dlaushey
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2004
- Messages
- 381
4 Parks in One Day - 7/5/2009
Our DD13 has wanted to try the 4 parks in a day challenge ever since she found out she did it when she was only 4 years old on her 1st trip to the World. It was our last full day after a week long trip and we had a few must sees at 3 of the parks to do that day. Well it turned out that we had one more must see which was to get Cinderellas autograph since we missed it when we saw her on day 1 w/o our autograph book. Of course she was to be in the one park we had not planned on visiting that day so we just made it a 4 parks in one day kind of day.
Fast forward 10 years
For DD13s 14 year old birthday trip we decided to surprise her with another 4 parks in 1 day trip. This time we will go with the Mike Scopa from AllEars.net challenge and guidelines.
http://land.allears.net/blogs/mikescopa/2008/04/not_for_the_faint_of_heart_1.html
http://land.allears.net/blogs/mikescopa/2008/05/four_parks_in_one_day.html
We targeted July 5th, 2009 as our day (DDs birthday is July 7th). The group consisted of me (DH), DW, DD13, DD11 & DS5 (just turned 5 three weeks prior).
Heres how/what we did:
We left our offsite hotel right at 8:00am according to plan. I dropped off the family at Disneys Boardwalk hotel at 8:10 so they could walk to the International Gateway entrance to EP. I drove to DHS and parked the car and double timed it over to IG EP. I met them around 8:30am. They were already inside the park (I guess it was an EMH day but I didnt realize when making the plan). DS5 wanted to buy a misting fan with his money so they were in the shop doing that. I collected the tickets and headed off to Test Track to get FPs. Once they were done buying the fan they left EP and headed to DHS. They walked and let DS5 ride in the umbrella stroller we had brought. I doubled timed it to TT, got the FPs and headed back to the IG and caught up the family at Disneys Boardwalk Hotel (thats just where I caught back up, not planned). We all proceeded to DHS and made there just in time for rope drop.
Disney Hollywood Studios
Our plan was to get a FP for TOT, ride TGMR & Star Tours and then use the FP for TOT. We figured we wouldnt get to DHS until about 9:20 after getting the Test Track FP. But since we got into EP a little early we were ahead of schedule so we decided to go straight to TOT and ride w/o FP. This worked well as it was a walk on as was TGMR & ST. After a quick stop in the bathroom and a PhotoPass pic in front of the hat we headed out of the park and were in the car by 10:20am headed towards Disneys Animal Kingdom.
Disneys Animal Kingdom
We arrived around 10:30 and opted to not take the stroller since we were going to have to use the tram to get to the entrance anyway. Once we entered the park the family headed to Dinosaur while I ran to KS to get FPs and then met them at Dinosaur. The wait was listed at 20 min but it was basically a walk on. Once we left Dino DS5 wanted a picture on the Dino just around the corner from the ride so we paused a few minutes so they kids could get their picture. We then headed to Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. This was around 11:10 so I was hoping they opened at 11 which they did. We took our time and had a nice lunch watching the birds and ducks walking by hoping for some crumbs. We didnt feed them but it was really hard when the 7 little ducklings came pecking at our feet looking for food. Ok when we were done we did give them a little bread away from the tables so we wouldnt disturb the others trying to eat. After lunch we walked to Its Tough to be a Bug, after viewing we exited and took the trail headed to the left (no one takes that path) and came out at Africa. We entered the FP line for KS and walked past a bunch of folks who made snide comments towards us from the Stand By line that was listed at 10 minutes (which appeared to be about right). Once we got to the FP merge point the CM told us to keep our FPs and to visit them again later in the day with them. We did keep them knowing that we wouldnt be back and gave them to a guest entering the park as we left. Once again after a quick stop in the bathroom and a PhotoPass pic in front of the Tree we headed out of the park, took the tram back to our car and headed to EP.
