All Things EPCOT, Walt Disney World, Orlando
Having a successful day at the theme park is a hot topic! It's a fun quality time experience and a whole vibe to A) enjoy yourself, tapping into your inner child and B) get your money’s worth. Let's do this!
Exploring Epcot is an epic experience. One of the reasons we keep coming back to Disney is the atmosphere. As a marketing plan and business, they have figured out how to wine, dine, and goodtime the visitor, with a never-ending bucket list inside their kingdom.
Epcot’s World theme creates a visionary experience inviting us to look back through civilization while gazing ahead into the future. Thid theme of technological advance is the overall draw, embracing culture, difference, and possibility.
The entire theme park experience keeps us coming back for more and making it more magical! I am sharing our full day Itinerary suggestions for Epcot’s unique setting. If you’ve planning a visit, this guide will help you to plan accordingly and make sense of the “worlds” concepts within, and what to do.
Personally and Misconceptions Personally, as a mom who raised her kids next door to Orlando in neighboring Brevard County, we have frequented Sea World and Universal much more than Disney. And I will say it: Disney is an all-time tourist attraction. We tend to prefer less touristy, more naturey places and quality time. We still genuinely love a good atmosphere and as my kids grow and our relationships evolve, we rediscover the kid inside of us often. Admittedly, I was not completely excited about Epcot’s general theme. I had people who know me suggest this wouldn’t be my favorite of the parks. I was warned by many locals who frequent Disney upon asking to plan for the extra expense (I was advised to come ready to swipe the card) that part of the allure is the food and drinking around the cultural experiences. It’s not a budget friendly zone! I also didn’t think it was really a full day. Boy, was I mistaken. So, this park is not just about rides (our usual highlight). Epcot is a slower paced, easier to breathe, genius of a place.
Epcot is actually more than twice the size of Walt Disney World, at 305 acres. It is the eighth most visited theme park in the World!
Tickets and the App
This is probably the most annoying part of the process, but I remind myself it makes the day of go smoother…. Downloading the app, getting the tickets off the site, reserving passes, and uploading tickets into the app is not as bad as it sounds, but if you get impatient with technology it’s definitely more time consuming on the front end of your experience. However, parking (paying at the ticket booth) and walking up to the entrance to scan your bar code and receive your card is awesome. What used to involve more waiting to enter, is now easy breezy. What this means: Disney forces you to consider certain things prior to arriving. This is harder because the flow of your day may revolve around your pre-booked rides, or dining reservations. It’s easier because you won’t have to wait in line for these parts of your day. So, there’s a trade off!
Arriving/ Objectives: On this chilly January day, we parked and entered the park within 30 minutes! From there, I had a list of the 11 rides I wanted to ride. I wanted to see each of the Countries and try some foods and drinks from a few of them.
*This day was a late gift to my son Josh who turned 22. We had planned to share this day for his 21st birthday and sadly, that never happened due to his intense Florida Tech college schedule, and life! I also have some windows of time I will not go to the theme park because I do not want to be hot and miserable or in line with every spring breaker! My goal was to eat and drink around the World with my son in between rides and just have a good quality day with him.
*Prebooked Lightning passes for Guardians of the Galaxy, 3:45- 4:45.
*Lunch @ La Chefs de France,12:40.
*Dinner @ Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya, 7:20.
*I chose our lunch location, Josh chose dinner. I wanted table service settings with good menu options and a place to warm up and eat well. We didn't want to eat at the most expensive places, but also didn't want to deal with food court vibes either. I'm a firm believer in do something you've never done at least once a year and starting off your B-day right includes a new experience. This fit the bill because Josh had never been to Epcot, never eaten in a French restaurant, and always wanted to try ratatouille! 3 for 1! Mom win!!
We used rest rooms, grabbed a paper map from the gift shop, and determined our first ride to be Spaceship Earth with a 15-minute wait time. This is the spherical landmark, the ball that is right inside of the park. It quickly became obvious that we were visiting on a very low traffic day, probably due to the weather and the Holiday craze just ending, giving us lower than average wait times ALL DAY!
