Struggling to understand EPCOT

[maranara]

@maranara - the first day we were at Epcot, the crowds felt light. We did A+E right after breakfast and then went straight to Test Track. The line said 15 minutes, but it was only 5-10. When we got off, the line was still only 15 minutes so we went again. As soon as we tapped our third FP, we were able to get another TT, and after we rode that we got another FP for it later in the day.

Thanks! That fills me with hope that we'll be able to ride more than once!

 

[alex9179]

Take a look at this for help in planning.
http://www.easywdw.com/reports13/ep_cheatsheet_summer16_full.pdf

We love EPCOT. We have a morning and 3 evenings planned around it for our next vacation. My kids really enjoy the museum areas and shows in WS. It's impossible to fit everything into a day so pick what you think your family would enjoy and keep an open mind. I would never have imagined that 2 of my kids have Carousel of Progress in MK on their must-do list so don't discount a ride, or park, based on someone else's opinion.

 

[disneysteve]

It's also a very big park

You've gotten plenty of good answers. I would also emphasize this comment. Epcot is huge compared to the other parks. Things are very spread out. It's a substantial walk just to get from one side of Future World (Test Track, Mission:Space, etc.) to the other side (The Land, Nemo, etc.). The path around World Showcase is about 1.2 miles I believe and that doesn't count all of the walking within each country pavilion.

We love pretty much everything about Epcot and it's definitely a 2-day park. We can't cover it all in one day without exhausting ourselves and not really enjoying it all.

One thing to understand about World Showcase is that it's really the only place in Disney World that you can find truly unique shopping. The items for sale in the various countries can't be found anywhere else on property. It isn't unusual for us to spend a half-hour just in Mitsukoshi, the store in the Japan pavilion.

Several attractions in Epcot are also of a longer duration than a typical theme park attraction. The American Adventure show is almost 30 minutes long plus if you're there at the right time, Voices of Liberty performs a pre-show in the lobby. Ellen's Energy Adventure is a 45-minute show. The movies in China and France are about 20 minutes each. Living with the Land is about 15 minutes long. And those times don't include the wait time before the shows/rides. Add it all up and it becomes a lot easier to understand how a day gets filled up pretty easily.

 

[DVCcurious]

If you want rides, skip EPCOT. But if you want something other than rides EPCOT is great. Magic Kingdom is all about rides and meet and greets and nothing else. There are no good restaurants at MK and you can't just wander around looking at things. You either have to be riding or in line for a ride when you're at MK. EPCOT and Animal Kingdom are much more "wander around, appreciate the architecture, find something interesting and go check it out" parks.

 

[angryduck71]

Since my son was 5 and it was Kimpossible (now Agent P), THAT's been my son's favorite thing to do in all of Disney. We do all of them in all countries in one day. Takes the whole day.

 

[Parker Clan]

We spend days in Epcot. It is actually one of my fave parks, which is funny bc as a child on visits to the World with my parents they never took us there. My first Epcot visit was in August of 2011 and I fell in love! We love Soarin, Test Track, and Spaceship Earth. We snack thru the world-- Germany, France, Italy to name a few.. We enjoyed the shows in America and Canada. We explore every little bit of each and every country. Illuminations is my favorite fireworks show!
We find on every trip we are always discovering something new to see, eat or do!

 

[hakepb]

Your FP selections are solid. You should definitely try to see Soarin. You can try doing it at Rope Drop or employing some strategy you find on the boards, but you can just do it the old fashioned way by getting on the standby line. Ditto for Frozen Ever After.

Probably like most people, we work our way through Future World then head into the Worldcase. Beyond the FPs you have and Soarin, you also have Mission Space, which I believe your older child can do. There are two attractions in the Imagination pavilion, one on short films and the other is a ride with a "Figment" of your imagination. You have two attractions in the Seas pavilion, Nemo and Crush Turtle Talk, which is adorable. My family has spent hours in aquarium part of the Seas after doing these two things.

Also in FW are Living with the Land, which is in the same building as Soarin, and Ellen's Energy Adventure, which I like to do in the late afternoon so I can take a rest.

Several of the World Showcase pavilions have movies or rides. Mexico and Norway have boat rides (Frozen Ever After), and China, France and Canada have movies. The American Adventure has a movie with animatrons. You can also find entertainment in each country that will be listed in your times guide.

Honestly, everything I've listed more than fills a day between walking between things, actually doing them, snack breaks, and looking at all the decor and exhibits. My family has never found it boring no matter how old the kids were.

Take some time to explore whatever strikes your children's fancy. That could be the aquarium. Or it could be the exhibits inside Mexico or China. They may be fascinated by one of the gardens in Japan, France or the UK. There's a great train display in Germany. And the department store in Japan is great (Pokemon).

Just go and enjoy. It's an amazing place with plenty to do, see and experience for all ages.

To a DL vet, Soarin is not as essential, since there is also Soarin in DCA. The WDW queue is different, and now there is an EPCOT end, but it's otherwise the same.

