What is the best stratigy for visiting EPCOT during the busiest time of the year?

[ecpool]

Our family plans on visiting EPCOT during X-Mas week (the busiest time of the year). What is the best stratagy to for really enjoying this park and seeing everything?

 

[goofy4tink]

I would say to get there early...know beforehand where you are going and what you want to do. Have everyone in the family list what things are their 'must-do's' in FutureWorld and in Worldshowcase. Rather than waste time/energy running to an attraction only to find out no one really cared about it, have that list handy. Then if you find you have some extra time, check out the stuff you didn't have listed as a must-do. Don't try to see everything there is to see. Don't get caught up in the 'rush around, must do it all' mentality.

Get a good guidebook and make those lists. I would suggest either the UnOfficial Guidebook to WDW or PassPorter. Either one will give you a great overview and attraction descriptions. Realize that the parks will be crowded and take a 'chill-pill'. Getting antsy is a real quick way to have a bad time. So, relax and have a great trip!!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Get there early is the best advice. Last year on New Year's eve, we were able to get a Fast Pass for MS at 10:00 A.M. The return time was close to 12 midnight. The line for the FP was longer than any line I'd ever seen on a normal day. But if you plan things right it can be a lot of fun.

HBC

 

[OLT2004]

Just a countdown clock bump for me!

 

[CindyAnn]

Since Epcot is so large, I always think that big crowds are handled well. For us, this was probably the easiest park to see between Christmas/New Year. If Mission Space is of interest, you should make a bee line for it and grab fastpasses (or jump right on if the line isn't too prohibitive). If Test Track is of interest, that should probably be your second priority. After you have the two most popular attractions out of the way, you can afford to slow down and enjoy the remaining attractions in Future World, picking up fastpasses as you go. I think the usual guidelines apply, but even more so when you're visiting WDW during the holidays. For me, those guidelines would be:

1) arrive early (having had breakfast before you get there)
2) pick up the park map AND the show schedule
3) know which attractions you plan to visit and the order of the first few (or all of them if you're a manic planner ) - like goofy4tink we have "must sees" and "would be nices"
4) know which attractions have fast passes and work around that
5) make a PS in advance if you plan to enjoy a sit-down meal.

I'm not sure if you've been to Epcot before, but on a typical day when it's open from 9 - 9, and assuming I was devoting 1 day to the park, I would probably budget my time roughly as follows:

9:00 - 2:30 - Future World (grabbing a counter service lunch)
2:30 - 7:00 - World Showcase
7:00 - PS in one of the World Showcase Restaurants
9:00 - Illuminations

The Candlelight Processional runs until December 30th, and there are also special Holiday storytellers, etc. at the countries in World Showcase, in addition all of Epcot's usual attractions. Here's the link to the current schedules for each park. You can click on "Epcot" at the top, and then scroll down a bit and click on "Holidays Around the World: November 26 - December 30" to get information about storytelling & other events.

If there are children in your party (say 5 & up) you might want to consider either buying a World Showcase "passport" which the children can have stamped in each country and/or making a mask with add-ons from each country. Both of these things are done at the Kidcot centres in each WS country, but sometimes the lines are prohibitive.

Hope this gives you some ideas!

 

[debkorb1]

I agree you should think ahead as to what you want to do. We kinda just did everything but didn't need to. For example, the Living Seas is ok, but we always intended to go to Sea World so there was no point! Also, Journey into the Imagination is just LAME! Becuase we spent time doing these things, we had less time at the World Showcase, which we loved.

The best bit of advice, however, is arrive at the parking lot 45 minutes before opening and focus on future world in the morning. Leave at noon and then return late afternoon for a walk around the world showcase (including supper and illuminations). You'll probably need another morning or lateafternoon/evening to get it all done. Obviously this only works when the park is open late.

I would also recommend an Unofficial Guide touring plan - this will minimise time spent in line.

Enjoy.

 

[lovethattink]

We've gone to MK the last 2 Christmas days. We arrived around 10am only to find out that MK was closed due to reaching capacity. They were routing traffic to Epcot to park. Since MK was closed, almost everyone parking went to Epcot. We decided to try our luck and went to MK entrance anyway. By 1pm we were in the park and made it to our 2pm priority seating. So my advice it hit the parks early. Go straight to get a fast pass for either MS or TT. Wait to ride Spaceship earth, the lines will be much smaller later. Anytime you are in Future World and pass the tip board by the water fountain, check out the wait times. Keep in mind that you will not have enough time to experience everything. Hit those that are most important to you. And remember, if you've made it to a pre-show area, there is no reason to push and shove, you're garanteed to make it to the main attraction. Relax and Enjoy yourself!