Getting around epcot

[hollygolitely93]

Going week one Dec. DH, me, two small children in double wide, grandma with stamina issue, and grandpa.

Thinking of using friendship boats around world showcase. We need to go from Mexico to Italy. How long is the boat ride. How often do they "take off"

Also there is a sevond access to epcot...right...the international gateway...does monorail go there? Where exactly does monorail drop off? We are staying at GF.

Thanks trying to plan least amount of walking as grandma is resistant to use of EVC...but with a-fib, bad hip, overweight, and copd...she should...so trying to plan a slow yet fun day.

 

[sharadoc]

Epcot is a TON of walking. The monorail drops you at the very front of Future World. First you have to walk down the monorail ramp, which is very long, then to the entrance. The distance from the entrance to the bottom of Spaceship Earth is on an uphill incline. Difficult to walk if you have bad hips or knees.

Then you have to walk all through Future World to get to the boat to Italy. They run every 20 minutes or so.

You are going to have a difficult day. I have very bad arthritic knees and I have used an ECV at Epcot. It's a lot of distance to cover.

 

[tobikaye]

If you are staying at GF, then you will transfer from the resort monorail to the Epcot Monorail at the TTC. The link below is for a map of Epcot. In it you will see the "Monorail Station" near the Entrance at the bottom of the map to see where the monorail will drop you off. The map will also show you the location of the four boat stops around World Showcase. The boat near Mexico will let off in Germany, and you will be one country over from Italy.

Epcot Map

As the pp stated, it is a long walk through Future World. In February, my mom's stamina went out right before we left for Florida. (When we got back, we found she needed surgury on her neck again.) By the time we got to Mexico, she was breathing hard and hurting. I went back and got her a wheelchair. With all of the health issues you mentioned, if you cannot talk her into an EVC, plan to take your time walking through Future World and stop for a break or two.

 

[sammielynn]

Grandma, bless her heart, needs an EVC. All of you need for her to have one without one you will be a miserable group. Grandma will need to rest and the kids will want to move on. Do your best to make her see the advantages for herself and the group.

 

[tjmw2727]

Agree with pp's there is just too much walking for grandma - by the time you get off the monorail and to the gate she will be wanting one. Never mind getting around the WS - getting to the WS will be an issue. The boats are not always running and don't run frequently and IMHO aren't a good way of getting around WS.

If/When you do decide an ECV is the way to go you can probably rent a better model from an offisite company for less $ than renting by the day in the parks. This is a good option because again, getting from the bus/monorial or boat can be a long walk in itself.

If you do decide to check out offsite rentals the disAbilites board will be a good place to start.

 

[hollygolitely93]

Thanks all! When I approach the topic she always says we'll see. I have a feeling once we get there she may be more open. Her friends tell her she can sit and rest while we all take kids on rides so shell be fine! I think she sees herself on a bench with my one year old...like she says we will see. Getting to Italy for dinner is my main concern as we will be going there straight from a nap at hotel! I am planning to leave GF at 2:15 to get to Italy for 4:10 reservations. I anticipate little stops along the way to catch her breath.

 

[duffy]

Have any of you been to Epcot before?

There's only a few rides in Epcot's World Showcase. Off the top of my head, I can only think of the boat rides in Mexico and Norway. And from them, it's a hike to the rides in Future World, in the opposite direction of Italy.

China and Canada have movies that you must stand for, because they are shown on screens all around the room, so you feel like you're in the center.

France has a movie, but it's a more traditional theater setting.

The American Adventure's is closer to France, with seats, and a combination of movie and audioanimatronics.

The other countries have only shops, etc. And of course, the countries I've mentioned have shops too, but, mostly you just stroll around, admiring architecture, scenery, listening to music, watching street performers, etc.

I love the World Showcase. It's my favorite part of Disney World, and we can-and have-spent the entire day there, once it's opened. But, don't expect rides! If your kids want to go on rides, they'll be mostly in Future World. The boat rides in Mexico and Norway are nice, but they're more for learning about the culture of those countries. That, and trying to find Donald Duck in the Mexican ride.

