Could anyone look at my Epcot plan?

For all my other park days, my total minutes in line is about 90-110. My Epcot day, however, has 155 minutes of waiting. I can’t figure out if I could do anything to reduce that time. We will only be at Epcot 1 day (next week) and our kids are 8, 9 and 10. If there are attractions that should be added or deleted, I’m open to that too.

Maybe 155 is the best we can do on a Crowd 8-9 day but I’d like to tweak it if possible. (Disclaimer: I haven’t included meals yet. We’ll eat sack lunches along the way and do a Counter Service for dinner but I’m waiting to decide which restaurant once the TP is set.)

Thanks for any advice! This board has been invaluable in preparing us for our trip in just 3 days!

http://touringplans.com/plans/print?id=1270929

If you arrive early enough to be near the front of the pack and walk with purpose your wait at Test Track will likely be less than 32 minutes. As for the rest most of it isn’t really waiting in line as opposed to waiting for the next show to start like the movies in World Showcase, the American Adventure, Turtle talk. Because of that you’ll likely be doing other things while waiting for it to start.

One thing I will caution you on if you haven’t been is that I don’t find 10 minutes even remotely enough time to visit each country. We’ve easily spent a full afternoon and evening in World Showcase alone and not seen everything. Also be aware that If you think you’re kids will really get into it 30 minutes for Agent P’s adventure is only going to allow for one mission. You may find that they really want to do more than that and it can throw your times off. Also if they plan to stop at the kidcot stations in each country that’s going to add a lot more time.

I find Epcot the most difficult park to make a TP for because, for us at least, it’s the park we’re mostly likely to get distracted in and get way behind. We always try to schedule at least two days there because it’s our favorite park.

The only thing I can suggest is that you are going to Test Track then to The Seas and then to Canada. It’s quite a walk between each of those and you are set to return to The Seas before you leave. I would consider doing Test Track, Innoventions, and Club Cool on your way to Canada and pick up the Seas later when you’re back in Future World to save a good amount of walking.

Given the number of steps in this plan, 155 minutes is not too bad at all! I will echo what @Outer1 says - the allotted 10 minutes for each pavilion is nowhere near enough to truly explore each one.

I would treat all the WS steps as one big time block - make sure you hit the things that you definitely want to see, but otherwise take your time working your way through the countries just being sure to return to FW in time for step 21. You most likely will not see each country’s pavilion, but you will really enjoy the ones that you do see.

Can you get earlier times for any of your Fast Passes? We often like to aim for maybe 10 or 11 through 1pm for FPs, then you may be able to get additional ones in park.

Otherwise, I wonder if you might consider dropping some things. For example, Sum of All Thrills has a minimum height of 48 inches, 54 inches if your coaster inverts. Are your kiddos tall enough for that? That may be something to save for a later time.

Turtle Talk with Crush is a theater kind of show, where you get ushered into a room and Crush is on a screen and interacts somewhat with the audience. IMO, it is best appreciated by young kids (preschoolers and young gradeschoolers). You also don’t get a ton out of it unless you’re right up front, and there are lots of kids who try to cram down there. I know it’s one of the few kid-approved things to do in Epcot, but just my opinion, I’m planning to skip it this time.

I would skip Innoventions.

Otherwise, though, I think your wait times don’t look bad for the crowd levels, but it’s a lot of steps without a break, and you might want to consider just generally paring down some.

Epcot really takes 2 full days to see Future World and each of the countries. When we were there in April on Good Friday, we were in the park from 9am-11pm and felt like we didn’t see very much in each country. My kids love the Agent P missions, but that takes time. I like @brklinck’s suggestion to have a start and stop time in World Showcase, that way you can wander. The other thing about WS- the middle of the day there feels like you are standing on the surface of the sun. We were pretty miserable in the afternoon, and finally left WS to get back to FW just to get into the air condition. I usually love WS, but not when it is really hot, which it will be next week. Just wanted to give you a heads up so that if everyone gets grumpy after lunch you will know why :smile:.

You are all so much help. Thank you.

I’ll pare down like you’ve suggested. We have an extra park day at the end of our trip and haven’t decided where to use it. If we end up pressed for time at Epcot, we can come back a 2nd day.

@manateesmom - You brought up an interesting point about Sum of All Thrills. All of my girls are tall enough but only 1 (our engineer-minded girl) will really enjoy it. In the interest of time, we may have to skip it. Is it a cool experience though? It seems like a long wait for something that’s an individual experience (which is how I understand it. That may be incorrect.)

I’ll consider dropping Innoventions b/c I hadn’t thought of that. My daughters are actually more interested in World Showcase so we may skip some Future World stuff (Turtle Talk, etc.)

Thanks for the help!

