Help with Epcot plan B

[liamthompson]

Planning a day at Epcot festival of the holidays in early december for myself, spouse, and 4yo. We are staying on-site.

Plan A:
- Rope drop spaceship earth or Figment
- Walk through journey of water / snack time
- Aim to pre-book test track and soarin LL before noon
- Lunch
- world showcase
- LL for living w land (how early can I book to see the lights, 5:30pm?)
- see light show on Epcot golf ball
- exit around 7pm

Here are the pickles:

- 4yo is 40in without shoes. Based on what I've read, it's likely he may measure too short for test track and soarin. We're headed to universal first and if he's consistently too short, I can swap LL for frozen a few days before we go...but not remy since both are tier 1. What's a good "use" of the other LL?

- It's also possible that he measures too short the day of. At that point, I can still try to swap for frozen/remy but it's possible that neither will have LL availability.

- I thought about child swapping for both test track and soarin if he is too short - it may work fine or it may be huge meltdown because of separation anxiety

With these pickles in mind, how would you structure plan B?

For context, we did a day at Epcot earlier this year and it was very unaccomplished...we rode LwL and nemo (kept breaking down while we were in line and on the ride), visited sea base, walked around world showcase and got stuck at the train display in germany...that's all we managed in ~8 hours. It was flower and garden festival and I thought the food booths would make snacking easier but it was frustrating to find somewhere to sit/eat on the go.

I'm hoping a solid plan B will help this second trip go smoother. The cost of a one day ticket + LL + food is making me wonder if we're better off just skipping Epcot and doing a resort day instead.

 

[sponica]

If it's just a one day ticket, I'm not sure how feasible an early return time for TT will be. I'm an Epcot person, but my least favorite trip to Epcot was when our youngest was 3 and too short for the rides with a height limit. I spent the whole morning rider swapping guardians and test track. It just felt like a very expensive day that wasn't enjoyable.

I would either just plan rides that don't have a height requirement or stay at the resort for the day.

 

[liamthompson]

I spent the whole morning rider swapping guardians and test track. It just felt like a very expensive day that wasn't enjoyable.

This is my concern - I prefer not to rider swap because then it seems like using those pre-booked LL is a chore ("we paid for them so we have to use them" mentality).

Thanks for your comment, I'm leaning toward doing a full trip without parks but maybe adding in a fun dining reservation instead.

 

[sponica]

This is my concern - I prefer not to rider swap because then it seems like using those pre-booked LL is a chore ("we paid for them so we have to use them" mentality).

Thanks for your comment, I'm leaning toward doing a full trip without parks but maybe adding in a fun dining reservation instead.

Epcot is our must do and that was a one day visit pre-cruise and it was just not the greatest experience. We salvaged the afternoon and somewhat enjoyed ourselves in the world showcase, but we had had more fun this year with her tall enough for everything (even if she hated the rides with height restrictions).

 

[msce2]

Where are you staying? Any chance of taking the skyliner and coming in the back entrance? I would consider rope dropping Frozen/Remy if you're not able to get in a LL. You could try the TT single rider line if one of you wants to stay with the lo. My mom and I walked right on while the stand-by line was well over an hour. Figment you can usually get on without long waits so I'd leave that for later. I would also consider doing the Gran Fiesta Tour Tres Caballeros boat ride in the Mexico pavilion when you're doing the World Showcase. It's another ride that doesn't typically have a long wait. Also the toy trains in Germany were a hit with my boys when they were younger.

I'm not as familiar with LL bc my Mom refuses to pay for something that used to be free.

 

[liamthompson]

Where are you staying? Any chance of taking the skyliner and coming in the back entrance? I would consider rope dropping Frozen/Remy if you're not able to get in a LL. You could try the TT single rider line if one of you wants to stay with the lo. My mom and I walked right on while the stand-by line was well over an hour. Figment you can usually get on without long waits so I'd leave that for later. I would also consider doing the Gran Fiesta Tour Tres Caballeros boat ride in the Mexico pavilion when you're doing the World Showcase. It's another ride that doesn't typically have a long wait. Also the toy trains in Germany were a hit with my boys when they were younger.

I'm not as familiar with LL bc my Mom refuses to pay for something that used to be free.

We're staying at AoA so coming in via skyliner. I think the typical recommendation is to rope drop remy but I've been watching the wait times on the app and am wondering if we might be better off booking LL for remy and rope dropping frozen.

The major reason I thought to add Epcot was for my car-obsessed kid to ride test track. Soarin is for me...I missed half of Epcot due to food poisoning years ago and I've been trying to ride it ever since! But you make a good point that we could try to use single rider line.

Thank you for your comments. It's helping me think about what our day would look like if i shelved test track...and if I think the cost could be justified haha.

 

[ak517]

Personally I wouldn’t wait to book a LL for remy or frozen. They book up quickly and you may miss your chance to skip one of those lines if you wait till even a few days prior. If you’re worried about separation anxiety causing issues for child swap, maybe you need to be okay with nixing any rides where you need to separate. I also wouldn’t play up rides he may not be able to get on because that could lead to meltdowns. Alternatively, if your kid ends up in a good mood maybe that’s a good chance for splitting up and whoever your kid is with can go to a nearby food booth while the other adult rides. There’s also a playground area somewhere in future world (my kids haven’t been big enough for it yet which is why I don’t remember exactly where it is).

TBH your description of your day earlier this year with a toddler sounds about right. I wouldn’t try to force too many things to happen, especially during the busiest season of the year. I like to pick one or two things we have to do (maybe if I’m feeling optimistic I ask my spouse what he must do too) and then everything else (like a margarita in Mexico) is icing on the cake.