Help! I have only one day to visit all four parks.

[MA Screamin']

Hi everyone! My family and I are visiting from Boston on August 10th, and since we can only go for a single day, we figured we'd take on the challenge of trying to hit all four parks (and maybe Blizzard Beach) all on that one day. I was hoping that you guys could help me come up with a rough plan for my family and I for our trip.

Let me start by giving some more details. My two younger brothers (both twelve and love thrill rides) and my dad (in his fifties and can handle some thrill rides, but nothing that could induce dizziness for medical reasons) will be traveling with me. We are staying about 2 hours off-site, so despite the EMH on Magic Kingdom from 12 AM to 2 AM on that day, we can't really be staying that late, but can get there bright and early at 8 AM. None of us are too picky with food, but for my little brothers, it'd be nice to have the traditional food options (burgers, chicken, mac 'n cheese) not too far out of reach. With that, my dad and I are always down for trying new things, so it'd be nice to grab some Mexican or Chinese in EPCOT for lunch or dinner.

In terms of transportation, if driving could be kept to a minimal, that'd be great. We do have a car, but it'd be great if we could park at the TTC and then go from there. Any other method is fine by us.

Here's a wishlist that I put together for what I'd like to ride and see during the day. I am totally flexible, and get that the list may be too long considering the short amount of time:

Magic Kingdom

Space Mountain
Stitch
Monsters' Inc.
Seven Dwarfs'
Little Mermaid
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan
Small World
Haunted Mansion
Splash Mountain
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jungle Cruise

EPCOT

Spaceship Earth
Test Track
Soarin'
Mission Space
Journey Into Imagination
Nemo
Frozen
Three Caballeros

Hollywood Studios

Great Movie Ride
Tower of Terror
Rockin' Roller Coaster
Star Tours
Toy Story Mania!
MuppetVision 3-D

Animal Kingdom

Bugs' Life
DINOSAUR
Kali River Rapids
Everest
Kilimanjaro Safaris

For Blizzard Beach, my only priority is to have it as a way to cool off in the middle of the day. I don't mind spending only an hour of two there.

Like I said, that's a lot to do in one day, so if some things should be cut, that's fine by me.

The only thing is that I'd like to end the day with some sort of nighttime show. I'm leaning towards Wishes with Magic, Memories, and You, but again, I'm flexible.

That's pretty much it. I appreciate the help, so thank you so much!

 

[epcotisbest]

You're right. I edited my post to fix that omission.

But OP wants to spend an hour or two at BB during the middle of the day to cool off.

 

[SMS55]

It can be done but it's not easy even for a Disney expert. We go a few times a year and we've done it but you spend so much time going from park to park that it's not work it. Stick to one or maybe two and enjoy yourselves. I've gotten to the point where I know I will be back so it's just better to slow down a little and not try to hit too many parks in one day. You'll be moving so fast you won't really take it all in. You'll miss a lot of the little stuff.

 

[JillC LI]

Not in a million years could you do all that in one day. You might be able to hit all four parks doing very little at each one, but it wouldn't be a very enjoyable day. I'd pick two parks at most to focus on.

 

[Rob562]

The more I read your post the more I wonder if we have a bridge dweller situation here. Things like 1 hr at water park, staying 2 hours offsite but trying to use EMH etc are red flags.

Not necessarily a bridge dweller, but the OP's profile says they've been a member on this forum for 4 years and has pretty much exclusively posted in the Imagineer forum. Couple that with their stated age of 15, and I think we have a teen with no realistic understanding of WDW.

Just the OP's list for MK alone is what I wouls consider a decently full day in the park.

-Rob

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I feel like the list is just a little bit too long to be feasible.

Remove Splash Mountain from the itinerary and you're good to go.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

This kind of reminds me of that Full House episode where they try to hit every attraction at MK (or was it Disneyland) and by the end of the day they were dead tired from having to run to every attraction.

