Going to every park in 1 day because we are CRAZY

We would love as many tips we can get! We only have one day in the parks and we are going to make it count! We will be going in February when it is slow... Please share any fun tips or must do's on our busy/fun/magical day!

Princess Denise said:

We would love as many tips we can get! We only have one day in the parks and we are going to make it count! We will be going in February when it is slow... Please share any fun tips or must do's on our busy/fun/magical day!

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You 'can' go in all four parks in one day - how much you'll really enjoy your day is questionable! We would 'not' enjoy it! Can't share any tips, but hope you have a nice day!

Princess Denise said:

We would love as many tips we can get! We only have one day in the parks and we are going to make it count! We will be going in February when it is slow... Please share any fun tips or must do's on our busy/fun/magical day!

Click to expand...

If the goal is to visit every park and your plan is to see just your favorites, this can be a lot of fun. If you really want to savor the day, I'd switch to just a couple parks. Now, if you want to do every attraction, there are couple of guys who just did that and hopefully someone knows where to find that article on how they did that.

Basically, to have a good day doing this, you have to plan. Park hours, which attractions you plan to do, really knowing the park map, etc. you have to agree upon your goals in advance, otherwise someone gets angry when you skip something to stay on schedule.

My main tips:

1. Wherever you plan to start, you really need to be there before the park opens. Don't underestimate the time it takes to get to the park in the morning.

2. Travel light. Try going bag free to skip that line.. But if you can't go bag free, at least keep it light to avoid getting tired of carrying stuff.

3. Don't leave a park at closing time to get to the next one unless you are driving your own car. Right at closing can slow down Disney transportation time due to the number of people getting on.

4. Dress for the weather forecast. It's likely to be cold early morning or late in the evening. Be sure if you are going to need a jacket that day that you can tie it around your waist.

5. Plan food. TS takes time, but if you want that as a break, then make the ADR. But if my goal was to hit a lot of attractions, I might skip waiting for something with a longline and hit a CS place with less line, even though it might not be my favorite food spot. But, a priority for me is a Dole Whip float each trip, so I am waiting for that regardless!

6. Be prepared to change plans. You can't waste forever in an unexpectedly long line because a ride breaks down. Be prepared to move on and skip a must do.

7. Making this a great day is really about the mental state of everyone in you group. You just can't start the day with conflicting opinions about how the day is supposed to go. Yet, you are also going to need flexibility. I've had crazy long days with my boyfriend at Disney that have been awesome because we were both in "go mode" and quick to adapt moods. But if one of us turns into a crank, you have to read the tea leaves to adjust and still make it a great day. We turned a bad day at MK one day into a good day by simply deciding to play SOTMK all afternoon instead of riding rides. What had been a frustrating day turned around by changing our goals.

Good luck! I haven't done all four in one day yet myself. Just three! Someday I'll do it.

We did all 4 parks in one day and it was amazing! However it was after spending 9 full days at wdw so we knew what we wanted to do " one last time". Our kids still talk about our "achievement". I don't think we could do that now.

Good luck and enjoy!!!!!!

Princess Denise said:

We would love as many tips we can get! We only have one day in the parks and we are going to make it count! We will be going in February when it is slow... Please share any fun tips or must do's on our busy/fun/magical day!

Click to expand...

One thing about February is, depending on when you're going and on what day you're doing this, park hours may not be as long as you'd like.

I'm going to do 4 parks/1 day this year, but it's just one day out of a longer trip, so less pressure. My goal is to hit some top favorites and get a photo with Mickey in each park.

My approach would be:
What are your top priorities (must-do attractions, food, shows...)?
What's your best use of FP+ in relation to your priorities?
Are there any EMH hours (AM or PM) that will help you out?
Where do you want to be for mealtimes?

kwdw has some great tips. You really need your party all on the same page and be ready to roll with the punches. Good luck, and have fun!

We plan on doing this for my 40th birthday in March. We have picked 2-3 things in each park and scheduled FPs for our second park of the day. We have late dinner ADRs at Le Cellier to celebrate our accomplishment.

I'm subbing because I would love to get some tips!

This couple that posts up videos of their trips did this once! Here's the links to their videos.

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAmhKQxRAjM
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPiJErB8KDs

Enjoy!

I would probably start at Animal Kingdom, take the bus to Hollywood Studios, then the boat (or walk) to Epcot, and finish in the Magic Kingdom (take the monorail from Epcot).

Plan, plan, plan -- but be flexible! I did this solo the last time I was at WDW -- the last day I was there, in fact. I was on the College Program and was lucky enough to have the day before I flew out as a day off, so I made all my preparations in advance and went out with a bang by doing all four parks on my last day.

I did it mid-January, so I was probably dealing with similar conditions to what you'll have. I second the need to check park hours and prepare for things not being open as early/late as in peak seasons, but on the bright side you should be dealing with lower crowds and cooler weather. I'm not going to lie, this is going to be EXHAUSTING, but afterwards you will get to cherish the memory of that day you did something totally crazy and took in all the best parts of the World one right after another.

