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Epcot FastPass

Epcot FastPass Recommendations

For many, the new Walt Disney World FastPass system takes a while to get used to. The old system at Walt Disney World (and the current system at Disneyland) did not involve a lot of pre-planning, you just grabbed a FastPass at the ride and returned when the ticket said you could return. The new Walt Disney World FastPass+ system takes planning, reservations can be made as early as 60 days before your trip. It is hard to know which ride I am going to want to ride in 2 months, but you have to make a guess, the FastPasses go quickly. Epcot has a unique system in that they have FastPass tiers, you can’t just choose between all the available attractions, you can choose one attraction from tier 1, and then 2 additional FastPasses from tier 2. Making Epcot FastPass reservations can be frustrating, but we are here to help.

Epcot FastPass Tiers

  • Tier 1 – Illuminations, Test Track, Frozen Ever After and Soarin’
  • Tier 2 – Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival, Living with the Land, Journey Into Imagination, Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot, Mission:Space, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Spaceship Earth and Turtle Talk with Crush

Of course, it would be awesome to chose all three from tier 1, but that is why Disney has to limit you, there just are not that many attractions at Epcot. Remember, once you use up your first three FastPasses, you can get more by visiting a FastPass kiosk or on the My Disney Experience app on your smartphone. Plus, any addition FastPasses can be from any of the tiers, you are no longer limited.

Epcot FastPass Recommendations

Here are my recommendations for your FastPasses in Epcot

  1. Tier 1 – Soarin’ or Test Track – Sure, Frozen Ever After currently has crazy lines, but that is because it is brand new. Yesterday, I saw a live photo that showed 2 people in the actual line for the ride and several hundred that had FastPasses. Illuminations is a waste as there are fantastic viewing areas all around the World Showcase. Living with the Land is my favorite Epcot attraction, but you can walk on it just about anytime after lunch, there is rarely a line once the World Showcase opens. I would suggest either Soarin’ or Test Track, both tend to have very long lines all day. Get a FastPass for the 9:30 – 10:30 slot, and head to the other one as soon as the park opens. You should be able to ride both within the first hour the park is open.
  2. Tier 2 – Mission: Space – Epcot’s third big boy ride is not nearly as popular as Test Track or Soarin’. I think that has to do with the fact that very few people want to ride it more than once, it does tend to cause motion sickness. However, lines can be long, especially early in the day, and it is a great FastPass option.
  3. Tier 2 – Turtle Talk with Crush or The Seas with Nemo & Friends – Now, you would think I would suggest Spaceship Earth here, as it is a MUST DO in Epcot, and the lines get really long in the morning. Since the ride is right near the entrance, most people stop here first so the lines first thing are LONG. Silly people. If you watch the wait times, Spaceship early rarely has much of a line after lunchtime, and I will never wait more than 5 minutes for it. Most of the other attractions in Tier 2 you can catch during the day with little to no lines. I do suggest looking at Turtle Talk, mostly because the capacity of this attraction is very low, so lines can get long, especially with the popularity of Finding Dory. Same goes for The Seas with Nemo & Friends. Lines can be very long early in the day. Really for Tier 2, this is a personal thing. If you have kids (or adults) that must do one of the attractions or else, they do it. There isn’t a huge difference between the tier 2 options, plus it is always easy to get additional FastPasses for tier 2 rides later in the day.

As with most FastPasses, there really isn’t a wrong choice, but at Epcot, there are a few bad choices. Remember to choose your times as early in the day as possible, and be at the parks at opening, that first hour in the parks, especially Epcot, is nearly dead and a great time to get in a lot of popular rides in a short time.

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