Construction, Closures & Cutbacks at Epcot
Epcot has been a construction zone for the past several months, but even more closed recently as Walt Disney World prepares to gut and redo the central core of Future World behind Spaceship Earth. In this post, we’ll tour Future World and offer thoughts on navigating this sea of walls and how to approach rope drop at Epcot.
The latest closures are Electric Umbrella and Pin Central, which themselves aren’t significant losses over which anyone should shed tears. Sure, we’ve had a couple good meals at the notoriously bad Electric Umbrella–and we harbor a bit of nostalgia for anything with such a long legacy–but Electric Umbrella was way past its sell-by date. A mid-1990s aesthetic in the worst possible way that was well over a decade overdue for replacement.
Pin Central was arguably a bigger offender. This typified the clutter added to Epcot in the 1990s, with angled poles and triangular shade panels soaring above it. The stand itself occupied what was previously a clean path between reflecting pools, and competed with Spaceship Earth for attention. Pin Central already has a new home under Spaceship Earth in the Camera Center, and Electric Umbrella will be replaced in the future by a restaurant in the same location that will almost certainly be superior. The substance of these locations isn’t the big blow of the closures…
Rather, the issue is that the center of Epcot’s Future World is now closed. Previously, the two sides connected via the Innoventions breezeways, which flanked the sides of Pin Central (and before it closed last fall, the Fountain of Nations). Now, there is no central corridor.
This means that there are essentially three separate zones of Epcot, each with minimal overlap. There’s World Showcase, which has always only connected to Future World on its two ends–near Canada and Mexico.
Now, there are essentially two halves of Future World, each of which also only connect to one another at their ends. You now can only access one side from the other near the park entrance and near World Showcase plaza.
With these three distinct areas, there’s the potential for lot of backtracking and walking during a visit to Epcot. And will be for the foreseeable future, as these bypass corridors are unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. This may not make a ton of sense explained via text, so here’s how it looks on the park map:
While that map accurately reflects the two halves of Future World and the long and meandering loop required to get between the sides, there’s one thing it undersells: walls.
All of the green space inside the monorail loop on the map above is actually construction. Those paths are not peaceful promenades lined with trees, they are expanses of shadeless concrete lined with construction walls.
Not that we’d expect Disney’s official maps to show the reality or details of construction, but it’s worth underscoring this because it does make a difference when walking through Epcot. Making the long trudge through Future World is not pleasant, especially on a hot day with the sun overhead.
Moving along, when you get to Spaceship Earth, you need to choose whether you want to head towards Mission: Space and Test Track or the Seas, the Land, and Journey into Imagination. (Both routes continue on to World Showcase.)
If you go left under Spaceship Earth, you’ll come to this seemingly dead end with Pin Central ahead behind the construction wall.
Although you can’t see it, there’s a hard left turn right before the entrance to Guest Relations. This will take you towards Mission Space and Test Track.
This bypass corridor is a zig-zagging path.
It goes under the monorail track and behind the old Electric Umbrella location (which will be repurposed into a new dining venue) as well as the temporary MouseGear shop.
It also offers an up-close look at the old Universe of Energy building, which has been repainted for its future attraction.
What remains to be seen is how long this will be used. Our expectation is that this bypass corridor will be open for the next couple of years, meaning this will eventually by the rope drop route for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and the Play Pavilion.
The plans for the central core of Epcot are fairly elaborate, including the multi-story festival center and Moana: Journey of Water, plus a ton of green space and landscaping that’ll replace Fountain of Nations, Pin Central, etc.
While it’s possible a temporary corridor could reopen through the center of the park once demolition and construction reach a certain point, it seems just as likely that the Play Pavilion and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be ready to open next year before any of the central core is in finished form.
We think this is especially likely given the upcoming 2-Year Closure & Reimagining of Spaceship Earth. At that point, work will need to be done around (at least) the exit area of Spaceship Earth in addition to everything else that’s happening.
That means that at rope drop, the left side serves (or will serve) Mission Space, Test Track, Play Pavilion, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Most guests heading for Frozen Ever After will probably also head this direction, although going right is potentially the faster route due to the indirectness of the paths on this side.
