How to do Walt Disney World's Epcot in 1 Day

This Epcot itinerary covers the attractions I did, the shows I saw and restaurants that I dined at during my trip to Orlando. As part of my Orlando series, it answers the question “how do I get through ____ in one day?” Check out my other Walt Disney World plan for Animal Kingdom.

Epcot is a combination of a traditional theme park and an arts and wine festival. The first part of your day will be running around to get through all the rides and the afternoon will be spent strolling through the World Showcase.

The first thing you must consider before entering any Walt Disney World park is FastPass+.

FastPass+

FastPass+ allows you to skip the lines at Walt Disney World by booking an hour window to ride certain attractions. As wait times can be up to three hours (sometimes even more during holidays), FastPass+ vital to planning your day at Epcot. You can book your FastPass+ 60 days in advance if you are staying at a Disney resort hotel. If you are not staying on the Disney property, then you can book it 30 days in advance. The reservations can be made online at the Disney website or on their app My Disney Experience. I recommend having the app downloaded before entering the park to check your reservations, make/change FastPass+ reservations and check on wait times.

It’s best to finish all the attractions first thing in the morning so make your bookings for before 1pm.

There is a Tier system for FastPass+ in Epcot. When picking your three reservations, you can only pick one from Tier 1and the other two from Tier 2.

Tier 1 Attractions:

Frozen Ever After
Test Track
Soarin’ Around the World
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
Epcot Character Greeting

The first three attractions on the Tier 1 list should be your main focus as your ideal plan will be based off of which reservation you make.

Tier 2 Attractions:

Mission: Space
Spaceship Earth
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Living with the Land
Pixar Short Film Festival
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Turtle Talk with Crush

The first two attractions are the most popular ones on this list so I suggest booking both if you can otherwise try to at least get one of them. The other attractions are usually available on the day of or have shorter stand-by wait times.

Physical FastPass+ kiosks:

Future World West near the character spot
Future World East near Mouse Gear
Near World Traveler between France and United Kingdom

1-day Epcot Itinerary

The Big Three + More

The first stop, after rope drop, depends on your FastPass+ reservations. If you were not able to get a FastPass+ reservation for any of the three main rides, then speed on over to Test Track. Most people will be headed to Frozen Ever After so that will be next on your list and your last ride will be Soarin’ Around the World.

If you booked a reservation for Frozen Ever After, then you will want to start your day with Test Track and then head on over to Soarin’ Around the World.

If you booked a reservation for Test Track, then you will want to start your day with Frozen Ever After and then Soarin’ Around the World.

If you booked your reservation for Soarin’ Around the World, then start your day with Test Track and then Frozen Ever After.

Hopefully you have scheduled all your FastPass+ reservations for before 1pm so you can make the most of the rest of your day. Also, once you have finished your three FastPass+ reservations you are eligible to book more. Please remember that this itinerary can be altered based on your FastPass+ reservations.

After the “Big Three”, make sure to ride Spaceship Earth and Mission: Space (like the simulation at Kennedy Space Center – if you are planning on going to Kennedy Space Center I would skip this).

Now that all your FastPass+ reservations have been completed, it’s time to enter Future World West.

Future World West

Start off with the high seas and meet your favorite fish Nemo (The Seas with Nemo and Friends), check out the 5.7 million gallon aquarium with exotic fish, sharks, sea turtles and a manatee, and hang out with your favorite turtle Crush who is absolutely hilarious (Turtle Talk with Crush).

Continue to The Land and Imagination where you can check out greenhouses (Living with the Land), the Imagination Institute (Journey into Imagination with Figment) and see your favorite shorts in 4-D (Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival).

Head over to The Land and check out Journey into Imagination, Living with the Land, and Pixar Short Film Festival

Around the World

There are 11 countries in the World Showcase and on average you need at least 30 minutes to go through each one. And that’s not including the time you might take to stop and try all the delicious snacks and drinks. There’s even a Drinking Around the World Challenge and a Snacking Around the World Challenge. You might need two solid laps to get through it all.

Start with Mexico and go around. Make some pit stops along the way. Check out the Grand Fiesta Tour, Reflections of China, The American Adventure, Impressions de France and O Canada. Honestly just stroll through the showcase plaza and take your time. There are so many beautiful spots along the way. I took a couple hundred photos while I was going around.

The best dining experience I had was in Morocco at the Tangierine Café which is a top counter service restaurant. Make sure to grab a table outside to immerse yourself in the outdoor architecture. The Falafel platter was quite appetizing and the pita bread was warm and perfectly delicious.

Once you have entered a food coma, I suggest grab a seat on a bench or somewhere and just people watch. Or check out the Coca-Cola Club Cool for some yummy and refreshing soft drink samples from around the world.

Illuminations Nighttime Spectacular

There are FastPass+ reservations available with a separate seating area perfect for watching the firework display. But you can see the firework display of mankind from anywhere along the World Showcase, especially near Mexico or France.

Thoughts

You can definitely do everything listed here in a day and have a fabulous time. But if you do have more time available, I suggest breaking up the attractions and the World Showcase into two separate days to really get the most of your time there.