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For Exclusive Use By easyWDW.com Members Epcot Touring Plan With Young Children– Two Day – One Morning Arrival and One Afternoon/Evening Arrival – Morning Arrival

This touring plan visits the attractions that young kids will enjoy the most and are tall enough to ride over two days. One of the two days has you arrive prior to 9:00am, so you can visit the headlining Future World attractions and move through some of the less popular Future World attractions with short waits. The other day has you arrive later in the afternoon or early evening to visit as much of the World Showcase as you like and see IllumiNations. In many ways, it’s similar to the One-Day Standard Plan, only split up into two days. This type of touring plan works well in a variety of situations. You may want to use the evening portion of the plan on your arrival day, so you have an opportunity to settle in before heading off to a Park. You may want to use the morning portion on a Fantasmic day, so you can easily Park Hop over to Hollywood Studios at night after spending most of the day touring Epcot. You may also want to Park Hop over to for Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes. You might find yourself spending half the day at Animal Kingdom, but want to head over to Epcot for dinner, IllumiNations, and some World Showcase shopping. There are a lot of scenarios when one morning and one evening might fit into your itinerary better than the other one and two day Epcot plans. Keep in mind that you’ll need to spend much more time in Epcot to get a comprehensive feel for everything it has to offer. See the Two-Day Plan With Breaks if you would like to spend more time in Epcot.

Note that the touring plan visits both Soarin’ and , each of which requires riders to be at least 40” tall. If your kids aren’t tall enough or you prefer not to ride, you can easily skip to Step 3 and then skip the return to Soarin’ with FASTPASSes in the early afternoon. You may also elect to skip Test Track, which would eliminate the need to cross the Park in the early morning. This doesn’t alter the effectiveness of the touring plan in any meaningful way. If you do skip Soarin’ and Test Track, you’ll have an extra 45 minutes or so to spend in Future World. Consider visiting , Ellen’s Energy Adventure, or spend additional time in the Seas or Imagination Pavilions. Visit these additional attractions after completing the Seas Pavilion attractions.

This is the “Morning Through Early Afternoon” portion of the touring plan, which assumes you arrive prior to 9:00am with plans to stay until around 1:30pm. You can elongate the day easily by heading up to the World Showcase or continuing in Future World. My recommendation would be to move up to the Mexico and Pavilions for the boat ride attractions.

In Order:

1. Head directly to Soarin’ in Pavilion to collect FASTPASSes. Most people present when Epcot opens will also be headed in that direction (or to Test Track in the opposite direction). If you’re coming in from the main entrance, stay to the right of Spaceship and then take a right after you pass Innoventions West. Disney employees will walk you directly

For Exclusive Use By easyWDW.com Members there if you arrive prior to opening. If you are coming from the International Gateway, walk down through the United Kingdom and Canada Pavilions, enter Future World, and follow the signs to the Land Pavilion. Soarin’ is located inside the Land Pavilion on the lower floor, next to Sunshine Seasons quick service and . The machines are located to the right of Soarin’s standby entrance and FASTPASS return line, around a corner, and near where guests exit the ride.

You can take advantage of the “FASTPASS runner” at Soarin’ if you’d like. Designate one person who is quick and give them everyone’s theme park tickets. The FASTPASS runner will head to Soarin’ and collect FASTPASSes for everyone in the group by putting each person’s ticket through the machine. The FASTPASS runner can then meet up with the group outside the entrance to Test Track or at another appointed location. This will cut down on the walking necessary for the other group members.

2. Exit the Land Pavilion and walk across Epcot to Test Track, which is located past both Innoventions East and West and up from Mission: Space. Ride in the standby line. Skip Test Track if the wait is 25 minutes or more (it shouldn’t be unless you arrive late) and collect FASTPASSes as soon as you’re eligible. Return to Test Track before exiting Epcot in the afternoon if you do pick up FASTPASSes. The FASTPASS machines are located near Test Track’s entrance (to the right if you are looking directly at it). We need to be cognizant of our departure time also. If Test Track is vital and you’re leaving around 1pm as planned, you may want to wait in the standby line even if the wait is 30+ minutes. If you wait until you’re eligible for another FASTPASS (likely around 10am if you were present at rope drop), the FASTPASS return time may not be until after you leave. Luckily, you shouldn’t run into long waits this early in the morning unless Epcot is not recommended and the crowd level is an eight or above. In almost all scenarios you should be able to ride Test Track with a minimal wait or acquire FASTPASSes with a return time before you plan to leave.

3. Exit Test Track and walk back down past Innoventions East and the Fountain to the Character Spot, which is located near Innoventions West. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with a lot of characters in a short period of time. Check your times guide for other nearby characters and visit them at this time also. It’s difficult to gauge where specific characters will be because Disney is moving them around as they build the Expansion at the Magic Kingdom. You’ll want to look out for Tinker Bell and the Fairies in particular. Character meet and greets tend to have longer afternoon waits than many attractions, making them an important morning priority.

4. After you’re done meeting the characters, walk back toward the Land Pavilion, only continue down below it to the Seas Pavilion. Ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends, which will take you conveniently into the Seas Pavilion. If for some reason you would prefer not to ride, you can enter the Seas Pavilion through the gift shop on the opposite side.

For Exclusive Use By easyWDW.com Members 5. See , which is located inside of the Seas Pavilion on the bottom floor. This is an interactive attraction where Crush from will actually interact on screen with members of the audience in real time. Try to time it so you enter the show just as the previous show lets out. The first show begins at 9:40am and shows run every 20 minutes or so. Make sure your child sits up front and is enthusiastic if they would like to participate during the show.

