KennythePirate’s Fastpass+ (Fastpass Plus) Enabled Extreme Epcot Touring Plan with Characters and Rides
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Updated 6/24/14
The goal of this Epcot Touring Strategy is to help someone who is planning to spend only ONE day at Epcot and they want to meet all the best characters and ride all the best rides. It is designed for those who wish to use Regular Operating Hours which begin at 9:00 AM.
If you hope to accomplish this plan in its entirety, you MUST arrive at Epcot by 8:15 am. Go to an available Mickey Touch Point at the gate and get in the shortest or non-existent line. If you snooze, you’ll wait in lines, often. I tested this plan on a busy day and didn’t wait for ANY ride and only short waits for characters to appear. If you are just a few minutes late, you could wait 30-120 minutes for Soarin’ alone.
Epcot is the largest park in terms of walking area. The World Showcase is one mile around, so you’ll do a lot of walking. This plan only involves one small double back from France back to United Kingdom, so it’s really easy on the feet.
If you follow this Epcot Touring Plan, you’ll be able to do every ride and meet all the characters and still have some time in the evening for a nice meal. I recommend a quick service lunch, but you could do a Table Service lunch and move the meets and rides in the afternoon down an hour or so. Just be sure to check the character schedules to make sure you can fit them in. Arrive EARLY for every Princess meet. The meets are often filled before the Princess even arrives.
Shouldn’t I run to Test Track first?
No, we’ll use an afternoon Fastpass+ (FP+) to do this attraction and combo it with a Mission: Space FP+.
Why do I head quickly to Soarin’ first?
Soarin’ is extremely popular and builds a long line quickly. I’ve observed 45-90 minute waits within 15 minutes of park opening. We’ll make our way when the park opens to avoid the wait. Additionally, you’ll be on the correct side of the park to do the remainder of morning attractions.
What are Fastpass+ tiers?
Epcot and Hollywood Studios divide up their FP+ options into two separate Tiers. At Epcot you may choose ONE Tier 1 FP+ and TWO Tier 2 FP+ per person per day.
Tier ONE (ranked by priority):
- Soarin’
- Test Track
- Illuminations
- Living with the Land
Tier TWO (ranked by priority):
- Mission: Space
- Epcot Character Spot
- Spaceship Earth
- Maelstrom
- The Seas with Nemo and Friends
- Journey into Imagination with Figment
- Turtle Talk with Crush
- Captain EO
Kiosks Locations: |
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Reserve Fasptass+ for the Following: |
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Be sure to check the current character schedules under Characters above or use my www.characterlocator.com app.
How early do Fp+ run out for rides like Soarin?
Would it be feasible to grab that FP+ when our first group of three is done around noon? It’s just going to be tough to be at that ride first.
Soarin is usually there a week or less before.
Great! I hope it’s there by our May 9th visit :)
I’m staying on-site and not planning on driving myself, is it possible to still get to at 8:15am and ride soarin at park opening?
Sure, take the Epcot bus
Kenny, I’m trying to print the tour plan and it comes out with border cut off. What am i doing wrong? do you have this in word format so I can edit my actual FP+ times?
Thanks again for all your hard work, Our vacation would be boot camp without you :)
It will be included in http://www.characterlocator.com very soon. I don’t have this original format because I deleted it by accident. It’s an image, so save and then print from the save? Maelstrom is closed btw.
Never kind, it just appeared!
The plan hasn’t been updated lately, but it still works. Just drop Maelstrom.
I’m new to your site and am thrilled to have found your touring plans! I’m trying to find this Epcot plan. Maybe I’m missing something, but no plan is actually listed under this link? Thank you!
Does your plan take into account walking around the Pavilions for a bit? Thank you.
This plan would only allow that in the evening. It’s more intended for those who want to do all the top rides and meet all the characters in a single day. More plans will be added to http://www.characterlocator.com soon.
Hi Kenny,
I cannot thank you enough..Great plans..
It will be our first time in US and Disney in August and I’m actually make notes to make it a great success.
Do you have an updated plan for this year for Epcot?
Thanks for your time.
Megha
I’m actually working on not only updating this plan, but adding new ones. The only thing you should do with this current plan is drop Maelstrom. The rest is accurate.
