Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in one day?

[CJ2K2]

Hi all,

I am heading to Disney World next weekend for 2 days, Jan 7th and Jan 8th, with my girlfriend. This will be my first time there. Right now, I am planning on doing Magic Kingdom on the Saturday, and was hoping to do Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on the Sunday. Is this doable?

Can anybody offer me advice on how it would be best to accomplish this while also getting the most out of both parks? Keep in mind that I am a total rookie at this, and welcome as detailed directions as possible. I have heard at Animal Kingdom that Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and the Safari are must sees, and at Hollywood, there is the Tower of Terror and Rock and Roll Roller Coaster. What else is worth checking out at both parks?

Lastly, how do you recommend I use my Fastpass for such a day? If I do Hollywood in the afternoon/evening, I am assuming I use all 3 there?

Thanks so much!

 

[Robo]

You can certainly VISIT two parks on one day, but it is impossible to experience all that each park has to offer without staying longer than a half-day at each park.

 

[CJ2K2]

You can certainly VISIT two parks on one day, but it is impossible to experience all that each park has to offer without staying longer than a half-day at each park.

I understand that. Unfortunately, I am only able to do two days in Disney, and am trying to maximize my experience. I am not sure when I will be back if at all.

 

[Amelia :)]

We did a full day at each park for our first family visit and we didn't have time to do everything we wanted to! (And we did EMM at HS and rope dropped AK)

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think as a newbie you're better off at one or the other. The travel time between will eat a bunch of time.

If you insist, go to AK in the morning. Rope drop Safari, then go to Everest. Dinosaur is not that great. I would walk through the park and get a feel for it, though.

Go to HS around lunch. Use your FP+ there. Because you're just booking FP+ now, you may be limited in terms of what you can get. RnR is a Tier I FP+. ToT is a Tier 2. Also get a FP+ for Star Tours, if you can. Grab some dinner and line up about an hour pre-show for Fantasmic.

Toy Story is a fun ride, but it is a T1 and I suspect FP+ for it are pretty well gone.

 

[CJ2K2]

I think as a newbie you're better off at one or the other. The travel time between will eat a bunch of time.

If you insist, go to AK in the morning. Rope drop Safari, then go to Everest. Dinosaur is not that great. I would walk through the park and get a feel for it, though.

Go to HS around lunch. Use your FP+ there. Because you're just booking FP+ now, you may be limited in terms of what you can get. RnR is a Tier I FP+. ToT is a Tier 2. Also get a FP+ for Star Tours, if you can. Grab some dinner and line up about an hour pre-show for Fantasmic.

Toy Story is a fun ride, but it is a T1 and I suspect FP+ for it are pretty well gone.

Thanks for the details. How much is the travel times between both parks? Also, can you please elaborate on the FP system? I probably won't be buying my tickets until I arrive at the park, will there still be Fastpasses available for any of the major rides?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Thanks for the details. How much is the travel times between both parks? Also, can you please elaborate on the FP system? I probably won't be buying my tickets until I arrive at the park, will there still be Fastpasses available for any of the major rides?

You need to allow 45 minutes to an hour between parks, and you will need to go through security at your second park. Timing for that will vary.

Same-day FP+ exist, but at DHS the Tier I options will be very slim, without a lot of time flexibility.

 

[kamerino]

Hi all,

I am heading to Disney World next weekend for 2 days, Jan 7th and Jan 8th, with my girlfriend. This will be my first time there. Right now, I am planning on doing Magic Kingdom on the Saturday, and was hoping to do Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios on the Sunday. Is this doable?

Can anybody offer me advice on how it would be best to accomplish this while also getting the most out of both parks? Keep in mind that I am a total rookie at this, and welcome as detailed directions as possible. I have heard at Animal Kingdom that Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and the Safari are must sees, and at Hollywood, there is the Tower of Terror and Rock and Roll Roller Coaster. What else is worth checking out at both parks?

Lastly, how do you recommend I use my Fastpass for such a day? If I do Hollywood in the afternoon/evening, I am assuming I use all 3 there?

Thanks so much!

It is doable, as long as you don't plan on doing absolutely everything in each park. We're planning on doing exactly this during our January trip. We made fast pass reservations at AK during the early morning, and once we use those, we'll use our app to make new fast passes for later in the day at HS. It makes it much easier for us to do this, since my daughter (8) doesn't ride any of the "big" rides, so no Everest, no Tower of Terror, no Aerosmith roller coaster. We also go often enough that if we miss something this time, we're all okay with it.

We've planned to be at AK until around 4 (9:30 am Safari, 10:30 Dinosaur), then head over to HS for a 6:30 ADR at 50's Prime Time. We'll have enough time for the Star Wars related stuff (my crew's favorite part), the Great Movie Ride, and if we're lucky, maybe we can do Toy Story.

The main thing when you're planning to do this is to be okay with not seeing absolutely everything. MK and Epcot we can never get through in less than a day, so we don't even try, but we've found that we can split AK and HS and still have a great time. Again, you won't see and do it all, but you can do and see enough if you plan properly to have a great day.

Hope this helps!

 

[gap2368]

fr my AK day I normally do 4 parks in one day so yes it is very easey I would do AK in the morning as lines are not hat bad I can do every thing I want in about 45-60 minutes. but if it is your first time I think you may want more time to explore the park

then head over to HS for the afternoon I would FP TSMM for around 3 TT for around 4 and then star tours at 5.

 

[kamerino]

fr my AK day I normally do 4 parks in one day so yes it is very easey I would do AK in the morning as lines are not hat bad I can do every thing I want in about 45-60 minutes. but if it is your first time I think you may want more time to explore the park

then head over to HS for the afternoon I would FP TSMM for around 3 TT for around 4 and then star tours at 5.

The idea of using your fastpass selections for later at HS is not a bad idea. The lines are generally short at AK in the early mornings, and if you go on a day with relatively lower crowd levels, you should be able to do it.

 

[loves to dive]

Rope drop AK, do Safari, go to EE and single rider it. Double back and do both trails, you can easily get all that done in 2 hours. Walk over to Dinosaur, by that time of day there may be a tad longer wait but it shouldn't be too bad. The shows at AK are both worth seeing but given your limited time you can skip them. I would recommend using the new Express Bus for park hoping. It will cost you $15 each but save you time between parks and you skip security at the second park. Have the MDE ap on your phone. At some point while at AK, possibly while waiting in line, grab your FPs for HS. I've had success getting ToT and TSMM same day and since you are adults time of day shouldn't matter. Push comes to shove, you grab whatever is available and work around that after you get to the park. ToT is a great ride after dark since you see the entire park lit up.