by Wishes Diva
All four parks in one day? You must be crazy to tackle that! In actual reality, it is not very hard to do, if you know how to plan it! Below is my fool-proof plan for visiting all four parks in one day, plus highlights for each park!
First tip for the day: Be a morning person, even for just this one day. Most vacation goers enjoy the leisure time that vacation brings. However, if you are planning on achieving all four parks in one day, you better be an early riser that day!
Transportation Tip: From each park, you will be able to take a bus to the next stop. Just be sure to check the bus stop postings at the exit of each park so you know which stop to wait at!
First park: Animal Kingdom.
I would start your morning off with Animal Kingdom. It will be the least crowded time of day, so you will be able to get in and out without waiting long. Get to Animal Kingdom at park open and hit the highlights. I would suggest Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest and Festival of the Lion King. Depending on the time of year and what time the park opens, you should be able to finish up at Animal Kingdom before 11am (that is, if you can make it to the 10am showing for Festival of the Lion King).
Second Park: EPCOT
When planning your day, you may want to consider planning your Fast Passes for EPCOT. That way when you get here, you’ll have your time planned out to ensure you get to do all the attractions you would like! When you get to EPCOT I would suggest grabbing lunch at a quick service restaurant such as the Electric Umbrella. That will give you plenty of time to visit all the attractions you want to before heading to the next park! After lunch, hit up your Fast Pass reservations. I would suggest choosing from these attractions depending on what your group is interested in: Soarin’, Mission:SPACE, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Spaceship Earth. Remember you will only be able to choose 3 attractions, and that the FastPass+ system does not give you the option to choose both Soarin’ and Test Track, so choose wisely! If you have not made Fast Passes for EPCOT, then check the wait times on the screens posted around Future World or on the My Disney Experience app. Hit a few attractions that have shorter wait times– most likely The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Spaceship Earth. Plan to leave EPCOT around 3pm to head on over to Hollywood Studios.
Side Note: On a day of visiting all four parks, unfortunately there will not be much time to visit World Showcase. This is a favorite spot of WDW for me, so be sure to visit it on another day!!
Transportation Tip: From EPCOT to Studios, there is also the option of taking a boat. The boat stop on the EPCOT side is at the International Gateway. If you are unsure where this is, ask a Cast Member! The boat goes through the Swan and Dolphin resorts and then drops off at the entrance to Hollywood Studios.
Third Park: Hollywood Studios
If you haven’t planned Fast Passes for EPCOT then you will definitely want to plan them for Hollywood Studios. Studios offers a few different options for Fast Passes. I would choose the following attractions to Fast Pass: Toy Story Mania (if you get lucky) or Rock’n’Roller Coaster from the first section, and Tower of Terror and Star Tours from the second section. The second section also features the Frozen Sing-Along and both Indiana Jones and Lights, Motors, Action! shows if that is something your group is interested in! There are also some great characters at Hollywood Studios to visit so be sure to pick up a times guide at the front of the park! You will have a few hours to spend in Hollywood Studios and I would also say eating dinner here is the best use of your time! If you are wanting to do a quick dinner I would suggest the ABC Commissary for a wide variety. If you want to do a sit down dinner, I would suggest 50’s Prime Time Cafe or the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. (Keep in mind that both of the Table Service restaurants mentioned will most likely need a reservation. Be sure to reserve your dining options in advance using the My Disney Experience app!) Plan to leave Studios shortly after your dinner experience to head to Magic Kingdom to end your night (around 7-8pm).
Fourth Park: Magic Kingdom
As you enter Magic Kingdom, you have a few options. If you are lucky, you may be able to add a Fast Pass for an attraction to your account. Remember that after you use your first 3 Fast Passes that you can only add one at a time after that. Your time at Magic Kingdom will be guided by what your group is interested in. If you don’t mind waiting in longer queue lines, then I suggest going to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Peter Pan’s Flight. You can also check the times guide to see if you can catch any characters before they finish for the night. If you are looking for some shorter queue times, check the waits for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor or Haunted Mansion. The time of year and the crowd level will also depend on which attractions have the short wait times. Check the My Disney Experience app on your way to Magic Kingdom to formulate your plan for attractions. You will definitely want to plan on seeing the evening entertainment, such as Celebrate the Magic and Wishes! which both happen around the castle, or the Main Street Electrical Parade which starts in Frontierland and ends by coming straight up Main Street. (If you have already seen Wishes on your trip, I suggest hopping on the People Mover for the show. It provides a different view of the fireworks and typically if they aren’t busy, the Cast Members will let you ride around more than once if you ask!)
I hope this article will be helpful in your planning and considering for tackling all four parks in one day. I have accomplished this task twice, both times were a whirlwind of Disney magic and a ton of fun!
And if you would like help planning your upcoming Disney vacation (not to mention making all of your Fastpass or dining reservations), contact Patricia Payne from All For Dreams Travel. Her services are free for you, and she can share all kinds of great tips to make your vacation more magical.