 

[DOOM1001]

Epcot and MK are probably tied for my favorite park but I spend so much more time in Epcot it truly feels like I live there,I know every little nook and cranny of the place.This is probably due to how often I visit during both Food and Wine and Flower and Garden to see the concerts,eat at the booths and see the exhibits.I also would have to put Illuminations as my favorite nighttime show,Wishes is great as are the Star Wars fireworks but something about Illuminations,I can see it hundreds of times and I just don't get tired of it.I will add that there does have to be some new replacements to Ellen's Energy and Imagination,a new country or two is also something people have been clamoring for for a long time.

 

[Mollygirl21]

Epcot is my DH's favourite park by far and I love it too. Our best experience there on our last trip was coming across the drummers in Japan - amazing! I think the street performers in various countries are some of the most underrated experiences at Disney.

 

[disneymom0104]

We have spent a lot of time on both coasts. One of the things I always miss when we are at DL is Epcot It is one of my entire family's favorite parks, but it is so much more than just the rides. We love walking around and exploring the countries. The Agent P thing is super fun. We have taken our first 2 kids there since they were 2 and 5, they are now 12 and 14 and they still love it. We go to WDW for 10 days each time and we spend at least 3-3.5 days at Epcot.

 

[BeerMe]

The sad part of this is that my favorite experiences in Epcot no longer exist - Off Kilter, Tapestry of Nations, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Body Wars, etc, stc.........

 

[TristiK]

We were there past June and we really loved Epcot - even my kids! (ages 4 and 7) We spent the morning in Future World - met Joy, Sadness and Baymax, then hit up the Character Spot. Unfortunately, my kids aren't into thrill rides so we skipped TT and Soarin', but we did Nemo, Crush, and Spaceship Earth. I really wanted to do Living with the Land, but we ended up having to book it over to the WS to meet Belle. I was expecting my kids to dislike WS, but they loved it. They really enjoyed exploring the pavilions (and meeting characters where they could) and the loved getting their Duffys signed/stamped at each Kid Cot station. We only had one day there this time, but have decided to up it to 2 days on the next trip because there was still a bunch of stuff in Future World we didn't have time for, and I didn't feel like we got to explore each pavilion as much as we wanted.

 

[soniam]

If you are going during the spring or fall, then you might be able to enjoy the Flower & Garden or Food & Wine festivals. There are great demonstrations, although probably more adult oriented, and really good food and drinks booths. The flowers and special play areas during Flower & Garden are really nice too. I would suggest only doing one or none of the World Showcase films. I loved them as a kid, not too long after Epcot opened, but they are pretty dated now and very poor visual quality. Plus, they ruined the one in Canada by adding cheesy acting from Martin Short. The pavilions are still awesome though. It's also the only park in WDW where the Monorail actually goes partly through the park. The Chinese acrobats are definitely worth seeing, and possibly the drummers in Japan too.

 

[Westcoastwild]

So I enjoy ethnic neighborhoods and import stores...world show case is fun to wander around in but I really don't think the shopping was all that special. Japan was really the only one that had stuff I really haven't seen elsewhere, not even in SF. Illuminations is probably the best fireworks show. The future world is good for escaping the sun.

So all said and done, I spent 20 percent of my time in Epcot in attraction lines, 20 % for exploring the countries and watching illuminations, and 60% walking to and from France for yet another grand Marnier orange slush yes, that's how I mostly used my park hopper, and I'm not sorry!

 

[soniam]

Face it. Epcot is about the drinking. It's the most "family" friendly park IMHO You can walk around with a really great margarita from La Cava or a frozen slush from France, while your children are enthralled in helping Agent P. It's the best of both worlds for parents and kids. The food is good too. Parents can get more interesting cuisine, while picky kids can usually get their mac n cheese or chicken nugget fix.

 

[SplashMo]

We have spent 4 days at Epcot with our kids and they loved it. We mostly skip Future World except for the two main rides TT and SOARIN. Much of the rest of Future World is simply outdated.

A nice Dinner and Illuminations one night.

 

[dreiwhit]

On our trip in March, we spent one day at Epcot and realized that was way to short of a time to enjoy Epcot. On our next trip, we're spending two days.

What we do is to ride rides in the morning, eat lunch, and then spend the rest of the time in the World Showcase.

 

[disneysteve]

I really don't think the shopping was all that special. Japan was really the only one that had stuff I really haven't seen elsewhere

It might be stuff you can find elsewhere in the US but not anywhere else in Disney World. Plus it's all in one place which I think makes for a very unique shopping experience. Even if you don't buy a thing, we find it interesting to browse clothing, food items, housewares, and such from all different countries.

 

[emij]

Thank you so much for all the replies! (And for not judging my lack of understanding!) I appreciate the feedback and suggestions. Sounds like it will be a good day for ME (the trip planner) to take a break from my structured touring mindset, lol.

How does one sign up for the Agent P?

 

[disneysteve]

How does one sign up for the Agent P?

There is a booth on the left side of the walkway as you head from Future World to World Showcase. I think there's also a spot to sign up in World Showcase but I'm not positive where it is.