Disney in a day - AKA: The Gauntlet

[mum1]

My husband and I are planning on flying to Disney for a weekend. Fly in on a Friday, land around 4pm. Spend Saturday, all day, at all 4 parks. Then Sunday afternoon, fly home.

Has anyone done something as crazy as this?

We're thinking about going down January 7th-9th. Stay at a Value Resort, maybe book the dinner at the Polynesian and see the Wishes fireworks. We may skip MK on Saturday as we are planning to take our 2.5yr old son Sept/Oct 2011. So we'd spend some time at AK, HS, and Epcot. We're hoping to get to Mount Everest, the Dinosaur ride, grab a few beers at Epcot, check out the new Buzz Lightyear ride at HS, Aerosmith, Tower of Terror.

Are there any other hot spot rides you'd do if you had just a couple hours at a park?

My husband is also talking about getting some shopping done down at DTD, but I'm wondering if there are any other good shopping spots we should check out, either in the parks, or other resorts? Since we are on a time budget, I feel like going to DTD would suck too much of our time, especially with the bus commute.

Do you have any thoughts, tips, advice?

I've tried to convince my husband to save our money for our trip in Sept/Oct, but he is insisting we tackle our 'gauntlet'.

 

[bobnjenn0828]

Hi!

That sounds like a lot of fun, but I just wanted to let you know that it is Marathon Weekend so it may be a bit crowded!

Honestly, last year after the 1/2 Marathon (which is on Saturday) we were so cold that we went back to the hotel and slept so I don't really know how crowded the parks were - but it was freezing cold, so maybe not too bad!

Good Luck!!

PS - I would go to HS first and get fastpasses for Toy Story Mania. We went once at noon and they were already gone for the day and the line was 90 mins!

 

[mum1]

Oh thanks for the heads up about the Marathon! Do you know what route the runners will be taking?

 

[bobnjenn0828]

Saturday is the 1/2 Marathon which starts and ends at Epcot. From Epcot the route goes to Magic Kingdom and then back to Epcot. Everything should be finished at the latest by 10:30 or so (at least off the roads). It may just take you a little longer to get to whatever park you are going to start the day at!

The Marathon is on Sunday and hits all 4 parks!

There are actually maps of the routes on www.rundisney.com

Another thing I wouldn't want to miss is Wishes at MK ( or Fantasmic at HS - but they don't have that every night.) You will love the castle at night. I have been to Disney a million times and have never seen it prettier than it looked when we were there in January.Of course we haven't been at Christmas in 5 years so it may have been that way for several years. It looked like crystal. I really hope that it is like that again this year! It was beautiful.

Jennifer

 

[DisneylandForever]

My husband and I are planning on flying to Disney for a weekend. Fly in on a Friday, land around 4pm. Spend Saturday, all day, at all 4 parks. Then Sunday afternoon, fly home.

Has anyone done something as crazy as this?

I have. lol. Well not flown to WDW for a day, but I've done all 4 parks in one day.

We're thinking about going down January 7th-9th. Stay at a Value Resort, maybe book the dinner at the Polynesian and see the Wishes fireworks. We may skip MK on Saturday as we are planning to take our 2.5yr old son Sept/Oct 2011. So we'd spend some time at AK, HS, and Epcot. We're hoping to get to Mount Everest, the Dinosaur ride, grab a few beers at Epcot, check out the new Buzz Lightyear ride at HS, Aerosmith, Tower of Terror.

So if it's just 3 parks then, you'll obviously have a little more time. If you want to maximize your time in the parks however, I would recommend having dinner inside one, and I'd recommend Epcot. They have the best restaurants, and it closes later than AK and DHS. I love the Poly too, but since you're not even going to MK now, perhaps save the Poly/Wishes thing for the trip with your son and do an Epcot dinner and Illuminations this trip? Just a suggestion.

Are there any other hot spot rides you'd do if you had just a couple hours at a park?

