Is one day at Epcot enough?

[pad406]

Personally I think that for a first trip you should 'plan' at least one day per park, as your experiences may be different from others. We like HS and visit multiple times during our visit. The kids not only love TSMM, Star Tours, RNR, TOT, but also want to do Indiana Jones, Lights Motor Action and Jedi Training camp. Art of Animation is also popular, so we find it hard to fit everything in a day.

AK is short on rides but has plenty to do. Between Lion King, Nemo, Tough to be a bug, Flights of wonder, going around and seeing the animals a day can easily be filled.

The water parks are fun, good big slides in BB and a huge wavepool in TL. Usually only the kids and I go here and spend 1/2 day, then go to the parks after. Now this is where we as a family will get great benefit of FP+.

The comments on DTD I would agree with, although DW loves (and I mean LOVES) to shop (we leave Ireland with 1 case and fly home with 8!!!), we usually just pass through when going to one of the restaurants.

The first time we went we spent 15 nights and missed loads. The second time 18 nights and there are still rides we haven't done. The second time we went our kids were the same age as yours, just reversed, our DD is the eldest. BUT and it's a big BUT, Disney is tiring!! I mean really tiring. You and the kids will sleep like you never had before

I didn't see mention of whether you're on or off site. If you're on site then you can also take advantage of the EMH. This could easily help in time for rests if you feel you need them. Also October, I think, is one of the least busy times, so that will also help in getting things done.

have fun and be ready to plan the next trip, there will be 1

 

[lustergirl]

For us one day at Epcot is NOT enough..We do 2 days at least.

I agree. I usually end up in EPCOT for 3 days off and on between the other parks. I love the WORLD SHOWCASE, with the drinks and food. Some day I will stay at the EPCOT Resorts so I can cruise in on a boat and then cruise out back to my hotel.

 

[lustergirl]

Yes, it is our big trip for quite a few years! I figured there was no point spending thousands of dollars on airfares and a 15 hour flight for a short trip.

Have a great trip.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Forgot to say, get rid of dtd and water park stuff. Not worth it for your particular situation. Try not to rest to much. Maximize the trip experience.

No way I'd give up the water parks with kids that age who love to swim. DTD is another story; that we'd gladly skip. I'd cancel some ADR's, upgrade the WPF&M to hoppers, and be a little more flexible with my plans.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Vegas area has a brand new waterpark that is close to the disney waterpark in terms of thrills. I would consider that she can get a similar experience in her own backyard.

 

[MolonLabe]

Epcot is a lot to see and do in one day. We've been a bunch and still plan for two days. We usually do open to close too.

 

[GlennN]

Get park hoppers and combine HS and AK into one day. Epcot is worthy of two days. HS and AK are half day parks for a visit such as your visit. Magic Kingdom and Epcot should be your focus.

I agree. We always get Park Hopper and often hit Epcot at night, for dinner and/or to sneak in another ride or two.

 

[seus-mouse]

Your plan looks great to us.

We love Epcot and do two days when we can, yet because you're staying all day it will let you cover a big chunk of it.

We always enjoy Downtown Disney, it's fun to soak up the vibe and take the boat from end to end. Bongos is fun and T-Rex is eye candy wherever you sit.

The waterparks are a lot of fun, swimming in salt water at Typhoon Lagoons shark reef is very cool.
The drop at Blizzard Beach's Summit Plummet is scary and my DH and DD are egging each other on with chicken taunting noises all this week! I'll be the chicken photographer taking pics!
Two things for the waterparks: Try the Sand Pail full of ice cream, it's a good deal, you get A LOT of ice cream and the sprinkles are teeny, colored Mickey Ears.
Our feet got very soft the day after we hit the waterpark and only then did we need bandaids and duck tape for big blisters and two socks, they were very tough before we softened them up.

Try to remember to get the Birthday pin at guest services. It's the big, round disc kind and it's really nice when folks wish you happy birthday.

Have fun,

Holly

 

[EMode]

I think you could do all of Epcot in one day if you hit rope drop and stay till closing.

 

[mm1971]

I am trying to get a rough idea of our plan so that I can book our ADRs on Saturday. We have 7 nights and days. We will be flying in from Las Vegas, on Oct 2, so won't get there until early evening anyway. It will be me, son, 10 and daughter, who will turn 8 on Day 2. So this is my current plan, taking into account EasyWDW recommend parks....