You're going to need a list of two or three must-do's per park (with a longer secondary list of would-be-nice-to-do's -- I actually got to do most of the things on both lists because lines were short that day), a plan for the order in which you're going to hit the parks, and a deadline for when you need to leave each one. I did not have a car, so I had to factor bus time into my schedule -- it will still take you a while if you have a car, but not as long as if you have to use the Disney transportation (I'd give you the time allowances I used, but this was back in 2009 and I no longer have that kind of stuff memorized). The usual advice for how to dress, what to bring, etc. still applies; I assume if you're asking this question you're a seasoned tourer of WDW.

What order you hit the parks is going to depend on when each opens and closes and on your personal preferences. There's no right or wrong order, really, but some may be a little more efficient than others. I'll lay out my touring schedule to give you an idea of the kinds of things to take into consideration:

1. Rope drop at the Magic Kingdom. I chose MK to begin with partly because it had morning EMH, partly because there's just a special energy to being there first thing in the morning and seeing everyone so excited to enter the park that is most quintessentially Disney World (remember, this was an extremely sentimental goodbye tour), and partly because it had the longest must-do list and I was concerned about getting to do everything I wanted if I wasn't there first thing in the morning.

2. Animal Kingdom. When it comes to figuring out park order and transportation, AK is going to be a thorn in your side due to how far away it is from everything else. If it's open early and you don't mind missing RD at MK, you might want to make AK your first park. The other three parks are connected by non-bus transportation, so getting to AK before opening and then going MK to Epcot to DHS (or the opposite direction) will save you transportation time that could be spent in one of the parks.

3. Disney's Hollywood Studios. This was "my" park and I normally would have wanted to end the day there in order to watch "my" show one last time, but Fantasmic wasn't on that night (just as well or they might have scheduled me to work it!!). Taking it third meant skipping TSMM, but I still got a couple rounds in on ToT and one last go on TGMR.

4. Epcot. The park you pick to be the last of your day is probably going to depend on which is open latest and/or whether you want to end the day with a particular evening show. Illuminations isn't my favorite of the night shows, but Epcot is almost always open later than the other parks. Something important to keep in mind is that you're going to be pooped by the time you get to your last park, so don't make it one with a bunch of strenuous activities you want to get done! I don't remember if I was able to go on Soarin' or not; I mostly remember eating my only TS of the day to rest my weary feet after the walk from DHS (could have taken the boat, but I always enjoyed that walk. Besides, part of my exhaustion was from being an introvert overexposed to people all day -- hardly anyone walks between Epcot and DHS, so I always found it to be a way to grab some quiet time for reflection versus riding in a crowded, noisy boat). Afterward I think I did one or two rides (including Spaceship Earth), but then I just went to The Living Seas and more or less crashed next to the dolphin tank for about thirty minutes until it was time to haul myself back to the World Showcase for the fireworks. Like I said, pooped.

Do you walk a lot? This was at a time when I worked a job that had me on my feet most of the day, and I went to the parks on most of my days off and walked around them for long periods of time. When friends and family visited I kept leaving them in the dust because I was so much more used to walking...and this tour still wore me out. If you don't walk a lot now, get training!

But...if what you really want is to get an in-depth experience, ignore everything I just wrote and pick one or two parks to tour. You can do all four in a day and it feels fantastic and I think it's a thing that more people should have on their bucket lists, but it's no way to see the World if you're trying to really take it all in.

I've done three in one day, but only because I got bored/annoyed with the first two, went back to the Contemporary and decided to head to the Magic Kingdom for a little bit before it closed.

Have fun! Like everyone said, just go with the flow and hit the headliners.

We are planning on doing three parks during a slightly busy time (Friday after President's day). We originally planned on two (get to HS at opening, then switch to Epcot after the three headliners). However, Epcot closes at 9 (we are off premises) and MK is open until midnight so we are going to finish up there for a few hours!

Kids are 11 and 14 and looking forward to the crazy last day of the trip.

Sounds tiring, but I am sure it can be done.

Wow what a challange, I would just recommend planning and as early a start as possible, would love to hear how you get on

Good Luck! Sounds like quite an undertaking.
Hope you are not planning this during President's Week. If so, the parks will not be nearly as empty as you would hope. Learned that the hard way. Many states have no school during this week, and guess where they go for a mid winter break? Yup.

We did this and it's not as bad as some state it may be, especially since you are going during a slow time. We did this during the slow weeks in December on accident. A few things we noticed prior helped make this happened though. So these are my tips.

• I carried a foldable backpack to avoid bag lines, this allowed us to pack a light jacket/umbrella and a water bottle. It only saves a few minutes, but in Disney time the bag check line feels like an hour. I folded it up on the transportation ride and unfolded it once in the parks. If you do go through bag check, no one seems to go to the tables at the ends and there are 2 lines and security alternates between sides. A long line with 1 stroller with 2 adults and 2 kids is actually the shorter line than the line with 4 adults, each carrying a bag.

