How big is Epcot?

[g8torphan]

Sounds like a great plan...always good to pace yourself, especially at the begining.

 

[SFMommy]

Sounds like a great plan...always good to pace yourself, especially at the begining.

Yes, I don't want to burn everyone out. We are planning on 7 park days.

At DLR we have never done more than 4 park days and we were ready to go home by then. I don't want to feel that way at the end of 7 days in WDW, so I am planning for some half-days at park/resort. And definitely easing into the trip and sleeping in a little.

My DH is not a morning person. At DLR, I wake him at the crack of dawn to get to 7:00 a.m. EMHs. He tolerates it, but I don't want to push him like that this trip and scare him from WDW. 'Cause then we'll never go back!

 

[OhThePain]

Since we'll be coming from the West Coast, I was thinking of sleeping in our first day, then arriving at Epcot around 11:00 when the WS opens. Exploring the WS, having a late lunch in one of the countries. And maybe doing one or two FP+ attractions in Future World before heading back to our hotel in the late afternoon.

Then we would have a second Epcot day towards the end of our trip when we would RD the Future World attractions, have FP+ for late morning and visit WS in the early afternoon to see anything we missed on the first day.

If you happen to be foodies and are going during either F&W or F&G now, expect to spend 2 full days (and a few extra $$) just sampling foods, wines, beers from different kiosks. It can get to be addicting trying all that you can stomach. Also, if you happen to be going during either of these events, weekends in the WS can get tough to navigate, so plan accordingly.

 

[SnackCredit]

My mother and I take this long to do everything we want to see in each park:

AK and HS: 1 day
MK: 1.5 days
Epcot: 2 days

On our next trip, we might be in Epcot on 3 different days: a full day, evening EMH after dinner two days later, and another 1/2 day for lunch.

 

[nkereina]

We usually finish up Future World in a half day - we skip Ellen's Universe of Energy (a 45 minute ride) and we also don't do any character meets. We then take a break and come back at night to do the World Showcase. We usually spend a second evening in the World Showcase as well.

On our last trip, we did FW then for lunch we walked over to Beaches & Cream at the Beach Club (around 11:45). When we came back, it was around 1:30 and we were able to do all of the World Showcase by the time we had a dinner ADR at 7pm at Biergarten.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I always forget how incredibly hot Epcot is. There seems to be hardly any shade. I'm a fast walker, but I remember this past May thinking we were never going to get to the other side of the park lol

It does feel very hot. The big buildings in FutureWorld help because you can duck into one if it gets too bad but I'm convinced World Showcase is the hottest place on earth in the summer.

 

[W.E.D.]

We always take two days, one for FW and one for WS. But that fits into our schedule and budget. As PPs have said, you can do it all in one day if you plan accordingly.

 

[siskaren]

And I personally wouldn't break up Epcot into two days if you don't need to. You can see and ride everything at Epcot in one day. Go at rope drop and ride soarin, then fp for test track. There's not enough rides for two days

There's a lot more to Epcot than rides.

 

[uccats97]

Since we'll be coming from the West Coast, I was thinking of sleeping in our first day, then arriving at Epcot around 11:00 when the WS opens. Exploring the WS, having a late lunch in one of the countries. And maybe doing one or two FP+ attractions in Future World before heading back to our hotel in the late afternoon.

You get to book 3 FP+ per day in advance. You might as well take advantage of that and choose 3 back to back late afternoon time slots. Might I suggest either Test Track or Soarin, Spaceship Earth and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. All have long (and, some, boring) queues. I don't like to see FP+ go to waste. Enjoy your trip!

 

[chapie1968]

I always forget how incredibly hot Epcot is. There seems to be hardly any shade. I'm a fast walker, but I remember this past May thinking we were never going to get to the other side of the park lol

OMG yes. We actually did an August trip this past year because it was the only time we could go. We had Dinner reservations in Italy and by the time we got over there we were dripping wet in sweat. It is usually manageable by ducking into some air along the way with visits at each of the World Showcase Pavilions, but doing the walk straight in the heat was brutal.

 

[Dimaline312000]

If you have the time it might be advisable to do FW one day and WS another, just a thought.