1. MK 9am-7pm
2. Waterpark and then MK for CRT dinner, parade and Wishes (birthday girl)
3. AK 9-5pm
4. Epcot 9-9 and Illuminations
5. MK and maybe DTD later in the day
6. DHS, including Fantasmic
7. Waterpark or 2nd day at Epcot- departure day.


I know I don't have any rest days, so we might not fit it all in. But my kids are pretty tough!

My kids LOVE swimming, so I am thinking they will prefer to do the 2nd Waterpark on our last day rather than Epcot. Or we could combine half a Waterpark day with half of the 2nd MK day on Day 5?

Do I need 2 days at Epcot, or will one be enough if we are there at RD and stay all day/night until Illuminations?

Epcot is at least 2 days for us on a weeks vacation. It will differ depending on the family and what each enjoys. We would skip HS and just hop over for Fantasmic!, but that is because my kids don't do a lot of the attractions at HS. We usually do one water park for a half day and spend the other half at MK or Epcot based on what the kids decide.

Given the current FP+ restriction of 3/day (I know they are planning to adjust), we would use FP+ for TT on one of the days and Soarin on the other to make sure we get them both in.

Last (and most important) is you will be there during F&W. We LOVE being in the WS and trying all the different offerings so would definitely not cut it to one day.

 

[johde]

Get park hoppers and combine HS and AK into one day. Epcot is worthy of two days. HS and AK are half day parks for a visit such as your visit. Magic Kingdom and Epcot should be your focus.

I agree with your first statement but not necessarily completely with your second statement.

For me EPCOT is a 1 day park (or even better 2 half days). Which leads me to I agree with spending the money on PH tickets. Looking at the OP schedule:

1. MK 9am-7pm
2. Waterpark and then MK for CRT dinner, parade and Wishes (birthday girl)
3. AK 9-5pm
4. Epcot 9-9 and Illuminations
5. MK and maybe DTD later in the day
6. DHS, including Fantasmic
7. Waterpark or 2nd day at Epcot- departure day.

I would consider changing it to:
Day 1 MK
Day 2 AK 9- Done Hop to MK for CRT Dinner, Parade and Wishes
Day 3 (Sleep Late) Waterpark Hop to DHS Including Fantasmic.
Day 4 EPCOT 9-9 and Illuminations
Day 5,6 &7 Revisit Parks you want to spend more time in.

With this plan you've visited all 4 parks and a water park in the first 4 days although DHS has gotten short changed slightly. so you'll know if you need more EPCOT time, or MK time, or AK time.

 

[W.E.D.]

IMO, EPCOT is a two-day park because it's really two parks. That being said, if you're not going to be checking out all the shops, restaurants, "museums", etc., in World Showcase then you probably could do it in one day. I do think one day would be a whirlwind tour.

 

[mill4023]

Get park hoppers and combine HS and AK into one day. Epcot is worthy of two days. HS and AK are half day parks for a visit such as your visit. Magic Kingdom and Epcot should be your focus.

I completely disagree with this.

Epcot is one of my favorite parks, but it only has 3 "real" attractions (Soarin, Test Track, Mission Space).

For an 8 and 10 year old, both DHS and AK have more than enough to fill an entire day each.

I would stick with one day at Epcot. Spend the first half of the day doing the Future World attractions, then take your time touring the world showcase and finish with a nice dinner and Illuminations.

 

[happymomof1]

I would keep AK and then head to DTD. We are not "huge shoppers", but with that fact aside, the shops at DTD are more unique than the regular gift shops. Nothing beats checking out the HUGE outdoor Lego scenes and grabbing an ice cream from Ghirardelli next door. Most families do SOME sort of shopping while at WDW, and instead of perusing every "gift shop at the end of a ride", we skip those and enjoy DTD. There are often groups singing/bands by the pavillion near the water, good eateries and eclectic shops to enjoy. Your young kids will really enjoy it. After that, head back to your resort for an enjoyable evening of swimming, or catch the Disney film of the evening on your resorts beach area.

 

[Kellykins1218]

For our family, Epcot is a half day park at best. TT, Soarin, SE, and maybe Nemo then we're gone. We find everything else incredibly boring. My kids hate it & would happily skip it.

 

[lroger01]

You've gotten lots of great advice, but I'm thinking you're probably still overwhelmed by it! The thing to remember is first timers tour differently than repeaters. Some attractions are fun to do once but not multiple times. As a first timer that won't be a problem for you!