• Also in the ticket line, there are 2 Mickey ticket readers/scanners. People always think I'm cutting in front of them when they go up to use the first reader and the second/furthest reader is open and I go up ahead. Same as some quick service locations, there are 2 lines per cashier, one on each side of the CM. But that's off topic....

• Some things we noticed that we would avoid, we wouldn't bus to MK from HS. The MK bus stop is far from the HS entrance/exit and it seems like starting in the afternoon, it's always full and busy. If you really want to head to MK after HS, just take the bus to Contemporary and walk to MK, that stop is easy to get to from the HS entrance/exit.

• The bus to HS from MK also seems full too, so that's why we generally choose Epcot after MK. It feels more futuristic to enter Epcot on the monorail anyways...

• The monorail line when MK closes is super long/crowded and unorganized. So if MK closes early that night, MK must be your second park. Or just your final destination for the night before going back to your resort.

• AK should be the first park, it doesn't stay open later enough during the slow times and it isn't close enough to the other parks to warrant a roundtrip trip with respect to time.

• HS and EP should be back to back parks either 2nd/3rd or 3rd/4th.

• At each park, ride a ride and take a picture in front of it's park icon. It's just fun to do. Otherwise your day is just filled with Disney transportation rides.

• Book an ADR for a late lunch or get something fun to eat to enjoy. We got Dole Whip at MK and got drinks at Top of the World.

• It'll help if you are staying on property and go during one of the EMH days that'll fit into your schedule.

Our schedule that day:
1. Got to Animal Kingdom 30 mins after it to opened, did photo, Everest, Lion King.
2. Bus to Magic Kingdom, photo, Big Thunder, Pirates, got some Dole Whip.
3. Monorail to Epcot, photo, tasted some sodas to refresh ourselves, Spaceship Earth, ate a late lunch at Biergarten.
4. Ferry to Hollywood, photo, used our FP+ at TSMM and Star Tours, then watched Beauty and the Beast, we hopped out after Belle saved the Beast because we went to see the Osbourne lights turn on.
5. Bus to Contemporary and had at drink at Top of the World and watched the X-Mas party fireworks.
6. Walked to MK bus stops and went back to our resort.

We could have skipped the last 2, but we had time, so why not.

I don't have much to add...our max was three parks in one day and w were pretty tired! It was mid summer, though. Two tips: We have found if it is doing one of those sudden storms, AK really clears out. We've gone over there in a storm and made our way through everyone leaving and had awesome times on Everest once the rain stops, on two separate trips. We also use apps that show current wait times to determine if it is worth it to head over to a certain park for a certain ride, for example, and also to find out if any FP are left for a certain ride (this was before FP+, I don't know of the My Disney Experience app does this for you). Have fun!

I am "thinking" about doing this October 20th. It'll be myself, my DD20 and my DS3. Staying at Poly.
We were just there in December, so I have only a few "must dos"
Epcot EMH 8am-Soarin (didn't get to do it last time) maybe TT if time
DHS walk or boat-hoping to get there no later than 9:15- TOT and ST
grab yummy cupcake to go from Starring Rolls (a must)
bus to AK-FPs for Dinosaur, Safari and hit Triceratops (hoping we'd get to AK by 11am, scheduling 1 FP for 10:30-11:30, 2nd 11:30-12:30 ish no 3rd FP, just schedule a wasted one I guess)
lunch around 12:30(not sure yet where)
Bus to Poly to relax
head to MK for MNSSHP
Still not sold on this idea, but DD20 was excited for the challenge. We are only going 19-21, so the only "park day" is the 20th. We don't fly out until 5 the next day, and only have a late breakfast at Ohana planned.
I think we'll have all this planned, and we can skip the 8am Epcot or skip DHS, if we get there and decide not to. Have to admit, the challenge makes it exciting tho!

Any tips on the timing for transportation? I've never used buses b4.

OP, please post your results, love to hear how it went!

I would park at Epcot and take the monorail back to MK, then bus to AK, bus to HS then boat to finish at Epcot, very doable.

I had a friend do this. She said she didn't like Disney that much. They just leisurely roamed through the parks, didn't ride rides, did shopping, and met a couple characters. I told her she might have had a better time if she actually rode rides and she told me she doesn't like rides. Now I understand.

Princess Denise said:

We would love as many tips we can get! We only have one day in the parks and we are going to make it count! We will be going in February when it is slow... Please share any fun tips or must do's on our busy/fun/magical day!

Click to expand...

I was just wondering how you made out.

I've done this! Usually start at AK, ride the Safari and see FOTLK and maybe something else and then off to DHS. Do FP's at DHS and out of there. Park back at BWV and walk into Epcot. Do a couple of Future World attractions and ride the Monorail over to MK. Do a few attractions in MK and back to World Showcase in time for dinner and Illuminations, then back to BWV either by boat or walking.