First day - half day at Epcot - where to start

[sandy77d]

On our arrival day for our early June trip, we are driving and expect to arrive at Disney mid-day and plan to go to Epcot around 3pm on Saturday. We will spend that afternoon plus another full day at Epcot and I am trying to decide how to spend our time at Epcot. Would you spend the first afternoon in World Showcase or in Future World? Or maybe split it - get a couple of Future World Fast Passes for Saturday afternoon, then we can get some other Fast Passes for our full day in Epcot, and split both days between Future World and the World Showcase?

I have not been to Disney World since 1986, so I do not remember the size or distance and worry that I am making plans that do not make any sense if I plan to move all around Future World and World Showcase in one afternoon.

 

[mshanson3121]

We spent our first day at EP as well. Will you have children, or is it just adults? Myself, I would focus my time in the WS. It's a lot of walking, but it'll be nice to stretch your legs after being cooped up for a long drive. Plus, I just find it's more relaxing. However, you could split it, do a couple FP+ and then do half of the WS that day, and then do the rest of the WS the other day, along with the other rides you want to do.

If you wanted to split it up, I would probably do Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Test Track, enter the WS in Mexico and then wander through as far as Italy. You can then take the Friendship boats back to Future World (last boat is at 7:00 or 7:30 I believe). This way you're basically walking in one straight line through the park, sticking to one side, and not back tracking back and forth.

Then the next day, your full day, you'll have lots of time to explore the rest of FW and then finish up the other half of the WS.

 

[minnie mum]

With a shortened day, and perhaps travel fatigue, I'd recommend avoiding crisscrossing the park to do attractions in FW. Pick out 3 attractions on one side of the park to FP, then head into WS, starting from that side (Mexico if you are doing Test Track, Canada if you're doing Soarin- assuming it has reopened.) Then on your full day, do the rest.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Epcot kind of shocked me yesterday. I had not been since 2009 and I felt let down. The cast members were almost all miserable and the RD mob was rude and pushy. We enjoyed meeting characters and then used FP in Future World. Then we gave up and went back to the hotel.

We didn't have enough energy to walk all the way back to more countries. Definitely make a plan to do one then the other.

 

[sandy77d]

We will have 3 adults and 2 10 year old girls. I am leaning towards World Showcase for the evening.

 

[LinderInWonderland]

I hadn't been to Epcot since 1986 myself, until we went in April/May 2014. We also did our first half day (arrival day) at Epcot.

Our only plan that evening was an ADR at Chefs de France. What influenced everything else we did was the heat. We live in the PNW and it is rarely hot out. We ended up ducking into attractions at Future World to be in AC. It worked out well, since I got to see Captain EO with no wait and remembered it fondly from my 1982 and 1986 trips. Then we wandered over to our ADR, had a wonderful dinner and wandered through that side of World Showcase until we decided to go back to the resort. My profile pic is actually from that night!