How Many Parks can you do in a day?
- Thread starter Ty
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CameraGirl
Member
Well, when we go in just 27 short days, we are going to do one park a day (we are there 5 days so we have to). ; There may be the occasional park hop throughout the day to get the stuff we want to buy, but I would say one park a day is more than enough to do in a day. ; Epcot takes a very long time to walk around, especially if you like to look at everything. ;
The Animal Kingdom and MGM studios in WDW close earlier than Epcot and MK. ; Animal Kingdom closes around 5 or 6pm (can't quite remember) and then MGM a little later. ; When we were there before we would go to a different park after those closed. ; Or there is always Downtown Disney to visit, but that almost needs a day in itself.
The first trip we had we had 10 days, it didn't seem like enough because we pretty much went to each park twice, but then the next trip we had 13 days there it that was almost too much. ; But then we had time to go elsewhere to have fun and shop in Orlando.
Don't forget to factor in time for Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney. ; If you go, take in everything. ; I haven't been to Blizzard Beach yet, but Typhoon Lagoon is pretty darn cool! ;
The Animal Kingdom and MGM studios in WDW close earlier than Epcot and MK. ; Animal Kingdom closes around 5 or 6pm (can't quite remember) and then MGM a little later. ; When we were there before we would go to a different park after those closed. ; Or there is always Downtown Disney to visit, but that almost needs a day in itself.
The first trip we had we had 10 days, it didn't seem like enough because we pretty much went to each park twice, but then the next trip we had 13 days there it that was almost too much. ; But then we had time to go elsewhere to have fun and shop in Orlando.
Don't forget to factor in time for Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney. ; If you go, take in everything. ; I haven't been to Blizzard Beach yet, but Typhoon Lagoon is pretty darn cool! ;
When we went for our honeymoon, we generally did one park per day (6 days... 4 parks plus Downtown... we're not water-park people 
).
This time around (3 weeks ago), we took a different approach that really worked well for us.
First of all, I should mention we were staying on-site, so we had the Extra Magic Hours available to us... we didn't take advantage of the morning ones (we didn't really see the point, since they're pretty much a 'free for all'), but in the evenings one park per day is open for about 3 hours past regular park closing... in some cases, that means until 2 a.m.!! ; It's only for folks staying on-site... 2 hours prior to regular park closing, you can get a wristband... and once the park closes, they start checking wristbands to get onto the rides (not all rides are open after-hours... and it's good to know in advance that the food concessions generally close at the regular time, so don't expect to be able to get anything to eat).
With the Park Hopper passes we generally structured our days so that we spent a few hours in the morning at one park... then went back to the hotel (or Disney Quest one day... we had the Plus option on our passes) for the middle of the day (when we were there, the daytime highs were in the 30-35 Celcius range... just a little bit toasty... and since some places like MGM, Dinoland U.S.A., ; and parts of the World Showcase at Epcot are black-top paths, avoiding them in the full heat and sunshine was nice)... then went to another park from 3 or 4 until we got tired or it closed... or until closer to wristband distribution if we knew we were going to do the night-time Extra Magic Hours. ; (For example, one day we did 1/2 of Epcot, went back to the hotel to cool-off, then went to MGM for Fantasmic and Extra Magic Hours)
It worked well for us... we avoided the worst heat and crowds and didn't stay in any of the parks long enough to get bored or tired, but knew we could go back again later in the week.
Also... when we were there, we heard that Animal Kingdom was going to be open 'til 8:00 'til Fall due to the expected increase in attendance because of Expedition Everest (so worth the line-up, in our opinion... we rode it a few days before the official opening). ; If that's the case, though, I wouldn't expect animal viewing to be available past about 5 p.m.. though, at least for the Kilimanjaro Safari... the animals have a routine that includes moving them to barns at night, and some of them don't take well to variations in the routine.
).This time around (3 weeks ago), we took a different approach that really worked well for us.
First of all, I should mention we were staying on-site, so we had the Extra Magic Hours available to us... we didn't take advantage of the morning ones (we didn't really see the point, since they're pretty much a 'free for all'), but in the evenings one park per day is open for about 3 hours past regular park closing... in some cases, that means until 2 a.m.!! ; It's only for folks staying on-site... 2 hours prior to regular park closing, you can get a wristband... and once the park closes, they start checking wristbands to get onto the rides (not all rides are open after-hours... and it's good to know in advance that the food concessions generally close at the regular time, so don't expect to be able to get anything to eat).
With the Park Hopper passes we generally structured our days so that we spent a few hours in the morning at one park... then went back to the hotel (or Disney Quest one day... we had the Plus option on our passes) for the middle of the day (when we were there, the daytime highs were in the 30-35 Celcius range... just a little bit toasty... and since some places like MGM, Dinoland U.S.A., ; and parts of the World Showcase at Epcot are black-top paths, avoiding them in the full heat and sunshine was nice)... then went to another park from 3 or 4 until we got tired or it closed... or until closer to wristband distribution if we knew we were going to do the night-time Extra Magic Hours. ; (For example, one day we did 1/2 of Epcot, went back to the hotel to cool-off, then went to MGM for Fantasmic and Extra Magic Hours)
It worked well for us... we avoided the worst heat and crowds and didn't stay in any of the parks long enough to get bored or tired, but knew we could go back again later in the week.
