Four Parks, One Day!
Juli Russ6.18.19When your family only has one day at Walt Disney World, everyone wants to experience different attractions and those attractions are in different parks what do you do? My family decided to attempt all four parks in one day!The four of us sat down and came up with our plan of attack prior to the day we could make our FastPass selections. We looked at the park hours, paying special attention to which parks opened early for guests staying in a Walt Disney World hotel. We also checked to see if there were any special events that might cause larger crowds at any of the parks.We decided to begin the day in Animal Kingdom because Extra Magic Hours were scheduled that day. Our plan was to rope drop Animal Kingdom and then ride Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest. We would then plan to secure our FastPasses for Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios which had opened two months before our visit. After Hollywood Studios we would stop by Epcot for Soarin then end the day at Magic Kingdom. Our plan was set! Now we wait to see if the FastPass selections would work out. At 7:00 am at the 60 day mark I was ready. I was not able to get my first choice, Slinky Dog Dash the new roller coaster in Toy Story Land but that was ok, we got three of our favorite rides. Now we could put the whole plan in place.Our priority at Animal Kingdom was to get on Flight of Passage as quickly as possible. The line for Flight of Passage reaches 120 minutes very quickly, even during Extra Magic Hours. The best way to be at the front of the line is to arrive 45 minutes to an hour prior to Rope Drop, which is what Park Opening is called at Disney. We were pretty close to the front of the line having arrived at 7:15 am with a park opening time of 8:00 am. While we were waiting the skies opened up and it poured for about 15 minutes, luckily, we were prepared with ponchos.
At Rope Drop the fun really begins! We, along with hundreds of other guests, walked as fast as we could toward Pandora to get in line for Flight of Passage. We were successful! As we entered the line the wait was 20 minutes, as we exited the ride the wait was 90 minutes. Flight of Passage is an incredible ride and has been added to our list of favorites. After Flight of Passage we headed toward Expedition Everest which we walked right on to and rode a total of 3 times. At 9:00 am we were leaving Animal Kingdom having ridden both rides we had wanted to ride.On to Hollywood Studios! We were all very excited to see the all new Toy Story Land and to ride Toy Story Mania, our first FastPass of the day. After we rode Toy Story Mania, we noticed that the line for Slinky Dog Dash was 55 minutes so we excitedly hopped in line! The ride was worth the wait, a very fun family roller coaster. Our second FastPass time was approaching so we left Toy Story Land and made our way to Rockin Roller Coaster followed by Tower of Terror. As soon as we entered the line for our third FastPass, Tower of Terror, we got on our My Disney Experience App to grab a FastPass for Epcot, our next park.
At Epcot we were able to get a FastPass for Soarin, after which our kiddos took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom while my hubby and I enjoyed the International Food and Wine Festival. We enjoyed several of our favorite items like the filet from Canada, the Grand Marnier slush and escargot in France, as well as trying new items. It was tough to leave Epcot, Food and Wine Festival is our favorite Disney event, but we had goal to complete!
The monorail is a convenient way to travel between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. We boarded the monorail and were off to meet the kids at Magic Kingdom. It was really exciting to walk into Magic Kingdom knowing we had succeeded in our plan. We rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, which is a tradition in our family and then Space Mountain. Watching the sunset over Cinderella’s Castle was the perfect way to end our park hopping day.
Having a plan is crucial to a park hopping day at Walt Disney World. Having a rental car is also a good way to save time and get to each park more quickly. Instead of enjoying a sit-down meal together we tried several quick service options which saved time. I would love to help you plan your Walt Disney World, whether a quick park-hopping visit or a relaxing take-your-time trip. Email me at julir@wishesfamilytravel.com for a complimentary quote. Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.https://www.instagram.com/travel.with.juli/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIqPR-U3WiE0DwDJgE0WAJghttps://www.facebook.com/jruss.wft/