6. Enjoy the Seas Pavilion for as long as you like. Highlights include the manatee exhibit and coral reef restoration project. There are a lot of interactive exhibits and fun things for kids to do here as well. This plan assumes you spend about 30 minutes enjoying the Pavilion, but you can spend more time if you like or return later in the afternoon. We shouldn’t run into any substantial waits for the rest of the day, but you’ll need to keep an eye on your watch if you have a set departure time.

7. Exit the Seas Pavilion and head up past the Land Pavilion to the Imagination Pavilion. See Captain EO, the 3D film.

8. Ride Journey into Imagination, which is also located inside of the Imagination Pavilion. Feel free to check out the area where you exit – there are some fun activities for kids.

9. Return to the Land Pavilion. We have in mind to ride Soarin’, ride Living with the Land, see Circle of Life, and have lunch at Sunshine Seasons. You can do this in any order you choose. As written, we’ll head down to the Land Pavilion’s ground floor to ride Living with the Land first. The entrance is located near Soarin’.

10. Ride Soarin’ with the FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day. Ride after lunch if they are not yet ready for use.

11. Have lunch. I highly recommend Sunshine Seasons, which is right near where we are and serves a variety of high quality, fresh food. There’s also Electric Umbrella near the Fountain in Future World. They serve the usual Disney burger/wrap/salad/chicken nugget fare. You’re also welcome to venture up to the World Showcase if you prefer, but you’ll want to complete whatever you want to do in the Land Pavilion first. Otherwise, it’s a long trek back.

12. Watch The Circle of Life. The entrance is located on the top floor of the Land Pavilion, near the main entrance. It’s unlikely that you will need to wait any longer than it takes for the next show to begin, so try to time it so that you enter with the rest of the crowd. The Circle of Life is a 15 minute film starring characters from . It is a fun, educational video that won’t likely rank high on anyone’s list of favorite attractions. Skip it if you would prefer to spend the time elsewhere.

For Exclusive Use By easyWDW.com Members 13. Ride . It’s located inside of the 18-story geodesic sphere right inside of the main entrance. We skipped it earlier in the day because it’s a lengthier ride that rarely has a wait longer than five minutes.

Please Note: It should be around 1:30pm, which means it’s time for our break as written. If you have more time to spend in Epcot, you’re welcome to do whatever else you want to do now. I would recommend heading up the World Showcase, beginning with the Mexico and Norway Pavilions. Visiting Innoventions and/or riding Ellen’s Energy Adventure is also an option. You’re welcome to do whatever you like until it’s time to leave for the day. Keep in mind that Soain’ and Test Track will likely have long waits by this time in the afternoon, but any other attraction should have a nominal wait. For our afternoon/evening return, we’re planning to spend most of our time in World Showcase, but it’s unlikely you’ll have enough time to visit all of the Pavilions in just a few hours. If the World Showcase is an important part of your trip, plan to visit a few Pavilions now, arrive earlier for the afternoon/evening portion, or visit Epcot on a third day.

Skipped Attractions and How to Fit Them In

Mission Space (minimum height: 44”): Mission Space doesn’t usually have long waits, especially for the less intense Green Team. Nonetheless, you would be best served to ride it after visiting the Character Spot in the morning or with FASTPASS later in the day. Expect waits in the 15-20 minute range for the Green Team and 25-30 minutes for the Orange Team on most afternoons, if that.

Sum of All Thrills (minimum height 48” to ride and 54” to add an inversion): Sum of All Thrills should be done in the morning, after the Character Spot. If you are also doing Mission: Space, do Sum of All Thrills and then Mission Space after, both in the standby line. Consider looking over the Adult touring plans or Family Hybrid plans if you’re planning to do all of the thrill rides.

Ellen’s Energy Adventure – This attraction is about 45 minutes long, which is too much time to spend with just one day to tour Epcot, unless you have a particular affinity for , Ellen, and animatronic dinosaurs. If you do want to ride it, fit it in later in the day, after you’ve done the bulk of the Future World attractions. Waits are rarely longer than it takes for the next ride vehicle to leave. It’s also an excellent attraction when it’s hot or raining out because it’s air- conditioned, slow moving, and doesn’t require a whole lot of attention.

Innoventions – Many of Innoventions’ exhibits take a considerable amount of time to experience and most of them aren’t worth the opportunity cost with just one day to tour Epcot. Feel free to walk through and check out anything that pops out at you, but most people prefer to spend their time in the World Showcase and other Future World attractions over most things they see in Innoventions. I do recommend Storm Struck and Sum of All Thrills in Innoventions East. If you’re headed to Innoventions for other exhibits and attractions, do so in the afternoon, after

For Exclusive Use By easyWDW.com Members riding the headliners and experiencing the other Future World attractions. Like Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Innoventions is an excellent opportunity to get out of the sun or rain for an extended period of time.

World Showcase: We’re skipping most of the World Showcase simply because there isn’t time for it. Most kids would prefer to spend the bulk of their time in Future World, though the World Showcase does offer a lot of character interaction, fun music acts, the Kidcot stations, shopping, and plenty of culture. If you think your child would enjoy the World Showcase, I would strongly recommend spending two days in Epcot. If you would like to do more of the World Showcase with one day, consider skipping Circle of Life, Captain EO, Journey into Imagination, most of the Seas Pavilion, and whatever other attractions sound like they would be less appealing. It’s unlikely that you would be able to tour Epcot without an afternoon break with young kids, so the only way to add time in the World Showcase is to eliminate other attractions.

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