Need advice on this Epcot plan, please!

[Jchoma]

We'll be at Epcot the morning of 11/29. It opens at 9 that day. I can make FPs on Wednesday (woot woot) and am hoping for some last-minute advice

Here is our current plan:

1. Rope drop Soarin'
2. Rush over to Test Track, hopefully by 9:45
3. Fast Pass Frozen 10-11 FP
4. Turtle Talk Fast Pass 11-12 FP
5. Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons
6. Spaceship Earth (12-1 Fast Pass)

But, I'm wondering if I should change this based on these factors:

1. Will the line at Test Track be crazy 30-45 mins after opening, if we don't rope drop it? If so, we might just plan to hit Test Track another time if we can. Soarin' was closed and FEA was not yet open on our last trip, so we would definitely like to prioritize them. We love Test Track, but wouldn't wait more than 30 mins to ride it.

2. Can you make a FEA fast pass before 11? Someone posted that you couldn't, can anyone confirm? If that is the case, I am wondering if we should rope drop Soarin', do Turtle Talk/ Seas/ Spaceship Earth then FP FEA for after 11, to minimize rushing around/ back-tracking.


And an unrelated question: do you think I can get a same-day Fast Pass for Jungle Cruise after 12:00? 4 people on an estimated 4 crowd level day.
We'll hop to MK that afternoon.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help/ tips!!

 

[Klayfish]

I would definitely change it.

Yes, the line at TT will be crazy 30-45 minutes after park open, unless you want to do single rider.

No, you can't get a FP+ for FEA before 11am...it's all standby. HOWEVER, that means the line goes very quick. If you get there before 10:30am or so, the wait is typically minimal. Here's how we've done it...many times...and never waited more than 15-20 minutes for anything...we don't even rope drop as in showing up 45 minutes early. If it's a 9am opening, we show up at 9:00 to 9:10am.

Go to Soarin' first
Quickly head to FEA - should be able to get there by 9:45am
FP+ TT - usually have one for 10:00am-11:00am window, roughly
That will cut down too much backtracking as TT and FEA are relatively close to each other.

From there, the rest of the rides have minimal lines, so it doesn't matter if it's Nemo, Turtle Talk, SE, etc...

Alternatively, you could rope drop TT, then go right to FEA, then do Soarin' via FP+.

Yes, you can get same day FP+ for Jungle Cruise after noon...easy peasy.

 

[Jchoma]

No, you can't get a FP+ for FEA before 11am...it's all standby. HOWEVER, that means the line goes very quick. If you get there before 10:30am or so, the wait is typically minimal. Here's how we've done it...many times...and never waited more than 15-20 minutes for anything...we don't even rope drop as in showing up 45 minutes early. If it's a 9am opening, we show up at 9:00 to 9:10am.

Thanks for the advice! I'm so nervous that if we wait to do FEA until after Test Track, and the line does get crazy, my 6-yr-old Frozen-obsessed daughter may never forgive me I'm wondering if we should rope drop FEA, possibly skip TT but FP Soarin' for later in the morning. Who knows what our day will be like, but it looks like FEA wait times were 30 min + after 9:30 lots of mornings this summer. But maybe 30 mins isn't that terrible. I seriously cannot decide.

 

[NeuroCindy]

I find waiting 30 minutes goes fast and is easy to do.

If you aren't doing the rest of the world showcase, I'd probably RD FEA, do Soarin' stand-by and FP TT. But you're going to get a million different opinions on this forum.

 

[Klayfish]

Thanks for the advice! I'm so nervous that if we wait to do FEA until after Test Track, and the line does get crazy, my 6-yr-old Frozen-obsessed daughter may never forgive me I'm wondering if we should rope drop FEA, possibly skip TT but FP Soarin' for later in the morning. Who knows what our day will be like, but it looks like FEA wait times were 30 min + after 9:30 lots of mornings this summer. But maybe 30 mins isn't that terrible. I seriously cannot decide.

Well, I certainly can't vouch for the entire summer, but I can vouch for the first 2 weeks of July this summer, and the end of June 2016 (right when FEA opened). The only time we waited more than 20 minutes was the very first time we tried it in the morning...that was maybe 10 days after the ride had it's Grand Opening. We waited about 25 minutes. But this summer...on several occasions, we waited between 3 and 10 minutes (we timed it). Since there is no FP+, it's all standby, and the ride loads fairly quickly. So it can handle a lot of people. If the ride goes down, obviously that messes things up, but on a normal day, it's fine. TT gets a big line really fast...every day. If you're not in line by 9:15am or so, it's a long wait. If it rains and the ride has to shut down for a bit, forget even trying standby.

 

[Babsy]

I would rope drop FEA (we do the most important non FP+ first thing), then do Soarin standby and FP+ Test track. Standby anything else in Epcot. Try to book MK FP+ as soon as you enter the Test Track line with your bands scanned. It is possible that you will get the Jungle Cruise as a same day FP.

 

[disneyvoice]

Agree with @Klayfish. We were there in both June and July and rode FEA several times via standby at all different times of the day. The longest we ever waited in line was 20 minutes. I would 10-15 was about the average, one day we literally waited no more than 5 minutes.

 

[hooch11bear]

I would do Soarin first thing and then Fastpass Test Track. After that I would head over to FEA. We did that and didn't have much of a wait (5-10 minutes).

 

[Rwsm2011]

How long does the wait get for Joy & Sadness? We're headed there the same day and I'm trying to figure out what we want to hit first.

 

[Jchoma]

Well, I certainly can't vouch for the entire summer, but I can vouch for the first 2 weeks of July this summer, and the end of June 2016 (right when FEA opened). The only time we waited more than 20 minutes was the very first time we tried it in the morning...that was maybe 10 days after the ride had it's Grand Opening. We waited about 25 minutes. But this summer...on several occasions, we waited between 3 and 10 minutes (we timed it).

Wow, I am pleasantly surprised by all the reports of short waits at FEA! I think we are going to rope drop Test Track, head to FEA after (just since it's closer and my daughter will be super anxious to ride) and then use our Tier 1 FP for Soarin' a little later. I don't know what I'd do without the advice of this awesome board. I have my Fast Passes all listed out and daily plans super organized, and I would've been scrambling to figure this out when I can make my fast passes Wednesday morning! Thank you all SO much!

 

[Jchoma]

I was able to make my Fast Passes today, and there were no FEA fast passes until late in the day (and we plan to park hop to MK that afternoon).
I got one for Soarin' from 10-11. Our plan is to rope drop Test Track, then hit Frozen, then Soarin' using FP. Thanks again for everyone's help. We have a solid plan