Plan My Epcot Day!

[andiraye]

What rides must we do and what rides can we skip during our one day in Epcot? We are a group of 6 -- me (39), DH (44), DS7, DS4.5, my mom (65) and my dad (72). I am an energizer bunny, my DH works out 5 days a week, my kids have lots of stamina and walk everywhere in real life (and we'll have a stroller in case they conk out), my mom is in good shape for her age, but my dad loses steam (or patience) pretty easily. He's happy to sit stuff out, though. My kids have never been to Epcot and none of the grownups have been in at least 15 years.

Right now, Soarin, Test Track, Spaceship Earth and Mission Space (Green) are on the must-do list.

 

[GWhitten98]

Ride Wise that is the headliners...We also love Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush and Living with the Land. If you only have one day and want to get both Soaring and Test track in you better be there at rope drop or willing to have a long wait. Epcot future world can be done by "late" lunch. World showcase can be a little and much as you want to see. We can easily make a full day 11am to 9pm in world showcase.

 

[disneywarriorprincess]

How about the Donald duck boat ride in Mexico? It moves slowly and is nice and colorful with some funny scenes and songs. Just a warning they have changed test track and i don't like it all but you may have a different opinion. Watch some test track ride videos. Also finding nemo and friends is a fun ride that resembles the voyage of the little mermaid ride in that you ride in a clam.

 

[andiraye]

Thank you! Good suggestions! One more thing to add -- my kids don't need to be restricted to tame rides. My 7YO's favorite is BTMM and my 4YO's favorite is Star Tours.

 

[kam1011]

Like a PP said, you can easily go on every ride by lunchtime. FP either Soarin or Test Track and Rope Drop the other. The other rides are usually walk on. Ellen's Energy Adventure is like 40 minutes long, so just be prepared for that if you go for it. My kids really like Journey into Imagination, Nemo, and Mexico in addition to the headliners.

 

[kam1011]

Like a PP said, you can easily go on every ride by lunchtime. FP either Soarin or Test Track and Rope Drop the other. The other rides are usually walk on. Ellen's Energy Adventure is like 40 minutes long, so just be prepared for that if you go for it. My kids really like Journey into Imagination, Nemo, and Mexico in addition to the headliners.

 

[kam1011]

Like a PP said, you can easily go on every ride by lunchtime. FP either Soarin or Test Track and Rope Drop the other. The other rides are usually walk on. Ellen's Energy Adventure is like 40 minutes long, so just be prepared for that if you go for it. My kids really like Journey into Imagination, Nemo, and Mexico in addition to the headliners.

 

[kam1011]

Like a PP said, you can easily go on every ride by lunchtime. FP either Soarin or Test Track and Rope Drop the other. The other rides are usually walk on. Ellen's Energy Adventure is like 40 minutes long, so just be prepared for that if you go for it. My kids really like Journey into Imagination, Nemo, and Mexico in addition to the headliners.

 

[juliekzp]

Suggested order:

Test Track (be at rope drop 30 minutes before park opening)
Mission Space
Sum of All Thrills
Soarin (FP 11:00-12:00, try to get there on the earlier side, because it can still take awhile, and the walk to your lunch restaurant could be 15 minutes, depending)
Lunch in a World Showcase restaurant (12:30)
Nemo (FP 2:00-3:00)
Turtle Talk
Spaceship Earth (FP 3:00-4:00)

Could skip Sum of All Thrills if it line is too long (or switch order with Mission Space, depending on which line is building faster after TT). If you have time, Mexico ride while up in the World Showcase or Figment while on your way back down to Nemo. If your dad needs a break, he can peel off after lunch and sit somewhere in World Showcase, which can be quite pleasant.

 

[juliekzp]

Could also do a FP for Mission Space (10:00-11:00) instead of Nemo, and just skip Nemo if the line is long. If you do a FP for Mission Space, then do Sum of all Thrills right after TT.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

If you're not morning people, the lines in Future World can get pretty short later in the day as the crowd transitions to the World Showcase.