I'm in the camp with some others that suggest you hit up everything once for a full day plus one of the water parks. Then spend the rest of the time doing what most SOUNDS like FUN.

It's possible a day off to lay around the pool and rest your feet will sound really good, or maybe you just caught glimpses of the MK parade and really want to see the whole thing. Or the kids (and you) had a blast at the water park and more of that sounds great. You're not going to be able to do it all, so start with a highlights tour of each park and then go back to whatever looks best.

As for hoppers, you can always add them on after you get there.

 

[hookedonears]

I am trying to get a rough idea of our plan so that I can book our ADRs on Saturday. We have 7 nights and days. We will be flying in from Las Vegas, on Oct 2, so won't get there until early evening anyway. It will be me, son, 10 and daughter, who will turn 8 on Day 2. So this is my current plan, taking into account EasyWDW recommend parks....

1. MK 9am-7pm
2. Waterpark and then MK for CRT dinner, parade and Wishes (birthday girl)
3. AK 9-5pm
4. Epcot 9-9 and Illuminations
5. MK and maybe DTD later in the day
6. DHS, including Fantasmic
7. Waterpark or 2nd day at Epcot- departure day.


I know I don't have any rest days, so we might not fit it all in. But my kids are pretty tough!

My kids LOVE swimming, so I am thinking they will prefer to do the 2nd Waterpark on our last day rather than Epcot. Or we could combine half a Waterpark day with half of the 2nd MK day on Day 5?

Do I need 2 days at Epcot, or will one be enough if we are there at RD and stay all day/night until Illuminations?

In addition to my previous 2 post, the only other tweak would be that I wouldn't stay at AK until 5:00 PM. It's only a half day park. AK is one of the reasons to have Park Hoppers.

 

[bobbie68]

I am trying to get a rough idea of our plan so that I can book our ADRs on Saturday. We have 7 nights and days. We will be flying in from Las Vegas, on Oct 2, so won't get there until early evening anyway. It will be me, son, 10 and daughter, who will turn 8 on Day 2. So this is my current plan, taking into account EasyWDW recommend parks....

1. MK 9am-7pm
2. Waterpark and then MK for CRT dinner, parade and Wishes (birthday girl)
3. AK 9-5pm
4. Epcot 9-9 and Illuminations
5. MK and maybe DTD later in the day
6. DHS, including Fantasmic
7. Waterpark or 2nd day at Epcot- departure day.


I know I don't have any rest days, so we might not fit it all in. But my kids are pretty tough!

My kids LOVE swimming, so I am thinking they will prefer to do the 2nd Waterpark on our last day rather than Epcot. Or we could combine half a Waterpark day with half of the 2nd MK day on Day 5?

Do I need 2 days at Epcot, or will one be enough if we are there at RD and stay all day/night until Illuminations?

Hi I think if you do Epcot from RD to close you will see everything just fine. ( We love Epcot just for the record)

We love the water parks and they are a must every trip. We actually do half day water parks. We get there at RD and stay about 4 hours or so then go back to the resort relax and go to a park at night. I would try both water parks. They really are different. TL has a great wave pool and shark reef but BB has much better slides.

Good luck

 

[Lees75]

Vegas area has a brand new waterpark that is close to the disney waterpark in terms of thrills. I would consider that she can get a similar experience in her own backyard.

Just to clarify, we will be flying in from Las Vegas, but aren't from Las Vegas. We are from Adelaide, Australia, and have absolutely nothing like the water parks within 1400 miles

Thanks everyone for your valuable input. I will have a look at some of your recommended schedules when I get home from work tonight. We do have hoppers, as, from looking at the WDW website, it didn't seem that you could get waterpark passes without hoppers if you are booking a package? We are staying at POP.

Thanks again

 

[freediverdude]

As with a lot of things, the answer is "it depends". Are you going to spend 4 hours in line to meet Anna and Elsa? Are you going to wait in a 2 hour standby line to see Soarin' and fastpassing Test Track and Mission: Space? Do you want to do things like seeing all of the Living Seas pavilion including Turtle Talk? Some of the things really suck away your time, like meet and greets, or looking at some of the more in-depth displays. It depends on how much you want to see. If you want to see the major highlights, eat, and watch fireworks, then one day is fine. If you want to see everything, then you'll need at least 2 days.