Help cutting attractions and choosing fastpasses please?

[jendej]

This is my family's first WDW trip and I'm having issues getting Epcot down to one day (we're only there for 5 days and plan to do 2 at MK), plus I still need to choose fastpasses.

If someone could take a look at my itinerary and give me some advice as to which attraction(s) to cut and which Fastpasses make the most sense I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

Fastpass ideas (unless in your infinite wisdom you think there are others I should do, obviously I need to pick three)
Mission: Space Orange
Spaceship Earth
Frozen Ever After
The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Itinerary link here!

 

[CAS239]

Frozen should be top priority.

Are you going soon? Idk if there's word yet on when mission space is opening back up. You'll likely be fine though and it'll be up

Out off that list for other two go Mission Space and Spaceship Earth

 

[mesaboy2]

From your list, FEA is clearly top priority. The rest are mostly a wash. See the Priorities & Tiers post in the FP FAQ, linked below, for a complete list.

 

[mamamelody2]

Hmm, I'm confused. Your plan has you doing Frozen after Illuminations which is at 9. Doesn't Frozen close at 9??
I would rope drop Test Track, as that line builds faster than Soarin. Then to Soarin and Living with the Land.
Frozen FP FOR SURE, as well as Spaceship Earth. Looks like Mission Space will still be closed for refurb. So, I guess The Seas with Nemo, though I doubt you'll need it.

 

[maryj11]

Depends on how old the people in your group are. To us who are adults and a teen the Frozen ride is not that exciting. We love Soarin, actually Soarin is one of my favorite rides at Disney out of all 4 parks. In Epcot Test Track is the second favorite. The fastpasses we have are Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land and Soarin. Mission Space makes me kind of sick to my stomach because of the movement. We have never done Mission Space orange, I have heard to many people have gotten sick on it. We have always done the green which is much tamer.
The top 1st tier rides are Soarin and Test Track depending how old your group is. Frozen would be better for the younger ones.
You do not need a fastpass for the Seas with Nemo it is usually not a long wait.

 

[jendej]

Frozen should be top priority.

Are you going soon? Idk if there's word yet on when mission space is opening back up. You'll likely be fine though and it'll be up

Out off that list for other two go Mission Space and Spaceship Earth

Oops! I should have clarified that. We're going Sept. 20-25. This plan is for Sept. 20. How do I find out what is closed on our dates?

From your list, FEA is clearly top priority. The rest are mostly a wash. See the Priorities & Tiers post in the FP FAQ, linked below, for a complete list.

Thanks! I'll take a look!

Hmm, I'm confused. Your plan has you doing Frozen after Illuminations which is at 9. Doesn't Frozen close at 9??
I would rope drop Test Track, as that line builds faster than Soarin. Then to Soarin and Living with the Land.
Frozen FP FOR SURE, as well as Spaceship Earth. Looks like Mission Space will still be closed for refurb. So, I guess The Seas with Nemo, though I doubt you'll need it.

Right, that's why I need to cut some stuff and re-optimize. As a total newbie though, I'm just completely unsure how to figure out what to cut.

Depends on how old the people in your group are. To us who are adults and a teen the Frozen ride is not that exciting. We love Soarin, actually Soarin is one of my favorite rides at Disney out of all 4 parks. In Epcot Test Track is the second favorite. The fastpasses we have are Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land and Soarin. Mission Space makes me kind of sick to my stomach because of the movement. We have never done Mission Space orange, I have heard to many people have gotten sick on it. We have always done the green which is much tamer.
The top 1st tier rides are Soarin and Test Track depending how old your group is. Frozen would be better for the younger ones.
You do not need a fastpass for the Seas with Nemo it is usually not a long wait.

We're multi-generation (ages 55-4 yrs old). I think FEA is a must, but I'm just unsure about what else.

 

[robl45]

the number one things are test track, soaring and frozen. You can pick only one of the 3. I think by sept it won't rain so you might be best taking frozen. If it might rain you always take test track as it goes down in the rain and you get anytime fast passes. Spaceship earth usually the wait is not that long and neither with nemo and friends. Nemo especially likely walk on if you do it near the end of the evening.