So far we are doing really well. We have 2 parks down with lunch out of the way. Everything has been a walk on and the FP we did get we didnt need. We have FPs for Test Track when we get to EP so we shouldnt have any problems knocking out EP pretty quickly. Our plan was to drive to TTC and catch a monorail to EP, hit our 3 rides in EP and monorail back to MK to finish our day there. Well I messed up while driving because I followed the sign to EP knowing that I really wanted to go to TTC (I had EP on my mind). Not a problem, a quick turnaround after passing the parking toll booth and we are headed to TTC. At the time I did notice a monorail stopped on the rail near the toll booth but didnt think much about it. I know they have to hold for trains to clear the track and what not. I had no idea there had been a problem that night! We parked and rode the tram to TTC and headed towards the monorail platform and realized that we couldnt. Oh No! The monorail is down, now what? They were running busses to EP so we went over and caught one to EP still had no idea why the monorail was down and thought maybe well catch one on the way back. I did find out at the end of the day what happened on the monorail and felt really bad for all involved and affected by it. We were lucky enough to just alter our plans and went on with our day without even knowing until we were leaving for the day.
EPCOT
While driving to TTC we did notice some dark clouds so we grabbed the ponchos before leaving the car. It was a good thing too since on the bus ride over to EP it started to POUR! When we arrived we put on the ponchos and walked to the gate. Even with the ponchos we got pretty wet at least our feet did, there was some flooding on the paths. Our plan was to ride TT using the FP we got 1st thing in the morning, Spaceship Earth and the Mexico Boat Ride. The concern now was that TT might not be running due to the rain. However, by the time we got through the gates the rain was already starting to slow and we could see some blue sky. We figured we would wait on TT and go ahead and ride SE. Once we exited SE and came outside the sky was blue and the ground (which had been flooded in areas) was now almost completely dry! We headed towards TT and were hoping it was running it was! I took the stroller over towards the exit so we would have it quickly when we headed towards Mexico. While I was doing this the family was waiting out in front of the FP machines/ride entrance. DD11 then happened to see a CM that we had met on a few different trips Im sure some of you know him as well. DD11 ran up to him and pulled DW over as well. The CM was his usual warm and friendly self and full of great conversation. We told him we were about to ride TT and he decided to take us the secret way to the ride. He took us back stage (the old GM entrance which we had never seen) and up to the control room and onto the ride. We tried to get him to ride with us but he was already late for a call he had gotten before we met up with him. This was great, now we dont even have to wait using our FP and we skipped the pre-show. This helped make up some time lost on the transportation issues we had getting to EP. After TT we rode the Mexico boat ride and headed out of the park making a quick stop to get a PhotoPass Pic in front of the SE, a free drink or two at Club Cool and stopped in Guest Relations to leave a Thank You note for our CM friend. Of course we also stopped for another bathroom break and gave the TT FPs to another family to use. We walked to the bus loading area and had to wait quite a while for a bus back to TTC. In fact a Disney bus came up and unloaded (took a while since there were 3 scooters on board), while it was unloading another bus coach, not Disney, came up and unloaded and then loaded us since the Disney bus was going out of service(???). Anyway, all that were waiting were able to load the 2nd bus with plenty of room to spare - this was one of the luxury coach buses with the reclining seats and bathroom in the back. I think they brought these in since the monorail was down. The bus took us back to TTC although I was hoping it would take us directly to MK. However, they were running additional busses from TTC to MK so we didnt have to take the ferry.
