Park Hopping - 4 Parks

[jsanders82]

Need some tips and affirmation that we can get this done

Saturday - June 7
Party of 9
My family has been numerous times never really park hop. Our family joining us went once 10 yrs ago.

Plan - start at AK (early entry), move on to EP, HS and end in MK. Plan to buy LL. Driving our cars.

AK- rope drop Pandora, safari and then Everest
EP- buy Guardian LL, Soaring and Spaceship Earth
HS - Rise, Toy Story mania, tower of terror
MK - Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates

How feasible is this? I’m thinking booking LL at HS and then MK. Thoughts? Tips on better experience?

 

[WWhitehead]

My daughter and I have done 4 parks in one day and went on similar rides. We also had to have a snack/drink in each park and take a selfie. It was a lot of fun. We rope dropped a couple of times while we were in the parks last week, and I would definitely get to AK early. We were at the park by 7:00 AM and in line. They opened around 7:20, and according to my notes, we were off FOP at 8:05. We were not the first in line for FOP, but we were definitely toward the front of the herd heading toward the ride. You should be able to go on Safari right after, and Everest ride is usually pretty short in the mornings. We rode twice by using the single rider too.

I would buy the LLSP for Guardians maybe 10-11 or some time around then and then figure out Spaceship Earth and Soaring. The line for those two wasn't too bad when we were there. I definitely recommend getting LLMP for HS and pick a 3rd ride. I can't remember what the Tier 1 rides are at HS. I think Slinky, MMRR, Rock & Roller Coaster, and not sure what else. You could do a second LLSP for Rise. We also did this and rode it again with single rider. Single rider skips the transport though. We had good luck getting LLs at Magic Kingdom in the evening by refreshing, so I think you could get all of those after you tap in to your HS rides. I would try to get Haunted Mansion first. We saw more availability for PoC and Space in the evening. We also found a LL for Haunted but required a lot of refreshing.

Good luck! It is a fun challenge!

 

[summerlvr]

If you are going to buy LLMP, I would probably switch and do HS second and then Epcot. That way, as soon as you tap in to your first HS ride, you can start booking for MK. If you do Epcot second, you're going to be getting to HS later and then there might not be much left for MK.

 

[jsanders82]

My thought process was that we can park at Epcot and take the skyliner over to HS.

Our realistic goal is maybe 2 rides at MK and then sit for the fireworks. I could totally hop on the PeopleMover and be content

 

[jeankeri]

My thought process was that we can park at Epcot and take the skyliner over to HS.

Our realistic goal is maybe 2 rides at MK and then sit for the fireworks. I could totally hop on the PeopleMover and be content

Are you planning to then skyliner back to Epcot to drive to MK? Or HS to TTC to MK, then return to Epcot parking lot by monorail?

 

[jsanders82]

Perfect world, I’d park in MK and monorail to EP so we are good at the end of the night. I just think it would take too much time

 

[jeankeri]

Perfect world, I’d park in MK and monorail to EP so we are good at the end of the night. I just think it would take too much time

Or- you can park at MK/TTC, walk to Poly to catch a bus to HS. Then do HS-skyliner-EPCOT-monorail-MK. That let's you do the park order switch mentioned above (which make good sense ride planning wise).

 

[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.

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

 

[lanejudy]

Just a couple of thoughts that pop for me…
1) ages? All adults or mix? How many in the family who haven’t been in 10 years? Will they get distracted from the 4-park plan by things they haven’t seen or don’t remember?
2) 9 is a fairly large group to keep moving on a tight schedule — someone always needs a bathroom break or drink/snack or just tired feet.

 

[jsanders82]

4 adults and 5 kids - 17,16, 16, 15 and 14

My husband, myself and oldest 3 kids have been numerous times. We are now less of we have to do everything and more of doing what we like. We are rope droppers to end of nighters.

My friends family went 10 years ago. Stayed at GF and only did MK. Wasn’t super impressed and was overwhelmed.

I’ve asked lots of questions about their expectations. They prefer to see a few things in each park as not one park really calls out to them for all day.

I’ve never done 4 in 1 day so I’m up for the challenge. My family knows we will be back so def more just go with the flow.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

where are you staying? Offsite?

 

[OhDannyBoy]

All I can say is good luck.

With 2 or 3 people i can see this being fun. With 9, a few of which haven't been in 10 years, that sounds really challenging. Not impossible, but trying to get 9 people on the same page is not an easy task.

If i were you, I'd leave it open to let some of the group break off if they want to.

 

[jsanders82]

In all, we are a family of 6 so theres never really a “small” group with us.

We did a family Disney MK day back in 2021. We had 14. Definitely learned some lessons.

