How much time to devote to Nemo & Friends/SeaBase?

[laurajetter]

I'm planning out our days at Disney and I'm working on EPCOT. We will be there on an EMH morning, 6/21. I thought I remembered reading that you can't reserve a FP during the EMH, so during that first hour from 8-9am we want to do the Nemo & Friends ride as well as explore SeaBase for a bit. I definitely want to see the manatees, casually check out other nearby displays for a bit, and possibly do Turtle Talk with Crush, if it's not too crowded.

After that, we want to use our first FP which will be at Mission Space. Time-wise, do you think making the MS FP at 9am would give us enough to do all the things mentioned above (including travel time to get there from Nemo)? Important to note that we have a group of 9 going, 2 of them will be using scooters. I could make the FP a bit later if need be, but we just have so much we want to fit in I'm trying avoid too much extra time between attractions. I haven't been in so long I'm having trouble estimating how long it will take to do certain things!

 

[Robo]

Your 9AM FP will be valid until 10AM (10:15 with the grace period.)
So, you'll have plenty of time to do all there is at The Seas pavilion.

BTW, I would not spend nearly that much time (especially an entire AM EMH) at The Seas, myself.
That pavilion can be easily enjoyed later in the day.

 

[laurajetter]

Your 9AM FP will be valid until 10AM (10:15 with the grace period.)
So, you'll have plenty of time to do all there is at The Seas pavilion.

BTW, I would not spend nearly that much time (especially an entire AM EMH) at The Seas, myself.
That pavilion can be easily enjoyed later in the day.

Geez, you're right... I forgot about there being the hour window! Thanks for the reminder.

As far as not spending the time there during EMH... Since you brought it up, I hope you don't mind a slightly long-winded answer because it's been on my mind and I'm not sure who to get advice from about it! I'm not 100% devoted to the The Seas pavilion idea, but I'm definitely leaning that way, but only because I'm having so much trouble coming up with a plan that is conducive to the group we are traveling with.

My mom can't walk great distances (or especially steps) and becomes worn out easily, my dad has a condition that causes his muscles to become fatigued and fail to work properly after too much exertion (i.e. results could be dropping something you're carrying or falling over while walking), and my FIL has generally been weakened after chemo treatments and gets tired easily (and has never liked the heat, either). Besides them it will be myself and DH, DS12 and DS8, and my younger sister and her husband. All of this to say, I picture this trip will be a train wreck trying to get everyone from ride to ride, get to FPs on time, manage any queue lines with steps, etc. the list goes on. You may ask why, then, did we choose Disney as our vacation? It was a gift to us from my parents, as a family trip, and I'm sure my mom thought it would be a fun thing. I however know that planning for this many people who aren't prone to a lot of activity in a place like Disney will probably be very difficult.

We will be at EPCOT a total of 1.5 days and will have 6 FPs for the major rides we want to go on. The day I'm asking about will be a full day, and for the ease of getting everyone around I was thinking of starting near the front and just slowly working our way back towards WS. We can't do a lot of back and forth stuff, so I thought we could start out at a place that is less popular first thing in the morning while everyone else is rushing to the popular ones. Then, once it's 9am we can start using our FPs. If we wait until later in the day, I'm sure we'd have to back track quite a bit to get there, something that is just not easy for us to do. It's hard enough working out park strategies to begin with, but add on a bunch of health issues and older folks who can get cranky it is practically impossible! I feel like I don't know what I'm doing, lol

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Given the make-up of your travel group, I think you have a good plan. Do you have Spaceship Earth scheduled at any point? If not, you may want to do that as soon as you enter the park and then make your way over to Nemo. Otherwise, I would just make your way over to Nemo at the beginning of EMH. Nothing wrong with starting there first. If you finish there, perhaps hop on Journey into Imagination while you are on that side of the park. Then work your way slowly over to MS.

 

[laurajetter]

Given the make-up of your travel group, I think you have a good plan. Do you have Spaceship Earth scheduled at any point? If not, you may want to do that as soon as you enter the park and then make your way over to Nemo. Otherwise, I would just make your way over to Nemo at the beginning of EMH. Nothing wrong with starting there first. If you finish there, perhaps hop on Journey into Imagination while you are on that side of the park. Then work your way slowly over to MS.

Yes, we will be doing Spaceship Earth with a FP a couple days prior when we go there for half a day. For this full day we will park and and make our way from the front of the park all the way through part of World Showcase and to the International Gateway. We are staying at Beach Club so anyone who is tired and done at that point can just head back to the hotel (to avoid the long trip back to the front) while the rest can finish out the day and go back to get the van from the parking lot.

I'm finding this all so hard to have to have so much forethought and to visualize what every step of each day will look like (and hope that it all works out the way you envision!).

 

[Davey Jones II]

What on earth is seabase??

 

[disneygirlsng]

What on earth is seabase??

