First time to Epcot in 28 years

Walt Disney World
1

Ok, first, that hurt to type that title. I haven’t been to Epcot since I was around 10. Seeing that number of years written out made me gasp! LOL. My DH, myself, and DD4 will be going to Epcot for the first time together in mid September. Not only have I not been to Epcot in forever, but I have never been to the Food and Wine Festival.

Things are constantly changing at Disney right now. But my ADR day is coming up quick and I need a plan. We are only doing Epcot one day, and no, we don’t have park hoppers. I know for sure we want to do FEA (my daughter loves Elsa and Anna), Nemo and friends, figment, soarin, gran Fiesta, living with the land, spaceship earth. I know we want to visit most of the countries, even if just for a photo op, maybe 3 to shop at. Pick a pearl if its open. And maybe the scavenger hunt for my daughter or the passport kids cot. Is the passport still a thing? Plus food and wine booths. It just seems too much in one day. I’m narrowing down my must haves for food booths, but I know my husband and DD will need a sit down break for dinner at least. I was thinking san angel Inn for dinner due to the ambiance, less to do with the food. I think I’m starting to ramble. To sum up what I could use some help with:

  • tour plan to RD FEA (we are staying at POP so probably enter at IG from skyliner), then Soarin if wait doesn’t look long. First question: continue with the rest of future world or spread out the rides throughout the day towards the evening like my TP suggests?
  • any suggestions for MUST have food booths? I’m thinking Canada, Greece grilled cheese, shimmering sips, France booth, and Hawaii? Some other must-haves won’t be open when we go.
  • any suggestions for best sit down restaurant? I don’t know that I can convince my husband to go to beirgarten. And we plan to eat the soup and filet at the Canada booth for lunch. We have awesome hibachi at home.
  • any touring suggestions at all for epcot are welcome!!! And needed. LOL
  • what pastries could we get near the end of the night that hold up well for breakfast the next day?
  • I’m thinking some major culling needs to happen with my plan. We won’t be able to do ALL THE THINGS. So, what is something you could suggest to skip or miss that’s overrated? Test track falls under this category for me due to the lines recently and no FPP. Sorry if I just offended anyone for suggesting that.
2

We were there in May (after I hadn’t gone in 20+ years) with two small kids. We could have skipped Nemo. There was no wait, so it’s an easy one to fit in, but both kids were way more into the aquarium than the ride. I don’t know if there’s an option to just see that part, but that would save time. We also skipped Living with the Land (which bummed me out) and did not make it to some of the countries (and none of them in great detail). On the plus side, walked on to FEA when we rope dropped it from the front of the park, so you should be able to get a minimal wait there! Future World’s construction was really tough-the heat made the walks feel long and out of the way, so I’d definitely group that section to the extent possible!

1 Like
3

Thanks. Good to know about FEA. I was afraid of the effects of construction…

4

We rope dropped FEA from IG a couple of weeks ago. We were in front of the crowd coming from the front of EP. I think your Soarin plan is good. The posted wait time will be high but you will not have to wait that long.

1 Like
5

Thanks!

6

You can skip the ride part of Nemo and just go around the left side and enter the glass doors, which is normally the exit and goes directly to the main aquarium/exhibit area.

2 Likes
7

image
0798393E-5DD6-4AA2-8D01-03687337E2DB.jpg1125×2436 361 KB

I’m hoping to do pick a pearl with my daughter as well. I bought this Cinderella’s carriage necklace for the pearl off of Etsy. It is surprisingly great quality! They have a similar one in the park that is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive!

1 Like
8

The size of Epcot is huge! You will not want to do much (just some) park crisscrossing throughout the day, unlike at MK or HS. One lap around World Showcase is 1.04 miles. I suggest you try to group some things in a way that also makes some physical sense.

1 Like
9

I will definitely check that out! Thank you.