Disney World - In a day...!

[AndrewRnR]

I'm a broke college student who, along with a friend, is trying to fly down and visit Disney World next week. We can't afford anything fancy and we can barely afford the one day hopper price of 120 bucks (if anyone knows anywhere/anyway I can get that cheaper, I would appericate it - not many places sell a one day hopper). We are both amusement park/roller coaster enthusiasts so we are used to running around parks and not taking all the little things in (we both been to Disney in the place anyways).

My point... we want to do the impossible (well nothing is impossible with Disney right?) of visiting all four parks in a single day. I like to think I know Disney pretty well, but even still this could be hard. We aren't trying to ride and see everything. Pretty much hit the standards at the MK, Space, Spaceship Earth, Soarin' at Epcot, RnRRC and ToT at MGM, and pretty much just Everst and Dinosaur at AK. Anyone ever try this?

Below our the hours for March 6th, the day we hope to go:
MK: 9-9
Epcot: 9-9
Studios: 9-7
AK: 9-6

What order should we do?

My idea was... Hit Animal Kingdom first, head right to Everest either ride it or get Fastpass. Then hit Dinosaur, then back to Everest. Then leave and go to the Studios, ride RnRRC and ToT then perhaps even take the boat to Epcot. Swing around the World Showcase and then hit Soarin', Test Track, Space and Spaceship Earth before hitting Monorail to MK. Am I close to a good idea? Is this close to even being possible? We could even do single-rider lines, which I'm guessing would help.

Thanks so much in advance for the help. By the way, I'm a long time reader but first time poster!

 

[maggiegrace1]

I think it would be cool to do..but if you are broke..why spend momey you do not have?....

Makes no sense to me....:shrug:

 

[MPitzen]

This can be done. I've done crazy things like this on a last open day at the parks. On the day you're considering Epcot has morning extra magic hours, which means it will be the busiest most likely. I would try to go to Epcot 1st or 2nd, so that you can go before everyone gets there around 10 - 11. (Most people will still go to the park that had the morning EMH even if they didn't get up in time to make it.)

As long as you have a defined plan of what you want to see and realize that you will only get to see those things it should work.

I've done dinosaur, primeval whirl, and kali at AK; space, thunder, splash, and pirates at MK; tt, ms, and soarin' at Epcot; and tot (3x), rnrc, and fantasmic at MGM in one day.

Make sure you are at the 1st park when it opens. Also, you are on the right track with your transportation ideas as that will be the key and using boats or monorail versus bus should save you lots of precious time.

How long are you planning on going to florida for? If you could skip the parkhopper part of your ticket and get a plain MYW ticket for 4-10 days it's $200 - $220. There are a few places you can find tickets for a few $ cheaper but there's never much savings.

 

[MPitzen]

I just remembered that on the trip I mentioned before my friends and I had set a limit that if an attraction had a wait longer than 30 min. we were going to skip it. I thought that an artificial rule like this might do you some good, particularly with things that are not essentials.

 

[AndrewRnR]

maggiegrace1, well I'm not "broke" I just meant I don't have a large cashflow - gotta keep things cheap, and simple.

MPitzen, sounds like we think alike. The list of attractions you said you rode is dead on as what my "goal" would be.

Good tip on the wait thing, I usually do that when I go to amusement parks anyways so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Epcot is early entry but since I'm not a Disney resort guest I can't take part in that right? (Or do they not check or could I use Epcot's back entrance and get in early)? If I can't should I still hit Epcot first? I was only thinking Epcot as 3rd as the monorail would be a easy link to MK.

I'm a firm believer in getting to the park before opening and such. For a 9am opening, what time should I try to arrive? Maybe 8?

We can only afford to go for 3 nights. The first and last being flying (may visit Downtown Disney or such) and the second being Disney, and third being IOA (we got free tickets). Its tight yes, but I hope to be down in the fall for the WDW College Program so this is just a warm weather/roller coaster/Disney fix type of trip.

 

[MPitzen]

You won't be able to get in to the extra magic hours without a disney resort ID. What I was implying is that this park will be the busiest that you will encounter. I wouldn't doubt it if Soarin' has a 90 min. wait by the time you would get to it and the fastpasses would probally be gone. This is if you're doing it 3rd.

You could start at AK, then go to Epcot (as long as you're there before 10:30 you should be ok), then go to either MK or MGM and finish up in the other one depending on what nighttime show you would want to see. My personal favorite is Fantasmic at MGM.

