Where exactly do you catch the monorail at Epcot?

[Momto4]

Okay, this is an ignorant question... it's been 15 years since my last visit!

We have a PS at Chef Mickey's for our arrival night. (staying at OKW)
We would like to take the kids (who have never been to WDW) to dinner by way of the monorail.

Do we have to use one day of our passes to ride the monorail?? Can we park at Epcot and catch the monorail to TTC and then on to Contemporary? Where does the monorail stop at Epcot? Is it inside the park?

...don't know if we want to use one day of our passes for just passing through Epcot...although we might be willing if we decide to go into MK for fireworks and SpectroMagic.

Thank you!

 

[Dodie]

The stop is just outside the main entrance.

The monorail winds around inside Epcot, but doesn't empty or load inside. The station is directly outside the main entrance. You can't miss it!

 

[CarolMN]

And you don't need to use a day of your park admission ticket to ride the monorail. A monorail ride and an evening at Chef Mickey's is a great way to start your trip. Enjoy!

 

[Momto4]

Thank you Carol & Dodie!

...just thought of something else!!!
What about closing time?? If we decide to stay at MK for fireworks, will the Epcot monorail still be running at MK closing time??? (Epcot will close at 9:00 that night, MK closes at 11:00) Will we have to take a bus to the
Epcot parking lot?

 

[clkelley]

You probably should park in the Ticket and Transportation Center then and take a round trip monorail to Epcot and back, and then the monorail over to Contemporary.

You should probably do this anyway, cause the monorail only goes through Epcot on the way to Epcot, not on the way out.

Also, you can watch the fireworks from the top floor of the Contemporary without using a day on your pass to get into MK.

 

[TSI_Fan]

The monorail for EPCOT stops outside of the park. If you park at EPCOT and take the monorail, you won't see any of the park since it loads when it's headed outbound. I would suggest either park at the Contemporary and ride both monorails or just park at the TTC and ride the EPCOT monorail first before jumping to the resort monorail. I don't remember if the resort monorail loop goes to the Contemporary first, or the Polynesian. Maybe ride the loop once before disembarking at the Contemporary. Either way...have fun!

 

[AllanJ]

Don't park at Epcot on a night it closes at 9 when you will be someplace else until 11 PM. After the park is cleared, all transportation -- buses, monorail -- may stop running. Exception, on those days when the TTC or other parking lot fills up and Epcot's is officially used for overflow, which happens.

Other Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm