Thoughts on skipping Epcot?

Scooter2376

Mouseketeer
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
We are going to WDW for 6 days with our six-year-old son in March 2018. We did our first trip to WDW in January 2017 and went to DL in summer 2016. During our January trip, we spent a couple of hours at Epcot and did Test Track, The Seas with Nemo, and Soarin' (which we had also ridden at DL). We also park hopped and did a couple of World Showcase dinners while we were there in January.

For our March trip, I am considering skipping Epcot altogether. We didn't spend much time there last time, but there is nothing there that we are dying to do again or feel like we missed out on last time. DS isn't into Frozen, for example. OTOH, there are a ton of attractions at AK and MK that we would like to do multiple times on our next trip. But I feel like we might be missing out if we skip Epcot altogether.

What do you think? Do other people with little kids skip Epcot? Am I not giving it enough of a chance? Is there something there that you think I shouldn't miss?
 
With 6 days I would spend 2 at MK, 2 at AK, 1 at HS, and 1 at EP.

Can you splurge for park hoppers?

My family loves Epcot, my 8yo and 6yos say they would be mad at me if I made them skip it.
 
A perfect example of "the paradox of choice" which posits that sometimes, the more choices you give someone, the more stressed they become. If you follow this board long enough, you might get the sense that going to WDW is a mission, and the mission is to do everything. And if you can't, won't or choose not to do everything, then there is something wrong with you. We need to dispel that notion. Disney gives us choices. We need only do what we truly enjoy without regret and without FOMO. (Fear of Missing Out). Imagine that you are at a restaurant that has a dessert buffet. You can choose whatever you want and as much as you want. There is carrot cake, and chocolate cake and vanilla pudding and strawberry shortcake and fresh fruit, and cheesecake. You have been before and tried the carrot cake. It was OK, but did not excite you. You are planning on going back to the restaurant, and before you do, you decide to check out a chat board where people discuss this restaurant all the time. Would you post a question: "I am going back to the restaurant. Last time I had some carrot cake but didn't love it. This time I think I will zero in on the chocolate cake. Does anyone think I will be missing out if I don't also have some carrot cake?" You would never think to ask that question. You would just eat what you like. Think of a trip to WDW in the same way. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for you to ever do anything that does not excite you. There are lots of choices, but no requirement that every guest do every single thing. Skip Epcot. Perhaps in the future, you will have a greater desire to go again. But for now, stick with what your heart tells you that you want to do.
 
I could never skip experiencing World Showcase and the dining opportunities. Not to mention Flower & Garden may be on depending on when in March you're going.

If the idea of World Showcase doesn't excite you, you can just hit a few rides and skip the rest. If the rides there don't interest you; then skip it :-)
 


Epcot is definitely my least favorite park. I know a lot of people love it but I feel like there aren't enough rides and the world showcase doesn't interest me either (too much focus on eating/drinking - not my thing). Since you've already been and know what's there, I wouldn't hesitate to skip it this trip and spend more time enjoying the other parks.
 
We just went the end of August. And we’re going back at Thanksgiving for 3 nights. We’re skipping Epcot, unless we just run in for caramel pop corn from Germany. My daughter will turn 5 the beginning of Nov and she enjoyed more of the stuff at HS when we were there in August.

I think it’s ok to skip stuff. If it works for your family, then why not? I know another family may not want to skip. But if it’s something you think will work for your family, then do it.
 
I like the back half of Epcot - but only 2 of the 4 of us feel that way. When I go with my husband and younger daughter (non World Showcase people), they both insist on going to Epcot. She only wants to ride Frozen and buy some caramel in Germany. He wants to do Soaring, Test Track and Mission Space. That's it for the two of them. So - I haul myself over there to ride Frozen and eat some caramel with my daughter. I wish they would agree to skip it. To me ,the small payout that we get isn't worth going all of the way over there.

A couple of trips ago my older daughter and I skipped Hollywood Studios. It was a freeing event. We didn't go and didn't miss it at all. We instead spent the extra day at the Flower and Garden Show.

Skip it until you start to miss it. Then revisit it.
 


Do what you want to do. If you don't think it's worth it, don't do it. My next trip in March, I'm planning to skip HS and EP altogether. I don't particularly care for any of the rides at EP and I don't like the World Showcase. At HS, the only ride that doesn't mess me up even a little bit is RNRC now that GMR is gone and I don't care for the shows; I'm not going to a park just for one ride. So I'm just doing MK and AK because there's a lot I like at both parks. Just do what suits your family and don't think you are missing out or "doing it wrong" because of it.
 
If it wasn't for Food and Wine or Flower and Garden I'd skip Epcot.

Hopefully I'll change my mind with all the "improvements" they are making.
 
I never skip EPCOT but usually skip HS.

Not enough to do there right now. Its a half day park TOPS. Only reason it can be longer is the LONG WAITS on the few rides there.
 