 

[dreamfinder]

Not necessarily a bridge dweller, but the OP's profile says they've been a member on this forum for 4 years and has pretty much exclusively posted in the Imagineer forum. -Rob

Yeah that just seemed off to me. I'd expect someone who had been posting for 4 years to know their list is shall we say, overly optimistic? OP, I mean no offense by any of these statements.

If you really want to do all 4 parks, it's doable. But you are more realistically going to get 3-4 attractions done in a single park before moving on if you want to get the big ones done in a single day. Even with FP+, you would need to be in your chosen FP park for at least 2 hours to use all 3 (assuming you can schedule then immediately after each other). Probably MK -> Epcot -> DHS -> AK -> MK in terms of trying to hit as much of what you want, minimizing travel via bus. If you schedule FP+ for park 2, then you really need to manage your time in park 1. MK has the most big hitters, so that may be your best bet for FP+, but with such short notice the selection may be limited.

 

[Courtney6682]

Sorry, but IMHO...this does not sound do-able...if I only had one park day..I'd stick to 2 parks....

 

[tlev]

My daughter and I go to Disney World often and we know the ends and outs of transportation and how to maximize our time in the parks. In March 2015 we did what we called a "4 Parks One Day Challenge". Our goals was to visit all parks, experience 4 attractions at each park, and eat something at each park (her idea). We started with AK when they opened. We rode Everest 2 times, ate a donut, rode Primeval Whirl, and finished up with Dinosaur. We then went by bus to Magic Kingdom where we had pastpasses for 7DMT, BTMM, Splash, and Pirates. We ate a quick service meal at Columbia Harbour House. We then took the monorail to EPCOT and rode Spaceship Earth, Three Caballeros in Mexico, Living with the Land, and did a character meet and greet. We ate something in World Showcase ( I can't remember what). From EPCOT we travelled by boat to Hollywood Studios where they had extra magic hours until 11:30. (This was around 5:30-6:00 pm.) I cannot remember what attractions we did, but I know we did more than 4 since we stayed until closing. Wee ate dinner at Sci-Fi. It was a fun experience and we may do it again one day, but this is not the best way to experience the parks. We spent a lot of time travelling from park to park and even with very meticulous planning we were only able to ride a fraction of the rides in each park.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Have any of you been to WDW before? If so, how long ago? Are there any parks you haven't visited?

 

[TXDisney]

You're setting yourself up for failure if you try and do this. Honestly what I'd do is choose your 2 parks you really wanna go to and do that. I'd say MK and Epcot bc they connect with the monorail. You'll ride way more rides and see more that way. Save the other parks for a full trip.

 

[JillC LI]

I feel like the list is just a little bit too long to be feasible.

Remove Splash Mountain from the itinerary and you're good to go.

Thank you for the best laugh I've had so far today!

 

[Courtney6682]

Pick 1 park for Rope Drop and try and knock out 3 or 4 rides quickly. You may be able to squeeze in another ride or 2 with an acceptable wait time.

Grab a donut or a muffin along the way.

Use your FP for Park 2 for the middle of the day and knock out 3 rides in about two and a half hours.

Grab a Mickey pretzel while exiting.

Use the app to pick an additional FP while on your way to Park 3 in the late afternoon hours and hit that and immediately select another FP while waiting in line for another ride.

Grab some popcorn and head to the first aid station for some oxygen. While inhaling the oxygen, select FP for park 4.

Hit Park 4 and use the aforementioned FP and then try for another FP and hit 3 or 4 rides right at closing.

Return to the first aid station and request transport to the nearest medical facility. Grab a Mickey Frozen Ice Cream while waiting for said transport. Use FP to bypass the ER wait time.

It can be done. 18 rides, 4 parks, a water park, and breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack to boot.

Edited to say: While on your way to the ER have the Paramedics stop at Typhoon Lagoon and lift you over the fence. Dip your toe in the water and then return to your transport and continue on to the medical facility.

This made me LOL...love the stop for oxygen

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Hit and run?

 

[epcotisbest]

Hit and run?

He's probably out through-hiking the Appalachian Trail and that is gonna take at least a couple of days.