How to: Visit All 4 Disney Parks In One Day
Growing up in Orlando, my family had annual passes to all of the theme parks. If I had to pick a favorite though, it would definitely be Disney! With four fun parks to pick from, Disney has something for everyone. Most of the time, if you go to Disney, you only go to one park a day so you can get the most out of the day. However, a friend of mine who has never been to Disney, is currently visiting from Germany. So of course we had to take her!
My boyfriend and I wanted to give her the full Disney experience, so we sat down, chose the best rides from all four parks, and planned the best day of her life!
This blog post includes what rides we went on in each park plus tips on how to achieve four park status in one day. Let’s begin!
First off, I HIGHLY recommend starting at Magic Kingdom when the park opens at 9 a.m.. Don’t be late!
*Tip* Once you have parked and are ready to get on the monorail to Magic Kingdom, take the “resorts monorail.” It will save you so much time because while the line gets longer for the “park monorail”, there is no line for the “resorts monorail” which only has a few added stops before it hits Magic Kingdom.
Magic Kingdom is the busiest of the four parks, which means the lines for the rides get long very quick. If you are wanting to go on any roller coasters, water rides or completely new rides (meaning within the past few years), you should start with those.
For example, our plan was to go on Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain first, however due to the lines we could only get on Thunder Mountain (space mountain already had a crazy 90 minute wait after only being open for an hour).
After that, I recommend heading over to rides that get you out of the heat for a decent period of time (Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Spinning Tea Cups and Country Bear Jamboree)
Now let’s move on to Animal Kingdom! This park has a lot to offer, however if you’re on a time crunch like we were, the best two rides to hit are Expedition Everest (a.k.a. my new favorite roller coaster and Kali River Rapids).
Funny story about the rapids ride. Growing up, my mom and I loved going to Animal Kingdom. For some reason though, every time we went on the rapids ride, we always went down the waterfall backwards. To this day, I STILL don’t know what it looks like from the front!
*Tip* Expedition Everest is one of those newer(ish) rides that always has a long line. I recommend getting a fast pass for this ride. To get a fast pass at any point, download the Disney Experience app and simply link up your pass. From there you can link up any other passes that are in your group and reserve fast passes for all of your friends! You can get three to start and then one additional fast pass for every other park you visit that day.
Once you’ve gone on those rides, it’s time for Hollywood Studios, formally known as MGM! This park in particular is known for it’s shows. You can see anything from Indiana Jones to Beauty and the Beast. If you want to see the shows, I recommend going to this park on its’ own day because the shows are scheduled at set times throughout the day.
The top two rides to go on at Hollywood Studios are Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster and Star Tours! Now, I’m sure some of you are thinking “What about Tower of Terror?” I, personally am not a thrill seeker who likes freefall type rides, so I skipped this one. If you do like those types of rides, you have to go on it!
If you love Steven Tyler, rock music and limos then you will LOVE the Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster. This fun ride puts you in a stretch limo that takes you all over Los Angeles! With fun, energetic rock ‘n’ roll music blasting in your ears the whole time, you’ll be ready to take the stage at your own concert once the ride is done!
Now, I didn’t forget about all of my Star Wars fans! Growing up, I LOVED watching Star Wars with my dad. We watched everything together. Star Wars, Star Trek and Godzilla! I was such a tom boy! Any who, Star Tours is a fun simulation ride that takes you on a mission all over the galaxy. Don’t worry though, you won’t be alone! R2D2 and C3PO will be with you the whole time guiding your flight!
Finally, the best park to end a four park day with is Epcot! I used to hate this park when I was little because it was so educational. Now, I absolutely love it! You get to explore so many different countries in just one loop around the park!
One ride that you have to go on is Spaceship Earth. This ride is educational, however, it has many really cool parts to it. Not to mention, this ride is completely inside the giant “golf ball” that you see when you first walk in. How cool is that?!
*TIP* Eating at one of the nicer restaurants at any of the countries is a must! However, you have to make a reservation first thing in the morning or else they will all be full by the end of the day. You can book a reservation on the same app that you got your fast passes on.
We decided to eat at Italy (because you know, I love pasta) and it was amazing! What I love most about Epcot is that every person you meet in each country, is actually from that country. When we were eating dinner, one of our servers had just come over to the states to work at Disney two weeks ago! It was so cool to get to know her a little better and meet a true Italian.
Last but not least, the fireworks show. I had never seen the fireworks at Epcot before! I’ve only ever seen Magic Kingdom’s fireworks. Chandler told me that Epcot has the best and he was right! Not only does Epcot do fireworks, but they also include a laser show and every country lights up during the show.
I hope you enjoyed reading my post about my trip to Disney! If you have any questions, I would love to answer them in the comments below!