We’re staying at Beach Club and planning to head straight for Frozen at morning EMH rope drop on Jan 6. Can we just enter from International Gateway or are we better off grabbing an Uber/Lyft to the Future World entrance? (UnGuide says FW entrance you can get through turnstiles before opening but IG you do not?). Not sure how much that matters and how EMH plays into that.
I’m hoping to get an early (9:15?) FP+ for either Test Track or Soarin’, and knock out Frozen and the other one during EMH.
You can go through the IG.
Typically they allow you through the turnstiles and hold you at the bridge between France and the U.K. You have to go round through the U.K., Canada and then onto Mexico to get there.
I think various vlogs have shown it’s about the same from either entrance. I guess those at the front may have a slight advantage but there will be fewer people coming from the IG so less “road-blocking”!
There are fewer people at the IG entrance so your ability to get through security, bag check, etc is much faster. The big advantage to staying at BC is the ease of access to Epcot, so I would not take an Uber/Lyft and join the bigger crowd.
FWIW - we rope dropped Epcot two weeks ago from IG. We were walking with purpose and beat most of the main entrance guests to Frozen. We waited maybe 5 min.
I would FP Test Track as it often goes down, which will cause you delays. (If it’s down during your FP time, you can return later and use it) Soarin has I think three theaters that are running now, and its wait during peak times is usually pretty low.
With all the construction going on in FW, does that also slow down traffic coming through the main entrance (is that another reason to use IG)?
We rope dropped the Frozen ride from the IG entrance the last week of September (we were coming from the Dolphin). They let us tap in through the turnstiles (with little to no wait) and held us inside the gate until a few minutes before 9:00. We were not at the very front of the line, more in the middle, but walked as fast as you could go with a 4 and 7 year old in tow. We walked right on to Frozen, and then got in line for Anna and Elsa and waited about ten minutes.
Touring plans actually did an Epcot rope drop video that discusses coming in through IG vs. FW.
Essentially they said timing was about equal.
One alternative thought is the late emh…we were there a few weeks ago and used the 9pm-11pm emh. By the last 30 minutes, frozen was a walk on and we did it at least 5 times. (DD4 loved it). Since you are so close it may be easy to work in if heading back to room at end of day and have a little energy to burn.