How Changes to Epcot’s FastPass+ Tiers Affect You

By Len Testa

On June 16, Epcot’s Living with the Land will join Soarin’, Test Track, and IllumiNations as Tier 1 FastPass+ attractions. (Living with the Land was previously a Tier 2 attraction). Guests making advance FastPass+ reservations will be able to choose one of these attractions before arriving at the park. (You’ll be able to get more FastPass+ reservations from any tier once you’re in the park and have used your set of advance Fastpass+ reservations.)

Also, the Epcot Character Spot and Maelstrom will move from Tier 1 to Tier 2.

Here’s the complete lineup of Epcot FastPass+ Tiers:

Tier 1 (Choose One)

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
Living with the Land
Soarin’
Test Track

Tier 2 (Choose Two)

Captain EO
Epcot Character Spot
Journey Into Imagination
Maelstrom
Mission Space Green/Orange
Spaceship Earth
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush

With this change comes two questions:

How does this affect our Epcot touring plans?
What are my FastPass+ priorities at Epcot now?

Effect on Epcot Touring Plans

Ten of our 24 Epcot touring plans required changes with this latest FastPass+ shuffle. In most of them, the change was to drop Living with the Land and add Maelstrom as a FastPass+ attraction.  Our touring plan software typically moved the Living with the Land ride to slightly earlier in the day, when crowds will be lower, and suggested a FastPass+ reservation time of around 2 PM for Maelstrom.

Your FastPass+ Priorities at the Epcot

The 3 highest-priority FastPass+ attractions at Epcot are Spaceship Earth, Soarin’, and Mission: Space Orange, for families who want a complete tour of the park. Those attractions are the same as before this tier change:

Maelstrom is now recommended in about 1/3rd of our touring plans, and Living with the Land is not recommended at all (nor is the Epcot Character Spot).  IllumiNations is suggested exactly once, for an afternoon touring plan of World Showcase. And Test Track, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, and Turtle Talk with Crush remain good secondary choices.

The Best Times for FastPass+ Reservations at Epcot

Now that you know which attractions most need FastPass+, the next question is when you should make your FastPass+ reservations. Here’s a chart showing the times our Epcot touring plans use FastPass+ to avoid long lines (yellow=morning times, orange=afternoon):

Our touring plan software recommends Soarin’ and Mission: Space Orange before noon (the median suggested reservation time is 10:30 AM for Soarin’ and 10:15 AM for Mission: Space). Doing that allows you to head for Test Track first thing in the morning, and a quick ride on Sum of All Thrills before heading for Mission: Space. After that, most touring plans suggest Living with the Land prior to riding Soarin’.

As for Maelstrom, the median suggested time for a FastPass+ reservation is 2 PM, with an average time of around 3 PM. That means you’ll be touring World Showcase in a clockwise direction, from Mexico to Canada. The good thing about that strategy is that there are plenty of good viewing spots for IllumiNations on the Canada side of World Showcase, so you won’t need a FastPass to see the show.

 

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