Mission space I went on years ago for the bragging rights and might go on one more time if my son begs me enough, but really unless you like feeling like you are going to throw up I would skip it.

You could get more use out of your trip if you do one day at magic kingdom and a night or two. Even with it closing earlier than usual lately, in the last hour or so, there typically are much smaller lines. Pirates/small world/jungle cruise/haunted mansion are all walk ons typically near the end of the night. I would never waste time in 30+ minute lines for those.

 

[jendej]

the number one things are test track, soaring and frozen. You can pick only one of the 3. I think by sept it won't rain so you might be best taking frozen. If it might rain you always take test track as it goes down in the rain and you get anytime fast passes. Spaceship earth usually the wait is not that long and neither with nemo and friends. Nemo especially likely walk on if you do it near the end of the evening.

Mission space I went on years ago for the bragging rights and might go on one more time if my son begs me enough, but really unless you like feeling like you are going to throw up I would skip it.

You could get more use out of your trip if you do one day at magic kingdom and a night or two. Even with it closing earlier than usual lately, in the last hour or so, there typically are much smaller lines. Pirates/small world/jungle cruise/haunted mansion are all walk ons typically near the end of the night. I would never waste time in 30+ minute lines for those.

Thanks for your input! So if I'm understanding correctly try my damnedest to get FEA and just get whatever else is on my list that's avail? I honestly might just send the link to my Disney Travel Agent and tell her FEA is a must and use her best judgement on the other two.

I eliminated Mission Space, but I still have too many attractions/shows for the amount of time that day. Anything else I should get rid of?

Could you elaborate on the evening MK strategy for me some? As I said, I'm a total newb (never been to WDW, even as a child), I know we also have MNSSH to contend with at least some of the nights that week, so I'm not sure how it would work out. The other thing is that one day we have lunch ADRs at CRT and a different day we have Breakfast ADRs at BOG, but I'm open to suggestions!

 

[emonade8]

Honestly, I would cut Circle of Life and Ellen's Energy Adventure. Circle of Life is just a short film from what I understand. We've never seen it in our ten years of regular trips. We love Ellen's Energy Adventure but that's based largely on nostalgia. If you have no emotional connection to it, you won't miss it. And it eats up a LOT of time.

I noticed you didn't list some of the World Showcase pavilions. Is that because you don't want to visit them or was it an oversight?

You have Character Spot on your itinerary but not on your FP list. Character Spot can have a very long wait. It would be a good use of a tier 2 FP. I don't have personal experience with Turtle Talk, but maybe it's a good FP choice? Someone else will have to give a more definitive answer on that one. We always use a tier 2 FP for Spaceship Earth.

 

[flortlebap]

Mission Space will be closed on your trip so you can definitely eliminate that one!

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Oops! I should have clarified that. We're going Sept. 20-25. This plan is for Sept. 20. How do I find out what is closed on our dates?

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/rehab.htm

Have a great trip! And don't sweat the planning too much, it quite often leads to disaster.

 

[maryj11]

If you want the Frozen then I would get that and Spaceship Earth and then another. Spaceship Earth is really cool I think and it is for all ages.

 

[maryj11]

Honestly, I would cut Circle of Life and Ellen's Energy Adventure. Circle of Life is just a short film from what I understand. We've never seen it in our ten years of regular trips. We love Ellen's Energy Adventure but that's based largely on nostalgia. If you have no emotional connection to it, you won't miss it. And it eats up a LOT of time.

I noticed you didn't list some of the World Showcase pavilions. Is that because you don't want to visit them or was it an oversight?

You have Character Spot on your itinerary but not on your FP list. Character Spot can have a very long wait. It would be a good use of a tier 2 FP. I don't have personal experience with Turtle Talk, but maybe it's a good FP choice? Someone else will have to give a more definitive answer on that one. We always use a tier 2 FP for Spaceship Earth.

I agree with not doing Circle of Life and Ellens Energy Adventure, Unless everyone needs a long cool break then I would go on Ellens Energy lol. It does take a long time but is refreshing if your hot and tired.

