Park Hopping

[abbychamber]

Hi All!

I'll be taking a solo trip to WDW in early/mid July. I'm only going to be there for a few days, and am really excited to explore resorts, the Boardwalk, Disney Springs, and other pieces of the world I've never experienced.

I'm considering buying a one-day park hopper ticket. I'm not HUGE on the attractions, and won't be heartbroken if I don't get to ride certain ones. I just like the ambiance of the parks and being there.

So, here's my question: Do you think it is possible to park hop to all 4 parks (excluding water parks) in one day? I'm not a rope-drop girl, but might start my park hopping at noon or so. Is that too stressful, or is it manageable?

If I MUST splurge on a second day park hopper, I will. But I'd rather not, if it's do-able.

 

[BrianL]

If you aren't going to do a lot of the attractions then it is absolutely possible, especially solo as you can generally move faster than a group will. I would use the walking path between Epcot and DHS to save some time. I might recommend starting before noon though.

 

[ErinsMommy]

ive seen reports of 4 parks in one day, but not sure how early they started out, what rides they did, etc. upper right of your screen there's a search box, maybe put in 4 parks in one day and read up on some of the reviews of those that have BTDT

 

[1GoldenSun]

I've done all four parks in one day several times and it really doesn't have to take very long at all. What I like to do is ride one ride, see one "show" (can be as simple as a street performer), eat one thing (even just a pretzel or an ice cream), use one restroom, and visit one shop in each park, as well as walk around the central hubs of each park. This way I feel I have "done" each park. If you don't care too much about attractions and just want to stroll through the parks this wouldn't take long at all. It'll be hot in July though so you might want to take it slow.

 

[FCDub]

There's a recent thread about it here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/4...-tips-from-people-who-have-done-this.3684296/

 

[Tara8595]

It can be done, just to say you did it, but it's not the most efficient way to see parks when you have a few days to spend anyways. One time we did Fantasmic, Illuminations and Wishes all in one night - of course, the times have to be spaced just right to manage that - but *that* was much more enjoyable than doing attractions in all the parks.

 

[AnnMichele]

I've done Disney solo multiple times and it's amazing. You can absolutely do it and it's much more feasible when you're by yourself. Sometimes you can luck out as a single rider, if you do attractions. I have skipped up to 15 people in line by being a single rider before. Enjoy it!

 

[GillianP1301]

Easily manageable, IMO. I did it on the last full day of our last trip and we covered a ton. Now we started with EMM in MK, you don't have to do that, but you will probably want to get started as close to RD time as possible. We spent a few hours in MK, then hopped to DHS where we used our pre-booked fastpasses after about 3 hours there, we hopped to AK for a Caring for the Giants Tour and a couple rides and headed out there just before dinner and went to EP, roamed the WS, had a nice dinner at Le Cellier and headed back to our resort a little before 9:00

I was myself and my 9yo son. We did not feel rushed at all. We had a car, so the unknown of how long it would take for each hop was not a factor for us. We were a bit tired by the end of the day, but I think that was more due to the fact that it was day 9 of our 10 day vacation.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Seems like a huge waste of money to me if you're gonna start at noon and basically just want to wander around the parks.
You'll also be using a lot of time for travelling from one to another.
My thought is just make this a non park trip.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I think if you are going for the ambiance and maybe photos and some shopping it can be done with some planning. If possible I'd pick a day where at least 1 of the parks is open late. Then no need to be at rope-drop.

I've done 2 parks in one day and strolled my way through those 2 parks at my leisure. ( MK and Epcot one time and AK and HS another )

I love solo trips for this reason - so much easier to maneuver through things.

Have fun and enjoy!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Seems like a huge waste of money to me if you're gonna start at noon and basically just want to wander around the parks.
You'll also be using a lot of time for travelling from one to another.
My thought is just make this a non park trip.

Agree unless they are challenge oriented. Because noon is a late start. If they want to run it then go for it.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Agree unless they are challenge oriented. Because noon is a late start. If they want to run it then go for it.

Agree if it were a challenge like try to do at least 3 things at each park in one day then that would be something fun and worth spending the money but to start at noon and basically just want to walk around the parks it's like why? Lol

 

[snowwite]

Hi All!

I'll be taking a solo trip to WDW in early/mid July. I'm only going to be there for a few days, and am really excited to explore resorts, the Boardwalk, Disney Springs, and other pieces of the world I've never experienced.

I'm considering buying a one-day park hopper ticket. I'm not HUGE on the attractions, and won't be heartbroken if I don't get to ride certain ones. I just like the ambiance of the parks and being there.

So, here's my question: Do you think it is possible to park hop to all 4 parks (excluding water parks) in one day? I'm not a rope-drop girl, but might start my park hopping at noon or so. Is that too stressful, or is it manageable?

If I MUST splurge on a second day park hopper, I will. But I'd rather not, if it's do-able.

If you are not starting until noon you will really struggle to see all of the parks. It takes time to get to each one then to walk from entrance to anything inside. I’d either go early or split into two parks each day. You could for example Start MK and hop to Epcot one day and start AK and hop to Studios the next.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Seems like a huge waste of money to me if you're gonna start at noon and basically just want to wander around the parks.
You'll also be using a lot of time for travelling from one to another.

Agree. We rarely even park hop, simply because of the time involved.

 

[tobikaye]

If the parks are open later, then a noon start is not bad for 4 parks. I have done 4 parks in a day in about 6-7 hours. It was a one day trip just before my AP expired and I did not have any big plans. I was in Tampa and drove over for the day. Other than my fasciitis flaring up.

 

[gharter]

Yes it can be done.
Read this thread https://www.disboards.com/threads/4...o-have-done-this.3684296/page-4#post-59315501
The secret seems to be do a few attractions at a park and move on. EMH help. Planning the order order of parks seems to be important.

 

[disneygirlsng]

I did this a few weeks ago solo and I would highly recommend it!! It was so much fun, and actually one of the most enjoyable days I've had at Disney. I did start at rope drop, but I was able to do over 30 rides/shows and got close to 20 fastpasses in one day. Being solo makes everything so much easier. I would say it would be better to start a little earlier, but I definitely don't think it's necessary. Especially if you're able to stay until park close of your last park. This was actually my first time park hopping and I had always heard how awful/time consuming it was to change parks. But it was totally fine, didn't take more than maybe 20-30 minutes, and never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus.

 

[cannmom]

I think it sounds fun. Also, if you start and are not having fun there's no reason why you couldn't stop and just stay wherever you are at that time. That's the beauty of going solo, you can do what YOU want.

 

[NH-to-FL]

As others have noted it is doable if one park is open late. Two hours per park plus three one hour (worst case) transits between parks. Start at noon, finish at 11pm. Are you staying on site? If so you will be able to take advantage of evening Extra Magic Hours.

Another thing to consider is that you are there during the hottest time of the year. Starting at noon you will miss the cooler morning hours. If it were me I would start at rope drop for the first two parks and consider a midday break to avoid the hottest part of the day. Also expect a summer thunderstorm to perturb your afternoon schedule.