Trip Planning 101: 10 Tips for Planning Your Day(s) at Epcot

First visit to Walt Disney World’s Epcot? Or maybe you’ve been, but it’s been a few years since your last visit? Looking at everything Epcot offers may be overwhelming but trust us, planning your Epcot visit will make your experience tremendously better! So, before you slap on your Mickey ears, check out these ten planning tips to make your Epcot day(s) exceptional!

1 – There are so many New Attractions and Offerings to Enjoy!

The multi-year transformation of Epcot is almost complete, and there are many new attractions and offerings to explore. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Journey of Water: Inspired by Moana, World Celebration Gardens, and more have opened. Take a look at the “new” EPCOT by clicking here.

2 – Plan for Two Days

While we understand that sometimes the schedule (and budget) only allows for one day at Epcot, we’d highly recommend enjoying two days at this park if possible! Spanning 305 acres, there is plenty to do and see. It is impossible to do it ALL in just one day! We like to keep one day focused on attractions and the second day for entertainment, exploring, shopping, and dining.

3 – Schedule Your Visit Around A Festival

Epcot offers four festivals throughout the year including: the Festival of Arts (mid-January to early February), Flower and Garden Festival (early March-late May), Food and Wine Festival (late August to mid-November), and Festival of Holidays (late November to late December). Each festival’s beginning and end dates change slightly from year to year, so be sure to check dates well in advance. Each Festival is included in your Epcot admission price, with a few exceptions for special ticketed events within festivals. If you’re looking for the most beautiful time to visit, that would have to be the Flower and Garden Festival. Looking for great eats and drinks? The Food and Wine Festival is for you! Visiting during a festival makes us feel like we’re getting more bang for our buck! Plus, we can’t get enough of the extra special sights, sounds, and tastes!

4 – Research and Reserve Restaurants

Flooded with numerous restaurants, Epcot is by far our favorite park to dine in. There is literally something for EVERYONE. From character dining to table service to quick service and kiosks… dining at Epcot is spectacular! We suggest taking some time before your trip to research the restaurants. What type of cuisine are you looking for? Need some entertainment to go along with it? If you decide to go to a table service restaurant, we’d highly recommend booking your dining reservations as soon as possible (60 days in advance). Restaurants fill up fast, and you wouldn’t want to miss out on that ideal dining location because you don’t have reservations.

5 – Consider Purchasing Access to the Lightning Lane

If you plan to use the paid Lightning Lane service at EPCOT, understand and be prepared so you know how and what attractions you want to book for the day. There are two Lightning Lane paid options that include different attractions. First, you can purchase a Lighting Lane Multi Pass for the day of your visit. This costs anywhere from $15-$39 per day, per person. With Multi Pass, you can access the Lightning Lane at several attractions at EPCOT. Disney Resort guests can make their selections up to seven days in advance. All other guests can book three days in advance. 

Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions at EPCOT:

Choose up to one experience from this group:

• Frozen Ever After
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Soarin’ Around the World

Choose your other two experiences — or all 3 — from this group:

• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Journey Into Imagination with Figment
• Living with the Land
• Mission Space – Green and Orange
• Spaceship Earth
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Turtle Talk with Crush

A second option is to purchase a Lightning Lane Single Pass. The attraction below is NOT included with your Multi Pass purchase and must be purchased separately. Lightning Lane selections for the top-tier individual attractions will also be made at the same time if you book your Multi Pass selections. Prices will vary by date, attraction, and park. We’ve seen prices range from $7 to $25 per person per attraction.

Lightning Lane Single Pass Attraction:

1. 1. 1. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Keep in mind that you do not have to purchase either of these options to enjoy these attractions. The standby queue is available for all attractions except for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, where guests can join the Virtual Queue if they want to ride. Most of the Multi Pass attractions do not have significant wait times. Out of all theme parks, we believe you don’t need to purchase Multi Pass for EPCOT. If you follow our tips below, such as arriving early, we think you can use the money for either the Lightning Lane Single Pass attraction or purchase a Multi Pass at another theme park.

6 – Purchase the Right Gear

Now that you’ve planned how many days to spend at Epcot when to visit, where to dine, and where to pay for Lightning Lane access… what you WEAR is just as important when visiting Epcot. There is a lot of walking at Epcot, and the shady spots seem few and far between. Purchase the right gear so you’re comfortable and can enjoy the day! Most importantly, wear broken-in, comfortable shoes to save your feet. Light clothing, sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses are other Epcot necessities!

7 – My Disney Experience Is Essential

Epcot without the My Disney Experience App makes for a tough day, in our opinion! You can do so much right from your phone, like using the free planning tool Disney Genie, view the Tip Board, including wait times and showtimes, make dining reservations, Mobile Order at quick-service dining, and find out exactly where you are on the park map. While we’d recommend the free My Disney Experience App at any one of the Disney Parks, we find it especially important at Epcot to save our legs as much walking as possible!

8 – The World Showcase Loop

The best way to enjoy the World Showcase is at a slow and steady pace. There is SO much to see here as you travel around the world to explore eleven countries (aka Pavilions). Be sure to check the My Disney Experience app to catch the special street entertainment. And don’t forget to taste your way with small, quick eats and drinks from each country! “Slow your roll” is key to enjoying the World Showcase loop.

9 – Make Time for Character Meet and Greets

While meeting Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy is always high on everyone’s list, there are loads of other characters throughout Epcot; however, that shouldn’t be overlooked! Epcot is the only place guests can meet the popular Frozen sisters, Anna and Elsa. The same goes for the beautiful Mulan! More unique characters like Figment are also ready for hugs. Epcot holds such a great mix of classic and unique characters that it would be a shame to miss out on these meet-and-greets!

10 – Fireworks and Dinner

Epcot’s nightly spectacular is not to be missed! There are so many locations to stand around the World Showcase that if you plan to locate a spot 30-45 minutes or so in advance, you’ll have no problems viewing the show. Better yet, make a reservation for a fireworks dining package at Epcot restaurants that offer spectacular views of the fireworks! Our favorite is to have dinner at Rose and Crown Pub while the fireworks take place. Great food, amazing drinks, and fireworks… it doesn’t get any better than that!