcot is full of little gems and if you take your time and really look, you can enjoy yourself. They put so much time and effort into World Showcase and I feel that many people just fly past them and do not really see them. My best advice is to take your time and walk around and enjoy the little details that they put in.

 

[VGCgroupie]

It's doable if you set the right expectations. You may not be able to do all the rides and enjoy the world showcase as well. I would try to see the flower & garden topiaries in the first part of the evening while it's still light out and save some of the tier 1 attractions for later in the evening (particularly test track) when the front of the park is very quiet. I have a 6 year old boy who loves test track, gran fiesta tour, spaceship Earth, journey into imagination, soarin', Frozen ever after. You'll want to budget some time for the grown-ups to enjoy the country pavilions as well. You'll also need to budget some time for food - maybe check out DFB videos and pick a couple of festival stalls to hit up. Finally, I don't know if shopping is on your list but many of the country pavilions have unique items that may be worth checking out.

I would strongly recommend bringing a stroller. EPCOT is a big park and it can make a huge difference for your overall enjoyment (even with a 6yo who may not normally ride in one). It can be very convenient just for having a place to hang/store your park bag/food/merchandise instead of carrying it on your person. Heck we even use it to store our "grown-up drinks" while we pop in to an attraction.

I hope you have a wonderful time!

thank so much for your response. I somehow didnt think about looking at you tube. Such great idea, Ill show him some things and sees how we feel about all the sites to see

 

[VGCgroupie]

My grandson, 6 yrs old loved SPACESHIP EARTH and SOARIN

We started the afternoon with Spaceship Earth and then onto Turtle Talk w/ Crush
WE had lunch in the Mexican Pavilion.
He collected all the Passport stickers in all the countries.
We rode the 3 Caballeros in Mexico and Frozen ever After (Maelstrom) in Norway.
WE got a treat later in the evening in France
We saw the movie for Canada - it's new We stopped at the American Pavilion and listened to a Mariachi Band while we all took turns using the facilities inside the American Pavilion ( because they're that nice).
We wanted to stay late enough to see all the countries lit up after dark ( it was Jan1)
I think we had one pin trading in Epcot also ( its a Board now where they display pins and you choose and trade)
We bought a few candies in China
We ended the night with Spaceship Earth
He was never bored!
Unbelievably to me, we passed on Test Track and I think it was because he wanted to do Spaceship Earth again

Sorry I could've done this in order of countries
Looking back I can see we had sitting breaks at lunch, Mariachi, and our treat in France

Collecting stickers would be fun for him. Sounds like test track and spaceship earth will be something he will want to do more than once.

 

[LuvMyEAR]

To only a few hours in Epcot would have just frustrated our grandchildren, and us, too. Yet, I have known people who have done it, and when I asked how they liked our particular favourites, their responses were along the line of “What? I didn’t know that was there!”

While it is certainly possible to cover the required ground to hit only the ride-type attractions, all the beautiful details will be a blur. Rather than giving yourself an unsatisfying experience, consider spending your time in another park, repeating some favourite attractions. Save Epcot until you can savour it!

Our grandsons loved this park from their first visit at 3 &4 yrs, when we wondered of we would ever get out of the Living Seas Pavillion! Now, they are teenagers who keenly appreciate the festival foods, but still want to see every attraction and show.