International Gateway

[Princess_Minnie]

Ok, give me the low down on this entrance.

We are staying at OKW for our next trip in June. Since we had some dinner reservations in the World Showcase, but weren't planning on spending the day in Epcot, we were considering trying to use the International Gateway to cut down on the travel time.

Is this entrance only for Epcot resort guests, or just WDW resort guests, or for everyone? We are also DVC members, so we go visit other resorts all the time. If we park at the Boardwalk and walk over, will they let us in?

If we stayed to watch Illuminations and wanted to make a quick getaway out the International Gateway, could we, if we're parked at the Beach Club or the Boardwalk?

We've never used this entrance before or even stayed at an Epcot resort, so I was just curious as to how it works. :shrug:

 

[disneygirl76]

Yes it is open to everyone. You need to use a park ticket to get in. This I'm sure goes without saying but make sure your tickets allow you in...if you don't have a park hopper then make sure you don't go to any other parks that day. It is a very easy enterance to use; exit too. Not a lot of traffic. We never use it unless we are dining at an epcot resort, staying at an epcot resort, or heading to dhs from epcot.

 

[shmmrname]

We used it quite a lot last trip (we stayed at the Yacht Club). Like others have said, it's a normal entrance, just a little lesser-known and not quite as easy to access for to those staying in non-Epcot area resorts.
We always had parkhopper tickets, so using Epcot for meals on days where we went to other parks was never an issue. I liked the walk, it was a nice change of pace. But, when using it to bypass the bus to the MK, I wouldn't say we saved any time.