A lot of this is personal preference, but I would advise making DHS your first park. By "Buzz ride" in DHS I presume you mean Toy Story Mania, and fastpasses for that are often gone by Noon. Although it shouldn't be that crowded on Jan 8th, I would still say:
Hit DHS at rope drop
Go straight to TSM and grab a fastpass
Don't ride TSM though, go straight to RnR (Aerosmith) and ride that
After RnR ride ToT
After ToT use your fp for TSM, provided it's able to be used by then. If not you could sneak in a ride on the Great Movie Ride.

I do that itinerary in DHS from time to time, and I'm usually done in 2 hours or less.

Next head to AK and upon arrival, go straight to Exp Everest and grab a fastpass. Then go ride Dinosaur. After Dinosaur you'd probably have to wait a little bit for your fp to kick in, so maybe jump on Kilimanjaro Safaris, or It's Tough to be a Bug. That itin is predicated upon there being a huge line for Exp Ev, of course. If there is less than a 20 minute standby when you get there, I would just ride it and skip the fp. After riding it you could then ride Dinosaur and take off for Epcot!

My husband is also talking about getting some shopping done down at DTD, but I'm wondering if there are any other good shopping spots we should check out, either in the parks, or other resorts? Since we are on a time budget, I feel like going to DTD would suck too much of our time, especially with the bus commute.

I agree about DtD. They do have a few cool shops. And I love their art store. But Epcot has an art store, as well as Mouse Gear (which is pretty big), not to mention shops in every country in World Showcase. IMO, DtD is okay to visit if you're there for a week, not 1 day!

I hope you have fun!




ETA: I just saw the post about it being marathon weekend - yikes! I guess it will be crowded on Jan 8th after all, lol

 

[Birdman1511]

I've done all 4 parks in one day.. and honestly i was surprised to find that its actually "do-able". Just make sure you have a good itinerary and you stick to it. When I did it with a friend we just made sure do only do the things we wanted to do. We started in MK from 9:00-12:00. Had a quick lunch at Columbia Harbour and then went to AK from 1:00-2:30(we only did the Safari and EE) HS from 3:00-5:00 and finished up at Epcot. Granted we were always in a rush but still enjoyed it, and we were DOG tired at the end of it.

 

[freecia]

To threadjack a bit, I have similar ideas of a two-fer and contemplating 3 I'm glad I'm not the only gauntleteer

This is all assuming you have a car?

My 1 day of insanity has DHS evening EMH w/ 2 Fantasmics, so was thinking
1. DHS
TSM super early then scooch over to Epcot

2. Epcot - everyone's at DHS so crowds should be lower
a. Soarin FP
b. Mission space green
c. TT Solo line
d. Soarin
e. The Seas
f. Food and Wine noshing for lunch @ 11-1


Afternoon AK Safari 3:30-5 and/or a nap/pool 1-3? There may be time for both.

HS around 7 for fantasmic
a. Get in line for 2nd fantasmic around 7:40 for 9pm showing after 1st showing goes into the theaters with a book, snack, and something to do while waiting.
EMH shows? (Are there any?)
Get the heck outta there if it is too crowded
TSM if I didn't catch it in the morning

Rationalizing a room at an Epcot area resort for the night so I can take advantage of breaks during the day and escaping after fantasmic for a bit to return after 10:45 for EMH.

From all posts, EMH and Fantasmic will make it the most crowded day ever @ DHS but not taking advantage of the EMH 9-midnight seems silly, even if I don't do roller coasters.

Opinions? Alternatives? Coasters and I don't agree. Shows are harder to fit in so I'd just want to go to the "worthy" ones.

MNSSHP night before so MK can be skipped.

There should be a gauntlet souvenier ;D

 

[honeydiane1953]

I would only try two parks. Four in one day is tooo much. When I was a energized teenager I would have tried it but not now.