Also... when we were there, we heard that Animal Kingdom was going to be open 'til 8:00 'til Fall due to the expected increase in attendance because of Expedition Everest (so worth the line-up, in our opinion... we rode it a few days before the official opening). ; If that's the case, though, I wouldn't expect animal viewing to be available past about 5 p.m.. though, at least for the Kilimanjaro Safari... the animals have a routine that includes moving them to barns at night, and some of them don't take well to variations in the routine.
weemcp
Global Moderator
We were on site, and checked in by 3:15. Hubby took a nap and I wandered around the resort. ; We headed to epcot, walked quickly around and had dinner....saw the light show.
Magic Kingdom saturday (we are not ride people, so it was quick) back at hotel by 3:30 and dinner at 5:30. ;
Sunday, MGM, back at hotel ; by 2...relaxed in the afternoon and back to Epcot around 5....dinner reservations at 7:30.....
Monday, breakfast in MK with Pooh and friends, headed to downtown disney around 2...walked around, saw a movie and had dinner.....
Animal Kingdom Tuesday morning........back at hotel by 1pm...relaxed on the beach for a while.......then headed for dinner
Wednesday, relaxed at the hotel.....spent a few hours on the beach, headed to MK at night (for pictures in front of the castle)
Thursday, relaxed in the morning........headed to Downtown Disney around 12....played in the arcade for awhile.......watched a movie, headed back to the hotel to get ready for the luau at the polynesian....
Friday woke up, finished packing and headed home.......
If you do a lot of rides, you will spend more time in the parks.... neither of us really likes rides, so it cut down a lot of time....but we still had a blast. ; Next time, we will drive, and will probably head to Sea World and Discovery Cove......
Magic Kingdom saturday (we are not ride people, so it was quick) back at hotel by 3:30 and dinner at 5:30. ;
Sunday, MGM, back at hotel ; by 2...relaxed in the afternoon and back to Epcot around 5....dinner reservations at 7:30.....
Monday, breakfast in MK with Pooh and friends, headed to downtown disney around 2...walked around, saw a movie and had dinner.....
Animal Kingdom Tuesday morning........back at hotel by 1pm...relaxed on the beach for a while.......then headed for dinner
Wednesday, relaxed at the hotel.....spent a few hours on the beach, headed to MK at night (for pictures in front of the castle)
Thursday, relaxed in the morning........headed to Downtown Disney around 12....played in the arcade for awhile.......watched a movie, headed back to the hotel to get ready for the luau at the polynesian....
Friday woke up, finished packing and headed home.......
If you do a lot of rides, you will spend more time in the parks.... neither of us really likes rides, so it cut down a lot of time....but we still had a blast. ; Next time, we will drive, and will probably head to Sea World and Discovery Cove......
disneyfreak
Member
Absolutely. ; We went September last year and we managed to do two parks in a day. ; That being said, it was hurricane season and it was predicted that another hurricane (the 3rd or 4th) was supposed to hit Disney so it wasn't busy at all.
It all depends on how busy it is and what you want to see. ; Just make sure that you look at the times each park closes and go with the flow. ; You can always go back to a park again if you have time.
We also stayed at a Disney Resort, which I feel gave us more flexibility and time to get to the parks. ; We ended pretty much every night at downtown disney. ; We ate one night at the polynesian. ; Weren't able to do a luau but the all you can eat dinner was Amazing and probably the best deal in all of WDW. ; Had we done this earlier, we would have eaten more than one dinner there.
Weemcp, I would HIGHLY recommend Discovery Cove! ; It was a day to remember for sure. ; WELL worth the money.
It all depends on how busy it is and what you want to see. ; Just make sure that you look at the times each park closes and go with the flow. ; You can always go back to a park again if you have time.
We also stayed at a Disney Resort, which I feel gave us more flexibility and time to get to the parks. ; We ended pretty much every night at downtown disney. ; We ate one night at the polynesian. ; Weren't able to do a luau but the all you can eat dinner was Amazing and probably the best deal in all of WDW. ; Had we done this earlier, we would have eaten more than one dinner there.
Weemcp, I would HIGHLY recommend Discovery Cove! ; It was a day to remember for sure. ; WELL worth the money.
highland3
Member
We find that MK is at least an entire day. ; We broke it up into a morning (rope drop) and an late day was the best. ; The morning allows you to hit at least four of the poplar rides (for us: Splash Mountain, BTMR, POC and the Jungle Cruse) all in less than two hours.
With kids, it's really hard to do two parks a day. ; We tried for mid-day down time at the resort pool at least two days.
With kids, it's really hard to do two parks a day. ; We tried for mid-day down time at the resort pool at least two days.