Park Hopping x 4 (two parks) in One Day?

[happyleesh]

So I'm planning out our next trip, and it's a short, DH+I only, surprise trip. We go every other year as a big family so this is just him and I for our 8 year anniversary and his birthday in May. Yay!

We'll be there for 3 nights, so I chose park hoppers and plan to make full use of them. Right now, my first full day plan is to RD at Hollywood Studios, ride the boat over to Epcot for lunch at F/G and World Showcase in the afternoon, back to Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Nighttime stuff then back to Epcot for EMH rides.

Is this too much? I want to be sure to see all the Star Wars stuff but don't know if that will take a whole day at HS, and he's so not the "wait around and people watch" type. However, I don't want to spend the whole day traveling if we're going to be wasting too much time. HS opens at 9, and Epcot closes at 11pm. We don't have any ADRs this time around. Thanks!

 

[Disneyliscious]

Is this too much?

Yes. Way too much travel time between parks imo, even if they are close. My suggestion is to go to Epcot for the first half of the day and then hop over to HS for the evening.

 

[DavidNYC]

It's a lot and a long day but doable if you're planning both RD and PM EMH (and you have a lot of energy and stamina!). You may consider walking part or all the way as opposed to the boat which takes a long time. I forget the order of stops but I think it's quicker if you walk to one of the intermediate stops and hop on (someone else I'm sure will chime in on this).

If you start at rope drop and Epcot closes at 11pm and then have EMH - it might be worth it particularly if you want to make sure to get the fireworks in. My question would be why do you also need to hit HS at rope drop? I would think you could start at Epcot, and head over to HS when you want and save your FP for the rides there. Not sure how much extra you get by getting to HS for rope drop but if you do want to see more of the shows or other things that take more time, go for it.

As for going back at end of evening - why not if you're still up for it. If you have EMH you'll still have a few hours left - make the most of it.

I've done HS to Epcot and back to HS in a day when the parks closed by 10pm. My feet hurt but it was a short trip so glad we made use of our time. If we had access to Epcot until 1am I might have done the last leg as well.

 

[bryanb]

I've done something like this that was even bit more challenging. Start off at DHS, walk through the path over to Epcot for lunch, walk through Epcot to the front and hop on a monorail. Enjoy the Magic Kingdom until Wishes, then hop on the Monorail and go back to Epcot for late dinner at the Food & Wine Festival and EMH.

It depends on your touring style to determine if this is "too much." I certainly did spend a lot of time on Disney transportation and logged 30,000+ steps on my Fitbit. My touring style that day was incredibly leisurely and I felt completely satisfied by that. On the other hand, if success is measured by how many published attractions you took in, it would've been a bit of a bust.

I like your plan though. DHS food isn't my favorite, and with Epcot's offerings during Flower and Garden, it sounds fantastic. Bonus points if you can get a hotel in that area, and have a place to relax for a moment when crossing parks.

 

[Princess Jes]

Considering those parks are really only a 15-20 minute walk from one another, I don't think it's a silly plan.

However there is merit to hitting Epcot early for RD, get the headliners in FW done, then have a leisurely stroll around WS to graze and have a drink, then head over to DHS after lunch and have your FP booked for the headliners you an (considering tiering) and then head back after the Star Wars show.

 

[wdwfanva]

When staying at YC/BC DW and I have done a plan much like this several times. We love to walk between Epcot and DHS and normally only takes 15-20 minutes and we're both in our early 60's !! I agree that I (we) like the food in Epcot better and with the F&G the food offerings sound great !! Go and have a blast and a Magical Anniversary trip

 

[msmama]

I certainly wouldn't suggest it for a normal trip, but I don't think it's a bad idea either. I personally would welcome the 2 boat leisurely boat rides if I were going all day.

You probably COULD FP everything so you'd be at HS only in the afternoon/evening, but I think I'd want to eat as many meals as possible at Epcot. Are you planning on ALL of Epcot or only WS? Is Flower and Garden going to be going on while you're there? I feel like if it were only adults trip I may skip the rest of Epcot and focus mainly on WS.

 

[Mikie]

Considering those parks are really only a 15-20 minute walk from one another, I don't think it's a silly plan.

However there is merit to hitting Epcot early for RD, get the headliners in FW done, then have a leisurely stroll around WS to graze and have a drink, then head over to DHS after lunch and have your FP booked for the headliners you an (considering tiering) and then head back after the Star Wars show.

Love this version. If it weren't these 2 parks, I'd think you're killing too much on travel time, but if you can cut it to 2 hops vs 3 and be strategic about FP, I think it's a fun (and tiring!) day

 

[ariane37]

However there is merit to hitting Epcot early for RD, get the headliners in FW done, then have a leisurely stroll around WS to graze and have a drink, then head over to DHS after lunch and have your FP booked for the headliners you an (considering tiering) and then head back after the Star Wars show.

OP I don't think your plan is ridiculous, but I do like the plan Princess Jes outlined above. Just a little less back and forth. DH and I have done a couple adults-only trips and it's definitely easier to park hop without the kids (not that its particularly hard WITH them) but I believe you can be more flexible and faster without them. DH and I did all 4 parks in a day in January and also HS-Epcot-MK as well as going back and forth between Epcot, HS, Epcot AND a stop at our resort (Poly) in there somewhere, and never were we rushed or felt that we spent too much time traveling. All depends on what you want to do! Enjoy!