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trilliumB · 04-03-2002

Heya, folks!

Me hubby & me were just at WDW for a week in February, and we really enjoyed exploring the different dining experiences available in the World Showcase at Epcot. When we were at another park during the day, however, we found it a wee bit challenging on occasion to make those priority seatings!

We found a great shortcut into World Showcase that really saved our butts on one occasion! Mind you now, this is meant to work with the help of the ol' rental car!

Park in the lot for Disney's Boardwalk (free), walk down onto the boardwalk (head for the very well-lit hotel entrance/valet parking area, and you'll see some stairs leading down, with signs to the boardwalk). At the bottom of the stairs, look straight ahead -- you'll see a boat dock (and with any luck, a boat!). This is a ferry to the back entrance of Epcot's World Showcase. It only takes about 5 minutes to reach the entrance, which puts you right by the bridge between England and France. Ta-dah!

Alternately, when you reach the boardwalk, hang a right (keeping the water on your left), and walk down the boardwalk, over a bridge, and on up to the same back entrance to World Showcase. It took us about 10 minutes to walk it, if I remember correctly (any one else have a clearer idea on the walk time? I'd hate to have someone miss their ressie!).

This turned out to be a great alternative to parking in the ginormous Epcot parking lot, taking the tram to the gate, then chugging thru Future World to *finally* (puff, puff!) reach World Showcase. At the end of a full day at a park, it can feel like a marathon, and it sure does take some time!

The Boardwalk parking lot is relatively small (no huge walk to the boardwalk), and then the boat is fast, and sure saves your feet! We did this one night after MGM Studios, which is very close to the Boardwalk. We had 12 minutes to make our Priority Seating in Canada at the time we parked the car -- and we actually made it! I'm not sure how long it would take to drive from one of the other parks to get to the Boardwalk lot, but I'm sure it would still beat the time and footwear required to park in the Epcot lot instead. I don't know how often those ferry boats run, either. Does anyone know?

Hope this helps!

--CAT : )

04-03-2002	#1 (permalink)
trilliumB Senior Mouseketeer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Rhode Island, USA Posts: 326	A shortcut to Epcot for dinner! Heya, folks! Me hubby & me were just at WDW for a week in February, and we really enjoyed exploring the different dining experiences available in the World Showcase at Epcot. When we were at another park during the day, however, we found it a wee bit challenging on occasion to make those priority seatings! We found a great shortcut into World Showcase that really saved our butts on one occasion! Mind you now, this is meant to work with the help of the ol' rental car! Park in the lot for Disney's Boardwalk (free), walk down onto the boardwalk (head for the very well-lit hotel entrance/valet parking area, and you'll see some stairs leading down, with signs to the boardwalk). At the bottom of the stairs, look straight ahead -- you'll see a boat dock (and with any luck, a boat!). This is a ferry to the back entrance of Epcot's World Showcase. It only takes about 5 minutes to reach the entrance, which puts you right by the bridge between England and France. Ta-dah! Alternately, when you reach the boardwalk, hang a right (keeping the water on your left), and walk down the boardwalk, over a bridge, and on up to the same back entrance to World Showcase. It took us about 10 minutes to walk it, if I remember correctly (any one else have a clearer idea on the walk time? I'd hate to have someone miss their ressie!). This turned out to be a great alternative to parking in the ginormous Epcot parking lot, taking the tram to the gate, then chugging thru Future World to finally (puff, puff!) reach World Showcase. At the end of a full day at a park, it can feel like a marathon, and it sure does take some time! The Boardwalk parking lot is relatively small (no huge walk to the boardwalk), and then the boat is fast, and sure saves your feet! We did this one night after MGM Studios, which is very close to the Boardwalk. We had 12 minutes to make our Priority Seating in Canada at the time we parked the car -- and we actually made it! I'm not sure how long it would take to drive from one of the other parks to get to the Boardwalk lot, but I'm sure it would still beat the time and footwear required to park in the Epcot lot instead. I don't know how often those ferry boats run, either. Does anyone know? Hope this helps! --CAT : ) __________________ --CAT ...the Wild Sculptress...