In the future after doing what was arguably my most worrying morning ever at EPCOT to beat the gang at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, I returned armed with a brand new technique that might show to be the best plan of assault. This Early Entry report enters by way of Worldwide Gateway and runs by way of my strategy to a ~30 minute wait time for the Marvel E-Ticket.
This area check was achieved on one other busy day at EPCOT, when the park had a 9/10 crowd degree and the height wait time for Cosmic Rewind was over 2 hours. The park opened at 9 am to most of the people and Early Entry started at 8:30 am. That’s par for the course, even on peak season dates like this–Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and so forth. haven’t seen extensions. Even when Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios transfer ahead their opening instances, EPCOT hardly ever modifications.
As famous above, this Early Entry report begins from Worldwide Gateway, as I used to be staying at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn. Skyliner and Crescent Lake Resorts arrive by way of this entrance between France and the UK, which is superior for Remy’s Ratatouille Journey and Frozen Ever After. Nevertheless, my plan was to make the lengthy stroll to the exact opposite aspect of the park for Cosmic Rewind.
Let’s begin by dropping the pretense that this was a “plan” of any type. If left to my very own gadgets, this area check would’ve by no means occurred. I got here into this week with 3 totally different Early Entry at EPCOT approaches to check, and this wasn’t one in all them. This run is “courtesy” of arriving on a red-eye flight the day gone by, staying out late that evening, and getting a grand whole of ~8 hours of sleep over the course of two nights. I needs to be used to that as a brand new mum or dad, however apparently my sport is slipping.
After sleeping by way of my first alarm, I managed to catch the second an hour later and sprang from my mattress to journey Cosmic Rewind. Away to the park I flew like a flash, forgoing a bathe however making a fast espresso so I wouldn’t crash. I made it to Worldwide Gateway in report time, breezing by way of bag test and the doorway as a result of there was nobody in entrance of me.
I used to be inside EPCOT at round 8:40 a.m., which was roughly a full hour later than the earlier morning. The checkpoint for verifying Early Entry eligibility likewise had nobody ready, so I had no wait there and was off to the races for Cosmic Rewind from the France bridge earlier than 8:45 a.m.
A sane particular person would possibly’ve taken the trail of least resistance, mosied over to France, and achieved Remy’s Ratatouille Journey. However I’m no such particular person, and I might see the overflow queue for the Rat Journey from the bridge. It might’ve been a foul choice by this level. In equity, the identical would possibly’ve been true for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, however I couldn’t see that queue, so I used to be about to seek out out!
At an everyday tempo, the stroll from Worldwide Gateway to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind might be going to take round 12-Quarter-hour. So for those who’re fascinated with making an attempt the technique right here, you need to arrive a bit earlier.
I made the stroll in 10 minutes, which isn’t life like for many friends.
In an ideal world, I might’ve arrived at 8:25 a.m. and brought a really leisurely stroll round World Showcase, absorbing the distinctive ambiance of EPCOT within the morning. Whereas I nonetheless savored the sights as I head in the direction of the entrance of the park, my stroll was something however leisurely. Good factor I hadn’t bothered with a bathe–I used to be going to want one, regardless, after this rope drop run!
After the stress of being held right here for a half-hour in a sea of humanity and the blazing solar instantly in my eyes, an empty Innoventions Breezeway was fairly the positioning to behold.
Being on this space for less than a fleeting few seconds whereas it was completely devoid of individuals nearly alone made this strategy to Early Entry “value it” for me over the day gone by.
Though only a few friends had been queueing up for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at this level, the morning protocol was nonetheless in use, which means an extended stroll previous the attraction and thru an prolonged queue. Right here’s a take a look at that:
In the long run, I made it into the road for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind by 8:55 a.m.
