Epcot without Soarin...will anyone bother

[Disney Khaleesi]

I adore Epcot. Always have, always will.

I'm not a fan of Soarin whatsoever. I can go years without riding it and be fine. Epcot isn't about the rides for me. You're over-valuing it.

 

[amylevan]

In case anyone is interested, this is the article that I'm assuming the OP is talking about. http://blog.touringplans.com/2016/01/12/disney-world-crowd-calendar-report-january-3-to-9-2016/

Jan 8 & Jan 9 had way lower than expected crowds at EP, and the explanation next to that states: "The early report on Epcot is that the closure of Soarin’ is keeping guests from going to that park, or is keeping guests from riding anything in Future World. It will be interesting to see if that continues"

 

[SDSorority]

Oh we'll totally still go. EPCOT was our favorite from the beginning. We EPCOT!

 

[Accident]

Have a grapefruit beer in Germany, and your mind might clear enough to see why people love Epcot.

If that doesn't open your eyes, have a Gran Mariner Slushie over in France.

If that doesn't bring about any revelations, head on over to Japan for...I think you get the drift

So sober you agree with me?

 

[mom2rtk]

I adore Epcot. Always have, always will.

I'm not a fan of Soarin whatsoever. I can go years without riding it and be fine. Epcot isn't about the rides for me. You're over-valuing it.

Value is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[LoverDisney]

Hopefully Soaring will be open before our next trip but if not we will still go to Epcot. Also there will be no need to choose between a fastpast for Test Track or Soaring.

 

[BaltimoreLauren]

Did Soarin once, don't feel the need to do it again. Though my mom still likes it. Epcot has a lot more to offer IMHO, so I'll still go!

 

[TippeeCanoe]

I think the rest of FW will actually be more busy. Without Soarin, The Land may be something of a ghost town. People may not make a trip for Living with the Land, Sunshine Seasons, Circle of Life. Some will, but many may not. But those people will still spend time in other parts of FW. I think lines/crowds for other FW attractions may be even longer than usual, especially once Frozen ride opens and people are trying to make a whole day of the park with kids who don't care about the WS so much.

The Land was a ghost town while I was there! Living With The Land was having to send out empty boats to disembark those finishing the ride and there were about 30 people eating at Sunshine Seasons at prime dinner time.

 

[kaybird]

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?

While we do love the food, We spend a lot of time in each pavilion. Love the Entertainers in Japan, Italy, France and UK. The little shops in each country are charming, Japan really has the feeling of the Giza we used to shop at. We never miss the Movie in Canada with Martin short, the miniature train in Germany, the beautiful fountain in Morocco, the maze and garden in England, could go on and on!

 

[toni nicole]

We actually see soarin closing as an opportunity to see Illuminations (never seen it) and walk the countries (do not usually do). We usually rope drop epcot for soarin and then fastpass test track do a few more things and then on to our second park, without having to do rope drop at epcot we can flip flop our parks.

 

[loves to dive]

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?

While the food at WS is a draw there is so much to see in the countries. Almost all of them have little out of the way "hidden" areas to explore, there are shows in just about every country, the people who work there are from the countries so if they aren't busy you can have some great conversations with them about their countries.

 

[tlmadden73]

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?

It has been a while since I've eaten at World Showcase (Morocco and Canada were my last meals (and good)) .. but are the choices any more exotic now then say Disney Springs now? As an adult, I have enjoyed walking around the showcase and stepping into sights, sounds and smells of a new country, but for a theme park? You need more attractions in an area that large. Save the shopping/dining for Disney Springs.

Remember Epcot was made a long time before Downtown Disney ever existed .. so it was "special" to see all that shopping and dining choices. Now? Not so much.

 

[kreckl]

Clearly in the minority- but, not so much. I like SE, but have seen it tons. Nemo seems like a boring-could-be-anywhere ride....We like the Mexican boat ride, and the singers in America, but am not really sure what the draw is in the countries? We usually eat in Mexico or Japan, maybe get a treat in Germany, but we don't really shop in the stores. I like the fountain with music and maybe the Land boat ride, but none of these are really exciting or something I look forward to. What am I missing??

 

[patster734]

Clearly in the minority- but, not so much. I like SE, but have seen it tons. Nemo seems like a boring-could-be-anywhere ride....We like the Mexican boat ride, and the singers in America, but am not really sure what the draw is in the countries? We usually eat in Mexico or Japan, maybe get a treat in Germany, but we don't really shop in the stores. I like the fountain with music and maybe the Land boat ride, but none of these are really exciting or something I look forward to. What am I missing??

Have you gone during a special event: Food and Wine, Flower and Garden, Christmas Around The World? Epcot is my favorite park, but these events knock it up another notch.

 

[siskaren]

Clearly in the minority- but, not so much. I like SE, but have seen it tons. Nemo seems like a boring-could-be-anywhere ride....We like the Mexican boat ride, and the singers in America, but am not really sure what the draw is in the countries? We usually eat in Mexico or Japan, maybe get a treat in Germany, but we don't really shop in the stores. I like the fountain with music and maybe the Land boat ride, but none of these are really exciting or something I look forward to. What am I missing??

American Adventure (not just the Voices of Liberty, but the audio-animatronic show)

The movies in Canada, China, and France

The live entertainment that I think every pavilion has

The exhibits in America, China and Norway

 

[theharcos]

I'm looking forward to trying Glidden Paint's Colortopia in Innovations. There is a lot to do in EPCOT other than just rides. I enjoy taking time in the lands and looking at the shops and trying the different foods from the countries. It's nice to not have to run from ride to ride. I enjoy the rides that are there and will miss Soarin but will be just fine without it. Will have to come back again soon, when Soarin reopens with Soarin Around the World with the new laser viewer.

 

[kreckl]

We've seen the movies- once a few years ago. Are they any different? And yes- the American Adventure is good....We've seen some live entertainment. Some great dancers once, and last trip some lumberjack thing which wasn't any better than what's at our local summer fair. We've been there for F and W- happened to be an evening and I will never go back to that. Absolutely horrible with crowds of people walking into us, people drunk and loud and someone actually vomiting into a bush
We did LOVE the garden festival- that was extra special.
Our best Epcot trip was the first with our son many years ago- he loved playing in the fountains and having room to run.

 

[larryz]

Based on what I saw last Wednesday, yes, people will bother. I know I did.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

I've honestly never been that impressed with Soarin'....and that goes back to when it debuted here at California Adventure. Personally, it always felt like a stripped down, less interesting version of BTTF at Universal Studios. Being that we are from California, when we head out to EPCOT we never feel the need to burn a FP+ or wait three hours for this attraction. I'd much rather do "Classic Epcot" stuff like Living With The Land, or Journey Into Imagination. Even Test Track and Universe of Energy rank higher on my excitement level than Soarin'.

Although, I will confess to being curious about the new film...

 

[FigmentHair]

I'm actually excited to go without Soarin'.
Usually my family isn't THAT into the countries in Epcot, hoping without as much to do ride wise I can convince them into looking more at the details.