Vistors Guide to EPCOT

EPCOT

EPCOT opened as Walt Disney World's second theme park on October 1, 1982, inspired by the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow that Walt Disney envisioned for what became the Walt Disney World Resort.

EPCOT today is big on food festivals, which now run almost every week of the year, starting with the Festival of the Arts in January, then continuing with the Flower & Garden Festival in the spring, followed by the Food & Wine Festival in late summer through fall, wrapping up with the Festival of the Holidays in November and December.

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For more information about Walt Disney World's EPCOT, jump to...

Our recommendations below come from our ongoing survey of Theme Park Insider readers. Locations with star ratings ranked especially highly among our readers. Vote here to take part in our surveys and submit your picks for top attractions.

What to Do

Top 10

  1. Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ★ ★
    An indoor spinning coaster in World Discovery's Wonders of Xandar pavilion. Height requirement: 42 inches
    Read Robert Niles' review of Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.

  2. Soarin' Around the World
    Flying theater ride above famous world landmarks, located in The Land pavilion in World Nature. Height requirement: 40 inches
    Soarin' Around the World

  3. Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
    Shrink to Remy's size for a chase through a Paris kitchen on this trackless dark ride in World Showcase's France pavilion.

  4. Test Track
    High-speed track ride/simulated factory tour in World Discovery. Height requirement: 40 inches
    Test Track

  5. The American Adventure
    Audio Animatronic show about American history, in World Showcase
    The American Adventure
    Animatronic Ben Franklin and Mark Twain host Disney's The American Adventure. Photo by Robert Niles.

  6. Impressions de France
    Movie in World Showcase's France pavilion [Check showtimes as this shares a theater with the Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along]
    Impressions de France

  7. Frozen Ever After
    Indoor boat ride in World Showcase's Norway pavilion

  8. Spaceship Earth
    Dark ride through world history, located in the giant geosphere at the heart of World Celebration.
    Spaceship Earth

  9. Living With the Land
    Indoor boat ride about agriculture, in World Nature's The Land pavilion
    Living With the Land

  10. Mission: Space
    Centrifuge ride in World Discovery that simulates a Mission to Mars. Height requirement: 44 inches for the Orange Mission (which simulates weightlessness) and 40 inches for the Green Mission (which does not).
    Mission: Space

Other Attractions

World Nature
  • Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana: walk through
  • The Seas With Nemo & Friends: Omnimover ride to a multi-story aquarium exhibit
  • Turtle Talk With Crush: interactive video show in The Seas pavilion
  • Awesome Planet: movie in The Land pavilion
  • Journey Into Imagination With Figment: dark ride
  • Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival: movie in the Imagination pavilion
World Showcase
  • Luminous the Symphony of Us: nighttime spectacular on World Showcase Lagoon
  • Disney's DuckTales World Showcase Adventure: game played through the Play Disney Parks app
  • Canada Far and Wide in Circle-Vision 360: movie
  • Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along: movie in the France pavilion
  • American Gardens Theater: live performance venue
  • Reflections of China: movie
  • Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros: indoor boat ride in the Mexico pavilion

Where to Eat

EPCOT features table service and some walk-up counter service restaurants throughout its World Showcase national pavilions. Festival marketplaces also serve themed food and drinks during EPCOT's many festivals throughout the year.

Recommended

  • Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
    Table service pizzeria serving lunch and dinner in World Showcase's Italy pavilion. [Run by Patina Group]

  • Le Cellier Steakhouse
    Table service for lunch and dinner in World Showcase's Canada pavilion

  • Les Chefs de France
    Table service for lunch and dinner, also in World's Showcase's France pavilion. [Run by the Bocuse family]

  • Monsieur Paul
    Prix-fixe dinner in World's Showcase's France pavilion. [Run by the Bocuse family]

  • Takumi-Tei
    Prix-fixe Omakase dinners in World's Showcase's Japan pavilion.

