Park Touring Question

[redshoesrock]

I have some friends that come into town who enjoy only thrill rides, and usually they only have one day to go to Disney. So our plan is always skipping MK, starting the day at AK riding Everest and Dinosaur, hopping to Epcot to ride Test Track and Mission: SPACE, and then hopping to DHS to ride R'nR Coaster, Tower of Terror, and watching Fantasmic to end the day.

Overall, not a bad day. Sure they miss a lot but they get to do the things they like to do. We even have time for lunch somewhere at Epcot (tends to be either the Rose and Crown in UK or Sunshine Seasons at The Land).

 

[fosse76]

We rarely do less than two parks in one day in my family.

We are seasoned enough that bouncing around isn't a time drain for our family, especially on the days we aren't going to MK.

I think what prevents me from doing this more frequently is that I don't rent a car, so I rely on Disney Transportation. There certainly are days where I feel like hitting up something in every park, but the transit time is almost prohibitive.

Of course, once you've gone so many times, you prioritize what you must ride and what you can skip. So it makes touring three or four parks in a day easier.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I often visit WDW by myself every other year for a couple days, or for an afternoon on my way down to visit a friend in Tampa. Usually when I do this I'm short on time and often just do the "highlights", I'll hit my favorite 2-4 rides in each park and just bounce form park to park, weather and crowds permitting of course.

 

[dsollie]

When the scheduling is just right, it is a fun "project" to watch Fantasmic, get on the boat to Epcot, watch Illuminations, get on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, and watch "Wishes". We've done that several times and never regretted it! :sohappy:

Agreed - the nightime shows are really the major reason to try and pull this off. A late morning dining experience at Epcot (Norway), followed up by a boat trip over for an afternoon to be spent at DHS, and then fireworks and EMH at Magic Kingdom to cap it off is the best example I can cite. With little kids this can be tough, though.

 

[jakeman]

I think what prevents me from doing this more frequently is that I don't rent a car, so I rely on Disney Transportation. There certainly are days where I feel like hitting up something in every park, but the transit time is almost prohibitive.

Of course, once you've gone so many times, you prioritize what you must ride and what you can skip. So it makes touring three or four parks in a day easier.

Yeah, the MK to Epcot to DHS loop we've done without a car (either in that order or the reverse), but once you throw a Disney bus in there you can kiss your timetable good bye.

 

[jvenegas]

When the scheduling is just right, it is a fun "project" to watch Fantasmic, get on the boat to Epcot, watch Illuminations, get on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, and watch "Wishes". We've done that several times and never regretted it! :sohappy:

We'll try this on our next trip. We'll be there from 12-29-10 to 01-09-11 and I just noticed that the park calendars, as of today mind you, have Fantasmic at 6:30 p.m., Wishes at 8:00 p.m. and Illuminations at 9:00 p.m. on 01-02-11.

I'm figuring no problem getting from DHS to MK with time to spare. But from Mk to EPCOT can be a little tight. We would watch Wishes close to the RR station so we can be close to the exits and catch the monorail and scoot over to EPCOT.

What do you guys think? Will we make it?:shrug:

 

[WDW 3]

Almost always do 2 parks. We have a 10 day ticket so we aren't rushed. Spend morning and early afternoon with lunch at one park the go back to the resort for a nap and supper (maybe) and off to another park.

 

[WVParkfan]

3 or more is a bit much. We did all 4 parks once in one day, but that was just to see the Christmas decorations/ parade/ events.

We hop every day on every trip, but it is 2 parks only.

 

[Bravo 229]

I've gone to three parks several times and I completed the Grand Slam once, on a holiday of all days. I went the day before Star Tours closed forever just to ride it one last time and thought I might go park hopping to ride a few other things I haven't gone on in a while. Well, I ended up deciding to try and ride 3 rides at each park, and leave by 3pm (I think it was Labor Day and we had a 4pm cookout scheduled). So, I spent from rope drop to 10am in DHS, then an hour at Animal Kingdom and on to EPCOT, where I tried to ride everything and ate some lunch. After that, I hopped onto the Monorail and completed the slam at MK, where I rode four or five rides before leaving for the EPCOT parking lot. I left the EPCOT parking lot at about 3:30 and made it home for dinner by 4:10. From my experience, it is possible to visit each park in one calendar day and still get in a full day of rides/shows - I think my total was 15 or 16 attractions in that short amount of time. I do reccommend if you attempt this that you drink a lot of water and rest up beforehand, because I was very tired the next day.

 

[tinker bubbles]

We've done 2 parks lots of times no problem. One in the morning and a different one that evening, but I only member going to 3 parks in one day once. Our son was sick and stayed back at the hotel with his grandmother while my husband and I hit Yeti @ AK and Tower of Terror and Rocking Roller Coaster @ Hollywood Studios. Then later took our son to MK for extra magic hours.

 

[tampabrad]

If I have one day, I can do all of the big thrill attractions at all 4 parks during the slow season with a car. Hit Everest, Dinosaur and Killamanjaro, Rock n Rollercoaster and Tower, Space, Splash, Big Thunder and may be Mansion and Pirates then to Epcot for Mission: Space and Test Track and Illuminations. It is exhausting, but fun. No time to really rest and absorb anything. Doesn't matter since I have an AP and dont have to pay to hop.

If I am there for multiple days I might do 2 parks. One late morning and then one for EMH or dinner.

 

[stargrl33]

I do it often. I am very good at estimating what parks will be less crowded and when, so I use that to my advantage when park hopping. I have also always been very lucky with transportation time - I have never had a large portion of my day taken up by it when I am at Disney. It's usually just a nice break to hop on a monorail or bus and not inconvenient at all.

However, if I had more than a week at Disney, I would probably do less park hopping and stick to one park a day since I would have enough time to see all the sights.

 

[Chrononymous]

We are always hopping!

It's not uncommon for us to start the day early in one park, change parks mid-day...stay til that one closes...and then hop to one that is open later.


I also have to add...we have never stayed more than 4 days on any WDW vacation...so the park hopping is almost a necessity to get everything done in a short amount of time!