Four Parks in One Day - WE DID IT!

[tnmom25]

We're doing all four parks in one day on August 28. Two adults, no kids, staying at Bay Lake Tower and I'd like some input.

Questions I have about this plan are below. Thanks in advace for any advice or input!!

Park #1 - Animal Kingdom
Arrive at security by 6:20 for 8am EMH
Flight of Passage (fingers crossed) and/or Safari (depending on how much time we spend on FOP)
Uber to DHS

Park #2 - Hollywood Studios
FP+ Star Tours 9:50, R&R 10:50, Tower 12:10 (already have FP+)
We may miss the Star Tours window if we do FOP, but that's ok.
Try to get another FP while in line for Tower of Terror
Uber / Walk / Boat to Epcot

Park #3 - Epcot
Lunch at Electric Umbrella
Soarin, Test Track single rider, Spaceship Earth
If we're lucky enough to get a FP for Epcot, try to get one for MK after we've used it
Monorail to MK

Park #4 - Magic Kingdom
Small World, Haunted Mansion
Dinner at Be Our Guest 6:20pm ADR

QUESTIONS:
1 - Best option for getting to AK by 6:20am from Bay Lake?
2 - Best option for getting from DHS to Epcot around noon? Boat? Walk? Uber?
3 - Anyone tried FOP during morning EMH and have tips?
4 - If we walk from DHS to Epcot, would the Boardwalk Bakery be less crowded than Electric Umbrella for lunch?

 

[stickeymouse]

Just curious, but why put yourself through this? Pick one park, maybe two, and cut down on the stress level.

 

[tnmom25]

Just curious, but why put yourself through this? Pick one park, maybe two, and cut down on the stress level.

Bucket List!!!

 

[dkrauss]

@tnmom25 that is a really early start.........but I get why. As for your questions:
#1 - Uber is probably best
#2 - We like the boat.........I wouldn't recommend walking because you do want to save energy
#3 - Sorry we've done FoP but not first thing.
#4 - If you're talking around lunch time.........you probably have a better shot with crowds outside of Epcot as opposed to inside Epcot. It's a crapshoot tho.

You're plan looks good.........just be sure to find time to rest. That's why I like the boat ride..........its relaxing. BTW my wife and I did this about a year ago.......we're 55+! It was a bucket list item for us...........and we had the best time!

Doug

 

[stickeymouse]

Bucket List!!!

Ok. I don't see the appeal of this, but to each their own. Good luck!

 

[CT Yankee]

We're doing all four parks in one day on August 28. Two adults, no kids, staying at Bay Lake Tower and I'd like some input.

Questions I have about this plan are below. Thanks in advace for any advice or input!!

Park #1 - Animal Kingdom
Arrive at security by 6:20 for 8am EMH
Flight of Passage (fingers crossed) and/or Safari (depending on how much time we spend on FOP)
Uber to DHS

Park #2 - Hollywood Studios
FP+ Star Tours 9:50, R&R 10:50, Tower 12:10 (already have FP+)
We may miss the Star Tours window if we do FOP, but that's ok.
Try to get another FP while in line for Tower of Terror
Uber / Walk / Boat to Epcot

Park #3 - Epcot
Lunch at Electric Umbrella
Soarin, Test Track single rider, Spaceship Earth
If we're lucky enough to get a FP for Epcot, try to get one for MK after we've used it
Monorail to MK

Park #4 - Magic Kingdom
Small World, Haunted Mansion
Dinner at Be Our Guest 6:20pm ADR

QUESTIONS:
1 - Best option for getting to AK by 6:20am from Bay Lake?
2 - Best option for getting from DHS to Epcot around noon? Boat? Walk? Uber?
3 - Anyone tried FOP during morning EMH and have tips?
4 - If we walk from DHS to Epcot, would the Boardwalk Bakery be less crowded than Electric Umbrella for lunch?

Wow - this is really ambitious! I was thinking of doing the 4 park challenge the next time we go and was only planning to do one attraction in each park to make it "count." Good luck!

 

[pitpat]

Looks like a good plan. You should be fine for FOP with that arrival time. There's a limit to how early people will get there. Can probably hit Navi with not much wait right after if you want.

 

[CT Yankee]

Ok. I don't see the appeal of this, but to each their own. Good luck!

It's just one of those "because it's there" type of challenges that people like to do for fun.

 

[karly05]

Just curious, but why put yourself through this? Pick one park, maybe two, and cut down on the stress level.

