EPCOT: Best Time To Go? 19th or 26th?

[El Erico]

As the title says, my friends and I are planning a little excursion to EPCOT. While we were originally planning on going on the 26th, the opportunity has arisen that we should be able to go on the 19th.

So, anyone with experience going in the month of April on these dates have anecdotes on theme park traffic? Would it be better to wait 'til the last weekend of the month, or go earlier? I'm mostly looking to see which Sunday is going to have the least amount of traffic to at least let us hit the major, traffic-heavy attractions for the first quarter of the day.

Thanks in advance. You guys are awesome!

 

[Mad Dog]

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 the most crowded Touring Plans has Epcot with a 5 level on April 19th, and a 6 level on April 26th....Kind of a toss up, not much difference in one level.

 

[El Erico]

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 the most crowded Touring Plans has Epcot with a 5 level on April 19th, and a 6 level on April 26th....Kind of a toss up, not much difference in one level.

Cool. I figured it wouldn't be so bad, what with people in church, Spring Break being over, and people likely wanting to stay home to recharge for work the next day, all we'd have to fight are the tourists. So basically it seems we can't go wrong with either choice.

Thanks for the response.

 

[MrRoamer]

Even when Epcot is busy the only areas that really feel it are Soarin and Test Track, which will always be about the same experience. Get there early to get in line and/or book your FP+, don't do Spaceship Earth first thing everyone does and line will be shorter later in the day. Every other ride will be a short line. Make sure to check if Epcot has Extra Magic Hours for either of those days.

Are you going mainly for rides or World Showcase?

 

[El Erico]

Even when Epcot is busy the only areas that really feel it are Soarin and Test Track, which will always be about the same experience. Get there early to get in line and/or book your FP+, don't do Spaceship Earth first thing everyone does and line will be shorter later in the day. Every other ride will be a short line. Make sure to check if Epcot has Extra Magic Hours for either of those days.

Are you going mainly for rides or World Showcase?

The idea was to hit some of the big rides early in the day before the crowds really hit - Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin' if time permits - then hit up World Showcase for a while and come full circle back to Spaceship Earth and the more relaxing stuff after lunch, when the park usually clears out as tourists go park hop elsewhere or go back to their hotels for naps or whatever.

Speaking of FP+, I haven't been in to EPCOT in ages, and last time I did Fastpass was still fairly new and not as sophisticated as it can be now. Is it possible to book your FP+ online?

 

[MrRoamer]

Yes FP+ should be online for everything but I believe they still have tiered so no TT and Soarin'.

Mission Space generally has a pretty low wait so I wouldn't be too concerned there. Keep in mind last time I was there was pre-removal of Maelstrom, but only real lines were TT, Soarin', and Sum of All Thrills.

 

[Mad Dog]

The idea was to hit some of the big rides early in the day before the crowds really hit - Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin' if time permits - then hit up World Showcase for a while and come full circle back to Spaceship Earth and the more relaxing stuff after lunch, when the park usually clears out as tourists go park hop elsewhere or go back to their hotels for naps or whatever.

Speaking of FP+, I haven't been in to EPCOT in ages, and last time I did Fastpass was still fairly new and not as sophisticated as it can be now. Is it possible to book your FP+ online?

You have to set your tickets on My Disney Experience. If you are staying on site you can book 60 days out. If not on site 30 days out.

 

[martymcflyy85]

Book Soarin as one of your fastpass as the line will be longer than Test Track. Also, I would recommend doing Mission Space as the last thing towards the end of the night, especially if you are brave enough to do the orange version. I got pretty sick on that thing. The Green version is not even worth doing though at all.

 

[El Erico]

Book Soarin as one of your fastpass as the line will be longer than Test Track. Also, I would recommend doing Mission Space as the last thing towards the end of the night, especially if you are brave enough to do the orange version. I got pretty sick on that thing. The Green version is not even worth doing though at all.

Funny thing, I thought they'd tamed orange side a lot. I went on it a while back and it didn't seem that bad so long as you kept your eyes on the screen.