I usually find when I have that feeling about any park... "been there, done that, not sure how we'll fill our day, kids are tired of it".... we end up having the most random, unexpected, AWESOME time. This is especially true at Epcot. DS has been 4-7 in our travels and each time we seem to find ourselves in a new, fun adventure... whether it be getting passports stamped, coloring Duffy bear, matching F&W stickers to their countries/booths, collecting pressed pennies, riding rides, etc, etc. I dare say some of the stuff is even quasi-educational now that he's older/understands the different countries.

DS7 was unexpectedly "all in" on the "Finding Remy" map during F&W back in September...what was really going to be a couple of hours in Epcot suddenly turned into six!

A few weeks ago we tried the "Pick a Pearl" thing in Japan for the first time. Kids were enthralled!

I think Epcot takes a little timing and a little luck when kiddos are involved - and not every trip is candy canes and lollipops - but it's a can't miss park for us.
 
Parks are a personal preference. I was just on a 9 day trip and hit Epcot every day. I still didn't see and do everything I wanted and wished I had more Epcot time.

To me, Epcot has such great atmosphere especially at night. Just hanging there and taking in the sights and sounds is so enjoyable to me. :)
 
It sounds like you don't have hoppers. If that's the case and you're just not "feeling it" with Epcot, don't go. Sounds like that's what would work best for your family. If, however, you do have hoppers, I'd go for a 1/2 day, and maybe try a couple new things, like Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, meet some characters...
 
Do other people with little kids skip Epcot? Am I not giving it enough of a chance? Is there something there that you think I shouldn't miss?

Of course if you aren't excited about it, then it's fine to skip it! I was wavering on our upcoming trip in May with 4 grandkids ages 13 mos. through 5 1/2. In the end, after doing a lot of reading here and other places, we actually have 2 days planned for Epcot. We have 8 days of tickets and none of the days will be dawn-night. So it's really 2 partial days. We will be there during the Flower and Garden Festival.

Reading this article from Build A Better Mousetrap gave me some positive things to consider about Epcot with younger kids and helped me decide on priorities at Epcot. http://www.buildabettermousetrip.com/epcot-with-young-children/
 
We are DVC at the Beach Club, so needless to say, we LOVE Epcot, and so do our 5 and 7 year olds. You should most definitely do what you love, but we really enjoy KidCot and all the fun of the World Showcase. Our girls do too. The park will be really beautiful during flower and garden, and we especially loved the Easter egg hunt last year (like a scavenger hunt).
 
If you aren't feeling it and don't have park hoppers, then skipping it might be a good idea.

We did EPCOT twice last trip and my youngest was 7. He LOVED it - but my kids are pretty easy going and love almost everything. Here's what he loved:

Test Track
Mission Space
Soarin'
Picking out an oyster for Grandma (pick a pearl in Japan)
Shopping for Pokemon in the Japan store
Spaceship Earth
Turtle Talk with Crush
Eating in Coral Reef (aquarium restaurant)
Sum of All Thrills (not there anymore, but he loved it - I wish they would bring that back)!
 
We were there two years ago in March. Epcot had an egg hunt, sounds like pp about finding Remy? She was eight and loved searching for the eggs throughout the WS (I believe you matched the egg with the country). You did need to purchase a map for the hunt for a small price, but you also got a 'prize' when you turned it in.
 
Thanks so much for all the food for thought. If we decide not to do Epcot, it will be without guilt.

We did Park Hoppers in January and are on the fence about them for this trip because we felt like we were rushing around to take full advantage of them last time. We would do EMH at one park and then when it started to get crowded run to use FPs at a second park. We thought that maybe doing only one park a day and building in more resort time would make things feel more relaxed this time around.

I know you can add the Hopper option once you’re at WDW. Can you add them for just the remaining days of your trip or does it have to be for the entire length of our tickets?

As you can probably tell, Disney brings out the overplanner in me. I have to remind myself that it’s okay not to try to pack in every single thing.
 
DH, DD10 and I all pick Epcot as our favorite park, and it has been since our first visit in 2014 when DD was 7. We like all the rides, and there are some (SSE and LWTL) that we like to do multiple times. We like to watch several of the movies/shows, and DD loved getting her passport written on in each country. HOWEVER, it's OUR favorite, and it's okay if you didn't find much to enjoy there. There is so much to do at Disney, you've got to just do what YOU want to do and not have FOMO and end up at a park you prefer less.
 
You should go with your gut and you know your family best.

We will have 5 day tickets on our next trip. No hopping this time. 3 MK, 1 Epcot, 1 DAK. Even though HS has lots of shows for my toddlers (they’ll be almost 2 and 3 on our next one) we are skipping it because we know we’d rather have a 3rd day at MK. Don’t want to dedicate a whole day to HS right now.

We love Epcot and couldn’t imagine a trip without it. Similarly, others couldn’t imagine a trip without HS. On our trip in Jan. 2015 (my DD’s first) we wished we brought DD back to MK one more time instead of doing HS.

Go with your gut!
 

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