Here’s a look at the closed off Innoventions breezeway and the temporary MouseGear store on this side of Future World.
As a reminder, none of this is being demolished–only the other side. MouseGear will return to its previous location once the interior is remodeled and the inner area of the central core reopens.
Facing the exact opposite direction, we can see walls blocking routes to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and the Play Pavilion.
With Test Track also closed for refurbishment, the only reason to head this way right now is for Mission Space. Soon, that won’t be the case and this route will be much busier.
If you’re heading to the Land, Seas, or Journey into Imagination, you’ll take a right back at Spaceship Earth.
This path has been open for a couple of months now, so it’s not really anything new. It’s definitely getting more traffic these days, though, because continuing past Spaceship Earth is no longer an option.
The big winner of all of this has been the Seas with Nemo & Friends, which is seeing considerably more foot traffic as a result of the bypass corridor.
We’ve seeing a huge spike in wait times for this attraction, particularly before 1 pm. It’s not at the point where we’re recommending this as a Tier 2 FastPass+ selection (yet), but we’ll continue monitoring wait times here.
Here’s a look at the closed off Innoventions breezeway on this side of Future World.
Half of this has already been demolished, and it’s safe to assume the other half will be gone within a few months, with construction on both the festival center and Moana: Journey of Water beginning later this year. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s how all of this will look once finished:
The remaining question is Should You Skip Epcot? As before, we cannot give a one size fits all answer to that. There’s no sugarcoating it: walking around Future World is a pretty miserable experience right now, and the backtracking required to hit both sides plus World Showcase is tedious and frustrating.
However, this almost exclusively impacts Future World. Once you’re in World Showcase, there’s nothing noticeable–not even for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, which is occurring almost exclusively backstage in an expansion to the France pavilion.
We’ll simply reiterate what we recommended there: enter through International Gateway if at all possible. This should be easy if you embrace our Park Hopper Strategy for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Normally, I’m not averse to walking. I typically log over 20,000 steps on a normal day at Walt Disney World, and frequently do multiple laps around World Showcase. However, I enjoy pleasant strolls through atmospheric locations. Future World in its current state is anything but that–I cannot stress just how tiresome navigating the front of Epcot is right now. I’d rather walk around Walt Disney Studios Park. (For those unfamiliar with WDSP, that’s saying a lot.)
Since the guest experience at Epcot was still just a little too good, Walt Disney World did the logical and totally understandable thing: cut hours for seven attractions.
Beginning on February 23, the following attractions will all close earlier than the rest of Epcot:
Kidcot stations: will close at 8:00 pmAmerican Adventure: last show at 8:15 pmAwesome Planet: last show at 8:00 pmBeauty and the Beast Sing-Along: last show at 6:00 pmImpressions de France: operating from 6:30 to 8:00 pmCanada Far and Wide in CircleVision 360: last show at 8:00 pmReflections of China: last show at 8:10 pm
February 21, 2020 (12 noon EST) UPDATE: Walt Disney World has reversed this reduction of hours–all of the above attractions will continue to operate as normally.
However, American Adventure, Canada Far & Wide, and Awesome Planet will no longer be offered during evening Extra Magic Hours.
I’m not naive. I know Walt Disney World will never discount tickets to Epcot due to all of the construction. If they didn’t for Disney California Adventure or Disney’s Hollywood Studios, they certainly won’t start now. However, it’s a bit insulting to cut again after closing a huge section of the park for the park’s massive overhaul and right after increasing ticket prices.
I’m personally fairly excited for the future of Epcot. The sea of walls doesn’t bother me a ton because I can avoid them, I’m invested in the “long game,” and think the payoff will be worth it. Frankly, I’m happy that Disney is going big on this as opposed to taking a more conservative route. (With that said, I do blame Walt Disney World for letting Epcot stagnate for far too long, necessitating large scale work we’re seeing now rather than incremental improvements over the decades.)
However, I’m not the average once in a lifetime visitor who is paying high ticket prices and also ‘paying’ in terms of a diminished guest experience (the fruits of which they’ll never enjoy). Walt Disney World should be viewing the current Epcot guest experience with these families in mind. It’s probably fair to say that the last hour of the day, most of said families are not experiencing the aforementioned attractions. It’s probably a pretty slow timeframe for those experiences.