Magic Kingdom
It was around 3:30p by the time we walked into MK. The plan was to get FPs for BTMRR or Splash whichever had the earliest return time, ride Haunted Mansion and POTC. We also had ADRs for Crystal Palace at 6:25p. We figured it was not going to be a problem to get all of these things done in time for the ADR. The problem is that I had a change of plans after making the ADR and had decided to fly home that night on a 9:15p flight out of Orlando. The question was could we get it all done and get me to my flight on time. We walked towards HM and stopped to get our final PhotoPass Pic in front of the Castle. I then split off to run and grab the FPs I got BTMRR since it had a return time of 4:35p, perfect well be done in no time. We waited less than the 10 min posted time for HM and headed towards POTC, another walk on! We walked to BTMRR and walked up right at our ride time of 4:35. We rode and were done with all of the rides at the 4 parks by 4:55p! We had done it except for our final meal according to the guidelines set out by Mike Scopa. We really wanted to celebrate with a nice sit down meal at CP so we walked over and asked if we could be seated earlier than our 6:25 ADR they said it would be no problem and to wait for our name to be called. We were seated in less than 5 minutes. We had a great meal and left CP at our original ADR time of 6:25. Now what do since we have another hour before leaving for the airport we decided to get Buzz FPs and ride the Astro Orbitor. We rarely ride AO since there is always a fairly long wait. The posted time was 45 minutes and it was DD13s birthday trip and she really wanted to ride. The wait was exactly 30min as we predicted as we entered the line. We rode and then used our Buzz FPs and exited the park. We rode the bus back to TTC and walked to our car. We were parked pretty close and easily beat the Tram that was pulling in to pick up passengers. We left the parking lot right at 8:00pm which was the plan.
The trip home/hotel
I easily made my flight at 9:15 to Atlanta and was at home by 11:45pm. The rest of the family was already in the hotel before I even took off from Orlando. Of course DS5 was talking swimming pool when he got in the car at MK but was asleep before we left Disney property. I had a pretty restful night sleep with the two dogs who were very happy someone was finally home. DW had a more interesting night with, DD11s insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor beeping most of the night (nothing serious just annoying), DD11 also slept walk that night opening up the hotel room door but couldnt get out since the top latch was on but she left the door open just that much, DD5 who occasionally has night terrors had a few throughout the night waking everyone up and of course security woke them up around 4:00am telling DW that she needed to close the door that DD11 had left open! However they all did make rope drop at EP this morning!
Now for my birthday we are considering the Ultimate Magic Kingdom Touring Plan as published by TouringPlans.com. That includes all attractions at MK in ONE day!
http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=96
Our DD13 has wanted to try the 4 parks in a day challenge ever since she found out she did it when she was only 4 years old on her 1st trip to the World. It was our last full day after a week long trip and we had a few must sees at 3 of the parks to do that day. Well it turned out that we had one more must see which was to get Cinderellas autograph since we missed it when we saw her on day 1 w/o our autograph book. Of course she was to be in the one park we had not planned on visiting that day so we just made it a 4 parks in one day kind of day.
Fast forward 10 years
For DD13s 14 year old birthday trip we decided to surprise her with another 4 parks in 1 day trip. This time we will go with the Mike Scopa from AllEars.net challenge and guidelines.
http://land.allears.net/blogs/mikescopa/2008/04/not_for_the_faint_of_heart_1.html
http://land.allears.net/blogs/mikescopa/2008/05/four_parks_in_one_day.html
We targeted July 5th, 2009 as our day (DDs birthday is July 7th). The group consisted of me (DH), DW, DD13, DD11 & DS5 (just turned 5 three weeks prior).
Heres how/what we did:
We left our offsite hotel right at 8:00am according to plan. I dropped off the family at Disneys Boardwalk hotel at 8:10 so they could walk to the International Gateway entrance to EP. I drove to DHS and parked the car and double timed it over to IG EP. I met them around 8:30am. They were already inside the park (I guess it was an EMH day but I didnt realize when making the plan). DS5 wanted to buy a misting fan with his money so they were in the shop doing that. I collected the tickets and headed off to Test Track to get FPs. Once they were done buying the fan they left EP and headed to DHS. They walked and let DS5 ride in the umbrella stroller we had brought. I doubled timed it to TT, got the FPs and headed back to the IG and caught up the family at Disneys Boardwalk Hotel (thats just where I caught back up, not planned). We all proceeded to DHS and made there just in time for rope drop.
