10 tips for a family trip to EPCOT - Part 1
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Kimberly Brownlee
Kansas City, MO
Family & Romance Travel Specialist
My favorite memories are traveling with family, a legacy I have striven to pass on to my own sons, helping them learn about the world by exploring it. One of my greatest joys is helping families craft vacations that leave a lasting impres...
My favorite memories are traveling with family, a legacy I have striven to pass on to my own sons, helping them learn about the world by exploring it. One of my greatest joys is helping families craft vacations that leave a lasting impression for generations to come.
What sets me apart is my genuine love for couples & families and the memories that they are making. The experiences of my travelers are of paramount importance. I live vicariously through your travel, and I want it to be the most memorable time of your life.
I pride myself on keeping up-to-date with the most current trainings possible for my suppliers. I have certifications from all of my preferred suppliers and destinations, and I have a lifetime of global travel experience that allows me to craft unique, personal vacations using the connections and relationships I have with hospitality professionals in my specialty destinations.
As I have grown older, I have increasingly embraced living life to the fullest. As a someone intensely invested in family, helping others to plan their adventures and helping them to live their lives to the fullest fills my heart. Next Adventure Vacations was born out of my love for travel, family, and making memories.
I believe that time invested in a well-designed vacation – whether couples, groups, family, or solo – is an investment in your relationships, your legacy, and your quality of life.
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My son and I in front of Spaceship Earth
One of the wonders of Disney is that families of all configurations can have a fantastic and memorable time. Whether you are traveling with young children and/or teenagers, as an adult couple, with friends, or with older family members, EPCOT (Walt Disney’s Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) and the Magic of Disney keeps even the most eclectic group happy all day!
Here is Part 1 of 10 tips for a successful family trip to EPCOT.
Check the Crowd Calendar
Check the Crowd Calendar (or ask your travel advisor!) and choose a low-crowd day. Considering it was Spring Break when I last traveled to EPCOT, I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively few people were there. We waited in NO LINES and we didn’t have to fight crowds at all. Checking the calendar and planning your visits to the Disney parks accordingly can make a significant difference in your vacation experience!
Use the FastPass System
Choose your Fast-Passes online ahead of time using MyDisneyExperience. For guests with Disney resort reservations, Fast Pass reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance of your travel. All other tickets can reserve Fast Passes up to 30 days in advance. This is one of many reasons to stay on Disney resort property! I booked Frozen Ever After on the DAY it became available to me and the earliest I could get was a 3:50pm FP reservation. Without it, we’d have had a 2-hour wait (which, honestly, we wouldn’t have done).
With the new MagicBand system, you can reserve 3 Fast Passes at first, then, when your last Fast Pass expires, you can reserve additional Fast Passes as available. You can choose 1 high-interest and 2 lower-interest rides and it limits your time ranges, so use this information to plan your progress in the park. (Be sure to make reservations for as early as possible in the day so that you can make more reservations once those three expire!)
While some rides really don’t need fast passes (like Living with The Land, or The Seas with Nemo and Friends), high-interest rides like Soarin’, Test Track, and Frozen Ever After can have very, very long wait times. Be sure to check out rides such as The Gran Fiesta inside the Aztec pyramid in Mexico and Journey into Imagination with Figment next to The Land. While they are not high-energy rides, sometimes a nice, quiet, immersive ride is what you need to catch your breath and take a load off your feet!
Take Care of Your Feet
Be very careful of the shoes you wear. Speaking of feet… It rains in Florida often – just about every day during the summer. Wear shoes that your feet are used to. Wear socks only if you’re certain it isn’t going to rain – and even then, take a change of socks. We use Blister Defense every morning to prevent friction – it is a life-saver!
My favorite shoes tend to be my Crocs Sandals, since getting wet isn’t an issue and they are so versatile and comfortable, but the Blister Defense is a must with any sandals (I’m speaking from experience!)! And be sure you don’t wear your Birkenstocks – unless you don’t mind them getting rained on!
Tip: If you forget the Blister Defense and band-aids, the First-Aid center to the left of the World Showcase entry will give you a free band-aid.
Arrive Early
Arrive at EPCOT about 45-50 minutes before opening to stand in the front of the lines. This means standing there talking to one another and people-watching for about 45 minutes before opening (there’s so much to look at and talk about that it’s really not that bad!) – but you’re on vacation, anyway, and this will save significant waiting in lines later, especially if you have planned your Fast Passes carefully!
Have a Plan
Using your Fast Pass reservations, plan your progress accordingly. For example, we had morning Fast Passes for Test Track, so we arrived at EPCOT at about 8:00, entered the park near the front of the line at the 9:00 entry time after standing in the entry lines to the right toward Future World West, then headed straight to Soarin’ when the park opened. We were on the second ride at Soarin’. (No Fast Passes needed!)
Then we hit The Land, since it was in the same building, for its beautiful, educational, and relaxing ride through Disney’s own aquaculture farms – the foods from which they actually use in their restaurants! Then went to our 9:20 Fast Pass at Nemo and the Seas. After that, we leisurely headed across to Future World East in time for our early Fast Passes at Test Track. Easy Peasy (and no lines!)
Another tip for The Land: It’s a great place to take a load off your feet and relax when your group members start getting hot and tired!