What we carried in with us: We wore layers and coats (low of 40, high of 55, is not your usual Orlando day), we each had a bottle of water, ChapStick, sunglasses or reading glasses, my small pocketbook as a cross body, I also had gloves, earmuffs, and a granola bar. We ate breakfast on the car ride in. I had a portable battery to recharge my phone and used it!
FOOD, Oh so many choices.
Lunch: Chefs De France We rated: 5 Stars
Atmosphere, we loved our table location and enjoyed the swift service by a knowledgeable staff member. Josh ate the Ratatouille, with a side of scallops for protein. I had the mac n cheese which I'd read was a filling portion. We ordered champagne to toast, and they brought out French bread and butter. We shared both of our meals, and it was more than enough. Delicious, we were in and out in about an hour and felt great after eating, not heavy or tired.
Note: We were 20 minutes late for our reservations because we'd unexpectedly met up with some friends after riding Soarin'. The app and site say they only hold your reservation for 15 minutes. I called the restaurant where they assured me it would be fine, and it was.
Dinner: Shiki-Sai: Sushi Izakaya We rated: 5 Stars
I think we had the best seats in the house, right in the corner of both window walls. The view of the sky turning to night and lights of Epcot coming alive set the tone for a wonderful meal. Here we both ordered saki. Josh had snow crab California Roll and Nibiri. I ordered a more boring but familiar choice, salmon rolls. I helped Josh eat his food which was really tasty. My food gave me some much-needed salt which may have been a sign my blood pressure was low but after dinner I felt reenergized. The food was delicious, and the service was wonderful.
Note: We were 20 minutes early for this meal, and they got us right in! Bathrooms are down the hall and through the neighboring restaurant, Teppan Edo. This is a traditional Japanese steak house where the food is cooked on the grill right in front of you.
Drinks:
We drank in several countries and enjoyed the experience of a wide variety of options with feeling a little bougie! We had a lot of fun with this. I am not a big drinker and don't like beer or sugary mixed drinks. We wandered and tried selections from the drink carts that were set up. Wait times averaged fifteen minutes or less, and this just made our day of exploration more fun!
The 11 rides in Epcot In no particular order, with size requirements (if any):
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: Trackless cart
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind: 42 inch minimum, roller coaster, must reserve with virtual queue or Lightning Lane Pass.
Spaceship Earth: Inside the icon of Epcot, the sphere holds this 15-minute ride through humanity
Frozen Ever-After: Boat Ride journey
Test Track: 40 inch minimum, thrill ride (closed until late 2025)
Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros: Boat ride inside Mexico’s pavilion
Journey into Imagination with Figment: cart ride
Living With the Land: Boat ride through extensive gardens
Soarin’ Around the World: 40 inch minimum, simulation, motion ride, hang gliding
The Seas With Nemo and Friends: cart ride through aquarium
Mission: Space: 40 inches minimum, thrill ride, motion/ simulation with two choices: Orange being intense, and Green being the tamer version of this experience
The Four Worlds of Epcot:
The set up of this park is to encounter four different worlds, which all have some relationship to Earth. World Celebration, World Discovery, World Nature, and World Showcase which all be areas unto themselves with a theme.
I’ll explain more here what each of these contain:
World Celebration: (communication, imagination and creativity)
This is where the main entrance opens up to. Attractions include
~Spaceship Earth
The imagination pavilion which houses a really cool hands-on science museum fun for all ages. The focus on senses makes it fun to play. Whole body movement, light up colors and sound lab fun!
~ Journey into Imagination with Figment is inside of this pavilion. We found the cool museum fun to explore.
World Discovery: (Space, Science, technology and intergalactic exploration)
This is where you’ll find the best part of the park: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Remind; along with some other favorites: Mission Space and Test Track.
World Nature: (beauty of balance, preservation and awe of the natural world)
~ Journey of Water (the Moana interactive water walk)
~The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavillion
~Soarin and ~The Land are inside of the same space along with a big food court. Need an indoor spot due to weather or overstimulation? This is your jam.
