What to do first at Epcot

[GatorChris]

Heading to WDW at the end of the month for the first time since 2012. I definitely miss Epcot. At least, the Epcot that I used to love with live entertainment, World Showcase Players, Off Kilter, Illuminations, and opening up at 9am.

I have a daughter who's 10 who still loves Frozen, so that ride will need to be put on the list. Not sure if that's the first stop we should make or not. How do you do Epcot these days? Especially with the weird 11am opening.

 

[soniam]

Do you plan on doing Test Track or Soarin'?

 

[Skippyboo]

It’s basically Frozen Ever After, Test Track or Soarin. Soarin is probably 3rd since it has a higher capacity than the over 2.

 

[KateInWonderland]

Since your daughter loves Frozen, I think starting with FEA is a good choice. That line tends to get really long as the day progresses. On the other hand Test Track does too...so ultimately I say to just go with the flow. If you arrive after the park opens (Like 30 mins- an hour) go with whichever line is the shortest. Though with Epcot the 11 am opening time makes it easier to rope drop the park and go right to the attraction you wish to start at. I hope this made sense and that you have a wonderful trip!

 

[GatorChris]

Do you plan on doing Test Track or Soarin'?

Of course! Even though we've got Soarin' at DL, it's different enough that we'd want to do it. And TestTrack is a must for my son. Just wondering what to hit first and if there's anything else in Epcot that's a must these days.

 

[soniam]

Of course! Even though we've got Soarin' at DL, it's different enough that we'd want to do it. And TestTrack is a must for my son. Just wondering what to hit first and if there's anything else in Epcot that's a must these days.

Are you going to be at Epcot at park opening?

 

[soniam]

If you do all 3 at rope drop, Touring Plans says it's a wash. A lot of people head to Test Track at opening, but it has issues, especially with weather, and may not open. Slightly less head to Soarin', and even fewer head to Frozen. However, whichever you head to afterward will have a longer wait. Sorry it's not a definitive answer.

 

[yorkieteacher]

Do NOT do Test Track! EVERYBODY headed there at rope drop when we were there the last week of June. We entered at IG, and by the time they let us through it was a 100 minute wait! AND it broke down for 20 minutes after we were inside the building after waiting an hour!. Lines got shorter later in the day. We should have done Frozen or Soarin'. Frozen was a 40 minute wait about 1 and Soarin" was a 35 minute wait about 2. They were listed as 50 and 45 minutes though. And our 100 minute Test Track wait was 90 minutes with the break down.

 

[Meglen]

Figment.. its a right of passage to smell skunk.

 

[finedice]

The real answer is to get there 45 minutes before opening, be near the front for rope drop. Walk FAST to TT and ride first. Then - since Frozen is a high priority, go there next, and then on to Soarin' whenever. Alas, it is a good deal of walking, but that will get them done efficiently. As one poster mentioned, do NOT enter through the International Gateway if you want to do Test Track with a minimal wait. I do think it is a quick wait if you get to the front gate early and get there as fast as possible at rope drop. Any dawdling will ruin your opportunity.

You can hit the other future world stuff when you return to do Soarin'.

 

[snowpack]

Going to piggyback on this question. If Frozen is the first thing you want to do - we are going in November - is it better to start at the international gateway or Front entrance? Trying to minimize walking for my mom. Second, which do you think will have the longer lines, FEA or Ratatouille? Thanks

 

[finedice]

Ze Rat will have longer lines. Both entrances are pretty long walks to FEA.

 

[soniam]

Going to piggyback on this question. If Frozen is the first thing you want to do - we are going in November - is it better to start at the international gateway or Front entrance? Trying to minimize walking for my mom. Second, which do you think will have the longer lines, FEA or Ratatouille? Thanks

The distance is probably 6 of one, half a dozen of another. Plus, the crowd may be thicker at the front and cause more difficulty in moving. I think the MDE app has walking instructions. It might tell you the exact distance.

Ze Rat will have longer lines. Both entrances are pretty long walks to FEA.

Rat may have a virtual queue/boarding group like Rise of the Resistance, but we don't really know yet. I hope it has a virtual queue. That's a really tight area for a very long line, unless there is a lot of space behind France to queue people.

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

I'm going to play ignorant...but what exactly is a Virtual Queue? Does that mean you sign up and show up and there is not an actual line?

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

A virtual queue is part of the My Disney Experience (MDE) App you can download and use on a smart device (phone or tablet), and you can find it on the App Store or Google play etc. Once you open the MDE App and you go to your personal welcome screen section of the MDE, there is a place for virtual queues. You need to enter this tab of the MDE app and it will list the ride to select (currently Rise of the Resistance is the only ride for virtual queues). Then after selecting the attraction you will need to book a reservation. The reservations are available once or twice a day at a specific time. If you don't get a reservation, you cannot ride the attraction as there is no standby line. Once reserved guests may ride.

 

[kylenne]

I honestly wouldn’t bother doing Soarin at rope drop, because of the high capacity waits can get very short for it during the day, especially later on in the day when most people are busy stuffing their faces in World Showcase. Late Sunday afternoon it was a literal walk on when I got there. I could have done it twice in a row if I wasn’t hopping straight to MK afterwards.

Meanwhile TT is line purgatory all day long and just gets worse throughout the day, even at closing it doesn’t go down. Plus it tends to break and gets impacted by weather. I would head there first--but only if coming in from the front entrance. Coming from IG just do Frozen, Test Track from IG is by far the “you chose poorly” option of the 3. I would legitimately even take a rideshare from an IG resort just to be dropped off at the front before trying to walk to TT from IG.

 

[yorkieteacher]

Figment.. its a right of passage to smell skunk.

Our four year old granddaughter named "the Dragon ride" as her favorite after her first visit to all four parks two weeks ago! She laughed throughout the ride! I had told her mom before hand that it was "the worst ride in WDW!" I loved seeing her excited reactions to this ride!

 

[The WDW 3]

The first thing that I do is Spaceship Earth