The aquarium area of the Seas pavilion.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

What on earth is seabase??

It’s the aquarium/interactive area in the same building with The Seas with Nemo & Friends: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/attractions/epcot/sea-base/

I believe the SeaBase term was a part of the original attraction, pre-Nemo.

 

[Robo]

It’s the aquarium/interactive area in the same building with The Seas with Nemo & Friends: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/attractions/epcot/sea-base/

I believe the SeaBase term was a part of the original attraction, pre-Nemo.

"Seabase Alpha."
Part of "The Living Seas."

 

[disneyinthespringtime]

Out of all the Sea stuff we loved Turtle Talk most. I had that as a “can skip” item but it was great and much better than the acquarium area in our experience.

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

Will anyone in your group have a wheelchair or a motorized scooter to assist with getting around? My brother and sister-in-law's friend needed a wheel chair when their family and my parents went with her. They were able to go to the front of the line to get onto the rides. They didn't use any fast passes. I'm not sure if their friend had a doctor's note to get a special pass. She didn't want to cancel the trip, even though her illness made it difficult to walk, as she wanted the trip to lift her spirits.

 

[disneyinthespringtime]

Will anyone in your group have a wheelchair or a motorized scooter to assist with getting around? My brother and sister-in-law's friend needed a wheel chair when their family and my parents went with her. They were able to go to the front of the line to get onto the rides. They didn't use any fast passes. I'm not sure if their friend had a doctor's note to get a special pass. She didn't want to cancel the trip, even though her illness made it difficult to walk, as she wanted the trip to lift her spirits.

Was that recent? Just went and DH used an ECV but that did not (understandably) jump us in line at all.

 

[georgina]

Just wanted to add that some of your group could skip the ride part of the aquarium also. We often just walk in through the gift shop.

 

[JerseyJanice]

"Seabase Alpha."
Part of "The Living Seas."

And they rained and rained and rained.

 

[Robo]

And they rained and rained and rained.

The DELUGE!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Will anyone in your group have a wheelchair or a motorized scooter to assist with getting around? My brother and sister-in-law's friend needed a wheel chair when their family and my parents went with her. They were able to go to the front of the line to get onto the rides. They didn't use any fast passes. I'm not sure if their friend had a doctor's note to get a special pass. She didn't want to cancel the trip, even though her illness made it difficult to walk, as she wanted the trip to lift her spirits.

A wheelchair or ECV will not receive front of the line access to any rides. Mobility issues would no longer qualify anyone for a DAS either. How many years ago was this? With GAC, this used to be the case, but GAC does not exist any longer.

 

[Have3Kids&aHusband]

A wheelchair or ECV will not receive front of the line access to any rides. Mobility issues would no longer qualify anyone for a DAS either. How many years ago was this? With GAC, this used to be the case, but GAC does not exist any longer.

It was a while ago. I did mention she may have had a doctor's note as why she was able to . Unfortunately I do not know what your acronyms stand for, so I can't respond to your comment accurately.

 

[Miffy]

Throwing a wrench into the works here by suggesting that perhaps your entire party doesn't have to stay together all the time. That might make planning harder--if you're doing all of it, OP--but it also might make the actual day in the park much easier.

 

[mountdew1]

Duration at the seas can vary greatly. If the dolphins/manatees decide to hang out back stage, you could be done much quicker than if the dolphins are out playing. Admittedly, we have a young DS, but he can spend quite a long time watching the animals if he decides to, or other times he has decided he is done in short order.

However, based on your groups makeup, I'd definitely expect an hour to be more than enough.

 

[BrookieM2001]

Not sure when your travel dates are, but have you considered a Touring Plans subscription? I guess it doesn't really matter when you travel, but if its super close then you wont get as much use from it, but with hoe complicated your trip seems to be i would imagine it would be a lifesaver. You can add a personalized itinerary for the day, the program will give you estimated wait times for each of your planned attractions, and you can set the walking speed as well as telling it how much or how little you want to backtrack or walk. I would think it would make your planning process much easier because it could not only give you a detailed and informed plan for each day, but it will show your itinerary on a map which would give you a better idea where things are in relation to each other, as well as let you add in times for breaks and meals. But most convenient i would think for you, would be that it keeps everything in one place. You wouldn't have to hop back and forth, if you wanted to make a plan for some [people for one day and a less intense plan for others, you can do that. Everything is completely customizeable. We just wouldn't travel to WDW without it, honestly. And our trip is just our family. TP also has an app you can use so you can customize your plans on the fly, and look up wait times as well. It really is invaluable and i think it would really take some stress off you. However, you do have to pay for a subscription, i think its $12? If its not in your budget, i get it, but if it is, i would definitely look into it. They also provide FP information before your FP window opens and has an ADR finder in case you cant get a dinner reservation you're hoping for. TP is amazing!