Oops, just ran into a problem with itinerary!

[MrsMud]

On Sat. Oct. 11th we are planning on doing AK until afternoon, then heading to Epcot at night for TT, MS, HISTA and Illuminations. I just realized that Future World closes at 7, and Illuminations isn't until 9. My family really isn't into the World Showcase; what can we do to fill in those 2 hours? If I don't have enough to keep them busy they will want to leave before 9, and I DON'T want to miss Illuminations! Please help!

 

[holcomb-mania]

Parts of Future World are open after 7pm. I think it includes MS, TT, and Innoventions. IIRC TourGuide Mike's site may have this information (re park hrs) for free. I hope I am right, cuz I'm counting on it, too.

 

[MrsMud]

holcomb,
Oh, I hope you're right! Thanks! Do you have the link for the website?

 

[Jenn]

Why don't you plan dinner for 7pm? Even if you don't enjoy walking around WS, the restaurants are great.

 

[MrsMud]

Why don't you plan dinner for 7pm? Even if you don't enjoy walking around WS, the restaurants are great.

That's a definite possibility, although I figured we would have dinner before heading to Epcot. We eat a large buffet breakfast in our hotel and then usually just snack at the parks until dinner, so I think we may be ready for dinner well before 7. Maybe a nice dessert somewhere could pass the time. I wonder if my kids (5 and 7) would enjoy Maelstrom? I've never been on it, myself.

 

[holcomb-mania]

I'm not good with the codes, but you should be able to Google tourguidemike.com or I think I even tried "epcot future world hours" once and had success. It's been a while.

Jenn had a good idea with dinner. You could even go over to Beaches & Cream or the Boardwalk and walk back for Illuminations.

 

[mcnuss]

I think going over to the Boardwalk is a great idea. It's such a nice walk.

Also, sometimes the characters are floating around WS in the early evening, and depending on crowds, you can have a lot of interaction. My DD, then 5, got to spend about 15-20 minutes in France with Belle & Cinderella - they took her into the store there and the three of them played with perfume and makeup! It was amazing, and of course, I did not have the camcorder. Also, there is the little playground that can be a lot of fun (near Japan?). And the train set can keep my DD occupied for a long time. I could literally sit down and read a book while she and DH explore the train and the gardens around it. Very nice...

FYI -- My DD hates Maelstrom, she was 7 for her one & only trip on it. Too dark & creepy. DH and I loved it though!

 

[MrsMud]

Why don't you plan dinner for 7pm? Even if you don't enjoy walking around WS, the restaurants are great.

Wow, I have to thank you for bringing this up. I got to thinking about where we might want to eat at Epcot, and I had the greatest idea! We will be there Oct. 11, and our 10 year anniversary is the 23rd. I called today and got PS at the Garden Grill... with the rehitching ceremony! The only time I could get was 6:40, though. I think we'll show up right at that time, and hopefully we WILL have to wait a while to be seated. What a great end to our vacation this will be. I'm so excited! Thanks.

 

[WDWAurora]

If you want front row at Illuminations, with a bench, 7pm is when you have to sit down. In March, we sat down at 6:45 and had people staring us down for our bench almost immediately.

 

[Planogirl]

One question. Does Test Track still run out of FastPasses earlier in the day? I don't know about Mission Space but I know that Test Track used to at least.

The rehitching ceremony sounds like a great idea. Have you been to World Showcase at night? There's generally a lot of entertainment to enjoy at that time.

 

[mcnuss]

Originally posted by WDWAurora
If you want front row at Illuminations, with a bench, 7pm is when you have to sit down. In March, we sat down at 6:45 and had people staring us down for our bench almost immediately.

Am I understanding correctly that you sat on a bench for 2 hours waiting for Illuminations?

 

[WDWAurora]

Yep. Over 2 hours in March. With my grandmothers knee, she has no choice but to sit on a bench, and can't stand for long periods either (she'd never last standing the whole show) so it's worth it for us. I don't really mind. We get everything we want to do done by that time of day anyway, so we sit, have dessert, take turns going to the bathroom, or look in stores, etc. In March we took my boyfriend for his first time. This is a 21 year old college senior, keep in mind...And he wasn't thrilled about doing it...but then, during the show, he leaned over and whispered, "thank you for this, it's really magical, this is my magic moment." It was really sweet. Earlier, when I'd been asking him for his most magical moment, he was saying he didn't have one, thought I was a little nuts...That was when he "got" Disney.