3 days in WDW visiting the 4 parks, tips to go to all?

[cruiselover914]

What is the best way to be able to go to all the 4 parks while only being there for 3 days? I feel like I wouldn't be able to ride all the attractions.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Welcome to the boards!

First, many people spend 5-8 days at WDW and never do every single attraction.

Second, by arriving at rope drop and using the park hopper ticket you should be able to do almost all the really good stuff except some of the shows.

You will have 3 really packed days, but you will be able to do just about all the major attractions once.............and hopefully the ones you miss will be "minor" attractions.

 

[pollypineapple8]

Last time we went to Orlando we went for 14 nights and still didn't have enough time to see everything. Here's what we never saw last time - Blizzard Beach, Universal, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens in Tampa.

Sometimes we saw 2 parks in one day

Hollywood Studios and Epcot can easily be done in the same day
or Epcot and Animal Kingdom, do one in the morning and the other after dinner time 4pm+

The magic Kingdom however is so big I spent the whole day there.

I've been writing out a sample itinerary to see what all we can cram in. I wish we had the money to go for 3wks because then we would get to see everything and relax at the same time.

 

[cruiselover914]

Welcome to the boards!

First, many people spend 5-8 days at WDW and never do every single attraction.

Second, by arriving at rope drop and using the park hopper ticket you should be able to do almost all the really good stuff except some of the shows.

You will have 3 really packed days, but you will be able to do just about all the major attractions once.............and hopefully the ones you miss will be "minor" attractions.

Last time we went to Orlando we went for 14 nights and still didn't have enough time to see everything. Here's what we never saw last time - Blizzard Beach, Universal, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens in Tampa.

Sometimes we saw 2 parks in one day

Hollywood Studios and Epcot can easily be done in the same day
or Epcot and Animal Kingdom, do one in the morning and the other after dinner time 4pm+

The magic Kingdom however is so big I spent the whole day there.

I've been writing out a sample itinerary to see what all we can cram in. I wish we had the money to go for 3wks because then we would get to see everything and relax at the same time.

Thank you both for your help

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Your welcome.

The other thing you need to have when you arrive at the park is have a plan................a touring plan.

First you need to evaluate the ages and interests of your group and then use on of the many online resources to lay out your day.

Second you need to determine how motivated the group is to get up early and stick with it for most of each day.

I will say that a "hot weather" season makes it tougher to stay in the parks continuously than during a "cool weather" season.

Finally, you need to figure out when and where you will eat your meals and how you will handle snacks throughout the day.

When you get all these factors figured out and "in the mix", you should be able to have a predictable visit that should meet the needs of most in your group. And remember............it is perfectly ok for someone to split off, do thier own thing, and join you later in the day.

edit- one more thing- the crowd levels will also impact your 3 day plan. Dec 25/26/27 is very different than Sept 25/26/27!

 

[Hootch]

prioritizing is important.

Get an app or follow the wait times at easywdw.com. That will help you plan a strategy. For example, if you want to do Toy Story Mania, it is ideal to get fastpasses or ride it first thing. Fastpasses can run out shortly after noon on most days. Big Thuner Mountain Railroad return time often runs an hour ahead of the return. Get a fastpass, if possible, and ride Pirates and/or Jungle Cruise in the meantime.

http://www.easywdw.com/waits/

That reminds me, fastpasses are time savers if used properly.

http://www.easywdw.com/category/worth-2/fastpass-worth-2/

If staying onsite look at park hours inclusive of Extra Magic Hours (EMH). Crowds can be lighter for certain EMH hours.

You could pair DHS and DAK if you are not interested in the shows. We did a DHS morning with a 9 AM opening (gates opened at 8:35) and completed Toy Story, Rockin' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Muppets 3D, Great Movies Ride, Star Tours and Ariel shortly after noon. DAK thins out after the parade. There could be longer waits at Kilimanjaro Safari and Kali River Rapids at the time depending on weather. That would also allow hopping back to another park that is still open depending on park hours.

Most likely you will run into issues with your plan. It happens often. Look at your prioritization and refigure plans. Don't let it upset your trip.

 

[DummbGiRL]

Prioritizing is key. And what your interests are. Being an adults only vacation crew, Epcot is NOT a half day park at all for me. We tend to spend lots of time there. Even if I had 3 days, I'd try to get 1 1/2 out of it, but that's because of what it is and what we like to do. I consider, unlike most, Magic Kingdom to be a half day daytime park with a go back at night only for Wishes park. AK is also generally considered a half day park and if you skip the shows and ignore all but Dinosaur in DinoLand, it's easily doable. I'd still suggest trying to hit one of the shows (Lion King > Nemo... though I love both). Though Fantasmic! is great, it's not worth the time waiting for when you can be making sure to hit the must see attractions of HS (which can be considered a half day park by a lot of people minus the shows). Be mindful of drinking water and getting food fuel to keep going!