How to Win at the Walt Disney World 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge
Can you visit Disney’s 4 parks in 1 day? YES!
When my sister and I decided to embark on our own Disney 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge, I did a little research, but didn't find too much on the best way to approach it.
While we were both Disney veterans, we'd never attempted anything close to this level of park hopping.
Yes, I know. It seems completely crazy. And I'm here to tell you that it is--but it's also a lot of fun!
Now, on the other side of the challenge, I'm here to share my tips with you in the hopes that you'll try out this awesome way to experience one of the world's most famous theme parks.
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I was provided 2 media passes courtesy of Walt Disney World. All opinions are my own.
What is the Walt Disney World 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge?
In the 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge, Walt Disney World guests attempt to visit all four parks in one day.
The parameters for that challenge are up to each person, but some websites have gone so far as to provide their own rules for the 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge.
When my sister and I attempted this feat, we had a few basic guidelines: we needed to ride at least 2 rides per park, we had to eat something in each park, and we couldn't go back to the hotel in between each park.
We were all in!
We ended up having so much fun on this trip that I had to add it to my list of the best things to do in Walt Disney World for adults. I hope you’ll consider doing a similar challenge on your next visit.
How to Prepare for Your Day in the Parks
In our room at Pop Century before we headed out on the challenge
Buy your tickets ahead of time.
Every minute counts when you’re taking on a big challenge like this one.
Don’t waste precious time waiting in line to buy tickets or pick them up at will call.
Book your tickets ahead of time and have the digital copies attached to your Magic Bands before you get to the parks.
Don’t forget to buy park hopper passes for this challenge, as you need to have the ability to get from park-to-park all in one day (this isn’t an option on the cheaper, 1-park daily admission).
Leave nothing to chance.
Before you set foot in the parks, you'll want to outline where you want to go, what rides you want to experience, and where you'll eat.
This may seem like overkill, but it helped us immensely when it came to budgeting time in the parks.
We had a printed out schedule with arrival and departure times, transportation information, and notes on what we wanted to accomplish in each park.
If you HAVE to ride a specific ride during your 4 parks in 1 day challenge, consider purchasing an Individual Lightening Lane pass, which guarantees you access to one of the most popular rides.
Check the latest guidelines on park entry.
We completed this challenge pre-Covid, but so much with WDW attendance has changed since then.
Ensure you have your tickets and a park reservation in hand (if required), and that you're familiar with the current rules on park hopping.
If you're not familiar with the parks, outline everything on a map.
(The concierge at the Disney hotels should have copies to give you.)
You don't want to use your precious time searching for the next ride.
Use the Magic Hours to your advantage.
Research which parks are opening early so you'll have the maximum amount of time to complete your challenge.
These are only available to Disney property guests, so this is one time that staying onside might be worth it.
Lay out your clothes the night before.
If you're super cool like I am, your comfy outfit can include a monogrammed Minnie Mouse decal. And you can match your sister.
Since this is an intense way to tour the parks, you'll want to get as much sleep as you can. Don't waste another five or so minutes in the morning picking out your clothes when you can rest instead!
Wear the most comfortable clothes possible.
Even though I'm a huge proponent of dressing for vacation fun ahead, this is the day that you need to pull out the comfiest shirt and shoes possible.
By the end of the day, you will be sweaty, exhausted, and probably crabby, and you don't want your wardrobe to cause you to feel even worse.
>> Get more tips on what to wear to Disney World here! <<
Consider paying for a VIP tour.
If you really want to ensure that you get to all of the parks AND you want some expert guidance on managing your time, the Disney VIP tours might be worth the splurge if this is a top bucket list item for your party.
Park 1: Hollywood Studios
After slapping a little make-up on, we ate a quick granola bar and headed out the room. Looking back, I'm not even sure why we wasted time putting makeup on because it had dripped off by early afternoon.
Amber and I headed to the Pop Century bus stop to wait for our bus...but we didn't have to wait at all because the bus was already there waiting on us!
My sister on the Disney bus
Two things:
1) the transportation on the Walt Disney World 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge ran like clockwork and we never had to wait on any of the buses, boats, or monorails, and
2) I love the way that the Disney buses smell. I know this means that I am sniffing a combination of diesel fuel and bus cleaner and who know what else, but it just smells like Disney wonderfulness to me.
The Tower of Terror, our first ride in the 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge
Our first stop was to Hollywood Studios, which will forever be MGM Studios to me because I’m old.
After a quick stop at Guest Services to grab my media Park Hopper tickets, we journeyed into the park.
We hit up Tower of Terror first, and were two of the first people in the first elevator ride of the day!
Since there were so few people around, we hopped right back on it for a second spin.
Next up was Rock 'n' Rollercoaster.
