One Day at Epcot

DisneyFreak

DisneyFreak

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So we have friends coming in from out of town in May and they wanted to do one day at a park. Epcot won the popular vote. After I picked myself up off the floor from the one day price tag of $148.04 per person, I began to realize I haven't been in a park since 2017 (MK) and haven't been to Epcot since 2015 and therefore no longer have any idea what I'm doing. So much has changed over the past few years. I know I need to see the following...

  • Frozen
  • New Soarin'
  • Ratatouille
We are just going to miss the opening of Guardians by a couple weeks but is there anything else we shouldn't miss that's new? Maybe I can dream of a soft opening?

I know I need to get myself reacquainted with My Disney Experience. Has anything changed with making dinning reservations for table service restaurants? Can you still walk up to a quick service and order live instead of mobile?

Any assistance you all could provide would be invaluable. Thanks!
 
WorldExplorer

WorldExplorer

Well-Known Member
May I go against the grain? I don't think Ratatouille is worth either Lightning Lane money or waiting longer than, say, forty minutes at the most.

It's a really big 3D movie, essentially. I've yet to see anyone describe it as more than "cute". Maybe it's impressive if you haven't been in the parks for seven years or don't know much about what other parks offer, but only in that context.
I mean, I'm not saying avoid it like the plague, just I wouldn't miss out on other things for it.

That's just me, though.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
DisneyFreak said:
So we have friends coming in from out of town in May and they wanted to do one day at a park. Epcot won the popular vote. After I picked myself up off the floor from the one day price tag of $148.04 per person, I began to realize I haven't been in a park since 2017 (MK) and haven't been to Epcot since 2015 and therefore no longer have any idea what I'm doing. So much has changed over the past few years. I know I need to see the following...

  • Frozen
  • New Soarin'
  • Ratatouille
We are just going to miss the opening of Guardians by a couple weeks but is there anything else we shouldn't miss that's new? Maybe I can dream of a soft opening?

I know I need to get myself reacquainted with My Disney Experience. Has anything changed with making dinning reservations for table service restaurants? Can you still walk up to a quick service and order live instead of mobile?

Any assistance you all could provide would be invaluable. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Well, you'll get to see a lot of walls at Epcot. And food/alcohol kiosks.

Forget about a soft opening for Guardians, unless you're D23, Club 33, AP, DVC, or a CM.

They've pushed everything to the app. You can still walk up and order food but it's basically frowned.

And I agree with Martin - I'd ask for a re-vote.
 
ppete1975

ppete1975

Well-Known Member
Id just go slow. Enjoy the beauty of the buildings that are still there, enjoy the flowers by the lake. Ask them what they want to do.. something drew them to Epcot.. maybe they remember living with the land from childhood. Hopefully it isnt because they loved journey into the imagination 1 or world of motion or horizons or the seas pavillion... or... the dinosarus in the energy building...

if so you might have to break some news.
 
WorldExplorer

WorldExplorer

Well-Known Member
HauntedPirate said:
Well, you'll get to see a lot of walls at Epcot. And food/alcohol kiosks.

Forget about a soft opening for Guardians, unless you're D23, Club 33, AP, DVC, or a CM.

They've pushed everything to the app. You can still walk up and order food but it's basically frowned.

And I agree with Martin - I'd ask for a re-vote.
Click to expand...
Of all the parks, I think Epcot is going to give you the least issues with mobile ordering if you don't like that kind of thing. None of the third party places have it, so that's most of World Showcase, none of the booths do it, and Sunshine Seasons doesn't either.

There are four Epcot places with it and one of those is the Germany bakery, which always has a line, so any frowning isn't working.
 
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
You didnt say if your friends have been to EP before, which can make a big difference. If they havent been and this will be a new experience for them, and since you havent been for many years, you can enjoy showing them around each pavilion and exploring what each offers. As you know, Soarin has changed since you were there last. The scenes are now from various places in the world, IMHO a lesser show than the original but still entertaining. Frozen IMHO is meh. Rat was fun, worth doing but like MMRR, a rolling car bringing you from screen to screen scenes. Soarin, Frozen and Rat have lines building early on. If you want to do them all, I'd do Frozen, Rat and Soarin in that order.
You can enjoy a variety of food and drinks from the kiosks offered around the lake. Look up the menus and see what everyone may be tempted to try out. Mobile ordering is very convenient but you can still walk up to order if you must. Table Service restaurants still fill up fast in advance so youre better off doing an ADR ahead to ensure you get the restaurant you would like to dine at most.
EP's gotten knocked a lot due to the construction, but we still got a lot of enjoyment from our days visits there.
 
tpoly88

tpoly88

Well-Known Member
My wife and I go to Epcot a lot and is our favorite park as we do like to walk around get something to eat and have a few glasses of wine. The F&G festival is going on in May and there is a Garden Rocks concert everyday (starting at 530 i believe) which is fun to watch for a bit. I assume you are driving over in the morning as i did not see you staying over. The Genie + is a little of pain but ive gotten used to it. The day you go, wake up and at 7am you can get on Genie to do some fastpasses and i would try to get there for rope drop as Frozen and Rat do not have regular lightning lanes (you need to pay extra for those rides). Id also try and make a reservation for a late lunch or dinner in the park as the kiosks while decent had a lot of food that was sugary and was not to my taste. Have fun!
 
