Today I’ll be recapping DAY THREE of my trip; I made a Park Pass Reservation for Epcot and planned to spend most of the day there! I didn’t make any dining reservations since the International Food & Wine festival was happening during my visit, and I knew I wanted to visit as many booths as possible! I also knew I wanted to leave Epcot by 4:00 pm at the latest.
In addition to detailing my day, I’ll be sharing tips and tricks that could help you on your next Disney vacation.
I woke up around 6:45 am so I could be ready to join the Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind as soon as the clock struck 7:00 am. I also booked an Individual Lightning Lane for the attraction at 7:01 am. That’s right - you can have both a Virtual Queue and an Individual Lightning Lane for the same attraction!
I got to the Skyliner station as early as possible. The Riviera has a direct Skyliner flight to Epcot, but it can take a little while to wait for an empty gondola. I was in line for security at the International Gateway entrance to Epcot a little after 7:30 am. The International Gateway is situated between the France and United Kingdom pavilions. Since guests who take the Skyliner enter Epcot through World Showcase my plan for the day was to rope drop Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, then Frozen Ever After before getting some breakfast.
But Nicole, what if we don’t want to take the Skyliner? No problem! You can enter through the front gates and do one of two things:
Quickly and carefully make your way to World Showcase to ride the two attractions open at this hour
Start in World Discovery and rope drop Test Track before moving to other attractions – if this is your plan be sure to check the My Disney Experience app to make sure Test Track is open at park open; sometimes it’s finicky and takes a little while to open
I was on and off Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in about 10 minutes! It’s so cute and fun; it’s a perfect mix of 3D effects, practical sets, and trackless ride technology. Even if you don’t experience the attraction, you should take a walk through the new section of the France pavilion and grab a crepe from Crêpes À Emporter by La Crêperie de Paris.
I strolled through a nearly empty World Showcase, stopping to take pictures in each pavilion along the way. I made it to the Norway pavilion by 8:20 am to ride Frozen Ever After. By the time I exited the attraction the park was open to all guests. I was surprised by how few people were in line at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, a Quick Service bakery serving traditional Norwegian specialties. I got School Bread, a sweet roll filled with custard and dipped in coconut, and a cold brew coffee. It was a pretty sweet way to start my day!
My next stop was Port of Entry near the entrance to World Showcase. I purchased a reloadable gift card to use at the food booths around the Food & Wine festival so I could keep track of my spending. I wanted to test out the Fab 50 Quest, but the Play Disney Parks app was experiencing some connectivity issues. I still had fun waving at the statues and hearing them come to life! There were some guests around me who did not have MagicBand+ so I activated the statues so they could experience the fun, too!
It was time to ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind using my Individual Lightning Lane. The best way to describe this attraction is to compare it to Space Mountain, but all grown up, smoothed out, a little spinny, and Marvel-fied. It’s fast, fun, and innovative. Plus, the music is awesome – on this ride through I got “One Way or Another” – and the song choice subtly changes the experience each time.
I hopped into the single rider line for Test Track and I practically walked on! The single rider line will significantly reduce your wait time, but your travel party will absolutely be separated this way. From Test Track I got in line for Mission Space. The wait times were great today, everything was under an hour! I am not prone to motion sickness, and I love thrill rides, so I chose to experience the more intense side (Orange). If you are prone to motion sickness, or don’t love thrill rides, you may want to experience the less intense side (Green) or skip this attraction all together.
I only had Spaceship Earth left on my must-do list. This attraction is inside the geodesic sphere that serves as Epcot’s icon. Spaceship Earth is not only grand and miraculous, but relaxing and educational! Since it sits just inside the main gates, the standby line can get long at times, but it will usually drop back down as the day goes on. My favorite part of Spaceship Earth is its transformation into a Beacon of Magic once the sun sets.
With all the attractions I wanted to experience checked off the list, it was time to start eating! I tried eight items in total. Here’s my ranking, along with a description of each item!
Flavors from Fire: smoked corned beef – my favorite, the beer-cheese fondue made this dish; 8/8
India: Potato & Pea Samosas – perfectly spiced both inside and out; 7/8
Brazil: Päo de Queijo – perfectly warm and cheesy Brazilian cheese bread; 6/8
Mexico: Tostado de Barbacoa – the flavors mixed well, the salsa verde made everything pop; 5/8
Appleseed Orchard: Apple Crumble Tart – served warm, sweet, easy to eat; 4/8
The Alps: Warm Raclette with Potatoes – very good, just heavy for the weather; 3/8
Tangerine Café: Pistachio Cake – very good, but did not have a strong enough pistachio flavor for my taste 2/8
Mac & Eats: chili-cheese macaroni and cheese – a little watery, not cheesy, but the chili was tasty; 1/8
My Boarding Group for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind was called in the middle of World Showcase so I made my way over to the ride! There is a short wait when using the Virtual Queue, so by the time my ride through was over I decided to head to the Canada pavilion to finish eating around the world while working my way towards the International Gateway.
Many of the pavilions have museum quality exhibits where you can learn about aspects of their various cultures. The Norway pavilion has an exhibit on Norse mythology, which is one of my favorites. In between each booth I took the time to explore the quiet, hidden areas in the pavilions. There are plenty of places to take a nice, quiet break away from the crowds.
I left Epcot around 3:00 pm, took a nap, then headed to Typhoon Lagoon. My husband and I had an opportunity to attend a Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic event as part of our DVC membership! On all accounts, this event was very similar to Typhoon Lagoon’s H20 Glow event, so I wanted to briefly share our experience in case a nighttime visit to a water park sounds like something you’d like to do on your next vacation.
We were able to enter Typhoon Lagoon as early as 6:00 pm, and the event officially started at 8:00 pm. There were specialty food items and themed drinks but we focused on the attractions! We rode Crush ‘N’ Gusher, Gang Plank Falls, Keelhaul Falls, Mayday Falls, and Storm Slides – the Jib Jammer was my favorite of the Storm Slides! While walking from attraction to attraction we indulged in complimentary Mickey Premium Bars, Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches, popcorn, and fountain beverages, as well as some drinks from the bar.
There was a DJ dance party with some characters at the main stage, and another DJ leading games with Chip and Dale near Crush ‘N’ Gusher. We spent a while in Castaway Creek, the lazy river that circles the entire park before finishing out the night in the Typhoon Lagoon Surf Pool. Those waves were no joke! There were very few attractions that we skipped – but there was plenty of time to ride everything during the event, which ended at 11:00 pm.
It was a long day, but it was so worth it!
Glossary
Boarding Group your place in "line" with the Virtual Queue system
rope drop in this instance, the act of getting on an attraction as soon as the park opens
Fab 50 Quest an interactive game which utilizes MagicBand+ and the Play Disney Parks app
single rider a queue for parties of one or families who are willing to be split up in order to experience an attraction with a shorter wait time
Beacon of Magic a lighting package for each park's icon as part of the Magic Kingdom's 50th anniversary celebration
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