Epcot/ Transportation Question

[GoalieGirl16]

Hi all! The Great Wedding Trip is less than a month away (I hope to get a Pre-Trip Report filed tonight).

We have booked a Family Portrait Session at Epcot the day after the wedding The family will be traveling from POFQ needs to be at the walk-in entrance nearest the Beach Club at 9 AM. (I think that is the International Gateway entrance) The easiest way to make that happen is for the family to simply take the bus from POFQ to Epcot however I do not believe that World Showcase will be open at that hour. BUT.. when I have looked up the operating hours from Epcot on 9/3 there is no separate listing for the opening time of World Showcase. Did they eliminate the separate opening time or is it simply not listed?

Also what is the best way to get from POFQ to Beach Club in the event that they can not walk through World Showcase?

 

[Boster24]

World showcase doesn't open until 11am, the new French Brasserie is open however, but you won't be able to go any farther. I believe you will have to take a bus to the TTC and there catch a bus to the Beach Club, or take the monorail and enter through the front and walk back. But as mentioned the World Showcase won't open until 11.

 

[deanaandrich]

Take the bus to Epcot. You will be able to walk through Epcot to the other entrance. It will be open because that is how the boardwalk, beach club, yacht club, swan and dolphin all enter the park in the morning. That will be your quickest route.

 

[nepalostparks]

World Showcase doesn't officially open until 11 a.m. However, the International Gateway entrance is open, and you can walk from there to Future World with no issue. (In fact, from Future World, you can walk as far as Norway on the left, where Akershus is open for breakfast, and as far as France on the right, where the new Boulangerie Patisserie is open as well. None of the other shops, attractions, or restaurants are open until 11 a.m. Also, the promenade from in between Norway/China to between Morocco/France is closed until 11 a.m.) So they will be able to walk from the front entrance to the International Gateway without issue.

But, if your family needs to be at International Gateway at 9 a.m., that doesn't leave them much time. The front entrance at Epcot generally opens about 10 to 15 minutes before 9, but unless they are at the front of the line to get in, the time it takes to get in plus the walk back to the International Gateway is probably going to have them arriving after 9 a.m.

They could grab a cab from POFQ to Beach Club. Also, since you're doing a Disney photo package, it might be worth inquiring if they would provide transportation of your family from POFQ to Beach Club.

Hope this helps.

 

[lazyboy97o]

A cab definitely seems to be the way to go. Otherwise you'd have to leave really early in order to board a crowded bus and then push your way through everybody so you can run across Future World as soon as the gates open. I can't imagine looking too photogenic after all of that.