Another suggestion is to bring your own food with you for lunch and then sit down for dinner. Then you should be able to eat your lunch while on the way to another park, which would save lots of time.

Finally, if you can, I wouldn't bring anything with me that needed searched when you enter the parks. However, if you have to bring a bag make sure you bring dollar store ponchos, just in case.

 

[AndrewRnR]

My problem becomes MGM closes at 7, whereas MK closes at 9 so it would be in my best intrest to end at MK.

Would it be possible to get into AK, ride Everest and stuff in Dinoland, and take a bus to Epcot by 9? We could always ride a few things, load up on fast passes, then ferry over to MGM then back to Epcot before MK. The Pirates and Princess thingy is at MK on Monday night, maybe we could hit that (ride everything at MK and get MK out of the way), then that would free up a lot of stress for the following day.

There are busses that connect the parks right? Like AK to Epcot?

 

[davidpw97]

I think you have a good plan and since you are not a first timer you should be able to do everything you plan. I have hit all 4 parks in one day once before and did 3 parks in one day last December. The only thing I can see slowing you down is transportation. You didn't say how you plan on getting to and from your hotel and then to and from the parks, if you aren't staying on property then I would guess you are renting a car or trying to find a hotel with its own shuttle. Starting at AK is a good idea and I think you can probably hit EE a couple times and Dino atleast once within 40min and if thats all you plan on doing there you can make it to another park pretty easily before it gets too crowded. If you go to the studios next I would say get a fastpass for either ToT and RnRRC and then ride the one you don't get the pass for, hopefully you can ride both twice before too long. Where you go from here is what I'm not sure about. If you aren't driving then Epcot would be the best choice because its easiest to get to, but once there I might consider skipping world showcase and heading straight for either Soarin or Test Track, check the times and get fastpasses for whichever one you are able to get passes for, atleast find out what the wait times are and the fast pass times are before touring the world. If you are driving though I would say maybe drive to the park you want to end the day in, not sure if you could leave it at The Studios and get it later since the Studios closes a couple hours before MK and epcot. It doesn't sound like you are too interested in seeing any shows so I think it doesn't matter much which park you plan on ending the day, you can ride the rides while the shows are going on with hopefully a very short wait. Hope you have a good time and can fit everything in.

 

[filbert32]

Go for it!

When we were at WDW last time, my wife's first trip, we did the 4 parks on our last full day. It was exhausting but so so so exciting and fulfilling.

We started with AK (it may have had an EMH but I can't remember) having got the bus there from our resort. We immediately did the Safari, then (crazily but it was very good) Rafiki's, then Maharajah and Kali before moving on to MGM to do our favourite attractions there - Star Tours, Rock n Roller etc, then got the boat to EPCOT and did Mission:Space (me) and Test Track (the wife) a few times before an early dinner at the Cantina in Mexico. Then, we got the Monorail to Magic Kingdom and did as many attractions as we could before taking our positions at the station for Wishes, before being ushered out of the park my Mr M Mouse. It's all a bit of a blur, but what an experience!! I say go for it, big time. If we had the chance, we'd do this again, but I'd plan with more precision, knowing exactly what we wanted to do. We planned it pretty well last time, but the key was having an element of flexibility, to change our plans if a line looked too long, so that we weren't slaves to our plan.

Oh, and we rented a PalMickey, who was loads and loads of fun for the day!

 

[chucknstuff]

You can do it!!

I have done it but the Wife wanted to kill me...my son on the other hand was having a blast. He did not think we could do it. I told him that if we did it in a day he would have to get me a Huge Rice Krispy Treat for the MK Bakery. I f I lost I would get him a Lego Kit....


The Rice Crispy Treat tasted great!!!


and I still got him a lego kit (hid it in the car so when we got home and unpacked the car he was surprised).

 

[Matpez]

It can be done, sort of. I did it in October (very slow weekday) with a friend who only had time for a one day hopper.
You can not see everything. You must have priorities and make a plan.
Our day went like this (from my original post about it)

Went down like this

Day before leaving, make list of friend's must see attractions (has been before, just not recently).

Day of:
Animal Kingdom for opening. (9:00)
FP Everest, ride Dinosaur, see TtBAB, ride everest, ride safari. Out by 11:00.

Drive to Epcot.
FP Soarin at 11:30 with return 1:45 to 2:45.

Monorail to MK. Arrive by 12:15.
Lunch at Caseys. Ride Pirates, HM and Philharmagic.