 

[Tuffcookie]

OP, Back in Feb of 2004 (I think that was the year) I won a 1 day trip to WDW from Cleveland TV station WKYC. They drew my postacard out of the drum on their Mon. morning show and I had to be willing & able to fly out of Akrion-Canton airport on Thurs. (3 days later). I went down to WDW with the morning show crew. I got to do the Friday morning show at Epcot at 6:00 AM with, then news anchor, John Anderson! Everything was paid for, the air, hotel (they put me up in AKL Savannah view), park tickets, food. They even picked us up in a nice towncar from & to the airport.

I wrote all about it in a trip report here on the DIS when it happened. There were a lot of Cleveland area DISers that tried for it too.

I hit the ground running! lol

Have a good time!

TC

 

[dormouse72]

We did it in March 2009 for BF's first trip. It was a Saturday and we arrived in WDW at 10 AM after driving up from Miami with friends. This is how we hit it:

DHS first at about 11 AM after checking-in to our cabin at Ft. Wilderness(disclaimer - we didn't to TSM). Straight into Great Movie Ride, then to ToT. After that to Muppets 3D and walked around gawking at everything (he was a little overwhelmed at the idea he was really at WDW so he took a while for it to sink in) then on to Backlot Tour. After that we...

made it to AK by 1:30. All the FP were gone for Everest but we did Dinosaur (twice in a row) and Kilimanjaro and Primoridal Whirl (twice). At some point we at a CS meal here cuz our energy sagged with all the walking needed in AK. By this time it was 4:30 PM and we went to...

Epcot. We ran to grab FP for Soarin then over to the Golf Ball Ride (as I call it). Then to Nemo, Figment, Ellen and over to Soarin'. On our way to dinner in China we stopped at the Mexico ride and then went to dinner, which we finished just in time for Illuminations. Then it was 9 PM so of course we went to...

Magic Kingdom. It was MK PM extended hours so we decided "What the hell" and jumped on the monorail. We ran to Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Great Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Small World and Pooh before it was 11:50 and we had to start making our way out.

A little over 12 hours and all four parks. He loved it. Of course we didn't do any shopping (other than his Pirate Mickey ears with his name on them) and didn't go to DtD.

 

[mum1]

Sounds like your 12 hours was a blast!

Well our trip is booked... We can't wait to finalize the details of what our day will be like =)

 

[notaprincess]

i just came back and did 3 parks in 1 day and managed to get back to my hotel for a bit of pool time too.

I did AK in the am, just doing Everest 2x, Dinosaur and It's tough to be bug, strolling about with an Iced Tea and Cappuccino too! Then over to Epcot for drinks and Lunch around the world during Food&Wine; only did the Spaceship Earth Ride and Captain EO. then back to the AKL for a drink by the pool

At nite I went for Fantasmic to HS and rode RnR coaster 2x and the Great movie ride...just in time for my ADR at JIKOs

Going solo HAS is advantages...

 

[mum1]

The plan is to fly into Orlando by 10am on 1/8. Check into Pop Century and make our way to a park. (I purchased a 2-day hopper). Check out is mid morning on Monday 1/10.

I believe EMH are at MK till 11pm on Sunday so I know I want to be there. Now I'm trying to fill in my afternoon & evening on Saturday the 8th. We're thinking 2 parks Saturday, 2 on Sunday. Or 1 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday.

I had also thought about making reservations for the Coral Reef one night. I know that since the Marathon is that weekend, I'm wondering if the restaurants will be packed. We'd like to have 1 really nice dinner while in WDW and I'm willing to plan my day around the reservation too. Any suggestions for a romantic dinner for 2?

Also, I'd like to avoid the buses at all cost, it just seems like they eat away at the clock and I'd rather enjoy the monorail or boat rides in between parks. I really wish AK had a connection with the other parks, other than bus. So I'm thinking that may be our first stop on Saturday since they also close at 5pm.

