Just like our trip last year, I feel like I’m having a hard time planning our Epcot day. Last year we ended up leaving Epcot without doing any of the big three rides because the kids were hot and tired.
This year I’m determined to get to at least FEA and Soarin’! We’re planning to FP FEA and RD Soarin’. I’m hoping we may get TT as 4th FP later in the day but it won’t be the end of the world if we don’t. So my questions:
PPO GG reservation - Right now I have an 8:10 reservation. I’m thinking of canceling because I don’t want to have too many super early mornings for DD3. She burned out a bit last trip with the early mornings. On the last day when I woke her up she actually said “No more parks”. Does the PPO breakfast provide a great advantage? Will we be able to do Soarin’ pretty easily if we just do regular RD? Right now my TP has us arriving at 9:22 with a 17 minute wait. I think we could get there quicker than 9:22 if we’re through the tap stiles by 8:30?
Joy and Sadness/Baymax - This is another must do for us. Last year we did these characters at RD but ended up waiting a bit because there were technical difficulties with Baymax. If we RD Soarin’, any idea what the lines may be like for these characters after that?
Should I stop at the characters first and then go to Soarin’ or will the lines be long?
I really want us to have a successful Epcot day this trip. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Hello. I am not sure what the rest of your early days look like but a PPO at GG is a huge advantage. You could get to GG even early than 8:00 and they would probably seat you right away. You can tell your server to bring the check early and be done by 9:40. Walk down to Soarin and be on and off by 8:55-9:00. That way you can get right over to Joy and Sadness and then Baymax.
If you don’t do a PPO at GG I would probably do Joy and Sadness then Baymax before Soarin. I think that would minimize your wait times.
If you get to the park at 7:30-7:40 you can be right at GG at 8AM. Tell your server that you will want the check ASAP because you want to make sure you beat the rush to Soarin. They know the drill. Happy Planning.
Like everyone else said, tell the server your plan to bolt as quickly as possible. If you are lucky, sometimes they will open soarin a couple minutes early, ride it, then see what the wait is for TT.
I’m sure a PPO eservation at GG would be an advantage, as confirmed by previous replies.
But I wouldn’t ignore that gut feeling about over-loading your DD with early rises. The last thing you need is a grumpy little girl who then falls asleep just as you reach FEA with 15 minutes of your fastpass window remaining… then what?
So if you want to cancel GG then do it, and use the TPs to find the best way to fit things in. I would second the suggestion of doing the M & G first, then Soarin, but play around with different possibilities.
You could then publish your plan and get some feedback. Or publish two options even. There’s plenty of good advice available!
Last year we did all early mornings (2 PPO reservations, EMH or arriving early for RD) and then chilled at the resort in the afternoon and evenings. It was a pretty good balance but I think DD3 could’ve done with a couple of more relaxed mornings.
This trip we’re planning one later start day for our HS day (like after lunch) and one waterpark morning which will be a later start. I’m trying to take DD3’s need for rest into account, but it’s so hard to get away from the early arrival strategy!
Soarin was an easy day of 4th FP and we don’t go to parks until 10:30 or 11:00. If you go on a Tuesday during EMH in the evening, you can easily ride Soarin twice with little to no wait during Illuminations or right after as well. Baymax had very short wait during evening EMH as well around 9:30-9:45.
All the suggestions are great possiblilities. But if early mornings are not a norm for your DD3, and you know that she would really enjoy what you have planned for your EP day, then I would suggest that you look at your previous day and see if it is a possibility to get her to bed earlier or schedule a longer nap time. You could also look into adding some pool time in your overall schedule in order to break up the trips to the park and prevent the burnout.
As adults, we sometimes forget that yougsters can get over stimulated. By adding other activites or down times, we reduce the possibility of burn-out.
Happy planning!
Oh yes! We are definitely planning for lots of pool time. After our last trip when someone asked DD3 what she liked best about Disney, she said “the pool and the bus”. Haha! I’m anticipating that we’ll only make it to mid afternoon in the parks most days and then we’ll head back to the WL for pool/relaxation time. Last trip we didn’t make it back to the parks in the evening and I’m expecting that to be the case again!
Does the PPO breakfast provide a great advantage? Will we be able to do Soarin’ pretty easily if we just do regular RD? Right now my TP has us arriving at 9:22 with a 17 minute wait. I think we could get there quicker than 9:22 if we’re through the tap stiles by 8:30?
