Epcot without Soarin...will anyone bother

[buccikulju]

In answer to rayak73's question: Epcot has always left me cold even from my first visit in January of 1983 (just months after its opening in October 82). I was so in love with the Magic Kingdom and its storytelling and immersion that Epcot felt disjointed, patched together, completely not magical. I love science, don't get me wrong. Just that place. I don't know. Anyway.

When I go to Epcot, we ride Soarin, maybe take in one or two other FW things and then go to World Showcase (and yes! the Grapefruit Hefeweizen!!! Yum!) Take in the live entertainment both in FW and WS of course. I really really like Soarin so for me it made the trip to Epcot worth it. Everything else for me is just meh. So, I was wondering how others feel. Obviously many love Epcot. I just don't.

 

[Klinger13]

We actually decided to skip it after finding out Soarin would be in refurb. We're just doing a 5 day trip (no hoppers, and one of those days is our arrival day so it's more like 4.5 days) and when it came down to deciding between using that half-day at Epcot or MK, we just decided to use that time at MK where we know DD4 will have tons to see and do. If we venture down to WDW again in the future, we'll just hit Epcot at that time.

 

[loves to dive]

We love Epcot, and love FW, have been going since it opened so the lack of soarin will make no difference to us. We can spend a hour just looking at the fish in the Living Seas. I admit some of the ride differences from what they used to be aren't our favorites, I'm not fond of the seas now being nemo instead of seabase, I think you got to see more of the fish with that version of the ride and as a scuba diver (we've been diving in the living seas twice) that is the draw for us. We love figment, again, loved the old ride better but still, figment is figment and can not be skipped. We love Living with the Land (loved it better when you listened to the land and had a person telling you everything) and do it at least once if not twice during a trip. Space ship earth is one of my favorites, again loved it better when it was about the history of getting around, anyone remember the cop behind the bill board? Test track is not a must do but if there isn't a long line we'll do it, again liked the early version better, the line was just more fun. We don't do Ellen or Mission Space as sims make both my son and myself sick (we don't do Star Wars either). We love watching the fountain, going to club cool, spend at least a hour in mousegears. So, yep, we will bother. That isn't even moving on over to WS, which we spend every single night of our trip at (I have an AP, son has hoppers). For us, MK is a half day park and the other parks are full day parks. Even when my son was little, MK wasn't the draw for him that the other parks were.

 

[tlmadden73]

I have skipped Epcot on my last two trips (my son was 2 and then 3) since I felt there wasn't much for him to do there.

Now that he is grown and is 40" ... I may consider it, but I am going to purposely delay another trip to WDW (and Epcot) until Soarin' AND Frozen are open there. No sense going now, in my opinion, until those two rides are open.

Plus by the time those are open, Rivers of Light at AK should be open.

Though .. those three new attractions will be mobbed once they open ...

 

[aprilp]

I love Soarin' but still have plenty to do at Epcot without it. Spaceship Earth is a classic and I must ride it at least once, generally twice. Also, I love to eat at Sunshine Seasons (IMO it is the best quick service for your money and the food is great!) and I absolutely have to ride Living With the Land. For some reason what they do there fascinates me and I like to see it. I do Test Track only because others in my party love it (I dont particularly care for it and would skip it if they weren't there). I do like Mission Space but only the mild version as the other makes me a little quesy, and watching the fountain dance to music is also a must. I also love the Living Seas so I always have to go there. I usually skip Ellen and Figment. World Showcase is also a favorite and a must see, and I can meander around there much of a day anyway.

 

[princess_ariel_85]

I hate Soarin' so I'm pretty pleased it'll be closed for when we are there. Gives me a wonderful excuse not to ride it and saves the marital debate as to why I'll ride RnRc but can't sit on what is essentially a "flying bench".

Epcot is not my favorite park by any stretch of the imagination but I've never considered it a 'half day' park, even when Test Track was closed for refurb. In fact I don't consider any of the parks half day parks. I understand how many people could/would consider them as half day parks but for me I don't believe any are.

I'm just a little confused as to how Epcot starts as a full day park but the loss of one attraction makes it a half day park?

There's so much to do and see, sometimes (and I'm also guilty of this) I think we're all too busy rushing from one thing to the next that we forget to slow down and look at whats around us.

 

[elmoandzoey]

Personally, I always thought Soarin' was overrated and I couldn't understand why people liked it so much. But then, I also can't understand why people loathe Mission Space so much because I just love it. If I had to choose between the two, I'd gladly have everyone else take Soarin' - I'll take Mars! I won't miss it on our upcoming trip, and neither will my kids. We're odd ducks I think. We love Figmet. We love Nemo. We love wandering around World Showcase and exploring the lands. It's a nice respite from loud attractions and rushing from FP to FP.

 

[Allison]

There is plenty more to do there.

 

[tlmadden73]

I'm just a little confused as to how Epcot starts as a full day park but the loss of one attraction makes it a half day park?

Just like DHS and AK .. it just depends what you want to do in the park (and how many times you've been there). Even before Soarin' closed Epcot has very little in the way of "rides" compared to MK, so if you've been there a lot, there isn't many "highlights" to hit before you feel done.

Just like DHS or AK, if you like shows as an attraction you easily have plenty to do to fill a day. Throw in exploration of exhibits in Future World and World Showcase .. even more to do.

When we go to Epcot for the first time (with my son), I know we'll have plenty to do as it would be "all new" to him. We will want to do every little attraction (ride or show or exhibit). But because my wife and I have "been there/done that" .. we are going to wait until new Soarin' and Frozen (plus we've never done Test Track 2.0) to make it a bit more exciting for us too.