I appreciate everyone's comments and for sharing your 'Gauntlet' experiences =)

 

[NeilD]

Just got back yesterday...solo trip to Disney Area. Spent one day doing Epcot and AK.
Boat from Dolphin to Epcot for rope drop.
Headed right to Soarin, got FP and went on ride.
Headed to Test Track. Single rider line. got right on so I went right back again.
Then to Mission Space...Intense one.
Back to Soarin for my 10:00 FP.
Back to Mission Space again.
Then over to Test Track again. (single rider) Did it twice again. Felt like a test dummy after 4 trips to Test track...
Bus to AK...
Safari, 20 minute wait..not bad.
Over to Everest. Single Rider line. Went right back a second time.
Bus back to Epcot to check out 'food and wine' snacks. Didn't stay long. I was exhausted!!!
Took boat to ESPN Club for a meal.
Back to hotel to collapse...
Thats all folks.....

 

[mum1]

Just got back yesterday...solo trip to Disney Area. Spent one day doing Epcot and AK.
Boat from Dolphin to Epcot for rope drop.
Headed right to Soarin, got FP and went on ride.
Headed to Test Track. Single rider line. got right on so I went right back again.
Then to Mission Space...Intense one.
Back to Soarin for my 10:00 FP.
Back to Mission Space again.
Then over to Test Track again. (single rider) Did it twice again. Felt like a test dummy after 4 trips to Test track...
Bus to AK...
Safari, 20 minute wait..not bad.
Over to Everest. Single Rider line. Went right back a second time.
Bus back to Epcot to check out 'food and wine' snacks. Didn't stay long. I was exhausted!!!
Took boat to ESPN Club for a meal.
Back to hotel to collapse...
Thats all folks.....

WOW you got a lot of ride time in.
I'm not a huge fan of Test Track or Mission Space. Has the movie changed for Soarin? I'd almost like to grab a drink in each country instead.
We may opt for AK on Saturday, then dinner @ Boma. Sunday we'd start our day at HS, then Epcot in the afternoon and maybe have dinner there, and MK for the EMH in the evening.

 

[NeilD]

WOW you got a lot of ride time in.
I'm not a huge fan of Test Track or Mission Space. Has the movie changed for Soarin? I'd almost like to grab a drink in each country instead.
We may opt for AK on Saturday, then dinner @ Boma. Sunday we'd start our day at HS, then Epcot in the afternoon and maybe have dinner there, and MK for the EMH in the evening.

Mum - Soarin has not changed but I still get goosebumps...Don't miss the 'hidden Mickey' on the golf ball coming at you.
If I had 2 days I would have done some drinking around the world.
Your plan sounds like a good one....ENJOY!

 

[countinggirl]

We accidently did 3 parks in one day - accidently because it wasn't a planned thing. It was our last park day of our vacation which had been left to either do Magic Kingdom or hit anything that we hadn't had time to in the other days we were there. This was us:

DHS for rope drop
TSM
RnR coaster
ToT (which I still can't believe I actually did)

Drove to Epcot. Arrived in the parking lot at 10:45am so went straight to the World Showcase. Walked around the whole showcase but skipped some of the films (ie China, Canada). We did do the Mexico and Norway rides and took lots of pictures.

Drove to MK and got there about 2pm. We hit our ADR at the Plaza at 2:30. We did a few rides (ie space mountain single rider) but were so exhausted from our previous days that we packed it in by 5 (there was also lightening so alot of the rides were closed). Ate dinner at the resort (All Star Music) and crashed. We definitely could have done lots more at MK.

 

[KimmyZ05]

okay so I am going on Nov 4-9. We are planning on going the 5th all day to the parks. Is that really doable. I know that we will be going back on the 8th for MVMCP from lik 4ish to 12am. So I know if we dont get to MK its okay but really I mean will I feel rushed all day longer ??

 

[jeffmilw]

And I thought I have crazy travel schedules!!

Flying in for 1 day at WDW seems a bit extreme to some people... but, I admire the dedication required!

 

[Snickals]

wow you are very organised! Sounds like a fun way to spend the weekend