From that perspective, making some cuts to underutilized experiences is a pragmatic business decision. However, Disney has been making a lot of those “pragmatic business decisions” lately, resulting in a surplus of incremental cuts. The way Walt Disney World continually “trims fat” you’d think that this is a regional amusement park teetering on the precipice of bankruptcy. Obviously, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, attendance and prices both continue to increase, as do corporate earnings.
Rather than further scaling back, Walt Disney World should be doing everything possible to offer temporary enhancements, entertainment, etc. at Epcot to make those once in a lifetime trips special in spite of the construction. If it’s sensible to make a cut in one area, an increase elsewhere of corresponding proportionality is only appropriate. The guest experience desperately needs to be bolstered in Epcot, not diminished. Walt Disney World making further cuts to Epcot with so much already under the knife is simply a bad look.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the latest changes at Epcot? Will the bypass corridors and the lack of the central core of Future World being open impact your itinerary? Will you still visit Epcot on your trip, or is all of this simply too much? Thoughts on the cutbacks? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I was at EPCOT 2/14/20 and the walls were disconcerting. Just last July, I attended a talk by a staffer from Disney Institute about how important the guest experience is to them and how much they go out if the way to create beautiful scrims and engaging signage during construction phases. Someone at EPCOT did not get that memo. The return guest is important to their marketing model, but they don’t seem to care at the moment. Add that to EPCOT’s reputation as the “boring” park, and I can’t imagine that people will be flocking back any time soon. I have always loved EPCOT, and Future World had indeed become worn and outdated, but it is in a sad, sad state at the moment and for the foreseeable future. (Meanwhile, Disney Hollywood Studios has become overcrowded and unnavigable.)
Yes, and they’ve cut back the meet-and-greets and similar offerings at Studios despite that Park being jammed. Another site noted that if you don’t arrive hours before opening you might only get to ride one ride standby before noon. How difficult is it for Disney to offer some alternatives to standing in line for people who don’t have the option of bouncing to another Park after the frantic attempt to get a boarding group for RoR is over, either successfully or not, in the first minute or two after the Park opens. (If the Park opens at 8, as is common right now, your choice is to wait standby for a ride for up to 3 hours this week since none of the shows open until close to 11am or so.)
I’m sorry that Shanghai and HK Disney are closed, but don’t try to make it up by cutting back at the US Parks.
Epcot is in a sad, sad state right now. When I visited 4 years ago (my first visit as an adult) I loved it but when we returned a couple of weeks ago it was my least favorite park for all of the reasons listed. Future World was miserable with all the diverted pathways and the World Showcase felt super congested, I’m assuming because more people were spending more time there. It sounds like Epcot will be awesome in 2-3 years when all of this is done but right now even a first time visitor could very much tell the park is in transition and has been left to languish for too long. (I did like Frozen Ever After though.)
All of this construction is a little frustrating. We are going to Disney in April (less than 2 months away! Yippee!!!) to celebrate my mom’s 60th birthday. While I can (almost) guarantee that myself, my husband, and my children will be back to Disney to see the improved Epcot, this may very well be the only time our group of 10 will ever experience Disney together. To know that Epcot (which is the favorite park of several of the adults) will not be in an ideal state is definitely ideal.
Tom,
I agree that Disney should have been making upgrades to Epcot all along.
But Epcot is not a park that would return on their investment like DHS Star Wars franchise would.
With all the changes in Future World – will we see ANY shade in World Showcase? The sun is actually hotter there than anywhere else in Florida (maybe an exaggeration…)
I’d expect some shade integrated into the new area of France, but not any meaningful amount. Not along the promenade where it’s most needed.
Tom do you know that status of the fiber optic tiles on path new Spaceship earth? Are those still accessible and are they going to make the reno cut?!
