1 Day at Epcot with a 12 YO- hotel and itinerary help

[Alps79]

My oldest daughter has a volleyball tournament in Orlando in June and we are going to stay 1 extra day and go to Epcot. She has been to Disneyland; we've never done DW. 
We have passes, bought ages ago that never expire so admission is covered. We'll be coming from the convention center area and staying in a hotel closer to the park for 2 nights. We'll check in the last day of the tournament, spend the following day at the park, and check out and fly home. Super short trip. I have Marriott points I'd like to utilize. My app is telling me the Dolphin, Swan, and JW would all be the same amount of points. Any other recs? I don't think we need to splurge for a big resort because we're just not going to be at the hotel very long. However, those hotels seem to be splurges so if there is something more economical I'm interested. 
I'll spend some time scouring the 'net for ideas but would love your Epcot recs. We love interesting food so would welcome meal recs. Is that something I need to make a reservation for? Besides reserving our park passes, is there anything else I need to reserve? We can go sun-up to sun-down no prob; I really want to maximize our one day there; I'm excited! Thanks!

[mmmomof2]

If you only plan to do Epcot then Swan or Dolphin would be your best bet since you can walk to the back entrance from those hotels. Epcot is fun in terms of eating and drinking, but there aren’t a ton of rides and there’s a lot of construction right now. The older stuff is very dated too - my nonDisney fan husband hated it.

You can also walk to Hollywood Studios from the Swan & Dolphin, so that’s an option.

[turkletsmom]

Swan & Dolphin will be great for Epcot. There is also a ferry from the hotel to the back entrance if you didn't want to walk. My favorite sit-down Epcot restaurant is San Angel Inn inside the Mexico pavilion. It has great theming and I think the food is good.
I would make reservations for any sit-down restaurants since there might be capacity restrictions with Covid.

easywdw website is my favorite for Disney planning. They guy has a dry wit that I can appreciate lol.

[Alps79]

Okay how nice/fun are the Swan and Dolphin? If I used points they are 120K total. It's the equivalent of staying at the Ritz in Boston. (another trip we're hoping to do in the fall.) I have the points and have the ability to acquire more, but it's not limitless.
There are many hotels that are half that and provide a shuttle. But would we not be getting the full experience? Is it worth it to stay basically on the property? We'd get there on a Monday afternoon after the VB tournament. Epcot Tuesday, and then we would leave Wednesday. One flight option would be 10am, so get up and go. The other flight doesn't leave until 4pm so we could maybe enjoy the hotel a bit?
This can be so overwhelming, too many options!!!

[mmmomof2]

May 4, 2021 13:38:14 GMT -5 Alps79 said:

Okay how nice/fun are the Swan and Dolphin? If I used points they are 120K total. It's the equivalent of staying at the Ritz in Boston. (another trip we're hoping to do in the fall.) I have the points and have the ability to acquire more, but it's not limitless.
There are many hotels that are half that and provide a shuttle. But would we not be getting the full experience? Is it worth it to stay basically on the property? We'd get there on a Monday afternoon after the VB tournament. Epcot Tuesday, and then we would leave Wednesday. One flight option would be 10am, so get up and go. The other flight doesn't leave until 4pm so we could maybe enjoy the hotel a bit?
This can be so overwhelming, too many options!!!

You're paying for the location. They're nice, but not Ritz nice! Pretty typical convention hotel. I know Swan & Dolphin are usually half the price of comparable Disney properties, so you might want to compare the price paying out of pocket. Summer would be higher (especially now that demand is back up), but last I looked you could get them for under $200 a night through the Bonvoy website. 

If you do decide to go the off-site route I would spring for an uber over the shuttle since you only have one day in Epcot. 

[Alps79]

Thanks for the nudge mmmomof2! I booked (~$279/night) and we'll pay cash. Another mom and daughter are going with us so we're actually splitting the price of the room AND I get the points We chose the Swan.

omg- my mom brought in our Disney tickets from 1993!!!!!!! She's kept them in her safe all these years because they never expire. She paid $111 for a 4 day pass! And they were able to transfer then to me and my daughter. I cannot believe it. What an awesome savings!

[keweenawlove]

My family stayed at the Dolphin years ago on a family trip and my biggest take away was the pool area of the dolphin was much cooler.

[Alps79]

Okay, we're staying at the Swan two nights. We'll probably be able to check in early afternoon that first day. We have park reservations day 2 and we fly out the following day, mid morning. Should I be making meal reservations? Dinner the first night or the second? Or some place IN the park? Any recs? I realized I am likely waaaaaaaay behind as we'll be there in just over 2 weeks.

[TBM]

Epcot has the Flower and Garden Festival going on (I think until sometime the first week of July) , and there are really great food booths.

disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/flower-garden-outdoor-kitchens/

[woot16]

Do you have your park reservations made? The flower and garden festival is fun. Maybe do dinner at Disney Springs your non-park day.

[lishie]

Jun 3, 2021 11:42:32 GMT -5 Alps79 said:

Okay, we're staying at the Swan two nights. We'll probably be able to check in early afternoon that first day. We have park reservations day 2 and we fly out the following day, mid morning. Should I be making meal reservations? Dinner the first night or the second? Or some place IN the park? Any recs? I realized I am likely waaaaaaaay behind as we'll be there in just over 2 weeks.

When we were at Disney a few months ago there was a good bit of walk up reservation availability at Epcot, but as the parks are getting busier that may not be the case any longer. There should be tons of dining options at the festival booths well. 

Check to see if reservations are available in any of the countries, but if not consider winging it with walk up availability and festival snacking & drinks. 

[Alps79]

Jun 3, 2021 19:43:59 GMT -5 woot16 said:

Do you have your park reservations made? The flower and garden festival is fun. Maybe do dinner at Disney Springs your non-park day.

Yes, we have reservations for EPCOT