6 Parks in 1 Day!

[QueenHeather]

EDITED: We pushed our flight back! Check out the last post on page 4 for our updated itinerary!

So sometime last year, a woman posted here about her family's attempt at an ULTIMATE 6 park in 1 day hop - 4 parks at Walt Disney World in the morning, fly to California and go to the 2 parks there that night. It sounded crazy, but they did it! Ever since then, the ultimate park hop challenge has been on my Disney bucket list.

Admittedly, I thought I would never get the chance to try. However, my husband just last night surprised me with a 10 year anniversary trip to make the attempt! I'm so excited I literally could not fall asleep last night for hours!

It's pretty short notice, as we're going next month, October 17. And although we consider ourselves Walt Disney World experts, we still would like to get all the advice and help we can get to improve our chance of success! The real challenge will be getting to all four WDW parks before our flight out of MCO at 1:50. Here's our VERY ROUGH plan so far:

7:30 - we have tickets to Toy Story Early Morning Magic. We haven't seen TSL yet, so we'd like to ride both new rides before heading out to the next park.
8:30 - Leave for AK (Uber?)
9:00 - AK; plan here is to ride EE (we always head straight for FOP at rope drop, but I've read that EE is really easy to walk on at rope drop, does anyone have experience here?)
9:30 - Leave for Epcot
10:15 - Epcot; plan to ride Spaceship Earth w/ FP+
10:45 - Take monorail to MK
11:15 - MK; ride whatever we can get FP+ for
11:45 - Monorail to TTC (or walk to Contemporary?)
12:00 - Leave for airport
1:50 - Flight to LAX

The Disneyland parks that night should hopefully be easier, since DCA is open until 10pm and DL is open until midnight.

So our biggest issues involve transportation. We have never personally used Uber, but I've read many accounts of it being fast and cheap. How much is a typical trip between parks? How fast does a car arrive after ordering one? How much and how long to get to MCO from the parks? I am nervous about getting to the airport so late. It is just my husband and I (leaving the kids with family), so that should make the whole process easier, but I'm still worried about delays in getting through security and all. I had a thought to rearrange park order so we don't leave from MK, since that means we must leave to TTC or Contemporary to grab the Uber, but I'm just not sure.

Our other biggest concern in luggage. We are not staying onsite and will not have a car, so as far as I can tell, we must bring our luggage with us everywhere that day. My husband thinks we should be able to pack in just two backpacks with no additional luggage, but I'm not convinced I will be able to pack all my things for a 6 day trip in just a backpack. But I see no way we can drag a suitcase around with us while attempting this. Even taking two full backpacks through security 4 times will eat up a lot of time. There may be no way to avoid this, but I'm asking the hive mind here for any ideas.

I'm so excited to attempt this! So what are everyone's thoughts/advice? Are we nuts??? (Yes lol)

 

[holden]

Wow! That's quite the adventure!

You can get an idea of Uber/Lyft prices from their website. Use the fare estimator. It really is just an estimate though. They charge more during high demand times (morning, dinner time, etc.). How fast a car arrives depends on if there are available drivers in your area. Don't forget taxis are an option too. They are usually very available. Just go to the designated taxi/ride share location at each park.

MCO security is notoriously bad. I'd leave a little earlier than 12 for the airport. You never know.

As far as the luggage goes...you could ship your stuff via Fed Ex ahead of time. Otherwise just pack light or plan to buy clothes in CA. Be sure to check the restrictions about what size bag you can bring into the park. Not sure what the rules are there. There's no way to avoid security bag checks and lines can be very long.

Best of luck to you!

 

[QueenHeather]

Wow! That's quite the adventure!

You can get an idea of Uber/Lyft prices from their website. Use the fare estimator. It really is just an estimate though. They charge more during high demand times (morning, dinner time, etc.). How fast a car arrives depends on if there are available drivers in your area. Don't forget taxis are an option too. They are usually very available. Just go to the designated taxi/ride share location at each park.

MCO security is notoriously bad. I'd leave a little earlier than 12 for the airport. You never know.