W

We love Edna Mode

Active Member
I agree to go slow. Epcot is full of detail and lots to see. Go with an open mind and anything you do, even the less popular attractions are enjoyable. There is enough there for the day and you can always find something to eat, even if it’s not a sit down. I actually look forward to Epcot every trip. Don’t forget to stop at France for a snack.
 
Dayma

Dayma

Well-Known Member
DisneyFreak said:
So we have friends coming in from out of town in May and they wanted to do one day at a park. Epcot won the popular vote. After I picked myself up off the floor from the one day price tag of $148.04 per person, I began to realize I haven't been in a park since 2017 (MK) and haven't been to Epcot since 2015 and therefore no longer have any idea what I'm doing. So much has changed over the past few years. I know I need to see the following...

  • Frozen
  • New Soarin'
  • Ratatouille
We are just going to miss the opening of Guardians by a couple weeks but is there anything else we shouldn't miss that's new? Maybe I can dream of a soft opening?

I know I need to get myself reacquainted with My Disney Experience. Has anything changed with making dinning reservations for table service restaurants? Can you still walk up to a quick service and order live instead of mobile?

Any assistance you all could provide would be invaluable. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Are your friends OK with thrill rides or more calm rides? For us we are not thrill ride people so we love Ratatouille, Soarin, Frozen, SSE, Gran Fiesta Tour.

Other than that we just kinda chill out and take in all the countries.
 
DisneyFreak

DisneyFreak

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
tpoly88 said:
My wife and I go to Epcot a lot and is our favorite park as we do like to walk around get something to eat and have a few glasses of wine. The F&G festival is going on in May and there is a Garden Rocks concert everyday (starting at 530 i believe) which is fun to watch for a bit. I assume you are driving over in the morning as i did not see you staying over. The Genie + is a little of pain but ive gotten used to it. The day you go, wake up and at 7am you can get on Genie to do some fastpasses and i would try to get there for rope drop as Frozen and Rat do not have regular lightning lanes (you need to pay extra for those rides). Id also try and make a reservation for a late lunch or dinner in the park as the kiosks while decent had a lot of food that was sugary and was not to my taste. Have fun!
Click to expand...

I had forgotten all about F&G and over the weekend we checked out the Kiosk menus and band that would be playing (Mercy Me - meh).

Our friends and ourselves are staying over at Grande Lakes Orlando for the week but we had some DVC points that needed to be used up by 6/1 or lost so this weekend we booked two nights at Boardwalk for the night we're at the park and the following night so that should work out nicely. We figure the 2nd day/night we'll sleep in, chill at the pool and do a Monorail pub crawl.

I'll have to take a look at Genie and see how that works. Haven't used it yet.
 
DfromATX

DfromATX

Well-Known Member
For only one day, I'd pick a different park, especially if you're going to miss GotG. I read somewhere there will be NO soft openings. Don't they want to see all the new Star Wars stuff? (I personally don't care about Star Wars, but I'm in the minority.) If you still wish to go to Epcot, don't forget about Living with the Land and Spaceship Earth! Also, I think you will be there for Flower & Garden, so trying the food booths would be fun. Maybe check the concert schedule and see who will be there when you are. Oh yeah, there's Mission Space and Test Track.
 
tpoly88

tpoly88

Well-Known Member
DfromATX said:
For only one day, I'd pick a different park, especially if you're going to miss GotG. I read somewhere there will be NO soft openings. Don't they want to see all the new Star Wars stuff? (I personally don't care about Star Wars, but I'm in the minority.) If you still wish to go to Epcot, don't forget about Living with the Land and Spaceship Earth! Also, I think you will be there for Flower & Garden, so trying the food booths would be fun. Maybe check the concert schedule and see who will be there when you are. Oh yeah, there's Mission Space and Test Track.
Click to expand...
Agree with most on the rides as I like all those, Epcot is a different park and if it’s just adults it’s the best park. You just have to know the ins and outs. Covid put a slight damper on it but as a place to walk around, do a ride or two , eat and drink? No better park. With kids a different story but has gotten better. There is a fun way to enjoy all the parks but Epcot is my favorite!
 
larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
Weather_Lady said:
I'm a theater nerd and the thread title triggered me to burst irresistibly into song. With apologies to Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus...

One Day At Epcot and the World's your oyster --
unless you want to see Space 220.
Journey of Water still is lacking moisture,
but if you're lucky, they might watch you pee.
I can feel my wallet lightening endlessly...
Click to expand...
e9f64ce38621c75986554abedc96653b.gif
 

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