Every Disney World Park In One Day

Walt Disney World Resort has four parks which can take weeks to fully experience, but I wanted to know what it’d be like to go to every Disney World park in one day. To pull off this logistical challenge goals would need to be set, and a schedule would need followed. Organization is often instrumental to having the time to see everything at the resort, and it’s importance was elevated during this challenge. My goals were to do at least two attractions, and eat food in each park. Before I share with you my itinerary, the rules of park hopping must be displayed.

About Disney Park Hopping

Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there were no restrictions on park hopping. Since the parks reopened, they have changed the rules a few times, and set in new guidelines. At the time of writing, you can’t head to a different park until 2 PM. Buses start at 1:30, meaning you can leave the park you have a reservation at 1:30 and board a bus to the next park. 

Modes Of Transportation 

Disney World park hopping is much easier when using different transportation offerings. Buses are standard and run to and from each park, additionally a few parks have alternate modes of transportation. 

• Magic Kingdom can be reached by Monorail from EPCOT, or ferry
• EPCOT is accessible through a boat, and the skyliner from Hollywood Studios. It is also accessible through the Monorail from Magic Kingdom.
• Hollywood Studios is accessible from the skyliner in EPCOT, and the boat from EPCOT.
• Animal Kingdom is only accessible through the bus.

My Itinerary 

Animal Kingdom

Since Animal Kingdom is the only park accessible by bus, we figured it would be easier to start here and knock it off first. In the morning people tend to flock towards Pandora, we decided to take advantage of low waits in the rest of the park. We were able to ride Expedition Everest a few times in a row, and Dinosaur without waiting more than a few minutes. We ate flame tree BBQ, which is especially tasty, and has views of Expedition Everest. We stayed in Animal Kingdom until 1:30, and were able to see a lot of attractions. 

Hollywood Studios

After boarding the bus from Animal Kingdom, we spent some time in Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately this park was very crowded, so it was hard to get many rides in. We were able to get a num num cookie from Market and ride the Alien Swirling Saucers. We also watched the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, but after that it was time to head to our next destination. We spent about an hour and a half in this park.

EPCOT

We took the skyliner from Hollywood Studios, which was by far the quickest option. EPCOT wasn’t too crowded, which was perfect for us to get some attractions done. We were in EPCOT a bit longer than Hollywood Studios. The time was about 4:15 when we got here, and we had a dining reservation in Magic Kingdom at 7 PM. Fortunately we hopped on Spaceship Earth, Soarin, Living with the Land, and The Seas With Nemo. We didn’t wait long for most of those rides, the longest wait was for Soarin, and it was only about 25 minutes. The time spent in EPCOT was much more efficient than Hollywood Studios, we left the park after about 2 hours.

Magic Kingdom

We made it to Magic Kingdom after riding the monorail right around 6:50. We were running close to our reservation, but fortunately it was at Cinderella’s Royal Table, which isn’t a far walk from the entrance. We just barely made it in time. Our time in Magic Kingdom was successful as we were able to ride Seven Dwarves Mine Train with almost no wait right after the fireworks. We also rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Winnie the Pooh, and did some shopping at Emporium.

Final Thoughts

The time limits for park hopping that currently exist have made it harder for park hopping, but it is still possible. Implementing a strategy, and setting goals are strongly encouraged when going to all four Disney World parks in one day. We enjoyed the challenge, but we wouldn’t do it on every trip. We were mostly able to have the time accomplish our goals, with the exception of eating food in EPCOT. Ideally, I love to have the park hopper option as it makes the trip easier. However, I don’t often find myself needing to go to three parks in one day, let alone four. I would recommend this challenge on days where there are later hours for the last park you plan on attending.

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