Value of Spaceship Earth FP?

[PinkBudgie]

Is a Spaceship Earth FP at 1:14pm of any value? Going in mid June. If it is useless all day, I may as well move it earlier. I don't know what lines are like there at different times.

I moved TT up to 9:05am so that we wouldn't feel we have to rush to it when we walked through the gates. We've never been so I know we'll need time to gawk and stand in the middle of the walkway while we read our map.

 

[DOOM1001]

Spaceship Earth gets its longest lines early in the day as people come into the park,by the afternoon the lines become non existent and you can walk right into the ride.Even in the morning the waits are usually not too bad when compared to a Soarin or Test Track.Epcot in my opinion is the toughest park for FP+ as you have to decide between Test Track and Soarin for your first 3 FP+.Many of the other rides have never needed a FP,maybe Mission Space.I think the best game plan in Epcot is to get your FP+ picks early so after you use your 3rd you can go to a kiosk to get a 4th FP+ for whatever ride you opted not to get a FP+ for,Test Track or Soarin.

 

[mesaboy2]

Is a Spaceship Earth FP at 1:14pm of any value? Going in mid June. If it is useless all day, I may as well move it earlier. I don't know what lines are like there at different times.

I moved TT up to 9:05am so that we wouldn't feel we have to rush to it when we walked through the gates. We've never been so I know we'll need time to gawk and stand in the middle of the walkway while we read our map.

See the green link in my signature.

I believe I have it as a C (low) priority currently, but I may bump it up to a B (medium). I think standby lines have lengthened enough since FP was introduced to it to warrant a B, even later in the day when lines were traditionally nonexistent.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Ok, thank you both. For me TT FP was a no brainer because we've been on Soarin a zillion times at DCA. This will be our first ride at WDW so I wanted it to be something different. Maybe I'll move Spaceship Earth to earlier and leave Mission for 1:30.

 

[CWdreamer]

We used FP+ for Spaceship Earth at 2:20pm in early May and were glad that we did. We don't mind standing in line, but the standby line was 45 minutes and we walked right on with our FP+.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We used FP+ for Spaceship Earth at 2:20pm in early May and were glad that we did. We don't mind standing in line, but the standby line was 45 minutes and we walked right on with our FP+.

Ok, that's good to know. I just moved Spaceship Earth to 10:10 because I'm anxious to see it. We then have an 11:30 ADR and hope our stomachs have digested food well enough by 1:30 to go on Mission. I'd move it earlier but not sure about going on it right after eating a big meal.

 

[JennyMP03]

Heh, OP, I had the same thought with scheduling Mission Space (orange) after our 9:45 ADR breakfast! I have our MS FP+ set for around 1, I think. I've been on it twice, and while it was very intense, I never felt queasy from it.

I also selected Spaceship Earth as my third FP+. Based on easywdw, the afternoon wait times for June crowd levels seems to reach at least 30 minutes.

 

[KittyKat1978]

I used a FP+ at Spaceship Earth every time I rode it. I went early May and have never seen lines that long before for Spaceship Earth.

Same with Figment. At one point there was a 35 minute wait. I have never waited longer that 2-3 minutes for Figment before.

I feel that the lines have definitely increased since FP+ has come in for rides that did not have a FP before.

Or I guess the other possibility is that there were a lot more people in the parks this May?

This is on my observation on the 1st week of May last year to the 1st week of May this year.

 

[SRUAlmn]

We were having this same debate. We always travel in the summer, and know that SE is walk on after around 1 or 2. We considered booking it early as a 'throwaway' and hoping to get a fourth to use on Soarin or Test Track, but I just see it as being highly unlikely that either of those will have same day availability in the busy summer months. We aren't going until mid-July, so we'll be able to get a little summer feedback before we make a final decision!

 

[wareagle57]

Well it's 1:00 now and the wait is 35 minutes. I would consider that valuable. I have mine for Soarin, MS:O and SE. The only other things I'm planning to do that day are Test Track single rider and Maelstrom when it opens at 11. I considered the Nemo ride but I'll probably skip it. I've never done Sum of all Thrills is it any good? I don't believe you can get a fastpass for that though.

 

[KimBean]

Is a Spaceship Earth FP at 1:14pm of any value? Going in mid June. If it is useless all day, I may as well move it earlier. I don't know what lines are like there at different times.

I moved TT up to 9:05am so that we wouldn't feel we have to rush to it when we walked through the gates. We've never been so I know we'll need time to gawk and stand in the middle of the walkway while we read our map.