Didn’t see them anywhere this week.. Imagine they are covered with walls
More and more, I’m curious about Disney’s opinion of their guests. I spent 15-years with a well-known food service brand that conducted extensive studies on its customers. They found that their most loyal customers visited their stores 5 times more frequently than casual customers – and spent significantly more per visit. I have to think that the highly committed Disney visitors are worth well more to the company, in the long term, than the “once in a lifetime” trip takers. I doubt many first-time visitors head to Disney World with the expectation that they’ll become the kind of addicted fans that many reading this blog have become. I imagine Disney needs to convert a fraction of those “once in a lifetime” visitors into super fans in order to ensure a pipeline of highly loyal, repeat visitors. With all this construction, cuts in entertainment and staffing, record-setting crowds and expensive add-ons, it seems to me that making that kind of emotional connection with first time visitors will be increasingly difficult.
Disney is wringing more dollars out of each guest by cutting back on regular hours and roughly doubling the daily admission cost with all the extra-cost early and late special events. Just reducing the hours increases the crowding as with longer hours the majority of visitors wouldn’t stay in the park all day. There’s clearly a breaking point somewhere, and I suspect Disney is going to learn that once people get out of the habit of visiting repeatedly (or never get in the habit), it’s going to be difficult to get them to come back.
You’d think that a company with such a history of attention to folk tales would see the danger in increasingly squeezing the golden goose . . .
Unfortunately it depends – my kids still prefer EPCOT to Animal Kingdom (which is my clear favorite). We steer clear of World Showcase for the most part, though, which saves on walking. My little one loves the Mexico pavilion and ride so we do make the walk for that but since it’s on the end it’s not a huge effort. My kids are scared of Bugs Life, too small for Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest and one too small for Flight of Passage and Dinsoaur (the other scared anyway). With fastpasses restricting one or the other Pandora rides we run to do those first and then the only things left that they love are the Safari, Festival of the Lion King and the Dig. It tends to be a short day for us there since lines get long early. Epcot offers more any height riders and lines for Figment, the Seas and the Three Caballeros stay pretty short throughout the day which offers the opportunity to ride several times. They also like the character picture spots EPCOT has to offer.
Apologies for the location – this was supposed to be in response to the once in a lifetime trip and whether to choose AK over EPCOT.
Well, you’ve provided a rather clear and extensive list of reasons for your family to skip AK if your plan is to visit only three of the parks. In fact, the list is SO extensive, I find myself wondering why you’re asking? Since you say it’s your once in a lifetime vacation, I just assumed your kids didn’t already have preferences; that should teach me to never assume! But it seems you already have your answer (even if you and I prefer AK). Good luck with it all.
We are visiting in November and I was wondering how long this closure is going to be going on. I might cancel my tickets for that day if that is the case. Th 4 kids, dragging them through all of that just to make sure we experience Frozen, Test Track and Soaring, doesn’t seem worth it to me.
My husband and I recently went to Epcot and found the construction frustrating. I so agree with this article that Epcot should offer other events etc. While they work on Future World. We put in over 30,000 steps in a day because of confusion with Future World. We were disappointed as we could not get the Disney App to work in the park. Fast passes werent available either which was extremely frustrating and not fair to those of us visiting one day! We waited an hour for Soarin and returned again before fireworks and only waited 15 minutes. But we were told that Februsry was the low season
It didnt seem to be by the crowds and wait times. ! I just love Epcot and Soarin… so I was happy to be there. My husband wont return soon as he was disappointed. I hope you decide to go as it is a memory you wont have and appreciate as time goes so quickly!
Help! I need hearing assistance devices at Epcot. How do I get to guest services now? So confused and make fast passes Monday!Ronnie
I’ve seen some speculation that the reduced hours on the Epcot shows is related to the two parks in Asia being closed and that if they continue to be closed for a long period of time, further cuts could be coming to the US parks. Some of the “rumors” I’ve heard seem based in panic but what do you think of this as a general theory?
I don’t have any insight into that, nor have I heard anything that I consider to be credible.
I have heard the same speculation, and view it as plausible. While some may contend that these are separately-budgeted parks half a world away, the reality is that they’re part of the same business unit.
If a “belt-tightening” or austerity order came down from on-high to help buoy Parks & Resorts overall quarterly numbers, management within each area of Walt Disney World would be tasked with taking measures to cut their costs. This would be how that plays out as a practical reality.
It has happened before, and wouldn’t shocked me in the least if it’s happening again–but I truly do not know.