Staying at AKL Kildani DVC in 2 - 1 bedroom suites.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

If you stay until close you have a very good chance of getting MK rides done without any LL's. I f you skip the fireworks or watch them close to one of your rides then you will have no issues. We did it twice and that was more than enough for me, I hated wasting all the time traveling between parks and it was a lot rushing around that just takes the joy out of it. But since you all have been there numerous times you should definitely try it. LOL

 

[jsanders82]

I’m hoping it will be fun. It’s my bday trip and my good friends bday is the day after mine. I told her we were doing a quick trip to WDW and she wanted to join with her family. Since we know the parks well, she has said in the past, she would only go back if I went. It started out as one day at EPCOT and morphed to all 4 parks.

I told her it will be hectic, tiring but I think fun. They aren’t huge Disney fans so they aren’t worried about missing rides or events. Kids are teens so not really a desire for character meets or parades. I’d love to catch the MK parade but not making it a priority.

Just trying to configure out which park order and transportation. I want to start with AK since it opens the earliest with Early Entry and end at MK. I’d like to ride the sky liner bc it can’t always be about the hussle. Got to enjoy the experiences.

My thought was drive to MK (after AK), drop the car so at the end of the night, we can drive off. Bus to HS, sky liner to EPCOT and then mono to MK.

I’ll watch the app this Saturday to see how LL lanes go in the parks. That will help me decide the order - maybe

 

[kylenne]

I’ll watch the app this Saturday to see how LL lanes go in the parks. That will help me decide the order - maybe

I would not take anything you see this Saturday as a barometer for what things will be like the first week of June, in any respect. I go during this time of year nearly every year (going back in 2 weeks actually), and the difference in “feels like” crowd levels, wait times, etc is like night and day between the dead time in May and the first full week most schools are out. This year is a bit of a wildcard with Epic but if the general pattern holds June will be way busier than it is right now. Thrilldata is going to be a better way to gauge this imo.

I know you said you want affirmations but I won’t lie: an EE to fireworks marathon through all 4 parks with 9 people, some of whom are not really into the parks like that and were previously overwhelmed, just sounds like a recipe for trouble to me. Especially as early as AK EE mornings are; if you intend to rope drop Pandora and not spend your entire EE on line for FoP, you will need to get there at stupid o’clock. Are they all cool with that? Your end of night plan is also going to by necessity involve not leaving immediately after HEA because I really shudder to think about coping with the exodus and then having to deal with the trek to the TTC for your car after a day of going all over creation since before sunrise.

Only you can truly know your group, and I really don’t want to be overly negative, but I think it’s a good idea to manage your expectations on this. Hopping between anywhere except Epcot and HS is going to take time. Not just in terms of actual transit time but going through security, etc. And everything takes that much longer with a large group. Be prepared for attrition, take plenty of breaks, and realize that a good chunk of your day is going to be eaten up just getting between parks.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Personally, if the other friends have only been once and just did MK and didn’t love it, I don’t believe trying to do 4 parks in one day will be a positive experience. Travel time, security, entering parks, walking to attractions, etc takes a lot more time than people realize. I’d try to hit possibly 2 parks, 3 parks max and enjoy your time there.

We’ve done 4 parks in one day a couple of times and had a great time, but it’s been on longer trips when we’ve already done everything we wanted at least once and want to mix things up one day as a bit of a fun challenge.

 

[jsanders82]

We have also been during June so I’m aware of the crowds. I’ve checked a few crowd calendars to see what they are predicting.

The plan is if someone decides they are done, they will break off from the group and take a bus back to the hotel. Last people standing will make it to MK.

Interested in how folks would stack rides and park order

 

[jeankeri]

We have also been during June so I’m aware of the crowds. I’ve checked a few crowd calendars to see what they are predicting.

The plan is if someone decides they are done, they will break off from the group and take a bus back to the hotel. Last people standing will make it to MK.

Interested in how folks would stack rides and park order

I like your park order, and I think you have a good attitude about the experience going in. At minimum you are guaranteed FoP in AK, an amazing skyliner ride and MK fireworks. What happens at HS & EPCOT is your unknown, and if the adventure is your goal? Really doesn't matter. Truly- LL your first pick at HS and see what pops up for you in EPCOT. Worst case/best case (because it's is my favorite) you enjoy Figment and eat around World Showcase.

 

[DisneyByMarriage]

You can do it for sure, especially since your kids are older. We did it in 2021 on Thanksgiving week and at the time my kids were 9, 7 and 5. It’s super fun, can be stressful but as long as you have expectations of a few rides at each park it will be a blast.