Touring Epcot Without DAS
Updated: Oct 19
With the changes to Disability Access Service (DAS), including the new restrictions on who can qualify, we started to brainstorm how we would manage a Walt Disney World trip with our neurodivergent family members without the use of DAS. These are the ideas we came up with for touring Epcot and thought we would share in case they helped other families in a similar situation. If you are looking for a general plan on how to approach your Walt Disney World Vacation without DAS click here.
Know that our personal plans will involve following this strategy, but in tandem with purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) and Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP). We know that is not a realistic choice for many people - and that you may have an ethical problem with purchasing this after having been denied DAS. There are some rides like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind that will be very difficult to experience with a limited wait-time without purchasinga LLSP, so keep that in mind. You can read more about using LLMP here.
There is not going to be a one size fits all approach for those who have any kind of disability that makes waiting in line for any length of time untenable. Also of note, we have always needed to navigate the parks in a way that avoids crowded areas and bottlenecks as much as possible. We have a post detailing our best strategies for managing this here which includes a map for Epcot. We also have suggestions on where to go to take a sensory break if crowds get to overwhelming here.
Must Dos:
You will need to come up with a very clear realistic idea of what is important for your family to accomplish. We try to make sure we hit something that is important to everyone on our trip, so we make these plans as a family. Read more about finding your Must Dos here.
If Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a must do for your family we really feel the only way to manage without a long wait is to but a Lightning Lane Single Pass. There is no stand by line for this ride, you must attempt to get a virtual queue for your party at either 7AM or 1PM. Typically the line is still over an hour long if you manage to snag a virtual queue. We have read that sometimes if you have a virtual queue and explain that you are a former DAS recipient they may let you into the Lightning Lane, but we would not count on that. The more popular a ride, the more people there are trying to cheat the system. Consequently the less flexible the CMs at those attractions are likely to be.
Get to the park early:
Rope Drop/Early Entry will be your friend if the person with the disability can manage early mornings. You will need to get there at least an hour before the scheduled opening. That way you can wait at the front of the large number of people waiting to get in. If that isn’t possible, because sometimes that crowd can be a lot too, wait over to the side. Then do not waste your time with the big E-Ticket (most popular rides in the parks) ride at the park unless it is your only goal for that morning. Everyone heads for Frozen Ever After. If you head there also it will still be crowded and overwhelming. You will however be able to knock out a number of other attractions with your Early Entry time if you play your cards right. Read more about Early Entry here.
If you are entering in the main entrance we recommend heading to Soarin’ Around the World. If entering from International Gateway and you want to do Remy,
plan to get there at least an hour before early entry starts to be as close to the front of the Remy queue as possible, otherwise head to the front of the park toward Soarin' Around the World. Afterwards that you can easily hit up 2-4 attractions depending on the crowd levels.
To sum up, of the attractions that are open during Early Entry, we recommend trying for 2-3 of these:
Soarin' Around the World
Spaceship Earth
Journey into Imagination with Figment
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Living with the Land
Mission Space
You will not be able to do all of these suggested attractions before the park opens for everyone, so again pick your must-dos. Since Frozen is about equidistant from both entrances and is super popular it’s not a great attraction to try first thing in the morning.
World Showcase:
World Showcase, minus Remy and Frozen, opens at 11am. If you want to ride The Three Caballeros we recommend as close to 11am as possible. The countries will also be less crowded between 11am and 1pm. By midafternoon the world showcase will get more crowded. We would plan to meander around some of the countries we enjoy the most and window shop and snack until one, then exit the park for a long midday break.
Midday Break:
With walking between attractions, the possible rests that may be needed between the attractions, and actually riding the attractions it will probably be close to or a bit past midday at this point. Around this midday point we would most likely exit the park and return to our hotel for bubble time/lunch/pool time and return in the evening. Is it possible to stay in the park all day? Yes. There are less crowded attractions and shows you can participate in. We have suggestions for areas to take a sensory break within the park here. But it is not something we personally would attempt with our neurodivergent family members. Trying to get them to power through the day often results in a breakdown that will make doing anything for the remainder of the day impossible. Taking a break at the hotel allows them to regroup, recharge, and get excited for evening activities.