I do not see how this has anything to do with shows at Epcot being cut..makes no sense to me. I just think all the construction has cut down on Epcot’s attendance and that is why they are cutting hrs etc..might be wrong but that seems more feasible than because of the Asian parks being closed.
The cuts are not just at Epcot.
For example, meet & greets are also being cut at DHS and it’s very clear that attendance is not down there.
It’s still possible that the cuts are totally unrelated to Asia. Cuts at Walt Disney World are hardly unprecedented, and don’t require problems at other parks.
“ Rather than further scaling back, Walt Disney World should be doing everything possible to offer temporary enhancements, entertainment…”
You are a 100% correct.
As you pointed out there is no way they would cut prices (the other reasonable thing). To not do either is an insult.
regarding the “angled poles and triangular shade panels soaring above it” referred to as “clutter”, i have to disagree. while maybe they aren’t the prettiest looking, the shade those canopies provide is really significant, and i’d argue they could be utilized in MORE places all over the property (Toy Story Land comes to mind immediately- those umbrellas don’t do much and are unsightly). the canopies have a small footprint with a pretty big impact. more shade is never a bad thing. i can understand with pin central being moved if those also go, but i hope it’s understood those really make a difference wherever they are. they could use those kind of canopies over dozens of walkways or seating areas that are otherwise baking midday.
and i love the side pathways on either side of spaceship earth right now, though i fear they aren’t going to be permanent. it cuts the time walking to those areas significantly, instead of having to go south and through the innoventions breezeways to then turn north to get out of the park. i hope they stay though it’s not likely.
Shade is great, but there’s no reason it can’t be built into the core design of the park and not be a temporary, ex post facto addition.
For example, Disney cut shade elements from Toy Story Land that were in Imagineering’s initial design. The result was a sea of umbrellas that went up during media previews and haven’t been taken down since.
EPCOT Center inarguably lacked shade, but those tarps and poles were not a fix that cohesively blended with Future World’s architecture. By contrast, the new (greener) look of the area behind Spaceship Earth looks like it’ll be a considerable improvement.
that’s my whole point though, arguing in favor of any shade when they can’t be bothered to install it correctly in the first place. hopefully they don’t cut those shade elements for the park, but i’m not holding my breath. i can’t believe in a climate such as wdw that shade for guest comfort is not a priority. i’m really shocked more guests aren’t suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion. we went in september and nearly keeled over in some of the food and wine booth lines. no more misting stations either, at least that are working. we saw several not running. personally the shade at pin central never looked out of place to me.
Tom, your answer to Laura here is rather condescending. While you may visit Disney far more often than your readers, I believe it is evident most of us know of what we speak. Shade, shade, shade is a recurring theme among many of the comments on a variety of posts. An original design means nothing if not implemented. You really shouldn’t just blow it off; it just makes you sound so high-and-mighty. Laura…I’m with you!
I apologize–my intent was not to be condescending. To clarify, I sincerely agree with Laura about the lack of shade and think it’s a problem throughout Walt Disney World. Somehow, it’s a mistake Disney repeats over and over–building new things that are lacking in shade, and then going back and adding in temporary solutions.
I’d love to see shade structures more thoughtfully integrated into original designs, rather than things added after the fact that don’t always mesh with their surroundings.
I bring my own “sunbrella” with me. Really helpful when the sun is out!
tom no worries, and kathleen, thank you.
i think everyone is in agreement MORE shade is needed in planning (and not have it cut later!), and shade is needed in places it isn’t now. let’s make noise.
We were in Epcot at the end of January for the Festival of the Arts and I remember the breezeway by Mouse Gears was still open as was the one heading to the Land. When we were leaving the World Showcase, we took the route through “Horizons” and it seemed shorter than going through the Land breezeway. The bypasses weren’t open yet. I think the bypasses will make it easier to get to the World Showcase. Both breezeways must have closed right after our last entry into Epcot.
Hi Tom: I’ve read a few times that Garden Grill’s revolution feature is hit-or-miss in the last year. What is the situation there? Thanks much!
It was rotating the last time I made a conscious effort to check it out, but I honestly don’t pay attention most of the time unless we’re dining there.
