Epcot without Soarin...will anyone bother

[patster734]

For me, the main draw of Epcot has always been World Showcase. So Soaring down for changes won't impact me. We will hit the Future World rides between park opening and 11am. At 11, we head on to WS where we'll spend the rest of the day.

 

[patster734]

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

My wife skips riding Soaring. She doesn't like it. If its just the two of us, I'll skip it too. If we're in a group, I'll ride it with the group while she waits.

 

[tobikaye]

Soarin' being down would make no changes to my visits to Epcot. I actually was a bit bored by the end of the ride the first time I rode it and ready for it to end.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Also, some rides are more special than others personally.

I was there the day of the annual pass holders soft opening. After three rides my family abandoned me there and I spent the afternoon into the evening just riding it over and over by myself.

Even now when I hear the music my face breaks it was smile. Disney trips are all about memories.

 

[mindeola]

I love Soarin', but I loved EPCOT long before Soaring' came along. I am disappointed it will be down while we are there in May, but there is still plenty we love to do.

 

[BelleBriarRose]

I love Soarin', but to me Epcot isn't about the rides. Even without fastpasses I'll spend maybe an hour or two first thing in the morning in Future World, and then I'll spend the rest of the day in World Showcase. It's all about the food for me!

 

[Canuck16]

Of course people will still head to FW even without Soarin'......Soarin' is not the be all and end all to that park of the park IMO.

 

[gjaninek]

My family and myself will still go to EPCOT. It is less about the "rides" and more about exploring all the different areas.

 

[followthatmouse]

We love Soarin'. But, it is not the only attraction in Epcot. We seem to spend more of our time in WS these days. Our next visit is in early May and Epcot will again host the Flower and Garden Festival. Food, flowers and scenery. It becomes a very nice place to spend a day or two.

 

[KatherineDisney]

I was in EPCOT last week and besides Spaceship Earth we did not ride one ride. However, I have always enjoyed the World Showcase, browsing the shops and eating food. This is more of the appeal of EPCOT for me. I also like the Mousegears shop and the Disney Visa meet and greet. Without Sourin, Sunshine Seasons was pleasantly empty during lunch as well.

 

[Planogirl]

Have you ever tried Sum of all Thrills? It's one of my family's favourite rides.
Plus TT, MS, LWTL, and Figment. We do Ellen every other year.

Plus my kids love Club Cool, shopping at Mousegears, and eating at SS.

Test Track is OK and I did forget about Club Cool. That one is nice. Mission Space is dull to me and so is Figment. Living with the Land is OK and so is Ellen but they both have a been there done that feel to me. Oh well, it's just different tastes. In contrast I LOVE Animal Kingdom and some people don't seem to care much for it.

As for Sum of All Thrills, we really should try it. No one in my group has much interest for some reason.

 

[Planogirl]

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?

We rode Soarin' once and Test Track once and then Spaceship Earth. We'd spend time at the Living Seas and then eat at World Showcase. Then we were done. With Soarin' being gone it just tips the scale for us to Epcot not being much of a park. We like Epcot at night but never would arrive early without two top tiered rides to enjoy. I was thinking that we might splurge for hoppers in the future so we can still spend an evening at World Showcase...

 

[btk2333]

I'm not really a big fan of Soarin' maybe I've done it too many times but the appeal just isn't there anymore- I'm very excited for Soarin' Around the World though!

EPCOT is my favorite park we visit it by far the most of any of the WDW parks but really only for World Showcase at this point- we don't ride Soarin or Test Track.

 

[tlmadden73]

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.

I hear ya .. the World Showcase was interesting the first time there (as a kid) . but once I found out it is just one ride (Norway) .. one show that is pretty much like Hall of Presidents .. a bunch of food (that was too exotic for my tastes as a kid/teenager) and a bunch of boring movies .. well .. I've never really cared to go back. It is a long walk for very little payoff.

As an adult I find it exciting to go to WS (park-hopping) for some fun meals or enterainment, but honestly Disney Springs is probably better for that now (and doesn't cost you a hopper pass or park admission) ... As a full day park experience ... Epcot hasn't drawn me back yet. Like I said previously, my next trip we will probably give it a go again because my son will probably find all the stuff new and exciting . and simply because of that .. we will probably spend a full day there.
HOW we are going to plan our day is going to be ugly though considering Frozen is bound to be a Tier 1 ride as well .. so the only three rides I would even think about getting a Fast Pass for I won't be abel to .

 

[JRawkSteady]

Soarin' was mediocre at best. Did I go every time? Yes. But I also visit all the other attractions in Future World. Nothin' really amazing about flying around California...it doesn't really have anything to do with the Florida parks. Plus you randomly end the attraction in Disneyland, but then when you leave, it's WDW...I dunno, it always bothered me. Soarin' Over the Horizon is going to be so much better, and I will not be surprised if the lines are even more incredible than before. But no, Epcot will not be a Ghost Town. No one is going to boycott the park if Soarin' isn't there. The kind of numbers that Food & Wine pulls is massive! Believe me, Epcot will be okay.

 

[Douvres Family]

I noticed on the Touring Plans blog a side comment that some think without Soarin all the "attractions" (I'm using that word loosely) in Future World of Epcot will see a decline. I have noted on these boards my lack of interest in Epcot (from year 1 btw), so I don't think I'm in any position to assess this, but I am curious. Do you think without Soarin' that Future World will become a ghost town? Or at best, a brief stop on the way to the World Showcase?

Epcot for years has been our favorite park...long before Soarin'. It was perfect for our son when he was little and perfect for adults.
Though its a bit disappointing we wont be able to ride Soarin', there's still so much more to do.

 

[Douvres Family]

EPCOT was my favorite park long before Soarin was ever conceptualized. So yes. I'll continue to go!

 

[Sean91]

I hope a lot of people will not bother, will make lines way shorter for me.

 

[NYHeel]

I hear ya .. the World Showcase was interesting the first time there (as a kid) . but once I found out it is just one ride (Norway) .. one show that is pretty much like Hall of Presidents .. a bunch of food (that was too exotic for my tastes as a kid/teenager) and a bunch of boring movies .. well .. I've never really cared to go back. It is a long walk for very little payoff.

As an adult I find it exciting to go to WS (park-hopping) for some fun meals or enterainment, but honestly Disney Springs is probably better for that now (and doesn't cost you a hopper pass or park admission) ... As a full day park experience ... Epcot hasn't drawn me back yet. Like I said previously, my next trip we will probably give it a go again because my son will probably find all the stuff new and exciting . and simply because of that .. we will probably spend a full day there.
HOW we are going to plan our day is going to be ugly though considering Frozen is bound to be a Tier 1 ride as well .. so the only three rides I would even think about getting a Fast Pass for I won't be abel to .

We're going to spend our first day of our trip there. So that way it won't quite be a full day and we won't have recently experienced the other parks. The idea is to start slow and then ramp up.

It seems from reading here that most like WS for the food. Our issue is that we eat only kosher food and therefore can't eat anything in WS, or at least anything that's in WS that isn't everywhere else. So now consider WS minus the food. Is there anything else worthwhile about it?

 

[TeresaWen]

I love Epcot. I could spend all my time strolling in countries. Great people watching, fun entertainment, snacks, and wine!