As far as the luggage goes...you could ship your stuff via Fed Ex ahead of time. Otherwise just pack light or plan to buy clothes in CA. Be sure to check the restrictions about what size bag you can bring into the park. Not sure what the rules are there. There's no way to avoid security bag checks and lines can be very long.

Best of luck to you!

I will look on the Uber/Lyft website for sure. And I totally didn't even think about suitcases not being allowed into the parks. Thanks for reminding me! This luggage thing is definitely tricky.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Uncle Coaster]

This sounds awesome!

Where are you staying the night before? Personally, I’d stay at or near the airport, check in for my flight super early and check my bags, then go to WDW bag free or just with a carry on.

Have fun and good luck. Looking forward to hearing about it.

 

[ejdmomma]

Luggage is tricky! Maybe explore your options for early check in, I'm guessing you can't store it at the airport any more. Remember back in the day when they had lockers? Guessing those will never come back! It would add to your transportation time, but you could hold your luggage at your hotel and pick it up on your way. Best option will be to either ship items to your California hotel or BUY NEW STUFF WHEN YOU GET THERE!!!

Good luck and make some amazing memories!!

 

[Orsino]

Perhaps someone else can confirm which airlines offer this, but we have checked luggage at our Disney Resort the morning of our departure and it goes directly to the airport.

 

[QueenHeather]

This sounds awesome!

Where are you staying the night before? Personally, I’d stay at or near the airport, check in for my flight super early and check my bags, then go to WDW bag free or just with a carry on.

Have fun and good luck. Looking forward to hearing about it.

We're staying at a Disney Springs area hotel using points, so making a stop at the airport isn't really option, though would be a good idea. I think we are looking into shipping a package to our hotel in CA. Thanks! I'll be sure to update the thread! I loved reading the updates from the family who did it last year!

 

[QueenHeather]

Luggage is tricky! Maybe explore your options for early check in, I'm guessing you can't store it at the airport any more. Remember back in the day when they had lockers? Guessing those will never come back! It would add to your transportation time, but you could hold your luggage at your hotel and pick it up on your way. Best option will be to either ship items to your California hotel or BUY NEW STUFF WHEN YOU GET THERE!!!

Good luck and make some amazing memories!!

I didn't even know that lockers at airports used to be available! This is why I need advice! Ideas I never thought of! We're only in Orlando for one night before flying to CA, so I think we may look into shipping a package to CA and only having overnight things in a backpack for FL.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to it so much!

 

[Yensid67]

I've Ubered a couple of times at WDW. Their prices fluctuate due to demand, but I've been able to get to get from one park to another around $8-$10 minus the tip.

 

[DWillowBay]

11:15 - MK; ride whatever we can get FP+ for

I'm not sure how you will get a FP in a second park without using the first 3 Fps at EPCOT. ??? The first 3 have to be used in the same park before you can get a 4th elsewhere. Just letting you know for planning purposes. Maybe better to just go to a continuous load/ high volume ride close to the front of MK (POC? People Mover? Laugh Floor?...like those). I could never pull any of this off...so have a great time!

 

[winnieofpooh]

This sounds so fun!! I agree Uber/Lyft/Taxi is definitely the way to go, as PP said it shouldn't really be more than $10. Cars should be relatively easy to catch, especially because you can have both the Uber/Lyft app or just walk to find a taxi, so there's a lot of flexibility there. I'd recommend downloading both Uber and Lyft, and when you need to go, look at both apps to see the pricing and which one has a car closer to you. Both apps will show you where the cars are on the screen, so it's easy to pick out which are nearby. You really shouldn't have to wait more than 5 minutes to get one.

I'd also leave for the airport before noon...I've never gotten through security through the airport quickly.

And to your AK question, yes you can get on EE really easily during RD. We went this past winter and RD Navi, and then went to EE. We rode it twice with zero wait, only reason we didn't ride it more was because it went down for the day. But you could easily accomplish EE, Kali River Rapids, Safari, and Dinosaur with minimal to no wait if you get there at RD.

ETA: Please come back with an update if you accomplish this! I'd love a report!

