Trip Report Part 3: June 21, 2025 / Epcot

Question

Lightning Lane pre-arrival selections: Living with the Land (passed 10 min standby), Spaceship Earth (passed 15 min standby), Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (passed 60 min standby)

Individual Lightning Lane purchase: Guardians of the Galaxy (passed 75 min standby)

Lightning Lane additional selections: Soarin (passed 45 min standby), Imagination (passed 25 min standby)

Standby queues: Soarin (waited 15 mins), Mission Space: Green (waited 15 mins), Oh Canada (2 mins until show), Gran Fiesta Tour (waited 5 mins), The Seas with Nemo (waited 10 mins)

Food: Primo Piatto, Chefs de France, Rose & Crown fireworks package

We slept in again this morning… or tried to! I was up around 6am and took a nice stroll around Pop before grabbing coffee at the food court. Once again we took our time getting ready. Last night’s dinner and Primo Piatto was so good we thought we would give breakfast a go so we took the skyliner over there to start the day. I got a delicious breakfast sandwich on focaccia, my sister got a croque madame, and it was all so good! Then back onto the skyliner to head to Epcot.

We made a beeline for Soarin and hopped in the standby queue for a short wait before tapping into our Living with the Land Lightning Lane. Not needed at that hour but we planned to “burn” it and grab Frozen, unfortunately it didn’t work out as the only Frozen times left were for during our dinner reservation, so we grabbed Soarin for later instead. Did some shopping at Creations before our Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane, then went to Mission Space for a short standby wait. I prefer the orange team, but decided to stick with my sister this time so we did the green earth mission together.

At Creations I had purchased a World Showcase passport. We did one of these back in the day (maybe 20+ years ago) and my niece and nephew each had one on a recent trip. I thought it might be fun to do one for myself again so we began at Canada. It worked out that the circlevision film was due to start in just a few minutes so we stopped there first, then I got my first stamps before we moved on to the UK. My sister went tea shopping and I got more stamps before heading over to France, where we were in great timing for our Remy Lightning Lane. At this point it was HOT outside, and with our dinner reservation not until 8pm we realized a big sit down lunch might be nice. While waiting in line for Remy (still almost 10 minutes with the Lightning Lane) we made a reservation at Chefs de France for just 30 minutes out, and after the ride we checked in and were seated right away.

Yes, this was $100 we weren’t planning on spending for lunch, but oh man, it was delicious! We got a great table right next to the window and enjoyed the gratin macaroni, salmon, wine, and of course the air conditioning. Tried to stop at the Kidcot table to get my passport stamped in France but the line was super long so we figured we would come back later and went on a journey around the world. We popped into some shops, stopped for snacks and slushies, and took a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride, all while gathering passport stamps.

After we had made our loop we used two Lightning Lanes in a row at Spaceship Earth and Imagination before a short standby queue at the Seas with Nemo. Finally our last ride of the day was a second go around on Soarin using a Lightning Lane. After that we grabbed some snacks at Sunshine Seasons and sat at a table there to rest. I was able to put together the stickers that came with my passport and admire the pages that had been stamped. In some countries the cast members really went all out! In addition to the date stamp and the country stamp, they added designs and drawings. The Japan page has a lovely little sketch of Baymax as well as my name in Japanese, while the Scottish cast member who did my UK pages added a little Loch Ness monster and the German cast member drew a bunch of pretzels.

The last page I needed stamped was France, which we had skipped earlier due to a long line, and I was shocked when we returned before dinner to find the line even longer! Luckily we still had time to kill before our reservation so I waited it out and got my stamps (along with a bunch of little sketches of baguettes and rodent chefs).

Finally it was time to check in for our 8pm Rose & Crown fireworks dining reservation. We had a great table on the patio under the overhang with a nice view over the lagoon. The breeze coming off the water felt amazing and the pre fixe menu was perfect. We got salads, shepherd’s pie, fish & chips, sticky toffee pudding, and two drinks each. Luminous started at 9pm and we thought it was absolutely lovely! I even teared up a bit at one point. Having a calm and quiet place to sit with a cold drink made the experience worth it. Once the show was over we stayed at the table and enjoyed our desserts (which had been delivered during the show) while the masses headed toward the exits. Eventually it was time to bid goodbye to our fabulous server Joy and head for the skyliner. The skyliner line was longer than I’d ever seen it, but we still only waited 15 minutes and had a really pleasant ride back, sharing our gondola with a first-time family and trading fun stories.

Answer

The day at Epcot on June 21, 2025, began with a relaxed morning. The author woke up around 6am, enjoyed a stroll around Pop Century, and grabbed coffee at the resort food court. They then took the Skyliner to Primo Piatto for breakfast, enjoying a focaccia breakfast sandwich and a croque madame before heading to Epcot for a full day of attractions and activities.

At Epcot, they planned carefully with Lightning Lane selections and standby rides. The pre-arrival Lightning Lane selections included Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, while an individual Lightning Lane was purchased for Guardians of the Galaxy. Additional Lightning Lane selections included Soarin and Imagination. Standby waits were minimal, including 15 minutes for Soarin, 15 minutes for Mission Space Green, 2 minutes for the Oh Canada show, 5 minutes for Gran Fiesta Tour, and 10 minutes for The Seas with Nemo.

The day started with Soarin in the standby queue, followed by Living with the Land via Lightning Lane. Attempts to grab Frozen passes were unsuccessful due to limited availability. Some shopping occurred at Creations before the Guardians of the Galaxy Lightning Lane, followed by Mission Space (green team). The author purchased a World Showcase passport and began collecting stamps starting in Canada, then moving on to the UK, and finally France for the Remy Lightning Lane. Due to the heat and the timing, they decided to make a lunch reservation at Chefs de France, seated promptly for a luxurious lunch featuring gratin macaroni, salmon, and wine.

After lunch, they explored the World Showcase, gathering passport stamps while stopping for snacks, slushies, and riding Gran Fiesta Tour. Two additional Lightning Lane attractions were used at Spaceship Earth and Imagination, followed by a short standby for The Seas with Nemo. A second ride on Soarin using Lightning Lane concluded the ride activities for the day. They then rested at Sunshine Seasons, assembling stickers and admiring the personalized touches on their passport stamps, including sketches and drawings from cast members in Japan, the UK, and Germany.

The day ended with the Rose & Crown fireworks dining package at 8pm. They had a patio table with lagoon views, enjoying a pre-fixe menu with salads, shepherd’s pie, fish & chips, sticky toffee pudding, and drinks. The Luminous fireworks show at 9pm provided a memorable, emotional moment while seated in comfort and enjoying dessert. After the show, they rode the Skyliner back to Pop Century, sharing a gondola with a first-time family and reflecting on the day’s experiences.

Plan Lightning Lane selections ahead of time to minimize standby waits, but be flexible for unexpected timing issues.
Consider using the World Showcase passport as a fun way to engage with the countries and add a personal touch with stamps and sketches.
Take breaks and plan for air-conditioned meals, especially during hot weather.
Use standby queues strategically for shorter waits, especially early in the day.
Make dining reservations in advance, especially for popular spots like Chefs de France and Rose & Crown fireworks packages.

Overall, the day balanced ride experiences, cultural exploration, and high-quality dining with careful timing. Lightning Lane management, thoughtful meal planning, and World Showcase exploration created a rich and enjoyable Epcot experience.

Trip Report Part 3: June 21, 2025 / Epcot

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