Fun fact: Inside of the Seas pavilion (where the Nemo ride is featured) lives the 6th largest marine aquarium in the world! If I’d known how cool this exhibit was, I would not have waited so long on our visiting day to check it out. Manatee, sharks, and tanks with different sea life were really well laid out. However, if we’d gone earlier, we definitely would have missed other attractions because our day timed out at 9pm when the park was closing!
Turtle Talk with Cush is also inside of the Seas Pavillion. This is an interactive activity and not a ride, but highly enjoyable. The teacher in my loved the education side of all of these worlds!
The World Showcase: 11 countries, sorted by “pavilions” around planet Earth.
Meant to immerse the visitor in art, culture, cuisine and traditions, these pavilions each feel drastically unique and the designing is masterful. Countries featured are: France, Norway, Mexico, China, Morocco, Japan, Italiy, Germany, America, United Kingdom, and Canada.
What is cool: In an effort to create authenticity, pavilions hire staff that represent these countries. WOW! Nice touch. We loved this feature and found it 100% added to our experience. Many countries have live shows, entertainment or documentaries as well, check the schedule of events on the day of your visit to see what is available. While we caught some of the dancing in Morocco and music in Mexico, most of the day we were too focused to take advantage of the short films or shows. We would like to do more of this when we return.
There’s an International Gateway, which is an alternative entrance to the Park for friends staying on Disney properties. Located in between France and the United Kingdom, those coming by boat, skyline, or walking the path may enter. This connects to Hollywood Studios as well 😊
Of all these, there’s one ride at Epic which still has a virtual cue, meaning you need to book the ride time during the open windows in the app, which are 7:00 am and 1:00 pm. The ride fills up very quickly (within minutes) once the window opens, so do not delay requesting your ride time! For the 1:00 queue, be inside of the Disney Parks to enter the queue. If you do not get a spot in the queue, it can be very disappointing. Lightning lane passes can book out days prior to the visit and show zero availability.
⚡⚡⚡Lightning Lane: ⚡⚡⚡
This was a park perk available previously only to those staying at a Disney resort. Now, if you are staying at the resort, you can purchase the lightning lane up to 7 days prior to your visit and all others may take advantage up to 3 days prior to your ticketed date.
Buying a ticket to skip the standby line and wait in a shorter line is available in limited quantities. While Disney is already an expensive day, the lightning lane is a big subject of contention. Some love it, others hate it. If you’re traveling with a family, paying $19/ each for a space in the line is unreasonable. It adds up so quickly. That said, the two of us would not have been able to ride if left to the Virtual Queue, on a low traffic day this ride still attracts the whole crowd. Prices are also based on demand. So the $19.00 we paid per person, fluctuates based on the number of reservations for that day and which ride you are booking. There is a whole Lightning Lane section in the Disney App that will help you decide what is best for you. There are two different options for the Lightning Lane, a Single Pass (one ride) or the Multipass, (3 rides) with the three rides they throw in a photo package.
For the family on a budget, Lightning Lane is an eye roll, making it a little harder to feel your ticket price ensures all the things you were hoping to do. For the Disney enthusiast, this is a way to accentuate the day with a ribbon on top.
We once visited Hollywood Studios and failed to make it on the Rise Against the Resistance ride, which was huge on our wish list. Totally bummed. We are forced to return another day (later) for another chance to get on the ride. Returning to the park is more costly than paying to ride a ride that you can’t live without riding. If that’s how you feel, lightning lane tickets are definitely an option for you. If you plan to return anyway, or have Disney passes for multiple days, then the Lightning Lane is an extra expense you can do without.
Itinerary
The order of our day/ Example itinerary – We jumped back and forth between rides and eating/ drinking around the world in no particular order other than keeping our reservations. If we had planned better, we would have walked less, but we were okay with the wandering factor and less of a route mapped out. We agreed the best drink we had was in Norway, and our favorite ride was Guardians or the Galaxy, with either Ratatouille or Nemo as a close second. Least favorite was the Mission Space Orange side which we were glad we rode, but agreed was rough on the senses. The Green side is recommended!
