If you need to do a day or night at EPCOT, this half-day itinerary affords a plan of assault for touring the park effectively. EPCOT is arguably the least family-friendly park at Walt Disney World, so you could not want various hours to do all the things of curiosity in case you have young children.
With that mentioned, a full day at EPCOT is extremely advisable for first-timers. Before choosing solely a half-day, you need to actually learn our 1-Day EPCOT Itinerary and see how a lot of that appeals to you. Although World Showcase has an (inaccurate) status of being “boring” and EPCOT would possibly seem on paper to be mild on worthwhile rides for youths, there’s rather more to it than meets the attention.
We spend extra time at EPCOT than another theme park at Walt Disney World, and would even advocate that some adults do 1.5 and even 2 days at EPCOT. Now that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure are each open, there’s much more of substance to do within the park. These be a part of widespread rides like Frozen Ever After, Test Track, and Soarin’ Around the World (amongst others) as must-dos at EPCOT. Experiencing all of these and seeing the fireworks is nearly not possible in a single afternoon and night…
Let’s begin with what makes EPCOT half-day plan so this troublesome. First, there’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. As of the time of this itinerary’s publication, this new EPCOT E-Ticket nonetheless makes use of a digital queue. That may change within the coming weeks, however Walt Disney World has already confirmed it’s sticking round after TRON Lightcycle Run opens. Read our FAQ & Ride Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind for all the things you have to know.
The factor is, Cosmic Rewind goes to be troublesome no matter whether or not it makes use of a digital queue or standby line. We’ve managed to hitch the digital queue when coming into the park after 2 pm on at the least a half-dozen events within the final 6 months, and the result’s nearly all the time the identical: being referred to as again in the direction of the tip of the night. Alternatively, you would possibly be capable of purchase Individual Lightning Lane entry if the digital queue fills up–or you could not be capable of do Cosmic Rewind, interval.
With Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind out of the best way, there a few methods to method a half-day within the park. The extra conservative possibility is “stacking” Genie+ Lightning Lanes for the afternoon and night at EPCOT, rope dropping one other park, and doing as many sights as attainable with minimal by way of standby earlier than Park Hopping to EPCOT as soon as crowds catch as much as you.
This is our advisable method. Going this route, it’s attainable you could rating Lightning Lanes for 3 of 4 headliners at EPCOT: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Test Track, and Soarin’ Around the World. You nearly actually won’t get all 4, and it’s going to be robust to get each of the primary two on that checklist. On actually busy days, you would possibly solely get 1 of the primary 3. See our EPCOT Genie+ Priorities & Lightning Lane Ride Rankings for the perfect order of picks to maximise your choices and time saved.
The different is reserving Genie+ as regular on your first park (or in no way), displaying up at EPCOT with zero Lightning Lane experience reservations in hand, and being okay with skipping widespread sights and/or the fireworks. This isn’t our advice, as there’s a good likelihood that you simply’ll be confronted with three standby traces with hour-plus posted wait occasions in the event you don’t buy the Genie+ service.
Unlike the opposite parks, wait occasions for the headliner sights by no means sharply drop and crowds don’t die down at EPCOT. This is basically as a result of EPCOT is the after-work park for Floridians, and a well-liked Park Hopper vacation spot for vacationers. People love eating at EPCOT, wandering World Showcase, and ending their evenings with the fireworks…therefore this itinerary!
Suffice to say, EPCOT attendance will increase all through the day as a result of extra individuals arrive than depart, and wait occasions stay pretty regular for lots of sights. From a strategic perspective, the very best time to do EPCOT is earlier than midday, not within the afternoon or at night time. The thought behind this itinerary isn’t drawing consideration to an excellent time of day from a strategic perspective, however fairly, to supply recommendation for widespread method to doing EPCOT that’s widespread…however for good cause!
We simply need to provide you with a warning to this sensible actuality so that you don’t go into this half-day plan with the mistaken assumption. Unlike our plans for afternoons in Animal Kingdom and evenings in DHS, this itinerary doesn’t exist as a result of Park Hopping to EPCOT is a good suggestion from a low crowds perspective. Spending the afternoon and night at EPCOT is a good suggestion–not because it’s savvy technique, however as a result of it’s an fulfilling time to expertise the park.
To that time, that is how we mostly do EPCOT regardless of the crowds. Not the precise plan right here, however the thought behind it. While we’ve area examined the environment friendly method right here, our regular afternoon at EPCOT is arriving about 90 minutes earlier than sundown, doing Spaceship Earth and the Land pavilion, grabbing meals from pageant cubicles, making a leisurely lap or two of World Showcase (with extra stops for snacks), watching the fireworks, making 1.5 extra laps of World Showcase, and heading out. We are what you would possibly name “EPCOT Mall Walkers.” It’s consuming and train whereas having fun with a theme park…how are you going to go unsuitable?!
Of course, we’re not going to advise vacationers with restricted trip time to mall stroll round EPCOT (until you need to–it’s surprisingly enjoyable!). Rather, this afternoon and night at EPCOT half-day touring plan is optimized to attenuate wait occasions to the best extent attainable, providing you with a tough blueprint for the very best order of doing issues, and probably the most attainable flexibility. Anyway, on with the present…
Fly Through Former Future World – Most company who spend all day within the park do EPCOT from entrance to again, that means the wait occasions for sights on the entrance of the park are longest originally of the day and reduce within the afternoon.
