Is it possible to visit all four Disney parks in one day? Yes! You can go to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom in just one day! But as you'll see here, you'll need a lot of planning, stamina and some compromising!
Have you ever wondered if it's possible to conquer all four of Disney's iconic Orlando parks – Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom – in a single day? The answer is a resounding yes! However, as you'll discover here, accomplishing this exhilarating feat requires meticulous planning, boundless energy, and a willingness to make some strategic choices.
The "4 Parks in 1 Day Challenge" has gained notoriety among Disney enthusiasts, involving visits to all four Disney Orlando parks, riding one attraction, savoring a delectable snack, and capturing a memorable photograph. Others attempt to go on every ride in a day. But our goal was different! We wanted to savor our favorite attractions, indulge in beloved foods, and most importantly, enjoy the magic of Disney!
How to visit four Disney parks in one day - planning
The journey began roughly six months before our trip, with daily checks on the Disney app to monitor wait times and to have an idea of how fast lightning lanes were moving forward. The planning stage was critical to our success.
First we decided on which park to start the day. We chose Animal Kingdom for a few reasons: it's the park that opens the earliest, we wanted to ride Flight of Passage without paying Individual Lightning Lane and we wanted to have lunch at Satu'li Canteen, our favorite restaurant in all WDW! Last park would be Magic Kingdom because it's open later than the others and we wanted to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train without ILL and without a long standby wait. And because of logistics our second park was Hollywood Studios so we could take the Skyliner to Epcot then the monorail to MK.
We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge using DVC Points (it was the first time we rented points and it was worth it!) so it would be easier to get to AK early in the morning. And to be able to visit all four Disney parks in one day we bought a one day ticket with park hopper!
Here's a glimpse of our great day:
Park 1: Animal Kingdom
We woke up at 6 am, bought Genie+, had a very quick breakfast and headed to the bus area to take the Disney bus to Animal Kingdom. It was 6:30 am and we were the only ones on the bus. Because we were staying at a Disney hotel we had the perk of early entry, 30 minutes prior the main public. We arrived at AK at 6:53 and quite a few people were already there. At 7 am, we secured Lightning Lane reservations for Slinky Dog Dash and purchased Individual Lightning Lane passes for Guardians of the Galaxy and Tron. At 7:18 am, we scanned our magic bands and had to present them again to verify our eligibility for early entry. After this point some people get crazy, start running, which upset me a little. But soon everybody was stopped at the Avatar entrance so people had to slow down. At this point you enter a queue outside the attraction, but you never stop walking so after a few minutes we were ready for the pre show.
We left the ride shortly after 8 am and Na'vi River Journey was with just a 15 minute wait. We decided not to go because we wanted to ride Expedition Everest. Multiple times! We ended up just riding it twice.While the first ride was a thrill, the second left us feeling a bit queasy, so we decided to pace ourselves. My husband and daughter ventured to Dinosaur, and since it wasn't a must-do for me, I waited near Kali River Rapids. With a mere 5-minute wait, we hopped on for a refreshing splash, much-needed in the sweltering July heat.
It was before 10 am and we had to adjust our plans for Hollywood Studios. Lightning Lane availability for Tower of Terror was moving too fast and since this is my favorite ride ever, I modified my Slinky reservation for Tower. Well, we knew we wouldn't be able to do everything so, that was fine.
Completing all the rides we wanted around 10:30 am, we secured our next Lightning Lane reservation for Toy Story Mania and prepared for lunch. With a small breakfast at 6 am, 10:30 am felt like the ideal time for lunch! We opted for mobile ordering at Satu'li Canteen, our favorite restaurant in WDW, and savored our beloved dishes at a leisurely pace.
We finished things up before noon and since we couldn't enter DHS before 2 pm we went to the hotel to rest a little. I secured another LL at 12:30 pm for Rock and Roller Coaster, Luciano and Isabella took a nap and at 1:20 pm we headed our way to Hollywood Studios. At this time we didn't get so lucky and the bus took much longer than expected. We arrived at HS at around 2:15 pm.
Park 2: Hollywood Studios
As soon as we tapped our magic bands at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster I was able to get us LL for Haunted Mansion for later. We then went to Tower of Terror and it was great as always! From there we went to Toy Story Land and rode Toy Story Mania. This is also a family favorite!
While we didn't have time to experience the attractions of Star Wars, we explored the galaxy far, far away and indulged in Docking Bay 7's plant-based Felucian Kefta and Hummus Garden Spread, ordering two servings for the three of us to enjoy as a snack and escape the heat!
Park 3: EPCOT
At 4:45 pm we left and took the skyliner to Epcot. The skyliner stopped a few times so it took us more time than we expected but we arrived just in time to use our LL to Soarin'. While waiting we secured a Genie+ Lightning Lane for Mission Space and that's where we went next. Then it was time to use our ILL for Guardians of the Galaxy. We loved the ride! Our last attraction at Epcot was Test Track using Single Rider - no time for World Showcase this time.
Park 4: Magic Kingdom
At 8 pm, we hopped on the monorail to Magic Kingdom, arriving at 8:25 pm. The lights had just gone up and it was so pretty!
Our Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion was scheduled for 8:40 pm and we left the ride at 9:05 pm, just in time for a memorable ride on Big Thunder Mountain. We ended up riding it during the fireworks and it was magical!
Our adventure continued with a visit to Tron, although we must confess, it didn't quite meet our expectations, and I know we shouldn't compare rides, but Guardians is so much better!
We still had a LL for Space Mountain, but the ride was down...
At around 10:30 pm we went to Sleepy Hollow to have something to eat and 10 minutes before closing time we joined the line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, our final attraction of the day!
From our early start at Animal Kingdom at 7 am to our departure from Magic Kingdom at 11:30 pm, we reveled in an incredible 16.5 hours of pure Disney magic!
Did we end the day tired? Absolutely!
Will we do four Disney parks in one day again? Of course!
But beware, this is something you should do knowing that you will have to leave lots of attractions behind, be flexible with plans and do tons of planning ahead!
*this adventurous day was in July 2023, so it's up to date with park hopping rules and Genie + strategies
Four parks one day disney 2023
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