Biggest Surprises: The Living on the land is a garden ride which we both loved (we do have a home garden and my son’s conducted multiple projects around these topics of interest).
We both felt the order of our day progressively got better and we were glad we ended the day with Moana’s water walk, as this was a real unexpected delight in the dark with the lighting effects.
*We walked 11 miles on the day and were in our first line by 10am, leaving at 9 pm, and had two sit down meals, dinner and lunch.
Tips:
*Take a photo of your parking area or pin your location
*Preload tickets into the App and have a general idea of top 3 non negotiables for the day
*Bring a portable charger
*Wear comfy walking shoes!
*Dress for the weather, much of the day you'll be in the Florida moodiness of climate
(this may mean having a poncho or hoodie)
*Allow your inner child to come out and play :-)
*Pack a few light snacks and bring a water bottle you can refill
* Be flexible
*For the children, get the stroller!
For the little ones:
I found myself ALL day wishing my grandbaby was there. From the En Canto sing along to the Frozen ride to the Moana water journey, my baby would have loved every part of this place. My sister/ niece prefers Epcot to Magic Kingdom for their toddler princess. It's just a little less crazy than MK, but as exciting for the younger kids. Kidcot Stations are set up in each World Showcase that has activities for children to do. Coloring or activity cards can keep your busy ones who need the hands-on activities happy.
Saving on Tickets
Florida Residents can choose from multiple day tickets or annual passes which make visiting more affordable. US Military Members also enjoy specially priced tickets. Of course, the best deal is the staff member deals, which are the most affordable - to actually be on the cast and crew!
Also, if you are planning to take your little ones to Magic Kingdom, here's the itinerary we followed for that day, as well as tips and help with planning that adventure here:
If you've been following my blog (thank you!!), you know this is not a typical adventure for us! I specialize more in the whole family budget experience. This was considered a B-Day Splurge event. If your trip to Disney is planned for adults, I strongly recommend this day. However, if you're making the trip with little ones, consider this your resource:
While Disney parks are not our usual family choice, they've played a part in our story, and we are happy to share the journey for those planning. Enjoy these Theme Park adventures:
Hollywood Studios, Aquatica, SeaWorld, Magic Kingdom, Volcano Bay, Universal, Islands of Adventure... Orlando theme parks are in our back yard and we are fortunate to get to enjoy them!
Final thoughts of Epcot: We avoided it for so long understanding it to be the Disney Park where you spend the most mainly because of the allure of food and drinks being a part of the experience. I am already planning to return with my granddaughters and niece because this place will fill them with so much joy! My niece and sister prefer Epcot to any other Disney Park, and they do not spend a fortune. I want to share this with them. They won't be getting the world drinking experience I shared today with my 22-year-old, and that's what I appreciate about Disney, the ability to personalize the day to meet the needs of the Visitor.
On saving/ paying: There are some Resident specials to be on the lookout for i f you live in the state or neighboring state. My job has "You Matter" points which allow for swapping out acquired points into gift cards or items from their shop. I have banked points which I then cash out for Disney Cards, which can be used for anything Disney, tickets, food/ drinks, merchandise. There help me save/ plan. Some people use their cashed-out credit card points or get a specific card just to designate bonuses in this way, income tax returns and other side hustle designations help offset this expense.
Our trends...
I just realized I keep saying we are not "Disney" people, but we sure visit a lot! Here's a flashback to our first trip to Hollywood Studios, for Josh's 18th birthday, during the 2020 pandemic when the world was upside down:
No matter where your travels take you, enjoy the journey!
Don't forget to enjoy your company, and surroundings.
Breathe and be present.
Let go of all the things you can't control.
The lines are part of the ride experience, try not to hate the other people waiting :-)
When you need to stop, find a bench with a view and just be grateful for the moment.
And most importantly, make the memories count.
Thank you for enjoying the journey with us! Where ever your travels take you, may you be strong, healthy and happy to experience the path you are on! I'd love for you to leave a comment and share your experiences.
~Mz. Savvy
A note from the editor:
The information in this article was accurate when published but may change without notice. Confirm details when planning your trip.
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