Disney Hollywood Studios
Our plan was to get a FP for TOT, ride TGMR & Star Tours and then use the FP for TOT. We figured we wouldnt get to DHS until about 9:20 after getting the Test Track FP. But since we got into EP a little early we were ahead of schedule so we decided to go straight to TOT and ride w/o FP. This worked well as it was a walk on as was TGMR & ST. After a quick stop in the bathroom and a PhotoPass pic in front of the hat we headed out of the park and were in the car by 10:20am headed towards Disneys Animal Kingdom.
Disneys Animal Kingdom
We arrived around 10:30 and opted to not take the stroller since we were going to have to use the tram to get to the entrance anyway. Once we entered the park the family headed to Dinosaur while I ran to KS to get FPs and then met them at Dinosaur. The wait was listed at 20 min but it was basically a walk on. Once we left Dino DS5 wanted a picture on the Dino just around the corner from the ride so we paused a few minutes so they kids could get their picture. We then headed to Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. This was around 11:10 so I was hoping they opened at 11 which they did. We took our time and had a nice lunch watching the birds and ducks walking by hoping for some crumbs. We didnt feed them but it was really hard when the 7 little ducklings came pecking at our feet looking for food. Ok when we were done we did give them a little bread away from the tables so we wouldnt disturb the others trying to eat. After lunch we walked to Its Tough to be a Bug, after viewing we exited and took the trail headed to the left (no one takes that path) and came out at Africa. We entered the FP line for KS and walked past a bunch of folks who made snide comments towards us from the Stand By line that was listed at 10 minutes (which appeared to be about right). Once we got to the FP merge point the CM told us to keep our FPs and to visit them again later in the day with them. We did keep them knowing that we wouldnt be back and gave them to a guest entering the park as we left. Once again after a quick stop in the bathroom and a PhotoPass pic in front of the Tree we headed out of the park, took the tram back to our car and headed to EP.
So far we are doing really well. We have 2 parks down with lunch out of the way. Everything has been a walk on and the FP we did get we didnt need. We have FPs for Test Track when we get to EP so we shouldnt have any problems knocking out EP pretty quickly. Our plan was to drive to TTC and catch a monorail to EP, hit our 3 rides in EP and monorail back to MK to finish our day there. Well I messed up while driving because I followed the sign to EP knowing that I really wanted to go to TTC (I had EP on my mind). Not a problem, a quick turnaround after passing the parking toll booth and we are headed to TTC. At the time I did notice a monorail stopped on the rail near the toll booth but didnt think much about it. I know they have to hold for trains to clear the track and what not. I had no idea there had been a problem that night! We parked and rode the tram to TTC and headed towards the monorail platform and realized that we couldnt. Oh No! The monorail is down, now what? They were running busses to EP so we went over and caught one to EP still had no idea why the monorail was down and thought maybe well catch one on the way back. I did find out at the end of the day what happened on the monorail and felt really bad for all involved and affected by it. We were lucky enough to just alter our plans and went on with our day without even knowing until we were leaving for the day.