We had our first wait in line--about thirty minutes--but Amber and I were both amazed at how light the crowds were for a June morning.
In fact, we really didn't see a ton of other visitors until we hit up Animal Kingdom two parks (and six hours) later.
After blasting across town in our super stretch limo, Amber and I headed over to Toy Story Mania.
We've only ridden this ride once before the Disney 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge, so it was almost like a new ride to us.
The theming on this ride is perfect, and having the midway activities in 3-D makes them seem so real.
We had to have some popcorn, since the Disney popcorn is one of our favorite snacks in Hollywood Studios (or really anywhere in Walt Disney World!).
Plus, we needed to fuel up so that we didn't lose steam!
After popcorn came a ride on the updated Star Tours, which I like a lot better than the old one.
I noticed that a bunch of the older rides were getting face lifts on this trip, so I'll get to experience new versions of old favorites in the future. [Note: this trip was taken before Galaxy's Edge was added to HS.]
We finished off our first park of the Walt Disney World 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge in record time AND ahead of schedule.
4 Parks 1 Day Challenge Recap: Hollywood Studios
Let's review the park using my handy dandy (and totally made-up) TRAM chart, shall we? (TRAM being totally appropriate because we were using the transportation a ton that day...)
Timing: Awesome. We arrived at 7:30 a.m. (ahead of park opening), made use of the Extra Magic Hour from 8-9, and were out of the park at 11.
Rides: 5 (Tower of Terror x 2, Rock 'n' Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, Star Tours)
Attitude: We were feeling awesome at this point, as we'd gotten that first surge of Disney excitement by being in the park. The adrenaline rush from Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Rollercoaster had us ready to conquer the day!
Meals: Since we'd eaten in the room to save time and money, we only had a box of popcorn at DHS.
>> Get my complete list of best things for adults to do at Disney World! <<
Park 2: EPCOT
Our 2nd park of the day: EPCOT!
We bid Hollywood Studios adieu and headed to Epcot via the Friendship Boats.
We'd originally planned to walk the mile between the two parks, but I am glad that we didn't. We were already walking enough as it was, and the temperatures were rising fast.
Amber also decided that being a Disney World boat captain is her new calling. Her qualifications for the job include: nothing, nothing, and more nothing.
Yup. She should be a shoo-in.
We were delivered to Epcot's World Showcase by one very chipper captain, who thankfully didn't let Amber anywhere near the boat controls.
As we'd hit a little bit of a wall on the ride over, we headed directly to Japan's Katsura Grill for lunch.
The Japan pavilion is gorgeous, and we loved having it nearly all to ourselves. We posed for quick pictures on the cute bridge just outside of the Grill before heading in to stuff our faces!
The staff at Katsura Grill was so friendly, and I loved their uniforms, which were these beautiful kimonos.
The woman who handed me my food even bowed, and I felt super special. (I wasn’t. She bowed to everyone.)
We didn't want to weigh ourselves down with anything too heavy or greasy, so we both opted for the teriyaki chicken ($13), which came with steamed veggies and white rice.
After our tummies were full, we headed out to conquer our Epcot must-do list.
It was short:
Frozen Ever After,
Gran Fiesta Tour,
Test Track, and
Soarin'.
We figured we'd have plenty of time to do all four since Hollywood Studios had gone so well, and Epcot was so empty.
There was not much of a line for Frozen Ever After, so we hopped on that.
As soon as we were done, we trekked through the remainder of the World Showcase to the Mexico pavilion to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour!
The Gran Fiesta Tour also had NO WAIT (what luck!), so we celebrated with the 3 Caballeros.
Inside the Gran Fiesta Tour
As we'd had great luck with our must-ride list, we headed over to Test Track to tick off our third ride in Epcot.
On the way, we stopped to eat some churritos. They were tasty, but I miss the giant churros that they used to sell!
The wait for Test Track was 50 minutes.
We had plenty of time to spare in this part of the challenge, so we hopped in line.
My sister is sad about Test Track being closed down
We waited and waited and waited.
Just as we'd gone through a designed the world's coolest car, a Cast Member announced that inclement weather was in the area and the ride was temporary closed down.
We were SO close--I could see the loading area--but a torrential downpour had caused loading to screech to a halt.
We waited about 20 minutes before deciding to leave the line.
Time was a-wasting, and we had a deadline to meet.
Sadly, the Test Track debacle caused us to miss out on Soarin'.
The 3:00 p.m. deadline to move to our next park was upon us, so we browsed in a few shops before making our way to the Epcot exit.
4 Parks/ 1 Day Challenge: Epcot Recap
Timing: Still doing pretty well. Our original plan had been to arrive around 11:30 and leave by 3:00, and we were slightly ahead of schedule when we left.
Rides: 2.5 (Maelstrom, Gran Fiesta Tour, and Test Track. I'm counting Test Track as a half of a ride because we got SO close to actually riding it!)