For example, we found a 10 minute wait for Test Track (regular line, not single rider) just before 8 pm a few weeks ago. The posted wait was 50 minutes.

 

[Accident]

Once the world showcase in the back opens, most of the rides at the front of epcot (main entrance) will become a walk on. Soarin and Test track are the only ones that never get a shorter line. Ellen's energy is a 40 minute nap for parents, you can completely skip that and miss nothing.

I would suggest a plan b and c for epcot. My daughter hates epcot to the point that we have to do it over several days, using both entrances with a specific get in and out fast plan. For us we aim more for resturants she picked, use both entrances to get to where we're going quick and if she doesn't decide to ride something on the way out, it's a disaster. She's finally the age that I can solo epcot and it's her choice if she tags along now.

 

[Jennytoon]

One thing to consider when making your plan -- many of the rides in FW have pavilions after them where there are activities (think hands-on science / children's museum -- not quite right but will give you a good idea). I don't know what your overall time constraints are, but personally I would not make a plan to rush from ride-to-ride because my children would kill me if we skipped all the stuff in the pavilions. The ones after Mission Space and Spaceship Earth are their favorites, they never spend as much time in the one after Figment and I don't know about Test Track because in the past it has been down every time we went to ride. So unless you know that your kids won't be interested I would say your options are

1) Plan to go from ride to ride and then do a bunch of criss-crossing to get back to the pavilions
2) Plan to have time in the pavilions after each ride
3) Plan to have grumpy kids.

ETA: I didn't mention the Seas because somehow I think of it differently as everyone always talks about it as part of the attractions and seems to know about it more in advance as a place that will take up time. But my kids do like that one too.

 

[wisblue]

To the OP, what are the dates of your visit?

To state the obvious, overall crowd size will make a big difference in how lines will build up at some of these attractions. But, with 3 FPs and a good plan, it should be very easy to do all of the attractions in Future World once each, including some time to explore the exhibits after some of the rides. If you want to do Sum of All Thrills you should probably go there right after TT because the line there builds quickly because of its low capacity.

Also, do you plan to spend time in the World Showcase? If you go there shortly after it opens and spend a few hours, you can do some of the secondary attractions in Future World with short waits around 5 PM.

 

[andiraye]

To the OP, what are the dates of your visit?

To state the obvious, overall crowd size will make a big difference in how lines will build up at some of these attractions. But, with 3 FPs and a good plan, it should be very easy to do all of the attractions in Future World once each, including some time to explore the exhibits after some of the rides. If you want to do Sum of All Thrills you should probably go there right after TT because the line there builds quickly because of its low capacity.

Also, do you plan to spend time in the World Showcase? If you go there shortly after it opens and spend a few hours, you can do some of the secondary attractions in Future World with short waits around 5 PM.

We are going first week of September. Crowds are anticipated to be low (2-3 on touring plans). I like the idea of doing headliners in the morning, then WS, then more rides in the afternoon. I will work on a plan with that in mind!

My only reservation on that is whether it is better to do rides or WS during the heat of the day. Thoughts on that?

 

[wisblue]

World Showcase can be brutal in the middle of the afternoon, but there are opportunities to cool off by seeing some of the movies, the American Adventure, and the short boat ride in Mexico.

One way to break up the day would be to do things in Future World for 2 hours or so until WS opens, then spend a little time in WS. If you are getting too hot, you can take one of the Friendship Boats back toward Future World and spend some more time there with some of the indoor attractions. If I was going to do that I would get my FPs (or at least a couple of them) for mid to late afternoon (like 2-5). In addition to using the FPs you could do a few things in FW with shorter waits and then (if you're so inclined) go back to WS in the evening. Mid afternoon would also be a good time to enjoy some of the interactive areas at the end of the rides. You can get at any of those without going through the ride by entering through the exit area. If in doubt, just ask a CM where to go.

In early September it should be very easy to do every one of the FW attractions with short waits. If you start the day at TT and have FPs for Soarin and Spaceship Earth and one other thing you will be well on your way.