EPCOT
While driving to TTC we did notice some dark clouds so we grabbed the ponchos before leaving the car. It was a good thing too since on the bus ride over to EP it started to POUR! When we arrived we put on the ponchos and walked to the gate. Even with the ponchos we got pretty wet at least our feet did, there was some flooding on the paths. Our plan was to ride TT using the FP we got 1st thing in the morning, Spaceship Earth and the Mexico Boat Ride. The concern now was that TT might not be running due to the rain. However, by the time we got through the gates the rain was already starting to slow and we could see some blue sky. We figured we would wait on TT and go ahead and ride SE. Once we exited SE and came outside the sky was blue and the ground (which had been flooded in areas) was now almost completely dry! We headed towards TT and were hoping it was running it was! I took the stroller over towards the exit so we would have it quickly when we headed towards Mexico. While I was doing this the family was waiting out in front of the FP machines/ride entrance. DD11 then happened to see a CM that we had met on a few different trips Im sure some of you know him as well. DD11 ran up to him and pulled DW over as well. The CM was his usual warm and friendly self and full of great conversation. We told him we were about to ride TT and he decided to take us the secret way to the ride. He took us back stage (the old GM entrance which we had never seen) and up to the control room and onto the ride. We tried to get him to ride with us but he was already late for a call he had gotten before we met up with him. This was great, now we dont even have to wait using our FP and we skipped the pre-show. This helped make up some time lost on the transportation issues we had getting to EP. After TT we rode the Mexico boat ride and headed out of the park making a quick stop to get a PhotoPass Pic in front of the SE, a free drink or two at Club Cool and stopped in Guest Relations to leave a Thank You note for our CM friend. Of course we also stopped for another bathroom break and gave the TT FPs to another family to use. We walked to the bus loading area and had to wait quite a while for a bus back to TTC. In fact a Disney bus came up and unloaded (took a while since there were 3 scooters on board), while it was unloading another bus coach, not Disney, came up and unloaded and then loaded us since the Disney bus was going out of service(???). Anyway, all that were waiting were able to load the 2nd bus with plenty of room to spare - this was one of the luxury coach buses with the reclining seats and bathroom in the back. I think they brought these in since the monorail was down. The bus took us back to TTC although I was hoping it would take us directly to MK. However, they were running additional busses from TTC to MK so we didnt have to take the ferry.
Magic Kingdom
It was around 3:30p by the time we walked into MK. The plan was to get FPs for BTMRR or Splash whichever had the earliest return time, ride Haunted Mansion and POTC. We also had ADRs for Crystal Palace at 6:25p. We figured it was not going to be a problem to get all of these things done in time for the ADR. The problem is that I had a change of plans after making the ADR and had decided to fly home that night on a 9:15p flight out of Orlando. The question was could we get it all done and get me to my flight on time. We walked towards HM and stopped to get our final PhotoPass Pic in front of the Castle. I then split off to run and grab the FPs I got BTMRR since it had a return time of 4:35p, perfect well be done in no time. We waited less than the 10 min posted time for HM and headed towards POTC, another walk on! We walked to BTMRR and walked up right at our ride time of 4:35. We rode and were done with all of the rides at the 4 parks by 4:55p! We had done it except for our final meal according to the guidelines set out by Mike Scopa. We really wanted to celebrate with a nice sit down meal at CP so we walked over and asked if we could be seated earlier than our 6:25 ADR they said it would be no problem and to wait for our name to be called. We were seated in less than 5 minutes. We had a great meal and left CP at our original ADR time of 6:25. Now what do since we have another hour before leaving for the airport we decided to get Buzz FPs and ride the Astro Orbitor. We rarely ride AO since there is always a fairly long wait. The posted time was 45 minutes and it was DD13s birthday trip and she really wanted to ride. The wait was exactly 30min as we predicted as we entered the line. We rode and then used our Buzz FPs and exited the park. We rode the bus back to TTC and walked to our car. We were parked pretty close and easily beat the Tram that was pulling in to pick up passengers. We left the parking lot right at 8:00pm which was the plan.
The trip home/hotel
I easily made my flight at 9:15 to Atlanta and was at home by 11:45pm. The rest of the family was already in the hotel before I even took off from Orlando. Of course DS5 was talking swimming pool when he got in the car at MK but was asleep before we left Disney property. I had a pretty restful night sleep with the two dogs who were very happy someone was finally home. DW had a more interesting night with, DD11s insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor beeping most of the night (nothing serious just annoying), DD11 also slept walk that night opening up the hotel room door but couldnt get out since the top latch was on but she left the door open just that much, DD5 who occasionally has night terrors had a few throughout the night waking everyone up and of course security woke them up around 4:00am telling DW that she needed to close the door that DD11 had left open! However they all did make rope drop at EP this morning!
Now for my birthday we are considering the Ultimate Magic Kingdom Touring Plan as published by TouringPlans.com. That includes all attractions at MK in ONE day!
http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=96