We ate there in mid-Dec and it rotated. But the dinner wasn’t that good and the place seemed dirty. We might try it again in the future for breakfast, but dinner was one and done.
We were there the first week in December and it did not rotate. However, it was one of the best experiences we had that week. The characters were amazing and kept coming back to the tables to interact (except Micky), and the food was absolutely fantastic.
Thank you for the update. You are my go-to for up to the minute updates.
I am a die-hard-life-long-raised-our-kids-in-disney-parks person, but I have to say I’ve even found customer service to be a little sub par with former Disney standards. Going to Brunch at the Top on an upcoming trip. I feel their response to food allergies has been lacking. For a $100 meal I expect a bit more from them. Pockets DO have a LIMIT and so do patience with inconvenience and experience.
If you take the skyliner from hollywood studios to epcot (after trying to do the rope drop plan to get ROTR and then go hang out at epcot for a while) Can you enter through the back (world showcase?) or does the skyliner take you to the front.
You mention entering through International gateway, but what transportation do you take from Hollywood studios to enable you to do that?
The Skyliner station at EPCOT is at the International Gateway (the “back gate,” so to speak). To get from DHS to EPCOT, you may take the Skyliner or a ferry boat (but keep in mind the boat is MUCH slower). if all in your party are in good condition and like walking, there is also a walkway along the river which you may take to the Boardwalk and to EPCOT’s International Gateway. Oh, you could also take a Disney bus, but there really would be no good reason for that.
If you take the Skyliner from HS, you will transfer at the main hub at Caribbean Beach Resort to the Epcot Line. The Skyliner will take you to the International Gateway of World Showcase. It quite easy and convenient.
The skyliner drops you off at the International Gateway, which is the rear entrance to Epcot.
I agree about the dismal state of FW, but ultimately we knew this was coming. I’m not sure I agree that keeping attractions open later would offset it, as you partly acknowledge. So the question is what alternative improvements can they offer? There is already a large amount of ad-hoc entertainment in World Showcase, not to mention more substantive festivals than ever before. Awesome Planet is a genuine addition (and I really enjoyed it, btw!). I’d suggest there isn’t really space in FW for anything else.
I’m not normally one to leap to WDW’s defence, but I think this is a case of making lemonade out of lemons. There’s a question as to whether they’re trying to do too much too quickly resulting in too many simultaneous closures and construction walls, but I think reasonable minds can differ on that. Slower progress and less disruption would arguably benefit one-and-done guests, whereas faster progress and more disruption is arguably better for those visiting again in the near future by reducing the number of visits disrupted.
do you know if the DVC Lounge is still open?
DVC has said it is still open and they hope will remain open for the entire year with all the construction.
Those walls somehow make me want to get a DNA test.
Going May 16-30. Our plan of attack includes buying 3 extra fastpasses as we are staying club level. Here it is…….breakfast at garden grill, land rides and seas. Then head over to test track. Then start the world showcase from mexico. What do you think? First timers for Epcot here. Thanks! 🙂
Not sure you are aware but buying fastpasses at Club level, there is a minimum of 3 days. Which means you have to pay $50 a day, 3 days, for a total of $150 per person.
You can’t just buy one day, 3 passes. I checked and that is totally outrageous. One day at $50 is a bit much but they make you buy 3 days of passes.
Going early June on that once in a lifetime family vacation. We were planning on only 3 parks, but thought we’d skip animal kingdom. Maybe we should rethink and skip Epcot instead? We have kids ages 5 to 11, would they be missing too much?
Absolutely!!! If you had already planned on doing only three parks, by all means make Animal Kingdom one of them! Avatar-Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest are the best WDW has to offer (depending on how much your 5 year old can handle). And there is just so much else AK has to offer. Live animal walking trails, the bus Safari, dancers who get the kids involved, great shows, and so much more.
I have a 15 and 10 Y.O. and the only thing they like at EPCOT is the Test Track and Mission Space. Oh, and buying stuff at the China and Japan pavilions. Other than that, not much for them except food. When my kids were 5 and 10, EPCOT was nothing except them complaining about all the walking and no rides. You can find little things to keep them interested, but it will be for short times and not the whole day.
