Epcot without Soarin...will anyone bother

[CinderellasKastle]

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?

I was actually at Epcot on Thursday, and I got there around noon. I didn't get out of FW and into the WS until 3:00. I went on every ride in FW (Test Track twice) and it still took me 3 hours. I was by myself even and maybe took 2 short little breaks in that time. I didn't even remember that Soarin' was closed, there was so much to do.

 

[tcherjen]

We only ride Soarin sometimes. I love EPCOT!!!! Like seriously, it is my favorite park. WS is great!

 

[Indiana Scott]

The last time we were at EPCOT we didn't even ride Soaring the whole week but we made daily visits and ate dinner there most nights.
EPCOT is just so much more than Soaring.

 

[Rosanne]

I will most definitely miss Soarin'. It won't be the same. I wish we wouldn't be missing it during our March trip. Still, we will go twice to Epcot as usual. It will just lose a bit of the fullness of experience for us. We expect to be back sometime when it is open again. It's mostly going to make Test Track that much harder to get on. We do love visiting the contries, though.

 

[Nancyg56]

I really don't know what goes through people's minds sometimes. I mean, how oblivious do you have to be, to ignore all that Epcot has to offer? I mean have people really forgotten how to enjoy the little things, or does it always have to be bigger and better?

There is so much more to Epcot than just Soarin.

I agree, but then my family can be in MK for hours and not go in one attraction. We love Epcot, and wile I admit that if Soarin was down while I was there I would miss it, i would still head into the Land, go in both attractions there, (I love Circle of Life movie) and then hit the Living Seas, before going into WS> which is awesome.

Now that DW no longer goes with us to WDW EPCOT is a one day park. Now with Soarin out of commission it is only a half day park. Seeing as the non-MK parks are basically half day parks, Disney should allow people to park hop between them without paying for park hoppers tix.

Half day parks for you. Not for us. Well, technically, maybe a 1/2 day because we tend to either go early and leave after lunch sometime, and go back in later in the morning the next time and stay til close. I don't last from RD to close in any park. I think that for a lot of us, the parks hold more than attractions and we can spend hours without going onto one.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

it existed before Soarin and will while it's out of commission. That one attraction doesn't make or break that section of the park. There's plenty of other things to do. While some may feel it will, in the broad spectrum it will not.

 

[Bullseye]

We certainly still did FL when Test Track was being renovated. So it wouldn't be any different for Soarin.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Last week's trip we did 2 full days at Epcot. We had no problem filling up our time without Soarin'.

 

[JimmyV]

The only change to our touring style will be to sleep in a little later. With tiered FPs, we are usually there for RD so that we can do the "RD one and FP the other" strategy. But now with one of the "big two" down for a refurb, we can FP one and....not worry about getting to the park when it opens. By booking a late morning FP at TT, we can arrive at Epcot at our leisure and not have a significant wait for anything all day. While we will miss Soarin', it certainly is liberating not having to worry about a touring strategy that involves a workaround for tiering. It will be like the good ol' days before FP+. Back then we could arrive after 10:00 and get FPs for both Soarin' and TT. With the implementation of FP+ we were pressured into arriving at RD to knock one of those two rides off knowing that we couldn't get a FP for it. With Soarin' closed, our days will be more like the way they used to be, only with one less ride on our list.

 

[xipetotec]

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?

Well we travel in a family group ( My parents, my bother and his GF, myself and my family and some cousins ). My Mother LOVES Soarin', she does. and a few others in the group do too. BUT I quote my brother "Soarin? More like Borin'". And yes, Epcot is his favorite park. So I think, at least for us, we'll be fine with soarin' down for a little while and WILL be going to future world.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Even though Soarin is one of my favorite rides, there is no way I wouldn't bother going to Epcot because it is closed. I will be in WDW 2 weeks from today with my BFF and yes we are both bummed that Soarin will be down when we are there (that is her favorite ride too), however there is so much more to that park then that one ride. We will be spending some time in FW but we are more interested in WS and really stopping and smelling the roses. We want to hit all of the movies in the different pavilions and look in every nook and cranny.

 

[PlutosUnDr8d]

Yes, we will bother--it's my 9 year old's favorite park, with or without Soarin'. But if anyone else wants to skip it, that is fine with me!

 

[kermiebudge]

Thankfully, our kids (DD11 and DS13) LOVE the World Showcase, so yes we will still definitely go. We do love Soarin' too, so look forward to it reopening.

Although, when there is only 1 major attraction left open (TT - at least in our opinion), this is when we *REALLY, REALLY* wish that Disney would allow park hopping for the 3 allotted FP+ reservations per day. It's been years and still hoping

 

[PlutosUnDr8d]

And my son was also MORE upset that the "Great Pissy Bank Adventure" and "Where's the Fire?" are no longer in operation in Innoventions than he was to hear they were refurbishing Soarin'. They were must do's on his list! But we have found replacements for those as well.

 

[manicstreet]

Nope. I will love it just the same. I take my daughter to all the kid cots while I sample that countries unique beverage. My wife and son are shopping. This is proably my favorite day of my vacation every year.

 

[redsbe]

So when Soarin was open most people would ride it 1-3 times, perhaps total of 1-2 hrs (including lines) out of their 12 hr park day? When it was open is that all visitors rode and then left? Yes I understand it is one of the top attractions EPCOT and in absence park planning will change, but there is still plenty to see and do at EPCOT as it was never about just Soarin. Thus a visit to EPCOT can easily still be a full day visit as it was with Soarin and now without.

 

[Annadesu]

My husband and I are slightly obsessed with World Showcase. I also like Test Track more than Soarin, anyway... So, yes, I will bother. lol

 

[cavepig]

Still plenty to do in Epcot without Soarin, there's tons of shows that eat up time too. Only difference is everyone rushes to Test Track first thing instead of splitting with Soarin.

 

[The_Jungle_Skipper]

I think I will bother, I've always loved Epcot Future World, and I never have gone there for World Showcase.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm amused by the premise of the original post. Some people apparently think that all it takes is a single attraction to bring people into a park. Clearly that's not the case.