Returning in the Evening:
We would most likely return to the park at dinner time or just after dinner. We usually only hang out around the World Showcase in the evenings. However, the front of Epcot is often less crowded from dinner time to park closing, so if you didn't manage to do a must do during early entry this can be a great time to squeeze that in.
Pro tip - if we are not staying along the Skyliner route, make an early evening dining reservation for one of the hotels along the Skyliner route or at the Boardwalk or Yacht and Beach Club resorts. You can then Uber to whichever resort for dinner, then enter Epcot through the International Gateway.
If seeing Luminous is not a priority, this is actually a great time to get in one or two rides while all the people are gathering around the lagoon waiting for the show to begin. Try Test Track (once it reopens), Frozen or Remy then.
Luminous:
If experiencing Luminous is important to your family but the prospect of managing the chaos of the crowds is too much, we recommend either booking a dessert party, a fireworks dinner, or looking for a pocket near one of the countries at the back of the World Showcase. We've had luck in the past near Japan. You will need to find a spot at least an hour before the show is scheduled to begin in order to manage crowd control the best. Another strategy we have used in the past is leaving through the International Gateway and walking to Beach Club and watching the show from the beach. You will not be able to see everything, but it can still be a magical experience that is more controllable than anywhere in Epcot.
End of the Night:
It will be very crowded exiting the park after Luminous. Find a bench and enjoy the atmosphere for a while. The meander toward the exit once a lot of the crowd has moved along.
Character Meet and Greets:
We typically do not prioritize character meet and greets when we are with our neurodiverse family members. To get our character interactions we will do character meals. The meals are better because our family members can see the characters coming and decide how much they want to interact with the characters, or if they just want to sit back and bubble. The characters are generally really good about reading the table and seeing who wants to say hi and get a hug and who they should just wave at.
There are two character meals at Epcot: Garden Grill in the Land Pavilion has Mickey, Chip and Dale, Pluto and Goofy. Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in the Norway Pavilion which features various Princesse including Belle, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Snow White. There is also character breakfast at Cape May at the Beach Club Resort just outside the International Gateway. To read more about character dining check out our article here.
If the other meet and greet options around the park are important to your family, we recommend checking times that are available and lining up about 15 minutes prior to one of the times to minimize your wait.
Dining:
If you plan to eat a meal in the park try to avoid peak meal times and make use of Mobile Order if it is available. Read more about Mobile Ordering here. Around lunch and dinner the quick service dining locations in the park will be very crowded, making it hard to find a table and even if you can find one the area will be loud and very busy. We have found this is not ideal for our neurodiverse family members. To avoid the dining chaos we will try to time lunch early if we plan to eat in the park, or a little late and have lunch at one of the nearby hotels or back at our own hotel. For dinner we will often plan a sit down meal, which is a much more controlled environment and allows our neurodiverse family members to bubble if they need to.
We know it can feel a bit like a brave new world without the use of DAS, and for some it may even feel like a Disney vacation is no longer viable for your family. For us Disney has always been a safe space where our differences don’t mean we cannot have a magical time. While these changes to the accommodations Disney is willing to offer don’t feel very magical right now, Disney will still be our go to family vacation; even if we have to approach how we plan and handle our days with more intention for our neurodiverse family members. We hope these tips we have put together will help you and your family reclaim your own magical vacation.
Planning a Walt Disney World Vacation? Click here for our planning guide. Need tips for planning a Walt Disney World Vacation with someone with a disability? Check out the disability section of our blog here. Need help navigating the parks using DAS? Click here. No longer qualify for DAS and need help figuring out now to approach a day at the parks? Click here for our ideas on how to flip your thinking and still have a good experience at Disney.
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