Attitude: We got a boost from eating lunch, but our spirits fell quite a bit when we waited and waited and waited for Test Track without any payoff.
Meals: Lunch at Katsura Grill in Japan and a snack of churritos in Mexico.
Park 3: Animal Kingdom
My sister in front of our 3rd park of the day, Animal Kingdom
By 3:00 p.m., my sister and I were working hard to stay upbeat and focused on the 4 Parks 1 Day challenge.
I have to say that doing just that was getting harder and harder as the day wore on, the temperatures started rising, and the crowds got thicker.
We hopped on a bus from Epcot and headed to Animal Kingdom. Usually, I don't notice the bus drivers too much, but this time, we had the World's Slowest Driver.
After about 30 minutes of fighting sleep on the bus, we arrived at Animal Kingdom.
Here, we'd planned only two rides: Expedition Everest and Dinosaur.
Given how quickly the ride wait times had gone thus far, we felt as if those selections in Animal Kingdom would be easy-peasy.
The wait for Expedition Everest followed that same trend!
We had to wait about 20 minutes, and we hopped right on the ride. It did not disappoint with the torn up tracks, twists in the dark, and crazy, unexpected dips.
When we headed to our next ride, we experienced the day's second disappointment: Dinosaur was closed!
We were lost as to what we could do quickly in Animal Kingdom that would allow us to feel as if we'd done something in the park before moving onto Magic Kingdom.
The animals on the safari and wildlife treks aren't at their best in the afternoon heat, so that was out. We'd just missed the start time for the shows and weren't willing to wait for an hour or more for the next ones.
We went on the first ride we saw: the Primeval Whirl.
Of all of the parks, I feel like we let Animal Kingdom down the most. There's so much more to do there than what we did, but the crowds were getting really bad, and it was so, so hot.
4 Parks 1 Day Challenge: Animal Kingdom Recap
Timing: Right on schedule. We left Epcot at 3:00 p.m. and were in Animal Kingdom by 3:30. Our schedule allowed us to stay in AK until 6:00 p.m., but we ended up leaving by 5:00.
Rides: 2 (Expedition Everest and Primeval Whirl)
Attitude: Hot and tired. AK was the first place that we'd really felt the strain of the 4 Parks/ 1 Day Challenge in June. As long as we were moving and going on rides, we were okay, but the combination of a slow bus ride there and Dinosaur being down slowed us down.
Meals: Nothing. We weren't there long enough to eat anything!
Park 4: Magic Kingdom
My sister made it to the 4th park!
Amber and I could feel our measly six hours of sleep creeping up on us, and it was all I could do not to call the entire challenge off.
As a way to give ourselves a little reprieve, we decided to take the long way to Magic Kingdom.
Instead of taking the bus directly from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom, we grabbed a bus to the Contemporary resort, where we hopped on the monorail and cruised into the Magic Kingdom in style.
After soaking up some of the magic that can only be found on Main Street, we made an immediate bee-line to New Fantasyland.
Because we were using my media passes, we hadn't been able to make any prior reservations for rides, and we were hoping that we'd be able to get in the standby line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
With a 75 minute wait on that ride, we passed. No way were we waiting over an hour for one ride in the blazing heat, as most of the ride queue is uncovered.
Here, things start to get a little fuzzy.
We were in that state where we were too tired and too hungry to really decide anything, so we hit the first place that we could find for some dinner and A/C: Pinocchio's Village Haus.
I got a Caesar Salad with chicken ($8.99), and my sister ordered a pepperoni flatbread ($11.99).
We sat inside for a long time with our food before we managed to get ourselves back up and back out into the June heat.
It was about this time that we realized we'd picked the longest day of the year to accomplish the 4 Parks/ 1 Day challenge and the sun wasn't going to go down for another THREE HOURS.
We headed over to a cool, dark ride--Space Mountain--and waited a mere 50 minutes to ride it.
Even my hair buns were drooping at this point!
We had an ice cream break for some Mickey bars and sat and listened to the Mr. Incredible dance party that was going on behind us in Tomorrowland.
The Mickey bar gave us an oomph, so we looked at the wait times for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.
Both were super long, so we headed to the Haunted Mansion and visited with our favorite 999 ghosts.
It was threatening to rain, so we ducked into the giant store on Main Street, where we browsed until the parade started.
This was back in the pre-pandemic time when the nighttime parade was still a thing. Bring it back!
We watched about ten minutes of the parade before headed up to Casey's and we found some seats.
Everything hurt...which is no surprise if you consider that I'd been walking nearly constantly for about 12 hours at that point.
When I sank into that hard, metal chair at Casey's, I didn't know how I was ever going to get up. I even put my head down on the table--in the middle of a restaurant--and closed my eyes.
