Half a day at Epcot?

[Happiest mommy]

Hello fellow DISers this was not planned but I think i'm going to try and fit it in, we are traveling with DD4 and DD8 mos old please give me and idea about what we should do for out first time going to Epcot but only for half a day is this doable? I know we wont see it all so not trying to but would like to see and experience a bit of it.
I know at this point I doubt we'll get ADR's so please can you also recommend a nice walk up place to eat TIA you guys rock!

 

[katied]

At Epcot with kids 3 and under, the key things we enjoyed were:

Spaceship Earth,
Ride at Mexico
Ride at Norway
Nemo Ride
Living with the Land Ride
Figment Ride
Also - if the line's not to long, there's a character greeting spot where you can get Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and sometimes a couple others.

The nice thing is that you don't have to walk around all the countries to get in all this - the furthest you walk is Norway.

In terms of food, it really depends on taste. There is quick service at Mexico, and there is also the foodcourt area inside the Land building - lots of options there that can suit a variety of tastes.

 

[dizneechic]

I agree with the PP but also want add in Turtle Talk w/ Crush and The Seas ride in the Living Seas building. My dd also loved looking at the aquariums afterward.

 

[Happiest mommy]

are these FP rides? we would love to do Soarin does anyone have an order/plan I might be able to use for touring this park I was thinking since Epcot seems so big and only doing half a day we would be able to do all the stuff in the beggining of the park what do you suggest? anyone care to suggest a plan per ride/FP? we love mexican food and are big roasted chicken eaters hope this helps thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

 

[Happiest mommy]

I was able to make a lunch ADR for Garden grill I don't know what to expect from GG, but really would love to try San Angel Inn, but I heard it was closed and don't know if I need a reservation for this restaurant if it's open, I know it gets mixed review but we love mexican food.

 

[ktlm]

I think you are going to have a really hard time doing Epcot in a 1/2 day with a 4 year old girl, but if it is that or nothing, definitely do as much as you can. Epcot is by far my DD's (4) favorite park outside of MK. When she was 2 yrs 10 months we were there from open to close and did not have enough time, so both trips we took when she was 3, we spent 2 full days there. If your DD likes princesses, you can usually find Snow White (Germany), Jasmine (Morraco), Mulan (China), and Belle (France) in WS and normally the lines aren't too long. Usually, Sleeping Beauty (France) is out there too, but on our last trip it was Marie from Aristocats instead. Mexican Donald is also there daily for pictures in Mexico. We have also seen Beast, Genie, Aladdin and Dopey, although I hear they aren't out there as much nowadays. In addition to Katied's list (DD loved all of those, except we didn't do the
Norway boat because I thought it might scare her), my DD was tall enough for Soarin and Test Track at 3 and she loved them both. Those are both Fast Pass rides. Soarin is much milder than Test Track, so if you can only do one, I'd pick that one. DD thought she was flying just like Peter Pan!

 

[stitch09]

Soarin is definitely a must-see, but be aware that if you hope to get a FP for it, you must do so IMMEDIATELY when you enter the park in the morning... the FP's are usually gone by early afternoon, and the times for them, even when picked up mid-morning, can be as late as 6 or 7 in the evening, so get them ASAP! when it comes to good places to eat with no reservations, you should eat at Sunshine Seasons in the Land. maybe plan on doing this for lunch and seeing the other attractions in the Land before/after your FP time for Soarin... Sunshine Seasons has many different options, and it is very good, healthy, and filling! my favorite thing to get there is salmon and mashed potatoes- too good! let me know if you have any more specific questions, EPCOT is my favorite park at Disney and i want you to have the best experience there you can!

 

[dizneechic]

If it were me and I had to come up with a plan and assuming you'll be there at rope drop or sometime in the next 30-40 mnis, I would skip the Garden Grill ressie and just eat at Sunshine Seasons in the land. It will give you more flexibility to stick to a 1/2 day plan, but then again it's not a ressie you pay for up front (or get charged for if you miss) so maybe keep it and play it by ear.

That said as soon as you arrive to the park I would head to the land, get a FP for Soarin and go ride The Land. Then I would leave, walk over to the Living Seas and ride the Seas and then hop in line for Turtle Talk w/ Crush (1st show, 10AM - you can switch the order on TT/Seas depending on what time it is). Spend a few minutes looking at the aquariums and then walk over to Journey into the Imagination and ride Figment. Then head back to the Land, have lunch as SS and ride Soarin (in either order, your FP time should have come by now). After that I would head on over to Norway and grab your FP for Maelstrom. you may be able to walk right on or have an under 10 minute wait, but if not FP it and peek around for a few minutes before you head back over to Mexico (if you were able to walk onto Maelstrom you can look around Norway as long as you want). You can look around in Mexico for a few, ride the river ride in there and then once your done head back to Norway and finish looking around and ride Maelstrom (or just finish up in Mexico and head out). If you have more time you can walk through World Showcase some, China may have the acrobats out while my kids really liked, but really in a 1/2 day reality is you'll have barely enough time to do what I noted when going at a kids pace. If you do have a few to look around WS you could do 1/2 and take the boat back from the USA up to Future World so you don't have to walk it all over again and can spend some time enjoying the view from the water (and resting your feet!).