For reference, I used to be within the queue by 8:32 am the earlier morning–so 23 minutes forward of this regardless of exhibiting as much as the park over 60 minutes earlier. In fact, the query is whether or not I’d “pay for” that later arrival by advantage of an extended wait time at Cosmic Rewind and the cascading impact that may have on waits at subsequent points of interest all through EPCOT.
In the long term, the ~37 minutes I saved by not standing round ready for Early Entry to begin may cost me extra all through the remainder of the morning.
Right here’s a glance again on the courtyard round Cosmic Rewind as I entered the out of doors overflow queue.
Be aware that there’s a whole lot of it, and it’s totally empty. This photograph was taken at 8:56 a.m.
It’s additionally value noting that the prolonged out of doors queue was not even near full.
I did stroll by way of sections of this that I hadn’t achieved through the earlier Early Entry, however there was far much less queue in use on day two than throughout my common check runs of Cosmic Rewind throughout the day gone by and subsequent ones.
One other key distinction is that the road was consistently transferring open air. I’d find yourself contained in the constructing inside a matter of minutes.
Right here’s that very same line a pair minutes later, because the rope drop crowd descends upon Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Unsurprisingly, the posted wait time doubled from 45 minutes to 90 minutes nearly immediately.
This photograph doesn’t even start to do the gang justice. It prolonged for so far as I might see into the previous Future World, winding round Mission House and heading again in the direction of CommuniCore Corridor.
I might’ve taken a video if I weren’t in a transferring line with different folks between me and the rope drop arrivals, however suffice to say, it was just like the working of the bulls or a zombie horde smelling recent blood…if each had been fastidiously managed by Solid Members making certain an orderly course of.
As I used to be staying on-site, I by no means examined rope dropping Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. I solely did it throughout Early Entry or later within the day.
Nevertheless, there are a pair issues I can pretty simply surmise primarily based alone expertise with Early Entry and having been across the block just a few instances with this type of factor.
The primary is that the folks on the entrance of this rope drop herd didn’t simply present up at 8:50 a.m. and have a serene stroll to the entrance of the pack. They arrived a lot earlier–lengthy earlier than me and certain across the identical time as the primary Early Entry friends. So that they have already got waited some time for Cosmic Rewind, simply previous to official park opening.
The second is that anybody who did arrive a lot later–and thus is behind this pack–is at a definite drawback. There’s nonetheless a good probability they’ll have an precise wait that’s decrease than the every day common for Cosmic Rewind, however no ensures.
That’s not the true situation, although. It’s the chance value of rope dropping Cosmic Rewind from a mediocre place versus one other attraction from a powerful spot. Relatively than ready over an hour for Cosmic Rewind, they may’ve walked onto Soarin’ and each different attraction on that aspect of the previous Future World. And since this was achieved throughout spring break, all of these rides would have measurable wait instances later within the day.
Level being, being behind the rope drop pack isn’t the identical as being behind the Early Entry pack, like my run-through. A extra comparable instance can be hitting Cosmic Rewind throughout a mid-morning lull, as that’s primarily what I used to be doing–arriving after the preliminary rush of Early Entry.
I made it into the primary holding space earlier than the primary pre-show by 9:17 am. (That is the place I “stopped the clock” the day gone by, which in hindsight I don’t assume is the right strategy.)
This was poor luck on my half, as there was just one celebration forward of me on the cutoff level. Regardless, this amounted to a fairly quick and a consistently-moving standby line. That’s aided largely by the dearth of Lightning Lane returns at this level. (Be aware the empty left queue two images above.)
I ended up making it into the primary pre-show room, pictured above, by 9:25 am. Not unhealthy in any respect.
I used to be seated in a journey automobile by 9:38 am.
Even with out checking wait instances at this level, I already knew that Frozen Ever After was off the desk for journey #2 of the day. Nevertheless, as you would possibly recall, it was additionally off the desk throughout my earlier Early Entry run, after I arrived an hour earlier!
