I've heard from several people that the new fast passes aren't worth the money. It's hard having specific return times for rides. Your Guardians virtual queue will change time drastically... each time we were estimated to ride at around 3-5pm and actually rode at 11-1pm
I really think Epcot needs an internal transportation system like Magic Kingdom's steam train. That walk from France and back is brutal. We did the same thing and hustled all the way there only to have it break down 30 min into our wait. They escorted us out of line and gave us a lightning pass to return whenever we wanted. It was actually one of 3 rides that broke down while we were in line that day! The other two we left before wasting another minute as soon as they announced it was delayed.