As for Spaceship Earth, we are not line people, 30 minutes or more means we skip the ride. We found that the later in the day it gets, the better the line for this ride becomes. Avoid it very 1st thing (unless you walk in and on, but then it sets the timing off on all the other things), and even up to 2:00 its pretty crazy. We check on it on the way out (usually 4:00 or later) and it's typically 30mins or less.

We can spend days in Epcot (we did 3.5 on our trip in Feb). The kids love it there, so much to see and do!

 

[Happiest mommy]

dizneechic thank you so much this was exactly what I was looking for I don't think we will walk all of the countries because I gather that would be alot for half a day so I just wanted a couple of what to do first, second etc plan and stilll enjoy the flowers please write me more I will be printing it and taking it with me for sure I will send Dh running to get soarin Fp can we do the baby swap there?

 

[PiperPizzaz]

How tall is your youngest?

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I was able to make a lunch ADR for Garden grill I don't know what to expect from GG, but really would love to try San Angel Inn, but I heard it was closed and don't know if I need a reservation for this restaurant if it's open, I know it gets mixed review but we love mexican food.

I believe just the counter service is closed (correct me if I am wrong), but the sit down meal should be open.
We never ate at the sit down meal, but enjoyed the counter service (also gets mixed reviews). On our lass trip we ate at Le Cellier, and it was AWESOME , was so happy to get ressies for our Aug trip there.

DD (5) loved the Mexico ride on our last visit, the visit before we rode nemo about 100Xs! Also do Turtle Talk, its very cute!
My fav ride is Soarin at Epcot.
The whole family loves walking around World Showcase, and if I only had a half day I would grab a FP for soarin, go on nemo and turtle talk, and then walk around WS and go on Mexico, hit soarin on the way out, don't know if that is possible though lol. BUt we could literally spend days at Epcot, we were there A LOT On our last trip, I think we were there more than we were at MK.
Enjoy!

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

The only thing I would add is make sure you have or rent a double stroller. Your 4 year old will be much happier with the option of a "ride" as you try to cover a bit of ground in a 1/2 day!! Have fun! I LOVE Epcot!

 

[Happiest mommy]

We are renting a double stroller from Magic Strollers so atleast that is covered please keep suggesting your must do or plan of attack for half a day at Epcot we would never try and walk it all, on the map Epcot looks huge thats why we wanted a few must do's even if its staying in one half the park.
I already told my husband that he has some seriouse running to do to FP for soarin while me and the girls catch up to him. My DD is 42 inches will she be able to ride?

 

[mugsy]

IF you are there for the Flower and Garden show in May, make sure you hit the playgrounds and butterfly tent (we will be there next month, and these will be on our touring plan for our 2 year old). I wouldn't count on Soarin' or the Maelstrom ride in Norway for the youngest one, because I believe they have height requirements. Certainly do the Mexico ride, Nemo, and Turtle Talk, as well as the Imagination ride. I also hear that Innovations is very addictive for toddlers -- we plan to try it out.

 

[Happiest mommy]

Please tell me if the rides that you guys sugested has baby/child swap especially want to know for Soarin thanks.

 

[Happiest mommy]

anybody

 

[babydinosaur03]

Last summer I asked at Soarin about rider swap, and they told me yes, but they didn't let us wait in the hallways where you line up for Soarin. So you can wait at the entrance to the lines, but not in the back hallway, if that makes sense. Better than having to wait through the whole line, I guess.

 

[Fall1]

I agree with the PP but also want add in Turtle Talk w/ Crush and The Seas ride in the Living Seas building. My dd also loved looking at the aquariums afterward.

I agree. My kids loved the Seas and all the aquariums. I think we were in there for over an hour!

 

[Elmo888]

Please tell me if the rides that you guys sugested has baby/child swap especially want to know for Soarin thanks.

There is a baby swap for any ride with a height requirement. We were able to use the baby swap even for our 5 yo who was tall enough for some rides, but didn't want to ride (like Tower of Terror).

For Soarin', it is 40 inches according to allears.net...
http://allears.net/tp/rr.htm

Handy height calculator at wdwinfo.com!
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/height.htm

More baby swap info...
http://www.wdwinfo.com/childswap.htm

A great place to "wait" and take the baby while the others are riding Soarin' is Living with the Land. It is in the same area (on the bottom floor of The Land pavilion), and it is a nice little boat ride. It doesn't usually have a long wait (it can, but not in my experience).

I agree with the others - the food court in The Land, Sunshine Seasons, is great and has lots of variety. If you are looking for another TS, Akershus in Norway has princesses and breakfast. If you can get an ADR an hour before the Epcot opens for breakfast, you might have some extra time in Epcot.

Have a great trip!

 

[Elmo888]

I was just re-reading some of your posts...I would find a touring plan, like the ones in the book The Unofficial Guide to WDW (I have used and like these touring plans and, as recommended by the authors, just skip the attractions that we are not interested in) or Tourguidemike.com.

A good touring plan will help you get to most of the attractions that you want to do with the least amount of wait. I think that is maybe what you are looking for?

If at all possible, I would plan to spend at least a day in Epcot. If not, a good touring plan will help you get bang for your buck (or attractions for your time!).