This is definitely one of many few strategic upsides to a day arrival–you can begin on the entrance of the park and work backwards. We assume lots of you can be arriving by way of the International Gateway in World Showcase after Park Hopping from Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Even if so, you need to stroll to the entrance of the park upon arrival and begin there. Our advisable order is as follows:
- Spaceship Earth
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Journey into Imagination with Figment
- Living with the Land
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Mission: Space
- Test Track
Depending upon the time of your arrival, you would possibly must skip a number of the earlier entries on that checklist. Or not. The first 4 sights on that checklist might be near walk-ons most days after 3 pm, making them low-stress choices for a condensed day at EPCOT that may provide you with a way of accomplishment.
Make positive you save Soarin’ Around the World and Test Track for later within the afternoon–ideally after 4 pm. Those are the 2 sights that can have the longest traces earlier within the day. Without query, the longest wait time you’re going to expertise might be at Test Track, which doesn’t actually begin dropping till after 5 pm. Even then, you may anticipate to attend 45 minutes or extra until you do it by way of Single Rider.
Fast Food – It’s ‘Festival Season’ at EPCOT many of the 12 months, and the meals cubicles situated on the entrance of the park are sometimes a number of the finest choices. This is particularly true throughout Flower & Garden, the place Farmers Feast and BRUNCHCOT (close to Test Track) and Honey Bee-stro (between Journey into Imagination and the Canada entrance to World Showcase) are 3 of our favourite cubicles. The Food & Wine choices up entrance are additionally robust.
Here are the varied occasions together with their approximate annual timeframes:
Grabbing dishes from these meals cubicles is a good way to do an environment friendly dinner on the go whereas additionally having fun with a little bit of culinary tradition. Feel free to make stops all through World Showcase for extra worldwide flavors.
Navigate to Norway – From the World Discovery aspect of the previous Future World, it’s simple to stroll previous the Odyssey pageant middle and make your solution to the Mexico aspect of World Showcase. You can begin with Gran Fiesta Tour if time permits (it ought to have a minimal wait), earlier than navigating to Norway.
Norway is dwelling to Frozen Ever After, which is the favored and comparatively low-capacity boat experience primarily based on the favored animated movie franchise. Wait occasions for Frozen Ever After begin falling a bit through the dinner rush, so intention to do that at about 6:30 pm in the event you’re utilizing the standby line. Even then, you may need an hour-long wait time.
Scurry Around the Showcase – From there, make your solution to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure behind the France pavilion. Whether you race to the Rat Ride or take a leisurely tempo relies upon upon how a lot time you’ve gotten and whether or not you need to see the fireworks. We don’t advocate speeding by means of World Showcase, even when that makes skipping Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
Wait occasions for this new attraction are inclined to plateau within the afternoon and early night, probably not falling till after 7 pm. The drawback is that the posted wait time remains to be over an hour on common at round 8 pm. This implies that, on a busy night time, you would possibly miss the beginning of the fireworks at 9 pm in the event you wait till 8 pm to do Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure by way of standby.
In our expertise, wait occasions for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure are inflated, particularly in the direction of the tip of the night. We’ve jumped consistent with 60-70 minute posted occasions at 8 pm and been off the experience by 8:45 pm on a number of events. This supplied adequate time to go to make it to Japan, our most well-liked spot for watching the fireworks.
Fall Back for Fireworks – EPCOT is ends every night with a nighttime spectacular on World Showcase Lagoon. For the subsequent couple weeks, that’s Harmonious. Starting April 3, it’ll get replaced quickly by EPCOT Forever. Sometime on or after October 1, a everlasting new nighttime spectacular–our assumption is one thing with drones–will debut and sure run by means of 2024 and for years to return.
Regardless of which is scheduled on your go to, it’s value seeing. All of those options an assortment of songs choreographed to colourful lights, lasers, fireworks, and extra. For planning functions, seek the advice of our Best Epcot Fireworks Viewing Spots posts for an inventory of the very best spots and different suggestions for viewing the present. (Tentatively, we advocate watching any of those from the Japan pavilion. A entrance row spot isn’t vital; see the photograph above.)
Fireworks Post Show: World Showcase Stroll – This is the optimum itinerary for an environment friendly night at EPCOT, however I’ve gotta be trustworthy with you: it’s not my most well-liked method to the park. EPCOT ought to be sipped like a tremendous wine, loved for the ambiance and fantastic thing about World Showcase. It shouldn’t be chugged like an inexpensive beer, working from experience to experience to “complete” them guidelines model.
One possibility is utilizing Genie+ to chop down waits on the headliners and liberate time; one other is eliminating one or two of them totally; a closing possibility is doing the sipping and savoring after the park closes, slowing right down to odor the roses after it’s now not attainable to do rides. Even in the event you take different measures to keep away from the lengthy waits, we’d nonetheless advocate going this route.
Since the eating places in World Showcase make eating reservations till park closing and it takes some company over an hour after park closing to complete their meals, you’ve gotten over an hour to linger and slowly make your approach out of EPCOT after the park closes. Take full benefit of this with a leisurely stroll round World Showcase and out of the park. For this, we often double-back to France from Japan, after which retrace these steps as we head again the great distance across the lagoon in the direction of Mexico. Trust us, it’s value it.
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Your Thoughts
What would you embody in your excellent night at EPCOT? Do you assume this plan is sensible, or is it an overzealous quantity to perform in a single afternoon within the varied ‘Worlds’ of the back and front of the park? Would you advocate a full day at EPCOT to a first-timer given the present state of the park? Agree or disagree with our half-day EPCOT plan? Any questions? Hearing suggestions about your experiences is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!