That received’t all the time be the case, although. Once more, these had been again to again 9/10 days throughout spring break. On a extra average crowd degree day, Frozen Ever After would’ve been possible on my first day with manageable wait however most likely not my second. In order that’s value noting.
Additionally value noting is that the posted wait time for Remy’s Ratatouille Journey had gone down.
It was 60 minutes after I entered the park shortly after the beginning of Early Entry and 55 minutes as of ~9:40 am. It’s regular for this attraction to have a lull like this, and is a byproduct of most friends from Worldwide Gateway prioritizing it throughout Early Entry, together with too many from the entrance of the park.
This ends in Remy’s Ratatouille Journey spiking quick, and common rope drop friends making the very rational determination to not race to the again of the park to be on the finish of an already lengthy line. (Early Entry friends coming from the entrance shouldn’t be doing this, both, however they typically don’t get pleasure from seeing the posted wait time once they begin their trek.)
I wasn’t about to ping-pong from the entrance of the park to the again, so I headed over to the Land and did Soarin’ Across the World.
This is able to additionally present a extra direct comparability to the day gone by, after I did Soarin’ second as a close to walk-on. (Sadly, I didn’t truly time it, as I didn’t anticipate to be doing this comparability.)
On day two, my watch for Soarin’ was 12 minutes. This can be a actually good time, from my perspective, as Soarin’ includes luck of the draw with theater loading. Even a “walk-on” might simply be Quarter-hour with poor luck/timing. I had good luck each days and there have been positively extra folks in entrance of me on the second, so I’m going to name this an additional 10 minutes.
I might’ve achieved each different journey on this aspect of the park as a walk-on, however as a substitute opted to eat earlier than heading again to my room for an overdue and much-needed bathe.
The underside line is that I waited ~half-hour for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. That was both half-hour much less than the day gone by or ~10 minutes extra relying upon whether or not you begin the clock on the primary day after I entered EPCOT or from the time Early Entry began. Both method, each of those are sturdy performances for a 9/10 crowd degree day when Cosmic Rewind often had a 95+ minute wait.
The query is: which strategy is higher? There are two larger factors that give day two a decisive benefit. First up is the secondary affect to my plans on these specific days. In each instances, Soarin’ was my greatest play for journey #2 of the day. I actually misplaced nothing by rolling up after Early Entry had already began on day 2, whereas I gained over an hour of sleep. That’s a doubtlessly massive deal, particularly if it means staying till park closing, not having to take a noon nap break, and so forth.
Nevertheless, there’s a powerful emphasis “on these specific days.” I’m guessing that, in a 7/10 or under crowd degree, I both might’ve perhaps achieved Cosmic Rewind a second time or positively knocked out Frozen Ever After with minimal wait on that first day–however not the second day with my later arrival.
From my perspective, the largest benefit to this straightforward Early Entry strategy is that I wasn’t caught in a worrying atmosphere within the Innoventions Breezeway for a half-hour. There’s a cause why I beforehand cautioned in opposition to lining up on the Fantasyland Bridge in Magic Kingdom to do the Seven Dwarfs Mine Practice Shuffle, and it’s principally I believe conditions like this set a foul tone to begin the day. Possibly you’re constructed in another way and these congested, high-stakes eventualities don’t trouble you. However they do me.
Accordingly, when balancing the qualitative expertise with the quantitative time-savings, I view this because the second-best strategy to Early Entry at EPCOT from Worldwide Gateway, and the #1 technique to do Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind from the again entrance. Not simply #1 throughout Early Entry or within the morning–the very best technique for Cosmic Rewind, interval.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever achieved Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind by way of Early Entry or all through the day now that it’s switched to standby? Ideas on Early Entry at EPCOT? Have you ever skilled this on-site resort perk? What’s your most popular strategy to mornings at EPCOT–beginning in World Showcase or the entrance of the park? How would you might have achieved issues in another way? Every other suggestions on arriving early to the Walt Disney World theme parks? Agree or disagree with our recommendation or strategy? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
