One-Day Park Hopping

[moto_57]

Hello! My family of four visited for our six day "all-out, won't come back for several years" Disney trip back in June. We were well prepared and had a wonderful time, getting to do everything we had on the agenda. We are now, on short notice, going to be back in Orlando in a couple weeks and have a free day to visit Disney (November 3rd to be exact). With G+ changing to LLMP, I'm looking for some guidance on a one day park hopper itinerary.

Our preferences ride wise will by Tiana's since it was not open yet on prior visit, and RnR since it was down for refurbishment. We will purchase ILL for GoG and most likely RotR. We are OKAY with skipping AK. My initial thought was to start at HS->Epcot->MK, but I'm sure this will just depend on ride availability...?

Any thoughts out there on how to best maximize our time would be greatly appreciated!

 

[CKCruising]

When we do it (usually April/August), it's a quieter time. A couple of things we use (1) We are DVC so we have early hours, (2) We drive to the parks as getting between them takes longer on transit, and (3) We look for a night when MK has extended hours (4) We generally don't use ILL. You may have none of these, but I will provide details based on these assumptions:
1) Start with a Guardians VQ at 7:00am
2) We always start at AK, it opens the earliest (7:30) and go right to Pandora. You can finish the park in an hour if you don't want the Safari (FOP, Navi, Dino, Everest (usually x2), Kali)
3) Next, we head to Hollywood and are there by 9:00. We usually skip Rise unless the line is short. You can either go to Toy Story (usually better earlier) or Tot/RnR. We usually ride Slinky/Toy Story Mania/RnR/Tot/Saucers (or as much as we can of those). The goal is to be at Epcot for our VQ (If it is an early VQ, we switch 3 and 4).
4) Be at Epcot for the VQ (or1pm Guardians Drop if required). If we do get an ILL, its for Guardians too. At this point, we will ride TT/Soarin (Remi/Frozen are usually busy as they both have been down already ) and grab a snack with our Guardians ride fit in. By the time we ride Guardians, we are usually done. Depending on the hours, you can leave your car at Epcot and train to MK or you can park at the TTC and train to both epcot/mk.
5) Head to MK for the evening. If there are extended hours, there was a 6pm Tron drop (I think the VQ is done on that now). We usually don't rush as things are busy until the fireworks. We will have dinner at MK depending on time (sometimes we have a reservation and sometimes qs)

 

[moto_57]

Thanks for the reply! That is all good info. Have you done this with LLMP? I'm a little torn on how to best use the system - on one hand going to AK first seems best because you can tap in earlier to unlock park hopping. On the other hand, we would be "bypassing" the opportunity to book rides we would rather do in other parks, relying on them still being available on the day of our visit.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

free day to visit Disney (November 3rd to be exact

Staying on site? ETPE helps
Between each park transportation time. Keeping Epcot in the middle might be logical but LLSP times will influence
LLMP? HS rope drop RotR, pre book RnR - tap in and start booking MK, Hop from HS to Epcot and do LLSP GotG, Hop to MK

MK open until 10pm

 

[moto_57]

Staying on site? ETPE helps
Between each park transportation time. Keeping Epcot in the middle might be logical but LLSP times will influence
LLMP? HS rope drop RotR, pre book RnR - tap in and start booking MK, Hop from HS to Epcot and do LLSP GotG, Hop to MK

MK open until 10pm

Unfortunately, not staying on site (will be at Universal). We will have a vehicle, possibly be faster to drive between parks (except maybe Epcot to MK)?
I think LLSP times will influence our plan for sure, based on what I've been researching. I like your thoughts on starting at HS, though, as there are a few rides there the family would like to do.

Thanks!