Monorail to Epcot. Arrive 2:30
Ride Soarin, FP Test Track (for 5:40 to 6:40)

Bus to MGM. Arrive around 3:30.
Ride RnR, Tower.

Bus to Epcot.
Arrive at Test Track 5:39, wait one minute till FP valid, ride Test Track.
Check on Nemo, no line, ride Nemo.
Saw Turtle Talk while in Seas, then off to World Showcase.
Eat in Mexico around 7:30, walk showcase until 8:45, find spot for ROE.

Walk to car, pass out... :snore:

One of the keys to remember is that the Fastpass machines only work in the park they are in. That means, you can get a FP in Epcot that might have a return time 3 hours away. In that time you can go to another park and get a FP there with a smaller window. Then once you return to the 1st park, be sure to FP something else before using the one you have.
Good luck, have fun, and post a report! :wave:

 

[snakeislandboy]

It can be done. My brother and I swept all the parks in 2 days. Of course it will only make you want to come back for more. I would suggest that no matter what park you visit first to group MK and Epcot together because of the monorail access will save time on your travel. Also, bring some powerbars to keep your energy up and save waiting in line for food.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Suggestion:

For it to be meaningfull when you finish, set a goal up front,
such as 'at least 2 big attractions/shows per park, plus a little one',
or something like that.

Set some standards before you start so you can measure how you did.

There was an article in the newspaper here last year about a guy who set out to do every ride/show in the Magic Kindom in one day during normal park hours. He did it by calculating average waiting times, etc. beforehand and criss-crossing the park to get to where he needed to be next.
He made it.

Good luck.

 

[slappy magoo]

I suppose it could be done, but aside from bragging rights, being able to say "I did it," it sounds to me to be far more exhaustive and not-fun than the trouble. I suppose I could be tempted to try it if it were my last day on a vacation. But honestly, you're going to spend so much time just hopping from park to park. And if it happens to be a busy day, you'll wind up experiencing even less.

I suppose if you really wanted to try it, starting at AK is a good idea. Everest is so popular right now, and the animals in the safari seem to be more active in the morning. Then I'd probably hop over to Epcot long enough to get FPs for Soarin' which is also really popular right now. If the FP has a much later window, I'd hop on the monorail to the MK, do as much there as I could, then finish the day bouncing back and forth between Epcot & The Studios, being as they're so close together.

But honestly, I think I'd either keep my hopping down to two parks, or save some money by just picking one park, and really really enjoying everything it has to offer. But that's me. I don't have the energy of youth like you. Whatever you decide to do, I hope the wind is at your back and the long lines are always somewhere else.

 

[hokielutz]

It sounds like you have a good plan. Just keep in mind the flexibility of the FP and jumping to other parks in case one of the FP waits is insanely long.

Good luck and godspeed to you Andrew. Please post a detailed report of your zany day when you get back.

 

[awalte7]

It's going to be difficult. Last time I was there fast passes for a lot of the main attraction run out by the afternoon. It was the last week of august so kids were out of school and it was most likely more crowded than now.
Last time I was there in the first two weeks of march it was fairly crowded. Apparently a lot of english families are on holiday right now.
If you've never rode everest I'd make it to animal kingdom before the gates open. It's something you don't want to miss. Get a fast pass. I'm not 100% sure but the fast pass most likely won't be good until the afternoon.
I usually get pretty lucky at MGM and Magic kingdom in the evening. People seem to start finding places to watch wishes at MK and you can get on the mansion and splash without much of a wait.
Epcott was pretty busy all day but maybe hit that in the early afternoon. You might be able to get a fast pass and leave for MK till it's time?
It would be so much more fun if you had one more day. And, as most people know, the tickets get a little cheaper each day you add on. That way you could do animal kingdom and MGM in one day and epcott and mk in another. I've done it that way when my BF had to go to orlando for 3 days for business and I couldn't resist a trip to DW

 

[Nemo14]

We did all 4 in one day last year, but I don't think I'd try it again. My legs were killing me the next day!

 

[ELopez]

Sounds awesome.

Have fun.

Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[StitchFan21]

I have done this before too. BUT, beware it is very exhaustive. I ended up falling asleep at Epcot in Cranium Command. Have a very good nights sleep before.

 

[monorailguy01]

Yes it can be done. I would start at a park with the least to do like Animal Kingdom.

Then I would head over to MGM since that park is small

Hope on the boat to Epcot once you did everything there get on the monorail to the TTC Then get on another monorail go the Magic Kingdom and finish up you day there with spectro and wishes.