Hi! I’m so glad I found this site, the tips are great! We are planning our trip to WDW this May (2nd week) with our two boys and I’m trying to figure out the best use of our FP. Because the logistics of our trip we are going to Epcot on 5/12, we are staying on site so we do get the EMH and I’m planning on being there by 7:15am. My husband is an employee of a company that gets preferred entrance to the Test track w/o FP, so I was thinking that we could use that FP for illuminations, do you think this is a good idea? Our boys are 5&6 and love Nemo so I was wondering if we should use that FP for the Nemo or Crush rides instead? Thanks!
Sure, you could use that FP for Illuminations. Seems like a logical choice. Just one question. Why bother using the extra magic hour when you don’t really need it? You could get an extra hour sleep and go on a much less crowded day and be there at 8:30am. Nemo is a breeze and Crush is a show that doesn’t really need it.
First I want to say that I found your website to be amazing! My husband, myself, and my 12 yo daughter went to Epcot this past weekend for the first time ever. We were never to any Disney park and weren’t sure what to expect but large crowds and long wait times. However, I wrote out your walk through and crossed my fingers for a fun filled day. We did exactly as you said and arrived early to the park(about 8:25), we were the 2nd family in line to enter(at 8:45). We headed directly to Soarin’ and even after a slight mishap with our map directions, we managed to board the first ride!! We stayed pretty much right on track until they cancelled Aurora last minute so we decided to grab lunch at The Tangerine Cafe in Morocco, we loved it! Afterwards we went and waited for Jasmine and Aladdin. This was our longest wait,however, inside the lamp shop was air conditioned and we didn’t mind too much. We skipped Snow White(we did see her) and Mulan due to a long line and looking at a few other things along the way. We rode Maelstrom, which was fun and even squeezed in the boat ride in Mexico. We missed Donald Duck twice due to line cut offs and then him leaving to meet Daisy. Test Track went down for a few hours but offered us some time to sight see and let us come back at our leisure to ride it. Thank God we went back when we did though because my daughter and I waited for my husband to ride this and even the FP+ line seemed outrageous shortly after he entered. We did skip the Character Spot, honestly due to laziness after dinner in Germany(Biergarten), we didn’t want to walk to Innov. West then back to Italy for fireworks. Best part of the day was the veiw from ITALY for the Firework show!! Thank you so much for all your hard work on these walk throughs!! We can’t wait to use them in a few weeks when we go to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom!!
Have a blast! I test all my plans in busy seasons to make sure they work. I need to look over my Magic Kingdom plan for accuracy with Princesses though. Glad I got to help a little. Be sure to print my maps to help you around the parks too.
what do you recommend doing if I have ADR for Akershaus at 8:05am? should I still try for Soarin’ right after the breakfast or do you think the ADR will take too long?
Between the ADR and the walk, there would be a pretty long line most days at Soarin by the time you arrived.
Kenny, I have read that once you use a FP+ you can change one of your other existing FP reservations back to that same ride. So if I rode Soarin’ and wanted another FP for Soarin’ I could change another reservation to Soarin’ after I use that first FP. Is that true?
If so, I’m wondering if it works to use your FP on a ride like Soarin’ and then change another existing reservation to another Tier 1 ride like Test Track. Do you know?
No, but you can use a 4th fp+ for any attraction
Is the Illuminations Dessert Party still offered…and where can I find Info on it??
Dessert Party is a paid event
Does Belle have to be done at 11 only for a shorter wait, or could someone arrive early to any of her sets and expect a comparable wait?
No, she builds lines throughout the day. There are often hold over guests from previous meets.
Kenny, this plan is awesome! What is the fastest and most direct route to Soarin’ at rope drop? Can you cut through Innoventions? Or is there a more direct route?
Easiest way is just to head through the breezeway. Innoventions is open, but it zig-zags. If you arrive early, you’ll be among the first by just walking at a pep step pace.
This is a fantastic touring plan Kenny! Princess character greets are a HUGE priority for my 6 year-old, and I was unsure how to work my fastpass+ reservations around the character greetings and still make the most of our Epcot day. You have made this super easy for me now. Please keep up the great work, I am on your website all the time!!
Thx Stephanie. Glad to help. Have you looked at the ones for mk and ak?
I’m checking them out now! I’m not sure what to do with my 2 MK days for the Anna and Elsa greeting…I’m an offsite guest and won’t be able to book my fastpass+ until 30 days before (we’ll be there at the beginning of May). I’m keeping an anxious eye on your updates and any suggestions are always appreciated. That is the only character greet that’s stressing me out!
No need to stress, I’ll give accurate info once I can observe the behavior.