I think it depends on what your kids would like. We would NEVER skip Epcot because of the Frozen ride and getting to meet Anna and Elsa. I’m also a HUGE fan of Soarin!
Hi Debbie! My kids are 9 and 6 and we just returned from Disney in January. We only did 3 parks as well. We chose to skip Epcot and do AK instead. My kids love AK! They were excited about the new Avatar stuff they had not done before and they love all the “extra” stuff at AK such as the Wilderness Explorer badges. There are lots of places to “play” around AK.
I am not a Disney expert at all so this is just my two cents about what worked for our family. Last time we did Epcot (when my kids were 4 and 7), we stayed about a half a day and they were ready to leave. The World Showcase is great for adults and I personally love it but my kids thought it was boring and were ready to go pretty quickly (they just want to ride rides) so we chose to skip it this time.
Hope this helps 🙂
Oh also.. we were staying at a monorail resort so we took a ride on the monorail one day when we had some time to kill to “visit” Epcot. My kids were happy enough just riding the monorail through the park and taking a peek at it all.
Don’t skip Animal Kingdom! Drop EPCOT- my kids were so-so on International Showcase and, with construction, the old Future World is not worth wasting the value of your tickets.
It really does depend on your kids. To give a different perspective, my kids have loved Epcot since they were 7, 9 and 9, their ages on our first trip. At Epcot they really like the aquarium, Soarin’, Test Track, Mission Space and even The Land ride and going into the Mexican temple. In World Showcase they look for hidden mickeys and this year will enjoy the Frozen ride, I’m sure, plus the scavenger hunt. This year we’re going to visit the Christopher Robin room as well. The Remy ride might be open then and Space 220 restaurant definitely will be. Also, if you’re there during the Flower show, your kids might enjoy the butterfly house and some of the extra stuff.
At AK, our boys got very freaked out by the Dinosaur! ride early on, so they were agitated going into Avatar and had to be taken out by cast members (who were really sweet with them by the way). The ride you sit on kind of clamps around your waist then you can feel stuff on your back–they were having none of that! Also they were not up for Everest. But it wasn’t all terrible. We really enjoyed the safari and they liked climbing in the dinosaur bones area, also looking at the animals and The Tree. Primeval Whirl is closed I think? and the midway stuff is all additional cost. It is just not a park that we have to repeat for a while.
I hope all of this detail helps!
I’ll join the chorus of skip Epcot in favor of Animal Kingdom. The atmosphere is Animal Kingdom is so much better and there are a ton of great shows and animal trails to keep you entertained between rides. I just got back from Disney a couple weeks ago and Epcot was kind of miserable; the construction made getting around a pain and the World Showcase was very congested with people (since there’s not many rides in that part of the park you mostly just soak up the atmosphere).
Every child is different but I would say most kids that age would get more enjoyment out of Animal Kingdom than Epcot, especially in it’s current state.
AK is the shadiest of the parks. Also realized this time that the animals on the Safari are far more active later in the day and/or when it is cooler. AK also has my favorite evening show, Rivers of Light. It’s really be beautiful AND everyone gets to sit down!
This is really informative, thank you!
Are you aware of any construction timelines with Epcot? For example, as the summer season kicks in will there have been much planned improvements made at that point?
I am not. I’m sure WDW has internal goals and projections, but they’ve already missed several of those with various aspects of this project, so I wouldn’t put much credence in those, anyway.
From a logical perspective, having better crowd flow by October seems like a reasonable goal. Summer is now Epcot’s slow season (no festival) and I expect that’ll be the case even with Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure opening. Things pick up in September with Food & Wine, but don’t truly get busy until October. The last three months of the year are definitely the busiest at Epcot.
We were in Epcot last week for the first time since we were kids (ahem, a couple decades ago) and found all of this to be true. It was our least favorite park experience of the week. I’m not sure if this is a cutback or if it has always been this way but many of the character greetings also end quite early in World Showcase, which is especially disappointing to small humans as it’s one of the only places to meet Mulan,, Snow White, Mary Poppins, etc. We did have great interactions at the Kidcot stops which are mostly staffed by younger people from the respective countries, and I was grateful that those were still open after dinner.