Epcot Fastpass Strategy

[dwigt]

I would like to ride Soarin, FEA and Test Track all in one day. I know about the tier system. I’ve read a lot of different opinions, and I can’t decide what to do. Looking for advice.

- I have a PPO reservation at Garden Grill for 8:15, but plan to be there by 8:00.
- Based on that I planned to ride Soarin right away without fast pass.
- I have read a lot of people recommend getting a fast pass for Test Track because it can be down often, and then you get the anytime fast pass.
- If I do that, I don’t know how to approach FEA. Will it help me with a wait time with FEA to go straight there from Soarin? Or is that just too far? We will not be staying for closing, so do not have the option to right before close.
- Or should I fast pass FEA, and get to Test Track right from Soarin and hope it’s not down. It does seem the wait for Test Track builds faster than FEA.

Thanks for any advice in advance!! This will be our first time at Disney so we have no opinions on the rides to favor one over the other, and have a 7 year old who would probably love Test Track and a 2 year old who loves Frozen. Hard choices!

 

[sharonabe]

Thanks for any advice in advance!! This will be our first time at Disney so we have no opinions on the rides to favor one over the other, and have a 7 year old who would probably love Test Track and a 2 year old who loves Frozen. Hard choices!

Will you be doing rider swap? That puts a whole new spin on how you do this because the time it will take to ride twice will also impact the wait times at the other rides. Your 2 yr old MIGHT be tall enough for Soarin', but I doubt they are tall enough for TT.

 

[dwigt]

Will you be doing rider swap? That puts a whole new spin on how you do this because the time it will take to ride twice will also impact the wait times at the other rides. Your 2 yr old MIGHT be tall enough for Soarin', but I doubt they are tall enough for TT.

Sorry, forgot that detail, we will have my mother there to stay with the 2 year old. She will want to ride Soarin but not Test Track. The 2 year old is very close to 40in right now, so I assume he will be tall enough by the time we go. We’ll be at Epcot 6/24. Probably another good detail to add.

 

[hertamaniac]

TT has a single rider line right? That may factor into your FP prioritization.

 

[sharonabe]

If all of you are good to go on Soarin', then I would start there right after breakfast, head to FEA immediately after and FP+ TT. You might have a small wait at FEA, but it shouldn't be more than 30 min or so. It is a bit of a hike from Soarin' and then you'll have to head back to Future World, but you'll want to work off that BIG breakfast anyway, right???

 

[StarSeven7]

If it were me, I would do FEA right after Soarin' and get a fastpass for TT. That's a lot of extra walking, but when I've been there, the lines for TT seem to build pretty quickly, so I think you'd be looking at a longer wait for TT after Soarin' than you would for FEA.

 

[sharonabe]

TT has a single rider line right? That may factor into your FP prioritization.

True, but if it were me, I wouldn't want my 7 yr old doing single rider since there's no guarantee mom or dad will be in the same car.

 

[dwigt]

Sorry, forgot that detail, we will have my mother there to stay with the 2 year old. She will want to ride Soarin but not Test Track. The 2 year old is very close to 40in right now, so I assume he will be tall enough by the time we go. We’ll be at Epcot 6/24. Probably another good detail to add.

You know scratch that. I think I had it wrong in my head. He’s close to 38”. So we will probably be doing rider swap on Soarin.

 

[dwigt]

True, but if it were me, I wouldn't want my 7 yr old doing single rider since there's no guarantee mom or dad will be in the same car.

Right, since it will all be new to him, I don’t think he’ll want to ride without us. Thanks for all the advice. I think we’ll chance trying to get to Frozen after Soarin.

 

[CAQDaddy]

Right, since it will all be new to him, I don’t think he’ll want to ride without us. Thanks for all the advice. I think we’ll chance trying to get to Frozen after Soarin.

I think this is your best option. Good luck!

 

[sharonabe]

You know scratch that. I think I had it wrong in my head. He’s close to 38”. So we will probably be doing rider swap on Soarin.

Well, doing rider swap for Soarin' will mean your wait time at FEA will be a little longer. I know they give you a certain amount of time to come back for your swap ride, but I don't know how long that is. You might be able to ride Soarin, go to FEA and then come back to Soarin' for your swap ride. Hopefully, someone who knows rider swap will come along to help out. If not, you might want to ask with a new post.

 

[Maxwell42]

My strategy will be to ride Soarin' at RD so we can also hit other attractions in FW West in the morning while waits are short. FP+ at SSE around 10, TT at 11 so we can hit those back to back on the way up to WS. Throw in another FP+ in the morning to get it out of the way. Then get FEA as a 4th FP+ after lunch. That minimizes our crossing the park, and I don't anticipate having too much trouble getting FEA as a 4th with a little refreshing - I don't think it's as popular as it was a year or two ago.

Of course, you could swap TT and Soarin', so we'd RD TT and use FP+ for Soarin' later. Or, if you're at the front of the RD crowd, you could do both standby (TT first, then immediately head to Soarin') without too much of a wait. Then use a FP+ for a second ride on one of those or for FEA later in the day. I don't think the waits at Soarin' build too quickly in the morning, so if you're ahead of the crowd at TT, you should be able to ride Soarin' with maybe a half hour wait.