We decided on a whim to visit Epcot in Walt Disney World the other day. There are some disadvantages to living close to the parks. I can hear the groans now as I type this. We don’t start thinking about Fastpasses until a few days before we plan on visiting the park. Sometimes we don’t even look at what is available until the morning we know we are going. The good news for us is that we aren’t tied into a strict touring plan.
If you get there when the park opens you will have time to ride two of the more popular rides before the crowds build, Test Track and Soarin’ in Future World. Usually people try to get a FastPass for one of them while running to the other. My tip of the day, if you get to Soarin’ about 45 minutes after the park opens the line won’t be too bad. When we went it was only 15 minutes in the standby line. We also had a FastPass for a later time. When we reached the exit after the first ride the line was now 45 minutes. Since we had time until our FastPass return time, we decided to take the Living with the Land boat tour.
If you are starting to get hungry, Sunshine Seasons Food Court in The Land Pavilion is a great place to get a meal or a cold drink and just chill for awhile. If the kids are getting tired you could grab a table and let them take a nap. When the heat index is over 100 here in Orlando we are always looking for ways to stay in the air conditioning longer. I don’t recommend doing this at peak times for dining.
We also had a FastPass for Journey Into Imagination because what is Future Land without Figment? There is a great set of restrooms to the right of the entrance. You might want to use them so you don’t waste precious time waiting for a stall in the more popular bathrooms.
Typically I tell people to avoid Spaceship Earth first thing in the morning but this trip was the exception. When we first got to the park the wait for this attraction was only 5 minutes. We decided to ride it even though we had a FastPass for later. I would suggest looking at the sign to see what the expected wait time is. When we rode it was only 5 minutes. Later on the wait was 60 minutes. If you have a FastPass and you decide you don’t need to ride it twice you can switch your FastPass for another attraction. Just keep in mind that if you will want more than 3 FastPasses in a day you should schedule them earlier in the day. You are allowed to get a 4th FastPass once you have used your first 3. You will need to visit a kiosk in Epcot to schedule the 4th one. Once you use that one you can schedule another one so take advantage on short wait times and you can reschedule your FastPasses allowing you to experience more attractions.
We had a great morning and headed home when the heat got to be too much. I recommend taking a mid-day break to go back to your resort and enjoy the pool or take a nap. Once it cools off you can head back to the park refreshed for a great evening in Epcot.
‘Til next time, See you in the parks!