 

[snoopy352]

So a serious question..for all that are saying we will just not go to epcot or now it's only half day, etc. without Soarin being open, what did you do when Soarin was open? Get a FP and then when you got off get in the standby line and ride again, then get off, get in standby line and ride again, and just keep repeating this? Just curious as to what the mindset is to one 2 minute ride being closed?

Soarin' is the flagship attraction at Epcot for us and many others. So it DRAWS us to Epcot. Once there, we will do the other stuff of course. But we won't plan a trip to Epcot with the same commitment that we would if Soarin' were in play. Does that help you understand it better?

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We are doing Epcot this trip, even with Sorain down. I cannot imagine skipping it.

 

[Ikeifer]

We are going in 34 days....LOVE Epcot!!!

 

[Hopefully]

Just like DHS and AK .. it just depends what you want to do in the park (and how many times you've been there). Even before Soarin' closed Epcot has very little in the way of "rides" compared to MK, so if you've been there a lot, there isn't many "highlights" to hit before you feel done.

Just like DHS or AK, if you like shows as an attraction you easily have plenty to do to fill a day. Throw in exploration of exhibits in Future World and World Showcase .. even more to do.

When we go to Epcot for the first time (with my son), I know we'll have plenty to do as it would be "all new" to him. We will want to do every little attraction (ride or show or exhibit). But because my wife and I have "been there/done that" .. we are going to wait until new Soarin' and Frozen (plus we've never done Test Track 2.0) to make it a bit more exciting for us too.

For us WDW is NOT all about "rides". It is so much more than that. We go yearly and Epcot is our favorite. If rides is what you like you may enjoy US /IOA more
We will be back for our traditional several days in Epcot with or without Soarin.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Soarin opened while I was in the CP ... And we've been going to EPCOT since I was a baby. My love affair with EPCOT has been going on long before Soarin came into the picture.

Granted, I still miss classics like Horizons, Maelstrom and Cranium Command. I miss those a lot more than I'd miss Soarin for a short refurb. It's coming back, people!

Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Journey into Imagination, Living with the Land, Mission Space, Turtle Talk, UofE, Gran Fiesta Tour (missing El Rio Del Tiempo, though), O Canada, France movie, China movie, American Adventure, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, Character meet & greets, walking around the countries enjoying the performers, having a sit down dinner and watching Illuminations easily fills a day for us. Heck, we did two half days on our trip last week and didn't even get all the things done in WS that we wanted to. And Soarin' wasn't open.

EPCOT existed long before Soarin and holds a special place in my heart. Don't get me wrong, I love Soarin. I would never entertain the thought of skipping EPCOT due to a Soarin rehab.

There are many things to do. People who don't see that simply don't like what is available to do.

 

[tlmadden73]

For us WDW is NOT all about "rides". It is so much more than that. We go yearly and Epcot is our favorite. If rides is what you like you may enjoy US /IOA more
We will be back for our traditional several days in Epcot with or without Soarin.

Understood. I'm with you ... I just get the feeling that to a lot of people WDW is all about the rides. (And those are the people that say that DHS/AK/Epcot are "half day" parks).

I can easily spend a full day (or more) in any of those parks. Even after multiple visits to each park there are many attractions (shows, exhibits) I have never seen! (Plus .. if you go infrequently so many things changes). As a frequent visitor, I'd be happy to walk into any park and not go on a single "ride" .

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I'm just a little confused as to how Epcot starts as a full day park but the loss of one attraction makes it a half day park?

Because people have to wait hours in line to ride Soarin'.

I don't enjoy the ride and I've only been on it twice. It won't bother me in the least that is it down. (Although it will be back before my next trip.)

 

[NYHeel]

Understood. I'm with you ... I just get the feeling that to a lot of people WDW is all about the rides. (And those are the people that say that DHS/AK/Epcot are "half day" parks).

I can easily spend a full day (or more) in any of those parks. Even after multiple visits to each park there are many attractions (shows, exhibits) I have never seen! (Plus .. if you go infrequently so many things changes). As a frequent visitor, I'd be happy to walk into any park and not go on a single "ride" .

I'm one of those people that feel WDW is all about rides, well and shows. I still really like AK and HS because, while they don't have a lot of rides, they have really good ones. AK and HS have 5 or 6 really good rides, better than anything at MK. Add in the shows at AK and HS and they become full day parks. I've never liked Epcot even with Soarin. It's always been my least favorite park by far and to our family it's always been kind of a half day park. But that's because we have no or very little interest in the World Showcase.

We're going to be at Epcot on our first day of our trip, next Wednesday. We're going to give World Showcase a chance and spend about 3 hours or so there. We'll see how it goes but I'm not looking too forward to it. I just don't really get WS and am not sure what I'm supposed to do there. Could also be my dislike of it from when I was a kid and went there. I'm hoping the Agent P thing is good so that it'll keep us interested.

 

[W.E.D.]

I'd still be there (if I were going during the refurb)!! Plenty to do in FW. EPCOT is my favorite park.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Yes I will skip it and no I won't skip it.

The adult who loves WS will be there to enjoy an adult beverage in the evening where I will watch Impressions de France at least twice and Illuminations.

But I will be missing other things that were always a must do. World Showcase Players? Off-Kilter? Maelstrom? El Rio de Tiempo?
More than just Soarin' is gone.

The Mom in me will be skipping it with her family. I can't justify using a days worth of fast passes for just test track. We've been to Epcot multiple times a year, and there just isn't anything new that we have not done by the multiples.

If there were enough capacity in Epcot. Then there would be no such thing as Tiering.

 

[princess_ariel_85]

Because people have to wait hours in line to ride Soarin'.

Ha ha! DH just said the same. I don't ride it, I have to get in line though so DH doesn't stand on his own, personally I'd rather wait for him outside