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Just ahead of the grand opening for the Disney Skyliner, a new expanded entrance is starting to go into operation at EPCOT.
Based on recent Guest and Cast reports, the main change is a much larger security check point further separated from the tapstiles (similar to other park entrances).
The Disney Skyliner and its new continuous stream of Guests begins September 29th and will be the first test of this new entrance and feared bottle neck.
Well, with the Skyliner, that back entrance will no longer be the quieter "back door" way to get into EPCOT. I hope they made the new entrance big enough. We have often stayed at Beach Club and really love the ability to walk to EPCOT and walk through the International entrance with very little traffic. I expect the Skyliner will change that.
We will see how traffic through that area flows in November. We are staying at the Beach Club and will be walking to Epcot often
When will the entrance and security area enlarge? I remember going through security at the IG on Friday, and it was no bigger-there were only 2 security guard "stations" and just 3 or so Magic Band opening (so about 6 "tap" locations in all). I remember thinking, "Boy, I hope this gets bigger or it's gonna be real crowded when the gondolas are operating."
We went through this entrance a couple months ago, and there was significant construction going on. While most of it was centered about the new Skyliner station, they were clearly opening up the entrance to make it larger. I'm expecting, based on the shell of what we saw, that there will be more security stations and more tap locations - possibly doubling, at least. It's certainly not going to be as big as the main entrances to the park (there's just not enough room at IG), but it looks like there it will be bigger in anticipation of increased crowds entering. I guess we'll see!
I had the chance to take a look at a couple of the Skyliner ride videos some folks have been able to put online. First of all, the ride on the Skyliner looks more interesting than I thought it might. It appears to be pretty smooth and has some great views.
But on one of the videos, they showed the Skyliner entering the International Gateway station - and that back entrance to EPCOT appears to be done with the expansion and ready to go. It was tough to see for certain, but it appears there are at least 5 or 6 bag-check tables now. There seems to be a similar number of tap/entry points into the park - so that will certainly help with flow. But with folks walking, boating, and now Skylining to that entrance, it could get full back there at times.
Has anyone entered the International Gateway since the Skyliner has been running? I know it's a slower time of the year for WDW, but I was wondering if it's crowded?
I'm with the earlier poster who likes staying in those hotels to avoid the crowds at the front entrance of Epcot.
We were just there this past week staying g at AoA so we could experience the Skyliner. The crowds were definitely a little higher than our trip in 2018 but not what I had envisioned - greater yes but not crazy long. I think there were 8 people/groups in front of us when we went thru the Intl Gateway. Took probably 10 minutes max before I got thru to the other side. I'm sure there are busier times of the day - park open or right before Forever Fireworks but for the most time it seems that the expansion has been enough to handle the crowds.
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Just back also, it really wasn't bad with the increase in size by comparison to other trips.Quote:
Originally Posted by Inventor'sDaughter
First day, Weekday around 10:30 am walked in with nearly no line.
Rest of the trip had a small wait at bag check, but far, far less than any other park. I'd say getting behind a boat unloading is a bigger impact to wait time than the slow trickle of Guests coming off the Skyliner.
Overall, that entrance needed a larger bag check anyways, so I think that has helped significantly.
it was usually not busy when i went thru IG. I will probably use it on my next trip