  • Space 220
    Take a simulated space elevator 220 miles above Florida for a table-service lunch or dinner with a view of the Earth from space. Located next to Mission Space in World Discovery. [Run by Patina Group]

Elsewhere at Walt Disney World, Theme Park Insider readers recommend Citricos, a Mary Poppins-themed, fine-dining dinner restaurant at Disney's Grand Floridian Hotel and Topolino's Terrace, serving French and Italian cuisine at dinner with a character meal at breakfast, in Disney's Riviera Resort. In Disney Springs, our readers recommend Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' for a Florida-inspired "farm-to-fork" table-service meal, and The Polite Pig for casual service barbecue.

Park Map

EPCOT is part of the sprawling Walt Disney World Resort, located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida – about 24 miles from Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Note that Disney no longer provides free Disney's Magical Express bus service to and from the Orlando airport for its hotel guests.

If you are renting a car while visiting Orlando, you can save on toll road fees by getting a Visitor Toll Pass at the Orlando airport rather than renting a toll transponder from your rental car company: Toll Discounts Return for Orlando Theme Park Visitors

Best Time to Visit Disney World?

Disney's theme park ticket prices vary by day, so you can use Disney's pricing calendar [scroll down] to see which days have the highest expected crowds. The lower the price for a ticket, the smaller the expected crowd that day.

In general, you will find the lightest crowd levels at the Walt Disney World theme parks during these periods:

  • late April through the week before Memorial Day
  • after the first week of August through September
  • late October and early November

Large crowds will fill the parks on runDisney weekends:

  • April 18 - 21, 2024
  • October 31 - November 3, 2024
  • January 8 - 12, 2025
  • February 20 - 24, 2025
  • April 3 - 6, 2025

In addition, crowd levels are high during:

  • any holiday week
  • President's Day week through Spring Break in mid-April
  • the week of Thanksgiving through New Year's week

Whenever you plan to visit, you must make date-specific reservations in advance to use your tickets. You can see which dates are open to reserve on Disney's "Park Pass" availability calendar. See the next section, below, for more advice on planning your Walt Disney World visit.

Strategy

Before You Go

If you want to visit more than one Walt Disney World theme park on a single day, you will need a "Park Hopper" ticket.

Dining reservations can be made via the Disney World website, and each date's reservations open 60 days in advance, at about 5:45am Eastern Time. Disney's on-site hotel guests may make reservations for their entire stay (up to 10 days) starting 60 days before their check-in date. That gives Disney's on-site hotel guests an advantage in making reservations for the most popular restaurants.

Itinerary

Disney's hotel guests also get 30 minutes of early access to each of the resort's four theme parks every day. So hotel guests should plan on an early start each morning to take advantage of empty queues. Unfortunately for guests staying off site, this new early admission policy means that they no longer have any opportunity to be the first to enter any Walt Disney World theme park in the morning.

As for planning your day, Walt Disney World now offers a new tool on its official My Disney Experience app to create a custom itinerary for each day of your visit. In addition, Disney offers two ways for its theme park guests to pay to access shorter wait times for many popular attractions. You can learn more about these options in our posts:

If Guardians of the Galaxy is using a virtual queue, try to enter that via the My Disney Experience app at exactly 7am the morning you visit. If you do not get into the virtual queue, you might consider buying Individual Lightning Lane access, if there is no standby queue option. Definitely try for the free virtual queue before paying for Lighting Lane access, though.

Otherwise, do not follow the herd and ride Spaceship Earth as soon as you enter the park. That line drops significantly later in the afternoon, as does Soarin'. Choose instead to go for Frozen Ever After first thing when the park opens and definitely before 11am, then your choice of Remy or Test Track, which are the next-longest waits in the park. Our choice would be Test Track, since there's a better chance of shorter waits at Remy later in the day. Also, that allows you to finish the north half of the park before doing the circuit around World Showcase. EPCOT is a huge park and there is a lot of walking around required here.

If you are spending the entire day at just EPCOT, Disney Genie+ is not necessary, though buying the Individual Lightning Lane can be worth the money if you really want to get on Guardians. If you are Park Hopping and combining EPCOT with the nearby Disney's Hollywood Studios, Genie+ can allow you to hit the highlights at both parks in one day.

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