1st morning - EPCOT / MK ?

[KittyBlackDog]

On previous trips (3) 1st mornings (Sunday) were at MK. On this trip things are quite a bit different in that we fly on a Wednesday so our 1st day will be Thursday and we are starting our holiday with a few nights at Beach Club before moving to a villa.

As we are so close we are debating (going round and round in circles 😂 ) about whether we should start in EPCOT or Keep with tradition and start at MK. However after looking at 2017 park hours there is a potential curveball as Epcot might have EMH.

The EPCOT option was to have breakfast at Garden Grill to meet Chip ‘n’ Dale and then quick dash to Soarin’ before the crowds arrived when the park opened as we are already in the pavilion. Would we lose this benefit if EMH are on or would it work better if we have a slightly later breakfast and head to Soarin’ first (we could thenFP TT for later in the day)

Logistically how far is the international gateway from Soarin’? I can see the distance in my head but no idea of time to walk it 🤔.

Have you done this or any recommendations?

Thanks

[TinkTatoo]

The beauty of the Beach Club is the walk into Epcot so that would be my park of choice for the first morning, EMH will work in your favour as you'll be up early anyway. I'd have coffee and a snack in the room then walk over to Soarin, it will take about 5 minutes from the International Gateway (quicker if you power walk)

You could get a few rides in as soon as the park opens, have a slightly later breakfast / brunch and then use FP's for more of your favourite rides. If you then wanted to visit MK you could hop on the Monorail, otherwise walk back to the BC for some pool time and go back into Epcot later for the Fireworks.

[anna68]

You'll be up early - go to wherever there is emh is my suggestion. We did Epcot 8am adr last year.

[loldis]

I would do as Tink suggested and use the EMH for rides, booking a later breakfast/brunch to enjoy GG. You could probably do both Soarin' and TT in EMH, particularly if you're happy to use the single rider line at TT. Because single rider bypasses the "design your car" bit, you can often make it into some of the first cars while everyone else is still faffing with that.

[DoubleDisney]

We stayed at Yacht Club last year and loved going to the France pavilion for breakfast at park open (one of the few early openers). Always really quiet and a beautiful start to the day. We could ‘rope drop’ a ride and make it over to France before the crowds arrived. Don’t miss breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery either. It was so nice watching the boardwalk come to life before the parks opened. Enjoy your stay!

[scoobydooby]

Whether you beat the front gate crowds to Soarin depends on if they faff about at International Gateway or not and if they open both gates at the same time. I’ve been kept waiting there before now. I think the walk to Soarin from the front of the park is slightly shorter.