4 Park, 1 Day Questions

[Jewel3k]

Sounds like a fun thing to do the last day of our trip. Or sounds like a crazy thing to do with a 9, 7, and 5 year old... The day would be 9/11 so not a crowded time of the year and most likely we will have a stroller to push the lazy kids around in as they tire out.

I was thinking 4 or 5 rides in each park.

Epcot at opening and riding Test Track, Soarn' and Spaceship earth.

Hop to AK by 11 and ride Everest, DINOSAUR, Safari and the Rapids with lunch thrown in.

Hop to HS by 3. Let them unwind at the playground and then use FASTPass+ to ride Star Tours, Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania. Wait for Rock n Roll and do Animation Drawing class.

Hop to MK by 6:30. Eat dinner and then hit easy rides like Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Buzz Light year until our Desert Party reservation at 9PM.

 

[cleophus12]

Wow! I admire your optimism! The 4 parks in 1 day is ambitious by anyone's standards, and 4 or 5 rides in each park is really ambitious. You didn't say where FP+ might come into play here, but I'm guessing you would use them in one of your afternoon/evening parks. It is definitely doable, but I think it might be a little much for your kids at their ages. You might not get much pleasure out of your dessert party if your kids are worn out, and that would be too bad because that is a fun evening. Keep us posted on your decision and good luck.

 

[itsthatdisneygirl]

Given your kids ages and only having one stroller (unless its double wide) this may be hard to do and most likely impossible to hit 4-5 rides AND get to your dessert party on time. Also I don't think the idea of doing it on your last day is a good day either as if you are travelling you will be exhausted and wanting to sleep in/ take it easy the next day. Trust me I know I've done the 4 parks one day thing.

That being said I think it's completely doable for you if your kids are the type to have endless amounts of energy and don't get cranky easily. Also maybe tier the rides down to 3-4. It really is fun and if you do decide to do it I highly recommend getting the "I'm Celebrating" buttons for everyone and asking a CM to writ 4 parks 1 day on them....Trust me the amount of astonished CM's that read are priceless.

 

[wareagle57]

I've done the 4 parks in 1 day. I actually rode 27 attractions that day so it's doable. But I didn't have small kids. It's a tight plan right off the bat and I think it will only work if you are driving yourself.

To get to AK by 11 you need to be in the Epcot parking lot by 10:30. Which means you need to walk on TT or Soarin' at RD and hope the wait for the other one is still less than 30 minutes when you get off. Spaceship Earth is at least a 15 minute ride I think. Soarin about 10, and TT about 5. Plus the pre-ride video for Soarin' and the design room for TT.

AK should be easy, assuming you get something very quick for lunch. Safari is a very long ride though.

Worst case scenario you can just get to MK later.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

IMHO, it is way too much to attempt in that time frame, especially with small-ish kids. The time at Epcot is way too short, considering the distance between the rides and the usual waits-- even for September.

Additionally, even if your kids aren't nappers normally, the heat and schedule are going to do them in way before you make it to MK. You are talking about 12+ straight hours threw heat, rain and tight schedules. Sounds good on paper but not realistic, especially with kids.

 

[katt789]

We usually use our last full day as a 4 parks 1 day thing, and I find with the fp+ it's almost EASIER to do it! We do usually skip Epcot though!

Rope drop AK, ride EE multiple times, hit up Safari, head to FOTLK, maybe grab an early lunch, then leave.
DHS, using fp+ and ride tsmm, tot, rnr & maybe watch the beauty & the beast show
Head to MK, with an attempt to make it in time for the 3pm parade, and spend the rest of the evening there.

It can be alot, but it's also a lot of fun!

 

[LaughinPlace289]

I certainly admire your determination! A few things to keep in mind...

Generally, it is recommended that you allow 1 hour to get from one park to the next. This is especially a good rule of thumb when travelling to/from AK as it is so far out of the way from the other parks.

Test Track and Soarin' are both very popular rides and even though you are arriving at rope drop, you will likely spend the better part of one hour waiting for whichever one you choose to ride second. If the single rider line is an option, you may head straight to Soarin' first thing then go single rider at Test Track and save Spaceship Earth for last. Regardless, planning an 11 a.m. arrival at AK may be a bit overly optimistic.

Your plan for the rest of the day is very zealous but doable. Be prepared to feel very rushed and don't worry if you fall behind schedule! Good luck!

 

[jjas]

My daughter and I did this a couple years ago. If you have your own car I would HIGHLY recommend driving yourself. The amount of time we saved on transportation was key.

Definitely doable - just be prepared to kinda of fell like you got hit by a Disney bus the next day!

 

[chalee94]

Or sounds like a crazy thing to do with a 9, 7, and 5 year old...

yes. it sounds like a bad idea, wasting a lot of time in transit. i would relax and pick 2 parks and take it more slowly...

 

[MiceFan]

I don't know that I would schedule the dessert party. I would just stop for treats as needed throughout the day. Good luck!

 

[Jewel3k]

Thanks all! I scaled the plan back a little and am going to set up our fastpass+ like we are doing it. My kids love the idea. They are training for a 2 mile run at the end of August in the summer heat, so hopefully we will have built up some stamina by then.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We did 4 Parks-1 Day a few weeks ago and the kids loved it. We didn't even start until noon and had plenty of time to see eveything we wanted to.

The key was driving our own vehicle and hitting 3 of the 4 parks just before closing time when the lines are much shorter. We only had FP+ for our first park (DHS).

Here's how it went down:

Noon- arrived at DHS and caught the end of the Star Wars motorcade. Rode Tower 3x, RnR and Star Tours.

3:30 - drove to the McDonalds on Sherbeth Rd for lunch.

4:30 - Arrived at AK. Rode Dino, Everest 4x, Kali and Safari.

8 pm - Arrived at Epcot via Monorail. Rode Test Track and watched Illuminations. Bought some stuff in Mouse Gear. Returned to MK via Monorail.

9:59 pm- Boarded the MK ferry. I now have a new favorite place to watch Wishes from.

Until midnight - Rode Space, Splash & Big Thunder 2x.

12:15 - Had our first ever Dole Whip. Sweet!

12:45 - Back to the Fort.

4 Parks -1 Day is complete.

 

[sethschroeder]

Plan on doing this September 13


HS EMH 8am - Rope Drop
Epcot - FP+ (Early FP+ likely miss, 10-11 Test Track, 11-12 Maelstrom)
AK - (Pick up FP+ for Everest at BoardWalk Concierge before leaving for park since we are staying there)
MK EMH 1am - (Pick up FP+ for priority Mountain at BoardWalk again)

Thats a 17 hour park day where we should have more than enough time to really do some damage

I still want to set a goal but not sure what it would be? I know I used to see a 4 park challenge so will likely look into that.