Because it's a fun challenge! Sure, if you're on a rare or once in a lifetime visit, or have a larger group or little kids, it's not the most practical use of a day. But if you're one or two people and you've spent a good amount of time at WDW, it's a fun way to spend a day.

OP, I haven't been since Pandora opened, so can't answer those, but I agree with the PP, you'd probably better go Uber/taxi for your early morning start, and I also like the boat ride from DHS to Epcot and agree it will give you a relaxing break off your feet. I'm not sure about crowds at Electric Umbrella vs Boardwalk Bakery. I'd expect BB to have fewer people, but it's also much smaller. Personally, I'd be going to Tangierine Cafe for lamb shawarma, but that's me.

I like your plan. I did this solo a couple of years ago and had a blast. I got my picture taken with Mickey and Minnie at every park that day. Think about doing something like that, getting pics of yourselves in each park to document your progress.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[stickeymouse]

It's just one of those "because it's there" type of challenges that people like to do for fun.

Ah, ok. I didn't realize it was a "thing." My bad!

 

[loves to dive]

Looks fine to me, personally I'd walk from HS to Epcot but that is just because we always do. I've done the 4 parks in one day by accident. I was solo and really didn't plan on doing it. I was up early, staying at YC so thought why not go on over to AK for EMH since I'm up. Hopped on a bus and got there before the park opened. This was before Pandora. I did the safari grabbed a muffin and some coffee and enjoyed the drummers/dancers in Africa, walked the trails then did EE. Took the bus to HS. Did ToT, TSMM and walked around the streets of America. This was during F&W so I walked over to Epcot and grabbed something to eat from a couple of booths. Walked up to the front of the park and did SSE, The Land and walked through the Seas. Walked back to WS and grabbed more food and shopped a little. Decided I wanted to see the FWs at MK so walked up to the front and rode the monorail over to MK, rode BTM and Haunted Mansion, watched the FWs from the bridge into Tomorrowland so hopped on the people mover after the FWs (o.k. I didn't watch the total ending but back then Tink flew at the beginning and that was all I was really interested in but watched most of them). Ambled out of the park after the crowd thinned and caught a bus back to YC. No FPs since it was all spur of the moment. No hurries, all taking Disney transportation or walking.

 

[Cinderella94]

My answers in red below

QUESTIONS:
1 - Best option for getting to AK by 6:20am from Bay Lake? - Most definitely Uber.
2 - Best option for getting from DHS to Epcot around noon? Boat? Walk? Uber? Walking is fastest. We beat the boat every single time. At that point, though, if you're more interested in conserving energy than speed, the boat is probably fine.
3 - Anyone tried FOP during morning EMH and have tips? We did this last month, too - got there super early for 8 AM EMH. Getting there around 6:30, you'll definitely be good. We did this and were at the front of the rope drop pack and were on the first ride of the day.
4 - If we walk from DHS to Epcot, would the Boardwalk Bakery be less crowded than Electric Umbrella for lunch? Meh. I don't know, but even if it is, I can't imagine Electric Umbrella being so crowded that it throws a whole wrench in the rest of your day. You might consider eating at Sunshine Seasons in the Land pavilion, if Soarin is going to be your first ride in Epcot anyway.

 

[tnmom25]

Looks like a good plan. You should be fine for FOP with that arrival time. There's a limit to how early people will get there. Can probably hit Navi with not much wait right after if you want.

We have FP+ for Navi on the 26th, so we probably won't do it again. We only want to do FOP because we couldn't get a FP any other time.

I like your plan. I did this solo a couple of years ago and had a blast. I got my picture taken with Mickey and Minnie at every park that day. Think about doing something like that, getting pics of yourselves in each park to document your progress.

I was thinking of doing a pressed penny (quicker than standing in line for a character) or a Mickey pic. We're definitely doing a park icon pic in each park

Ah, ok. I didn't realize it was a "thing." My bad!

It's ok!!! It's not something everyone does, and we rarely park hop anyway. But, we're looking to do a lot of 'firsts' on our anniversary trip without the kids.

My answers in red below

Thanks!!!

 

[bcactus]

We used the express transportation since it was still available and did all 4 parks on Thursday. All total we were able to do the following: RnR coaster, TSMM 2x, Star Tours, met Olaf, met Chewie, TOT, TT 2x, People Mover, FOP and ROL and still had the time to relax in our room at BLT for an hour in the early evening.

