Epcot worth it?

[rdaky]

We will be in Orlando in April 2021, but will only be at the parks for 2 days. One is MK. We chose Epcot for our second day, because typically we LOVE Epcot especially World Showcase and the food, festivals. However, without the international cast members, is it worth an entire day? Is everything opened? I'm second guessing our decision and thinking maybe it's not worth an entire day and I should change it to HS. Any thoughts?

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

Just my opinion, avoid Epcot right now. There is lots of construction and the new attractions will not be ready by then. DHS is better, but the lack of shows right now means that the ride lines are longer there. If the shows return, DHS is a no brainer. If not, consider a second day in MK or AK. If you have never visited AK you should give it a try. I consider it the most gorgeous park in WDW.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

I haven't been there in a few years but it will still be a must do for us when we go in April. Flower and Garden will be going on so you will still have that. Of course we prefer it will the international cast members but it is something we would never miss.

 

[sethschroeder]

the new attractions will not be ready by then

Except nothing is closed and Flower + Garden will be going on as well.

All the construction is in a specific part of the park as well for Epcot so its not like every area is tore up. They just recently took down the construction walls this last week at the park entrance it looks like as well.

I'm second guessing our decision and thinking maybe it's not worth an entire day and I should change it to HS.

HS is going to be the most complete "new park experience". That being said that could be good or bad.

One way to look at it is that you could plan on HS, make the park reservation, and if you can't get a ROR boarding group in the morning before park opening you switch to Epcot.

 

[gharter]

It depends what attractions you enjoy more. Those at EPCOT or HS. Most of the attractions at EPCOT are open, some of the shows are not, many of the shops and restaurants are closed. Almost none of the International cast members are there. While Flower and Garden will be going on, I don't expect it to be the same as previous years. If you don't care about Star Wars and the Mickey and Minnie ride, I would do EPCOT.

 

[sethschroeder]

many of the shops and restaurants are closed.

There is only like 7 of 50 dining locations closed in Epcot and like 13 of 50 stores.

Just putting a count to it.

 

[gharter]

There is only like 7 of 50 dining locations closed in Epcot and like 13 of 50 stores.

Just putting a count to it.

Fortunately, more restaurants and stores are starting to reopen. But, I still consider that quite a few to be closed, especially some of the signature ones.. Hoping more will be open by our next trip.

 

[crazylady]

For me, no. But what do you love about Epcot? Will those things be available?

 

[gharter]

I am a big fan of EPCOT. Love the flower and Garden and Wine and Food festivals.
During the festivals, grazing at the kiosks. Decreased, but still good.
During F&W, doing many of the food and wine pairing meals. No idea if they will be back.
Hoping they are able to return close to their previous forms.
We love eating at some of the higher end restaurants. Monsieur Paul and Takumi Tei are still some of the best meals we have had.
I loved watching our son and his wife diving at Living Seas.
Still a fan of Test track, LWtL and Soarin.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

To me this really depends on when you last visited and what you enjoy. Our last visit was January 2019 and I would have HS at the top of our list due to Galaxy's Edge and Runaway Railway opening since then.

If you were last there a few months ago the answer would come down to what you like. All 4 parks have their positives depending on personal taste.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

If I had only two parks it would be MK and Epcot. During that time you will still have Flower and Garden, most if not all current rides should still be open. Nice park to walk and wind down. Still a lot to discover and do as opposed to the other two. But it really does depend, are you going for the rides or just the whole experience. The park I tend to avoid now is HS because the crowds flock there, and because the construction and everything else at Epcot, tends to be the least crowded

 

[cjlong88]

Personally, I think Epcot is still worth it. We spend most of our time in World Showcase exploring the pavilions and eating at the various festival booths, so if that is where you plan to be for the majority of your day, you will have a great time. While Future World is a mess, the rides are still open and they are still fun to ride.

I will say, with no park hoppers on our last visit, we stayed the entire time and ended up doing some things in Epcot that we haven't done before -- Awesome Planet and Reflections of China were both awesome shows and I would do them again. We completed the F&W Remy scavenger hunt and had a blast with that. We were able to eat and drink around the world TWICE, which was awesome because we often have a hard time choosing what to eat.

Now that we have PH tickets for our February visit, we plan to hop to Epcot in the late afternoon so long as there is capacity so we can enjoy the some of the festival booths for FotA.

 

[ilovebassets]

We love Epcot. Spent three days there in Oct 2019 but only half a day there last week. Other parks were definitely better.

 

[rdaky]

We have been to Disney a lot, and at one point we had APs. So it's not a new experience for us. Typically we love the International foods and shops, just browsing countries, kids like that too, as well as Frozen, Soarin and Nemo. The last time we were there was Summer 2019 and we have not seen Star Wars or the new Mickey ride yet, so that would lean me toward HS. But I also don't want to spend the entire day waiting in line for 4 rides because that's all we can do with no shows and limited hours.

 

[Heather07438]

Now that we have PH tickets for our February visit, we plan to hop to Epcot in the late afternoon so long as there is capacity so we can enjoy the some of the festival booths for FotA.

Yessss We were just talking about Festival food booths and by far Art Fest is our fav. We hit F&G and Holiday Fest in 2019 and they were OK but Art Fest has far more seriously awesome selections that interest us.

Love all the photo ops too!

 

[FinnsMom7]

Following along for my end of Jan trip. Going for a Disney wedding and added a day at the start of the weekend to do 1 park day. We are going to AK for a dessert party already so Epcot was our choice. What stores are still closed? DHS was a close second choice but I feel without FP and shows we wouldn't have the need to spend a full day (aside from being in lines majority of time). Fest of Art booths seem like the perfect way to take mask/snack/drink breaks and take our time moving through the countries.