 

[larryz]

HUGE
All of MK could fit in the lake at Epcot.

Uh, not quite. West to east, from BTMRR to SM is .53 miles straight across. The lake in Epcot is only .36 miles across at its widest. North to south, MK is .36 miles; lake is only .23.

That said, the MK will fit inside World Showcase, including the built-up areas for each country...

 

[g8torphan]

Eh....I was close

Thanks for the details, pretty cool.

 

[SplashMo]

Epcot can be done in one day. Future world is basically three rides. TT, SOARIN and Mission space. The rest of FW is not so great. You can rope drop the park FP+ SOARIN and rope drop TT. Mission space green is available at almost anytime... Lots of great places for lunch to take a break and then see the world showcase, have dinner and then watch illuminations.

You can always hop from another park over to Epcot for Dinner and to explore the rides in more detail. Another trick is to rope drop AK without FP+ and then hop over to Epcot around 4 with FP+ for SOARIN and to see the world showcase, dinner and illuminations..

Lots of options...

 

[DOOM1001]

Animal Kingdom is the largest disney park. It's about 200 acres bigger than Epcot

That's counting all the animal areas,as far as walkable areas for park guests Epcot is the biggest.In the Disney marathon mile 25 is in France,the route goes around WS towards Morocco,Japan and the other WS countries in that side of the lake and then towards the fountain and the middle of Future World.It then exits Epcot in a backstage area to the right of Spaceship Earth,a couple hundred feet after entering the backstage area is mile 26 so its pretty much almost a mile from the back of WS,that's about 16-20 minutes walking at a steady pace.

 

[CAS239]

There's a lot more to Epcot than rides.

I don't really think anyone goes to Epcot just for the rides lol.

Simply put, if you're not eating in multiple countries for long periods of time, it's easy to see all of Epcot in 1 day.

 

[Mome Rath]

Since we'll be coming from the West Coast, I was thinking of sleeping in our first day, then arriving at Epcot around 11:00 when the WS opens. Exploring the WS, having a late lunch in one of the countries. And maybe doing one or two FP+ attractions in Future World before heading back to our hotel in the late afternoon.

Then we would have a second Epcot day towards the end of our trip when we would RD the Future World attractions, have FP+ for late morning and visit WS in the early afternoon to see anything we missed on the first day.

I think that's a wonderful idea. I would suggest noting anything the first day in WS that you want to see, or try, that you are too tired/too full to do and return the second day. Also, remember there is a "back entrance" to WS that connects to Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club, and Swan and Dolphin hotels by walking or by boat, so if you like to explore hotels, or grab some ice cream at Beaches and Cream, a cupcake from Boardwalk Bakery, that is an option as well. Sometimes we just like to head out that way and ride the boat in a loop all the way from EPCOT to Hollywood Studios and back around. BUT that is if you have time to kill and want to sight-see in a relaxed way.

 

[siskaren]

I don't really think anyone goes to Epcot just for the rides lol.

Simply put, if you're not eating in multiple countries for long periods of time, it's easy to see all of Epcot in 1 day.

Well, you must be skipping a lot of stuff if you're seeing "all of Epcot" in one day.

 

[CAS239]

Well, you must be skipping a lot of stuff if you're seeing "all of Epcot" in one day.

Seeing all of Epcot.. We ride all the rides, walk around world showcase and go in a store or two in each country.

We eat off site so there's time saved there and don't view the videos about the country like some countries have (Norway, France). And we don't sit and people watch. If you go at rope drop, anyone can easily ride every ride in the park, walk through every country with a visit through the shops and drink or food stands, and still have some time left over.

 

[siskaren]

Seeing all of Epcot.. We ride all the rides, walk around world showcase and go in a store or two in each country.

We eat off site so there's time saved there and don't view the videos about the country like some countries have (Norway, France). And we don't sit and people watch. If you go at rope drop, anyone can easily ride every ride in the park, walk through every country with a visit through the shops and drink or food stands, and still have some time left over.

You may be "seeing" Epcot, but you're not experiencing it, at least not the World Showcase. You said you don't watch the movies (and Canada has one too, by the way), and it sounds like you also skip American Adventure, and most of the pavilions have live entertainment.