I agree with a PP that said needed in morning but not in afternoon. However, how do you tour Epcot?? We always finish FW in morning then head over to WS and stay until illuminations. I would not want to walk all the way back to ride SE in the afternoon. But, if you will be eating dinner in FW or leaving before IL then you could just catch it then.

 

[KimBean]

Well it's 1:00 now and the wait is 35 minutes. I would consider that valuable. I have mine for Soarin, MS:O and SE. The only other things I'm planning to do that day are Test Track single rider and Maelstrom when it opens at 11. I considered the Nemo ride but I'll probably skip it. I've never done Sum of all Thrills is it any good? I don't believe you can get a fastpass for that though.

Nemo is usually walk on or VERY minimal wait time. It's a pretty constant loader.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Well it's 1:00 now and the wait is 35 minutes. I would consider that valuable. I have mine for Soarin, MS:O and SE. The only other things I'm planning to do that day are Test Track single rider and Maelstrom when it opens at 11. I considered the Nemo ride but I'll probably skip it. I've never done Sum of all Thrills is it any good? I don't believe you can get a fastpass for that though.

See, that's my worry. I know in the past SE hasn't had lines in the late afternoon and after, but now with FP+ that might all change? It's so hard to "plan" for.

As for Sum of all Thrills. The wait is always REALLY long (in our experience.) I wish it had a FP because my husband loves it, but we don't always get to it because it takes up so much time, and it's hours aren't long enough to find the time to do it.

 

[mesaboy2]

See, that's my worry. I know in the past SE hasn't had lines in the late afternoon and after, but now with FP+ that might all change? It's so hard to "plan" for.

As for Sum of all Thrills. The wait is always REALLY long (in our experience.) I wish it had a FP because my husband loves it, but we don't always get to it because it takes up so much time, and it's hours aren't long enough to find the time to do it.

In my estimation, SSE has changed and I have elevated it to a B status that applies all day long.

 

[SRUAlmn]

In my estimation, SSE has changed and I have elevated it to a B status that applies all day long.

Thank you! I had made a spreadsheet with your initial recommendations, so I still had it listed as a C. We already booked a FP+ for it since there really aren't many options in Epcot, so I'm glad we did

 

[Sandy Fisher]

For years, we left Spaceship Earth go until we were pretty much on our way out of the park. Never stood in line more than 5 minutes or so (we NEVER went at the busiest times of year).
This year (first week of May, crowd level 5 predicted) we were heading out of Epcot and got in line for Spaceship Earth. The line wiggled around both sides and I think the wait was supposed to be 30 minutes. We stayed in line because we were leaving the next morning and wanted to ride it again.
I have to say it was FP+ that made the difference. Have nothing else to base it on. After over almost 30 years (our first trip that included Epcot was 1985) that was a new experience for me.
I wonder........

 

[PinkBudgie]

So the other tier 2 choices are still less needed than Spaceship Earth, correct?
I just changed our Nemo FP on our 2nd Epcot day to Spaceship Earth also. Would a Spaceship Earth FP be better than a Nemo or Imagination FP? I chose Maelstrom as our tier 1 choice over Test Track on our 2nd day. Wondering if I should change it to TT. But then I'll end up with the same FP choices as our first day. I do want to make sure we see different things.

If we had been before, I'd know what I liked best. But I don't know.

 

[mesaboy2]

So the other tier 2 choices are still less needed than Spaceship Earth, correct?
I just changed our Nemo FP on our 2nd Epcot day to Spaceship Earth also. Would a Spaceship Earth FP be better than a Nemo or Imagination FP? I chose Maelstrom as our tier 1 choice over Test Track on our 2nd day. Wondering if I should change it to TT. But then I'll end up with the same FP choices as our first day. I do want to make sure we see different things.

If we had been before, I'd know what I liked best. But I don't know.

I believe it would.

As for Maelstrom/TT, there's little doubt that TT is the more "thrilling" attraction and probably the one most people prefer. So it comes down to whether you want to do TT twice with little wait or once with little wait (and once on Maelstrom with little wait). Two TT FPs should save you more time in line than one TT FP and one Maelstrom FP.

 

[JennyMP03]

In my estimation, SSE has changed and I have elevated it to a B status that applies all day long.

Aw yeah. I feel justified in having selected it as one of my FP+ choices now.

 

[KimBean]

Nemo is usually walk on or VERY minimal wait time. It's a pretty constant loader.

I said this and now hearing of 30-40 min wait for memo and figment. I'm not sure how much we can use past knowledge anymore. Lol.