If I didn't adore my sister, I would have gotten a wheelchair and cruised on out of there at that moment. But my sister's one request for the 4 Parks 1 Day challenge was to see the evening fireworks.
Somehow, we fought the crowds after the show and hopped on a waiting bus
So, folks.
I officially went to all four parks at Disney World in one day. IN ONE DAY. If you want to relive the entire thing in all of its glory, check out this beautiful video I put together here on YouTube.
When it was all done, my sister said something that summed up my feelings completely:
“I’m glad I did it, but I’m never doing it again.”
-my sister on the 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge
Never. Ever. Ever. Ever.
Maybe if I rented one of those Rascal scooters so I wouldn't have to walk 5000 miles.
But that is a very distant maybe.
4 Parks/ 1 Day Challenge: Magic Kingdom Recap
Timing: Ahead of schedule. Our long route to MK via the Contemporary and the monorail still had us to the gates of Magic Kingdom by 5:45 p.m.
Rides: 2 (Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion)
Attitude: Tired. Exhausted. Incredulous that we actually finished the challenge!
Meals: Dinner at Pinocchio's Village Haus and a snack of Mickey ice cream bars.
Tips for the Day of the Disney 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge
Start early. Very early.
No sleeping in today! If you're going to conquer all four parks in one day, you're going to need every minute.
Plus, crowds are much lighter in the mornings, so you'll be able to blast through a few more rides before you have to move onto the next park.
Pack a small backpack with a water bottle.
My sister’s backpack was perfect for our water bottles and snacks.
It's easy to get dehydrated when you're outside all day in the Florida sun, so quick pit stops at the water fountains to refill your water bottle will keep you going.
I don't care for the taste of the plain water at Disney World, so I always pack something to flavor it.
These are both lightweight items and won't get in your way while you're running from park to park.
Go easy on the meals.
I'm all for eating that yummy Disney food, but this is one day that your gastronomic exploration will have to take a backseat.
My sister and I did include plenty of snack stops along the way, but we made sure to eat smaller portions than we usually would and stay away from big, carby meals.
We didn't want to risk getting super sleepy post-meal time!
Be prepared to skip rides on your itinerary, if necessary.
Occasionally, rides will be shut down for awhile for repairs or because of the weather. Don't try to wait around until it's back up, or you'll lose momentum.
Find a replacement ride, and then check often to see if your preferred ride is back up and running.
If it is, quickly go on it. If not, keep moving on. You've got a lot of park to see!
Don't lose valuable time waiting around for rides to re-open. Test Track, I'm looking at you.
Know that you will hit a wall.
It will not be fun when it happens, so take a minute to sit down, drink something, and then get back up and go some more.
I nearly called the entire challenge at about 4:30 PM on the day we attempted it because, all of a sudden, I was exhausted, hot, and a little dehydrated.
My sister convinced me to stay, and she ushered me into a nearby restaurant.
By the time I ate and cooled down, I was ready to go for a few more hours.
I look happy going into the Animal Kingdom, but my meltdown was just an hour or two away.
Pace yourself.
You'll be in the parks continually for 12+ hours (our challenge took 15!), so don't run yourself ragged in the first few moments.
Identify two or three rides per park, and do those first.
If you've got time before you need to move on, go on another one or two.
Where We Went Wrong on Our Day
Alice in Wonderland topiary in Magic Kingdom
We attempted the challenge in June.
This is not recommended!
Not only was it blazing by 10 AM, but there were so many people there.
Fighting the heat and the crowds at the same time was a major factor to why I got so burnt out mid-afternoon.
We waited around when Test Track was closed down for a summer thunderstorm.
Instead of just leaving and trying something else, we waited around for over 30 minutes.
Not only did we get sleepy in the cool building, but we also wasted a good chunk of time that could've been spent somewhere else.
Thankfully, we learned our lesson by the time we got to our third park of the day (Animal Kingdom) and skipped waiting around when we found that Dinosaur was closed.
We weren't well rested.
Instead of getting a full night's sleep before attempting the challenge, we'd only slept a few hours.
We'd driven to Florida from South Carolina the night before, leaving Charleston at 5 when my sister got off from work.
We arrived in Orlando around midnight, and then got back up for the challenge at 5:45 AM or so.
We both would've felt better by the end of the challenge if we'd had a restful night's sleep!
Final 4 Disney Parks in 1 Day Stats
15 hours
11.5 rides
1 bucket of popcorn
2 Mickey ice creams
4 bus rides
1 monorail ride
1 boat ride
Even though it was intense, the 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge was a lot of fun for both my sister and I.
We're huge fans of Walt Disney World, and we've been dozens of times, so it was exciting to see the property from a new perspective.
Would you attempt the 4 Parks 1 Day Challenge? How would you go about organizing your day?