My kids LOVE Sum of all Thrills. Last year they were 10&12, this year 11&13, and it was probably their favorite thing in FW. We were there on a 10 day, arrived at the gates 30 min before open and walked fast to Test Track. We were done and out by 9:15. We then went straight to Sum of all thrills, and line was only 10 minutes at the most (everyone goes straight to TT or Soarin). Innoventions is also a good place in the late afternoon, my kids still enjoy the activities and there are seats for us adults to relax in the cold. Enjoy!

If I only spend one day in EP (which is rare), I do as much of FW as I can before noon, and spend the rest of the day in WS. If I spend a second full day there, I do the same thing the second day. Most typically I spend one full day and a second half day. If my half-day is at RD, I’ll split FW evenly between the two days. If it’s a PM half day, I’ll spend more time in FW the first day, and on the second day, other than maybe a couple of FPP attractions in FW, I’ll spend my time in WS. If you have 2 days, FPP TT on one day and Soarin’ on the other. I’m not really much of a re-ride guy, but if you are, hit whichever one you don’t have the FPP for right at RD.

I typically get my FPPs in the 11:00 - 1:00 period; this gives me a couple of hours to take advantage of RD touring, but still give me the possibility of adding more later in the day (something I actually rarely do in EP).

On the rare occasion I even do a TP for WS, I’ll just select the shows (including the live shows) that I want to see, but not the “country pavilions”. This way I’ll have a “schedule” of times for specific events, and then I just tour around the countries in between. And different countries have different amounts to see. Not counting rides/shows/dining, Mexico, China, Germany, Japan, and UK are typically 20-30 min stops for me. The others are closer to 10-15 - except France and America which are pretty much “walk pasts”. With only a half day in WS, you will have to accept that there will be a number of things you will not be able to see/do (the same could really be said for FW).

If I were to rank the WS attractions from top to bottom, I would say: American Adventure (one of the best attractions in WDW), Impressions de France (probably the most beautifully filmed movie in WDW, with an excellent soundtrack), Grand Fiesta Mexico (fun for the kids, and the only “ride” in WS), and a tie between China (beautifully filmed and educational) and Canada (very entertaining). The last two are also the only remaining “circlevision” movies in WDW.

For live shows, Voices of Liberty are a must-see. If the Chinese acrobats are performing the day you are there, I would also consider them a “must-see”. I also really enjoy the flag performers in Italy, the taiko drummers in Japan, and Server Amusement in France. Mariachi Cobre in Mexico are very good, but having lived in San Diego for many years, I rarely stay for more than one song. The traditional musicians in Morocco are interesting, but a little bit goes a long way. Every time I see Sergio in Italy, I want to shove the whistle down his throat. As for the lumberjack show in Canada…why? There’s a new acapella group performing on the stage across from America that has gotten mixed reviews; I’ve only seen the show on YouTube and was unimpressed, but others have said they sound much better “live” (most things do).

I won’t go into a discussion of specific TSs, but for planning purposes, on a 8-9 day, assume that the meal will take at least 45 min to order, get, and eat. Personal recommendations: Yorkshire Fich and Chips (UK), Tangerine (Morocco), and Sommerfest (Germany).

Well, that was a lot more than I intended to write when I started this response :slight_smile: Of course all of the above is a matter of personal opinion and taste, but WS is my favorite place in WDW, and once I get started I just can’t stop.

As a final closing thought, WS is a place to explore, not conquer. It’s a place to enjoy the ambience and let happen what happens. It seems that the less I “plan” time there, the more I enjoy it.

I often dislike Epcot TPs because they loop around in strange ways and try to squeeze in too much stuff - more the nature of Epcot than the TPs.
But I LOVE this TP, and I think you will too. Do NOT skip SOAT. It is, hands down, my favourite attraction in ALL OF WDW. The shorties in your group can still design a coaster, even if they’re too short to ride.
And agree with others who suggested that you just treat WS as one big long 6-hour attraction. You may want to do more than one Agent P adventure (one at the beginning, one later on.) There are lots of great CS options without the long wait of a TS, if you feel so inclined - Tangerine in Morocco a fave around here. Stroll and enjoy. Cut it short and hit Figment en route to the Sea and Land pavilions if your crowd gets restless.

PS Also, don’t move your FPPs up with this TP. On an 8-9 day, you probably won’t get a 4th FPP.

Thanks for all the wonderful information. I’ve used all of your input to create a TP that just reserves a block of time for WS. I think it will work well.

We’re leaving tomorrow and can’t wait to put the plans into action!

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You have a Spaceship Earth 5:00pm-ish FP listed but not being used in plan. I would move Test Track to #1 and Spaceship Earth to #3 with an appropriate timed FP.