good trip, but overall disappointment

[brittajade]

Our adventure was to Disney World's Epcot Center. Though we considered the day a good one, we considered the experience disappointing.

~ Entry into the park at opening was too late to gain Fast Pass reservations to the rides because the guests who paid to stay in the resorts gained entry 1.5 hours before the public was let in. By the time we arrived at the rides to make reservations the next available bookings were 8:15 or later.

~ Due to waiting lines over 2.25 hours we decided to forfeit the rides and move onto the Countries. Which was a big disappointment to the kids but they were the ones who decided that waiting in the scorching hot sun for such a long time and only having a few minutes on the ride wasn't worth it.

~ There are gorgeous green lawns, but are fenced off leaving scarce seating in shaded areas to take breaks. There were too few areas anywhere to sit and rest a while. Even the exhibits for films of the countries were standing. *we were quite disappointed that we couldn't enjoy the cool break from the sun and rest our friends at the same time.*

~ Plenty of kids but few were having a good time, and the parents seemed even less enthused.

~ For being a Disney campus there were no Disney characters available for pictures.

I enjoyed spending time with my daughter and family but will most definitely elect another place to have fun next time. It wasn't worth the expense to walk around to exhaustion and not even be able to ride the rides.

Britta Jade

 

[scarlett873]

wow...sorry your day at epcot was such a disappointment! that's our favorite park!

there are characters available for photos throughout the world showcase...some are out in plain view while others are slightly hidden...you just have to consult your park map...it'll tell you where to find the character greeting stations. you can find the characters that are native to the various countries...for example, cinderella, belle, and the beast are often found in france...pooh bear and friends in the UK...snow white and the dwarves in germany...aladdin, jasmine, and the genie are in morocco...i've had pictures with donald in mexico!

should you decide to return, i certainly hope your next visit is better than this one was! epcot's a great park!! lots of stuff to do!!

 

[zurgswife]

Originally posted by brittajade
Our adventure was to Disney World's Epcot Center. Though we considered the day a good one, we considered the experience disappointing.

~ Entry into the park at opening was too late to gain Fast Pass reservations to the rides because the guests who paid to stay in the resorts gained entry 1.5 hours before the public was let in. By the time we arrived at the rides to make reservations the next available bookings were 8:15 or later. Do you mean 8pm at night...that happened at Christmas...so i'm guessing you were there at Easter time. Those of us that pay the extra to stay on site do enjoy the EE perk, but it is only one day a week. So, you could have entered a different day and had the same advantage.

~ Due to waiting lines over 2.25 hours we decided to forfeit the rides and move onto the Countries. Which was a big disappointment to the kids but they were the ones who decided that waiting in the scorching hot sun for such a long time and only having a few minutes on the ride wasn't worth it. I suggest that next time if staying off site you pick a none EE day to do a park so you can get time in before the lines get too long.

~ There are gorgeous green lawns, but are fenced off leaving scarce seating in shaded areas to take breaks. There were too few areas anywhere to sit and rest a while. Even the exhibits for films of the countries were standing. *we were quite disappointed that we couldn't enjoy the cool break from the sun and rest our friends at the same time.* While there are some areas that are fenced off there are many many areas to sit on the grass in the shade in both WS and Futureworld. Sorry you weren't able to find any.

~ Plenty of kids but few were having a good time, and the parents seemed even less enthused. WOW!! this is my kids favorite park...sorry to hear you saw so many people not enjoying themselves.

~ For being a Disney campus there were no Disney characters available for pictures. They do have a Character caravan that arrives at predetermined times and there are various areas that have various characters just show up.

I enjoyed spending time with my daughter and family but will most definitely elect another place to have fun next time. It wasn't worth the expense to walk around to exhaustion and not even be able to ride the rides. I think if you just plan on a different time of year and go on a none EE days you would have a much more enjoyable time as an offsite visitor.

Britta Jade

 

[disneyjunkie]

We were there last week. During our stay we sent to Epcot 4 times. Epcot is my 12 year old son's favorite park.

I love EE, it's one of the main reasons we stay on site.

As we were leaving World Showcase last Wednesday, I looked at the times guide and noticed the character bus would be pulling up in 20 minutes. We found a bench and waited. My son, niece (5) and nephew (6) hit the character jackpot.


The parks were packed last week, but by taking advantage of EE, and using fast pass we were able to do just about everything on our list.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

I'm so sorry your trip to Epcot wasn't a good one. You chose an extremely busy time to visit. During the weeks of spring break season Disney World is almost overrun with people.

Epcot is wonderful. I'm sorry your impressions weren't good. I'm guessing the fenced off areas were for the Flower and Garden Festival which begins April 16. Now THAT'S a sight to see but it does take preparation which takes up space, I'm guessing.

I'd suggest you consider returning during a less frantic time. And the suggestions here about finding the characters are great ones.

 

[Nathan's Grandma]

We were there last week for three days and while the park was crowded we were able to do everything. I saw more characters on this trip than ever before. I love Epcot and it was wonderful to see so many people there.

We went to Disney on Wednesday (EE day for Epcot) and did everything we wanted to by 1:00 and then spent the rest of the day in the worlds at Epcot. On Thursday we got to Epcot when it opened and only waited five minutes for Mission Space.

I would rather wait with the weather we had than have shorter lines in July when it is so hot.

Kathy

 

[vicb]

brittajade,

First of all "welcome" to the Dis boards. Did you have access to these boards before your trip? I'm guessing maybe not because many of your issues could have been avoided with more info that is readily discussed on the theme parks board. I had a similar experience with my first trip to Epcot being disappointing but the next time I was so much more prepared. On our last trip (in Feb) my kids rated Epcot as their second fav park behind MGM!!

Characters are everywhere at Epcot but you need to know where and when to find them. The daily time schedule is a great help.

If you don't stay on site next time definitely avoid ee days, we stay on site but don't like to get up that early so we avoid ee parks too and it usually works out.

It is also very helpful at Epcot to have a PS for a sit down meal, either dinner or lunch. That always helps my kids!

I hope you will give Epcot a try again sometime.

 

[rschaad]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Please try it again during a less crowded time.

Last year,we had awesome character interaction. Right after we walked in the park the "bus" pulled up. In between shooting pics with almost no waiting with characters we saw no where else( such a Alice in Wonderland ) we chatted with the bus driver and took pics on our kids with her and the bus also. Well when it came time for the characters to leave, my daughter was asked to blow the horn to play the music to call them back. And then she got to hold our her hand and help each one on...a totally awesome Disney moment.

Later, we saw the bus do the character dump in a different spot and since we had already done the photo op before my daughter ( almost 4 years old ) went right over to her new friend the bus driver and when it was time to leave for the characters she got to do her job again ( since she knew it already.).

Like other disney parks, we enjoyed the relaxed pace alsom.