 

[robl45]

I was on the universe of energy long ago. the dinosaurs I think would be cool for the kids but its a long long ride and we never have time to waste at epcot unfortunately when you have to walk around the place and wait in lines. As I said, I would do the fast pass on test track for tier one and wait in line for frozen and soaring unless you think it definately won't rain. If you are inline and it starts raining with test track, you have to sit and wait. 45 minutes or more, I've done it. If you have a fast pass, they just give you a pass to return.

Space ship earth I would do tier two and the others usually don't have too much of a line anyway. Journey to imagination line is usually small but you could fast pass that as well or the character spot if you don't want to wait 30 plus minutes. Nemo as I said, I would do close to park close if you plan on staying or basically after 7 and there should be little to no wait.

For magic kingdom, we usually try to hit after dinner if possible, the later the better as ride times get lower. Otherwise you be waiting ride after ride in 40 plus minute lines.

 

[Coral Reef Diver]

CAS239: Out off that list for other two go Mission Space and Spaceship Earth

mamamelody2: FP Frozen FOR SURE, as well as Spaceship Earth.

emonade8: We always use a tier 2 FP for Spaceship Earth.

robl45: Spaceship earth usually the wait is not that long.

maryj11: If you want the Frozen then I would get that and Spaceship Earth.

robl45: Space ship earth I would do tier two...

There seems to be a consensus for getting a FP for Spaceship Earth. I don't get it. My experience is that Spaceship draws the early crowds. It is the Epcot attraction everyone sees first when entering the park, and is one of the most recognizable structures of any theme park. It fills quickly in the morning, but return in the afternoon/early evening for minimal lines and no waiting. I can't understand why people FP this attraction.

 

[ChristineOH]

There seems to be a consensus for getting a FP for Spaceship Earth. I don't get it. My experience is that Spaceship draws the early crowds. It is the Epcot attraction everyone first sees when entering the park, and one of the most recognizable structures of any theme park. Return to Spaceship Earth in the afternoon, with minimal lines and no waiting. I can't understand why people FP this attraction.

It's just to use up a FP. You don't need a FP for any tier 2 attractions at Epcot in the early morning or any time after 4:00 or 5:00 in the evening. Unless you want to do the character meet... which we don't. You've got to book something if you want to try to get a 4th FP for a tier 1 ride.

 

[Surgie2]

I can't understand why people FP this attraction.

We do because the last 2 trips to Epcot there have been waits of 30-40 min. at Spaceship Earth. Why wait if you can FP it? We don't care for Mission Space. So no need to let a FP go to waste when we can be guaranteed a short or no wait at all.

 

[Coral Reef Diver]

Okay, I understand now. The Tier 2 attractions at Epcot don't necessarily dictate having a FP, but since you will be getting a Tier 2 FP anyway (to complete a set of three), then Spaceship Earth is as good a selection as any.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

One of the changes that I would make is to stay in future world for the whole time in the early part of the day and then when done I would go over to the countries. Going back and forth loses time. Also I wouldn't do The Circle of Life and Ellens. We love the pavilions so much that we don't want to rush them. We love trying QS foods in the countries. Also if I had to I would cut some of the country's shows. You can try to get to all of them but don't stress if you don't.

If you know that you want FEA - then do that and Turtle Crush and Spaceship Earth. If you really want the character spot then Fastpass that and leave Spaceship Earth to go on without a fastpass. Character Spot is fun but when we went we still had to wait about 30 minutes before we got on even though we had a FP.

When you make an itinerary - highlight what is most important and let the rest go if you run out of time. But you could do EPCOT in one day and get most of it done. We just really like to spend time in the countries. Enjoy your trip.

 

[Coral Reef Diver]

One of the changes that I would make is to stay in future world for the whole time in the early part of the day and then when done I would go over to the countries.

I'm incredulous. I always thought to do the opposite, breeze through World Showcase in the morning. Then return to Future World later when everyone is headed to World Showcase, and ride our FPs at that time.