4 PARKS 1 DAY CHALLENGE - HELP! :)

[CaroM8]

Hi friends!

I will be attempting a 4 park/1 day challenge on May 4th - I know Hollywood Studios will probably be crazy, but that is the only day I have so it is what it is. I had originally planned on doing the parks in this order: AK, HS, EP, MK. Now I am thinking I might start with HS and get it done before it gets real busy.

What would you do? I am also torn on which night time show to see.. wish I could do all of them

Any input is appreciated - thanks!

 

[Raya]

Hi! 4 parks in 1 day has been our usual touring plan for a few years now. Just note: the only nighttime show I worry about is Happily Ever After. And while I love Festival of Fantasy Parade, I generally skip it on 4 in 1 days because of the timing.

On a 4 in 1 day, we generally start with the park that opens earliest. For our upcoming trip that will be early entry at 7:30 at AK. Arrive by 7/7:15. Last attempt we did 7 rounds of EE with no waiting, saw some animals, and did the safari before we left.

We took a Minnie Van to HS, and made it there by 10. Lines were still low, so we did ToT, RnRC, MMRR (hit our first 'long' line here), and Rise (ILLP) before settling into a nice air-conditioned lunch at Brown Derby.

After lunch we took a Friendship boat back to the hotel (YC) for a shower/nap break. (This is controversial, most people will tell you not to but we can't handle the mid-day sun.)

Around 4pm we entered EPCOT through the IG, walked around World Showcase, rode Guardians with ILLP, rode living with the land, and visted the Living Seas.

We took the monorail to MK, arriving at the park around 8PM. Hit our favorite rides, and watched the fireworks.

My big advice:
Wear good shoes.
Make use of the Minnie Van.
Hydrate.
Pick 3 or 4 things you want to do in each park.
Pay for ILLP and/or Multipass.
Take breaks to sit in the air-conditioning, with cool shows or meals.
Generally AK opens earliest and MK closes latest.

 

[CaroM8]

Hi! 4 parks in 1 day has been our usual touring plan for a few years now. Just note: the only nighttime show I worry about is Happily Ever After. And while I love Festival of Fantasy Parade, I generally skip it on 4 in 1 days because of the timing.

On a 4 in 1 day, we generally start with the park that opens earliest. For our upcoming trip that will be early entry at 7:30 at AK. Arrive by 7/7:15. Last attempt we did 7 rounds of EE with no waiting, saw some animals, and did the safari before we left.

We took a Minnie Van to HS, and made it there by 10. Lines were still low, so we did ToT, RnRC, MMRR (hit our first 'long' line here), and Rise (ILLP) before settling into a nice air-conditioned lunch at Brown Derby.

After lunch we took a Friendship boat back to the hotel (YC) for a shower/nap break. (This is controversial, most people will tell you not to but we can't handle the mid-day sun.)

Around 4pm we entered EPCOT through the IG, walked around World Showcase, rode Guardians with ILLP, rode living with the land, and visted the Living Seas.

We took the monorail to MK, arriving at the park around 8PM. Hit our favorite rides, and watched the fireworks.

My big advice:
Wear good shoes.
Make use of the Minnie Van.
Hydrate.
Pick 3 or 4 things you want to do in each park.
Pay for ILLP and/or Multipass.
Take breaks to sit in the air-conditioning, with cool shows or meals.
Generally AK opens earliest and MK closes latest.

Thank you! That is pretty much the plan I had in my head too - would being there on May 4th impact your plans at all regarding Hollywood Studios?

 

[Raya]

Thank you! That is pretty much the plan I had in my head too - would being there on May 4th impact your plans at all regarding Hollywood Studios?

Not really. We're huge Star Wars fans so we might spend more time walking around, especially if the heat isn't bad. The Rise lines will be slightly longer but ILLP will help that. I might cut it down to 4 EE rides at AK to get to HS a little earlier... maybe

 

[hookala]

I went to HS last year..(or maybe it was the year before?) Either way, it rained, so my experience may not be typical. I'm not a Star Wars person, but when I realized I'd be at Disney on May 4, I'm like, "I'm in!"

Star Wars land was packed, but people were dressed up, which was really cool. The rest of the park wasn't that bad, so I think it would be OK if you visited non-star wars rides. (I'm assuming it's not your only HS time?)

One thing I would avoid is dining when you're there. The quick service restaurants were all packed. Even if you ordered quick service with the app, you'd still have to wait 15-20 minutes in the line to pick up food after if lit up that your food was ready.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We like to start 4 Park Friday at Epcot, which gives the the flexibility to hop back and forth to DHS based on Lightning Lane availability.

On our most recent visit, we did Epcot - DHS - Epcot - offsite lunch - AK - MK - Resort Pool - MK.

Our keys are driving yourself, which saves a ton of time, and taking advantage of the extended Lightning Lane return window, which keeps you from having to rush around.