We used Uber to get to HS, then express to EP, express to MK, monorail to CR/BLT, Uber to AK and then resort bus back to BLT. It was so much fun!

 

[LucyBC80]

We're doing the 4-Park Challenge during our December visit so no FOP for me, as the challenge states you need one roller-coaster type ride and one picture with Mickey in each of the parks.

My plan so far is:

Animal Kingdom 9:00am-11:00am
Everest
Safari
Picture with Mickey at Outpost

Bus to HS

Hollywood Studios 11:30am-2:30pm
FP+ RnRC
FP+ ToT
Picture with Mickey at Mickey and Minnie Red Carpet Dreams

Bus to Poly and walk to TTC so we can Ferry to MK (must use boat at some point during the challenge)

Magic Kingdom 3:15pm-6:00pm
BTMRR
HM
See the Movie Shake it, Celebrate parade (must see it from the hub)
Picture with Mickey at the theater.

Monorail to EPCOT

Epcot 6:30pm-11:30pm (EPCOT has EMH on 12/12)
Spaceship Earth
FP+ Soarin' (hopefully)
Picture with Mickey at Character Spot.
Watch the fireworks
Soarin' (if there's no FP left)

 

[Thing 1]

Love it... it's on my bucket list too. Next trip we plan to hit DW AND DL and to make it even more interesting.... my BIL has suggested we try to be in both. Parks on the same day. We will see. We have done three parks in one day, easy Peasy but was just a little time in MK after a late dinner. I would Uber to your first park and take the boat to Epcot. I would grab lunch at a CS in the WS. Board Walk is going to mean gettin off the boat and maybe having to wait a bit for a boat when you are ready to re-board.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We did 4 Parks - 1 Day a few years ago and didn't even start until noon. The key for us was hitting 3 of the parks a few hours before closing time when the lines are short.

The 2nd key was driving ourselves. It saved a ton of time.

The highlight that day was seeing Mark Hamill in the Star Wars parade.

By the end of the day, we had done 17 rides, 2 parades, 2 fireworks shows and 1 Dole Whip.

 

[Mopedmom1]

Have a blast!

In March we did a modified version of 4 in 1 day. No rides, but adult beverages instead with the exception of MK cuz I didn't feel like making an ADR. We bought a pin, traded a pin, and had a beverage in each park. The now extinct Express Bus made this so doable. We had plans to repeat this Nov/Dec but not sure I want to deal with security at all the parks. I even got an ADR in MK so it would be complete this time.

 

[CT Yankee]

We're doing the 4-Park Challenge during our December visit so no FOP for me, as the challenge states you need one roller-coaster type ride and one picture with Mickey in each of the parks.

My plan so far is:

Animal Kingdom 9:00am-11:00am
Everest
Safari
Picture with Mickey at Outpost

Bus to HS

Hollywood Studios 11:30am-2:30pm
FP+ RnRC
FP+ ToT
Picture with Mickey at Mickey and Minnie Red Carpet Dreams

Bus to Poly and walk to TTC so we can Ferry to MK (must use boat at some point during the challenge)

Magic Kingdom 3:15pm-6:00pm
BTMRR
HM
See the Movie Shake it, Celebrate parade (must see it from the hub)
Picture with Mickey at the theater.

Monorail to EPCOT

Epcot 6:30pm-11:30pm (EPCOT has EMH on 12/12)
Spaceship Earth
FP+ Soarin' (hopefully)
Picture with Mickey at Character Spot.
Watch the fireworks
Soarin' (if there's no FP left)

So are there actually some "rules" (or are they more like what you'd call guidelines - see what I did there?) to this or can you pretty much just wing it and just do one attraction per park? Is there a version that includes the water parks too?

 

[CT Yankee]

Love it... it's on my bucket list too. Next trip we plan to hit DW AND DL and to make it even more interesting.... my BIL has suggested we try to be in both. Parks on the same day. We will see. We have done three parks in one day, easy Peasy but was just a little time in MK after a late dinner. I would Uber to your first park and take the boat to Epcot. I would grab lunch at a CS in the WS. Board Walk is going to mean gettin off the boat and maybe having to wait a bit for a boat when you are ready to re-board.

I read an article a few years ago by someone who did all six parks (4 at WDW and 2 at DL) in one day and it sounded pretty awesome. It helped that they gained the three hours with the time zone change, but by his account it was a pretty exhausting day and if I recall correctly, he made it in just under the wire.