Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Four Parks in One Day

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Doing all four parks in one day is one of Disney's most thrilling challenges! 
We recommend this challenge for the 10+ crowd.  This would not have been fun with a stroller.  

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
  1. You will greatly benefit from using a travel agent's expertise when planning this day.
  2. Be flexible, but be sure you have a game plan.  Your plan will likely evolve as you check wait times on the (free) My Disney Experience and deal with unexpected crowds and shorter-than-expected attractions you may pass as the day goes on.
  3. Plan to start at the park that opens first and end at the park that closes last - this seems basic, but it's a key part of making the most of your time.  Closing times a tie? If so, pick the park that's closer to your resort - you will be tired by the end of the day!
  4. Use your fastpasses for the park that you'll be in during the peak hours of the day (1-5pm) OR Make your fastpasses for the earliest times you can in the first park you visit.  Then add an extra fastpass as you know where (and when) you'll be next.  You can do this at a kiosk or on the My Disney Experience app.
  5. Know your maximum wait times.  For our group, we decided not to stand in a line that was over an hour long.  We decided to prioritize our favorite attractions over trying to ride as many rides as possible.  
  6. Make sure everyone gets to pick a least one must-do - you may have to be slightly flexible on #4 in order to achieve this, but no one should be disappointed at the end of a big day like this one.
  7. Be sure you know how you'll get from one park to the next - Disney transportation is simple, but you'll save time if you know exactly how to get from one park to another. We don't recommend using your own car since you would have to move it from each park to the next or go back for it at the end of the day.  The buses DO run directly from one park to another.
  8. Make use of the single rider lines - not sure which attractions offer this feature? Scroll to the bottom for the list...
  9. This is a challenge best accepted on a good night's sleep.  You won't want to have to head back to your room for a nap or a pool break on this day. We did our day on less than 4 hours of sleep, but it was tough! 
  10. Stay hydrated - yes, this can include adult beverages...but drink plenty of water, too!
  11. Have a plan for food - we suggest bringing your own snacks and not trying to stop for any table service meals.  Picking a place to eat while standing in line can be fun, but I recommend picking one quick-service spot at each park that you know everyone would be happy to eat at since you can't be sure of where exactly you'll be at meal time.
  12. Have a picture of your family/group taken at every park, then post them together and use the #4parks1day hashtag.

Here are the attractions we enjoyed:

EPCOT
Soarin'
Test Track
Frozen Ever After
Pixar Short Films

Hollywood Studios
Rock'n Roller Coaster
Toy Story Mania

Animal Kingdom
Dinosaur
Everest - we used the single rider line for this attraction, as well.

Magic Kingdom
Haunted Mansion
Wishes
7 Dwarfs Mine Train
Buzz Lightyear
Space Mountain

Which attractions have a single rider line?
Everest
Kali River Rapids (at least for now)
Test Track
Rock'n Roller Coaster

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