 

[winnieofpooh]

I'm not sure how you will get a FP in a second park without using the first 3 Fps at EPCOT. ??? The first 3 have to be used in the same park before you can get a 4th elsewhere. Just letting you know for planning purposes. Maybe better to just go to a continuous load/ high volume ride close to the front of MK (POC? People Mover? Laugh Floor?...like those). I could never pull any of this off...so have a great time!

The FP system has changed now, so you can use your phone to get additional FP's in other parks. You should be able to book a FP in Epcot, and then use your phone to book additional ones in MK.

 

[punkin]

Flight delays are another thing to consider.

 

[QueenHeather]

This sounds so fun!! I agree Uber/Lyft/Taxi is definitely the way to go, as PP said it shouldn't really be more than $10. Cars should be relatively easy to catch, especially because you can have both the Uber/Lyft app or just walk to find a taxi, so there's a lot of flexibility there. I'd recommend downloading both Uber and Lyft, and when you need to go, look at both apps to see the pricing and which one has a car closer to you. Both apps will show you where the cars are on the screen, so it's easy to pick out which are nearby. You really shouldn't have to wait more than 5 minutes to get one.

I'd also leave for the airport before noon...I've never gotten through security through the airport quickly.

And to your AK question, yes you can get on EE really easily during RD. We went this past winter and RD Navi, and then went to EE. We rode it twice with zero wait, only reason we didn't ride it more was because it went down for the day. But you could easily accomplish EE, Kali River Rapids, Safari, and Dinosaur with minimal to no wait if you get there at RD.

ETA: Please come back with an update if you accomplish this! I'd love a report!

Downloading both apps - brilliant! Thanks so much! We will definitely do that. And thanks for the first hand knowledge on EE. Sounds like that should work.

I will for sure update this thread! I hope we can pull this off!

 

[QueenHeather]

Flight delays are another thing to consider.

For sure, but I hope with the late closing times at DCA and DL that even with a delay we will still be ok.

 

[SnowChaser]

You might look into getting TSA Precheck to save you time going through airport security.

If you don't find a simpler option for your bags... Before going to HS, you could take the luggage to bell services at the Contemporary (early!) in the morning and have the hotel hold them for you until you come back on your way out.

 

[JohnneeO]

I'm not sure how you will get a FP in a second park without using the first 3 Fps at EPCOT. ??? The first 3 have to be used in the same park before you can get a 4th elsewhere. Just letting you know for planning purposes. Maybe better to just go to a continuous load/ high volume ride close to the front of MK (POC? People Mover? Laugh Floor?...like those). I could never pull any of this off...so have a great time!

You can get an additional FP+ at another park after you have used you're pre-booked FP+'s (or, in this case, FP+). If the OP has only one pre-booked FP+ at Epcot for SE, once they tap into the SE queue they can immediately book another FP+ at any other park.

So many folks are accustomed to pre-booking 3 FP+'s that we forget there are other options. Plus, I believe that at some point in the past, it was a requirement to book three. Booking only two or one was not an option, but it is now.

Good Luck!

 

[Princess Katelet]

Will you be spending a few days in CA to further explore Disneyland?? I was a WDW vet before I discovered Disneyland. I like it so much better than WDW and would hate for you to miss out on really getting to spend time there since it sounds like perhaps you've never been there before??

Where are you starting out from? Do you live in Orlando?

 

[FSU Girl]

Do the Disney Springs hotel not allow you to leave your luggage with them when you go to the parks like a Disney hotel does?

This sounds like such a fun idea! I would get TSA precheck to speed up the process to get through the airport quicker.

 

[QueenHeather]

You might look into getting TSA Precheck to save you time going through airport security.

If you don't find a simpler option for your bags... Before going to HS, you could take the luggage to bell services at the Contemporary (early!) in the morning and have the hotel hold them for you until you come back on your way out.

I looked into precheck, but we have 4 kids and both our families are nearby, so we never fly anywhere. This trip is a huge splurge so we need to save money anyway we can! lol

That's an interesting idea about the Contemporary bell services. Would they keep our bags even if we don't stay there? Definitely worth looking into. Thanks!