 

[goofy4tink]

Going week one Dec. DH, me, two small children in double wide, grandma with stamina issue, and grandpa.

Thinking of using friendship boats around world showcase. We need to go from Mexico to Italy. How long is the boat ride. How often do they "take off"

Also there is a sevond access to epcot...right...the international gateway...does monorail go there? Where exactly does monorail drop off? We are staying at GF.

Thanks trying to plan least amount of walking as grandma is resistant to use of EVC...but with a-fib, bad hip, overweight, and copd...she should...so trying to plan a slow yet fun day.

Thanks all! When I approach the topic she always says we'll see. I have a feeling once we get there she may be more open. Her friends tell her she can sit and rest while we all take kids on rides so shell be fine! I think she sees herself on a bench with my one year old...like she says we will see. Getting to Italy for dinner is my main concern as we will be going there straight from a nap at hotel! I am planning to leave GF at 2:15 to get to Italy for 4:10 reservations. I anticipate little stops along the way to catch her breath.

I am going to assume that you are planning on going directly to dinner at 4:10?? If so, you may want to consider just taking the monorail over to MK, then hopping on a bus to YC/BC...getting off at BC, and then walking over to Epcot's International Gateway and entering WS there. Should be a bit less walking. Italy is a quick walk from the IG. The walk from the BC bus stop should be about 10 mins or so. Get off at BC..do not get off at YC!!!

Or, take the bus, from GF, to DHS and then take the boat to Epcot and the International Gateway. If you leave GF by 2:15, you should have plenty of time to get to Italy this way.

 

[hollygolitely93]

Excellent ideas for using IG! Thank you! I am also pondering just staying in park all day...doing a princess brunch around 11am...give me a few hours to hit soaring and memo...then off to lunch, test track, story telling in Mexico, Norway...then friendship boat to dinner, candlelight processional, illumination, bed. Boy...that just sounds like too long of a day with grandparents and babies!

Good grief it's complicated!

 

[Inkmahm]

Grandma, bless her heart, needs an EVC. All of you need for her to have one without one you will be a miserable group. Grandma will need to rest and the kids will want to move on. Do your best to make her see the advantages for herself and the group.

I agree with this and have personal experience with needing an EVC and not wanting to use it. I am 53 and have arthritic knees. The doc is talking about replacing them but I am NOT ready for that yet. I generally do okay in "real life" with the use of pain meds. But at WDW, there is no way that I can handle all the walking.

Last Dec we had my MIL with us just before her own knee replacement surgery at the end of the month. We both got ECVs at Epcot and we had a blast! They really can be a "ride" all on their own. We did very well with them other than when my MIL hit a few merchandise shelves in the store at the American building. We still laugh over her poor driving in that one place.

The ECVs don't go very fast and really are pretty easy to steer, despite my story above. And I found that the vast majority of people in the parks are very good about being around you and tend to even apologize for getting in your way when they have nothing to apologize for! Disney people are just very nice people! I only had ONE instance in the whole trip where I ran into a bunch of rude people where some guy made a comment to me about using the ECV. He was by far the exception.

Grandma really should consider an ECV, especially at Epcot. It is just way too long of a distance to walk if you're not healthy enough to do it. Take it from me, the ECV is a God send to make the day enjoyable rather than painful.

 

[Inkmahm]

Excellent ideas for using IG! Thank you! I am also pondering just staying in park all day...doing a princess brunch around 11am...give me a few hours to hit soaring and memo...then off to lunch, test track, story telling in Mexico, Norway...then friendship boat to dinner, candlelight processional, illumination, bed. Boy...that just sounds like too long of a day with grandparents and babies!

Good grief it's complicated!

If the princess brunch you are considering is in Norway, then you have a lot of walking to do to get to that brunch and then back in the other direction to get to Soaring and Nemo. If the princess brunch is back at the GF, then maybe that schedule isn't quite as bad. Still, don't rely on the friendship boats running at the World Showcase. They aren't always running every day.

 

[Halle]

You didn't mention if you have a rental car. If you do I'd drive to Epcot. If you don't have a rental I'd take a taxi from your hotel to the Beach Club and walk from theew to the International Gatway.