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Jac_Sparrow
12-30-2011, 04:55 PM
Hi Folks,

My wife and I decided to wait until our daughter is 5 before taking her to WDW...that means waiting 4 more years. Scary, I know. Well, my amazing wife surprised me at Christmas with a one day Hopper. (We are going to be in Naples, FL in March anyway)

So, we have a 3.5 hour drive to make on the morning of Wednesday, March 14, and then we have a day at the parks! My question is, do you think it's possible to hit up the following attractions in 3 parks. (I love you AK, but I'll see you in 2016...)

In no particular order:

MK: Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, PotC, HM, Jungle Cruise.

Studios: RnRC, ToT, Midway Mania

Epcot: Soarin', World Showcase.

Am I crazy, or might this work? Any and all feedback and suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,

JAC

BrerGnat
12-30-2011, 05:47 PM
You can do it! We did three parks in one day a couple weeks ago with our two young kids. We could have ridden quite a bit of what you listed, if our kids weren't total chickens. ;)

March 14 is pretty much in the middle of no particular busy time. I think you'll be fine, even if it means riding in the standby line on most stuff. Just plan it well, like start in MK, and then do DHS, ending up in Epcot, since you want to do World Showcase. Or, end up at the park that is open the latest.

Strmchsr
12-30-2011, 05:56 PM
You can definitely do three parks in one day. My suggestion would be to get to DHS at opening because Toy Story fastpasses go very quickly. Then hope to MK and finish the day at Epcot. The one disadvantage to that would be the possibility that Soarin fastpasses might be gone. Like Toy Story, they go quick, but not as quickly as Toy Story and there are sometimes some left in the afternoon. Plus WS and Illiuminations is the perfect way to end the day. If your 1 yr old is going to be with you, I would suggest scaling back and just doing 2 parks.

Jac_Sparrow
12-30-2011, 06:00 PM
If your 1 yr old is going to be with you, I would suggest scaling back and just doing 2 parks.

Ah, forgot to mention that. Our little one is staying back in Naples with my family. :) We'll miss her, but she'll get the experience of a lifetime in 2016!

Thanks for all the input so far!

VWL Mom
12-30-2011, 06:08 PM
I'm thinking of doing the same thing on March 15th but I'm a little bit less ambitious (or just a lot slower) than you are. DS19 will be playing baseball in Orlando that week and I plan to fly down to watch him for four days. He's done by 1P on the 15th so I hope to grab him and our APs and go to the parks.

Pirate Granny
12-31-2011, 12:25 AM
I would be at opening at the studios and do Mania first...then the rest of the studio rides. Take the boat over to EPCOT...see UK and Canada and head over to Soaring. We've been able to get FP well into the afternoon lately, so grab them and head for the monorail to MK. Enjoy your day. My daughter and I did 4 Parks, 3 major rides, two CS meals the Sunday before Memorial Day...after being at a Disney wedding and not getting to bed the night before until 2am...still can't believe we managed 4 parks and an afternoon 30 minute hot tub at the GF...but there was a challenge on another web-site and we were game, crazy yes, but game to try and succeeded.

BrerGnat
12-31-2011, 09:33 AM
Oh, I forgot to mention, back in May, my sister and I did basically this same thing. She had been laid up in bed sick our entire vacation, but on her last day, she got up out of bed and we hit the parks HARD that day. We did a LOT in a short amount of time. It was a blast.

She ended up being diagnosed with strep and bronchitis a week later, after getting home. So, it can be done, and it can be done with one person REALLY sick. So, my money is on you and your wife being able to do all you want in that one day.

LudwigVonDrake
12-31-2011, 04:22 PM
The first place to go is DHS and get a FP to Toy Story Mania. Epcot and Soarin' would be next. Those are the two big ones you need to get out of the way. The rest should be okay...

moobear67
01-08-2012, 11:21 PM
We've done the 4 park in 1 day thing once, several years ago. It was a blast! We are trying it again in 2 weeks. (Whoo hoo!). You shouldn't have any problem with your plan if you start early and use fast passes. Have fun!

Janmac
01-09-2012, 01:36 PM
I agree that DHS is the place to start. But only if you can be at the park at rope drop. (How early can you get up!?!) If it's a 3 hour drive, I'd be rolling by 5.

It is imperative that you go to Toy Story at rope drop. This attraction is hugely popular. So much so that you shouldn't have any trouble almost walking on to Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster. Might even have time to do the improved Star Tours.

I'd grab the 8:05 am reservation at Hollywood & Vine for breakfast (albeit expensive :D ) but you'll be inside the park at rope drop. Perhaps giving you a bit of a head start.

Even though Epcot is closest, I highly recommend doing Epcot last. The two times we've done Soarin have been after 8:30 pm with no fast passes, and less than 20 minutes wait standby. Soarin is almost as popular as Toy Story.

Suppose you are at rope drop at DHS. If you're done with your 3 attractions here by 10:30 - which is generous, I think, you should be at MK by 11:30. Give yourself 3 hours here. The main difficulty will probably be Jungle Cruise which can have brutal line waits. I'd head straight to Jungle Cruise and grab a FP, depending on what the return time is. Then do Space Mtn, catch HM on the way to Frontierland and Splash Mtn and then do PotC. Hopefully by then your return time is up for Jungle Cruise. I'm thinking you probably want to be leaving MK about 3:30. This should put you in Epcot by 4:30 - sometimes the monorail at TTC can be slow - with several hours to walk around World Showcase before arriving at Soarin about 8:30. This also should put you out of Soarin in time to see Illuminations, if that sounds good.

Another question is do you use your vehicle to get to the parks, or Disney transporation. There are pros and cons for both, especially since a Disney bus gets you closer to the MK entrance. If you do use Disney transport, DHS is open til 9 - you can grab a boat from Epcot's International Gateway back to DHS to get your car.

Enjoy!

Jan

disney obsessed
01-09-2012, 05:04 PM
I have done 4 parks in one day plus wandering the savannah at AKL. It is possible.
Be at the studios at opening for mania then go on to
Epcot then end the day at the MK.
good luck!

DisneyDog
01-11-2012, 05:19 PM
When you go to Naples, go to the Headquarters Library at Airport & Orange Blossom and tell them Jill said hi. I used to work there in the Reference Dept.

andreallybadeggs
01-11-2012, 06:24 PM
We did the DS breakfast and, while we enjoyed taking photos without many people around it did NOT give us much of a jump on the crowd since they allowed everyone to enter the park and advance as far as the rope drop which is also where we were stopped. Still, I would also make this my first stop.
If Soarin' is a priority I would probably do that after DS. The last 2 times we've parked hopped and gone to EPCOT later in the day we've had to standby for Soarin' and it was every bit as long as projected, perhaps longer.
And I would save MK and Wishes for last because a) I love Wishes! and b) it is open an hour later than the other parks. One thing working in your favor is extra magic hours at AK that day so that might pull some crowds towards the only park you are saving for your next big trip.
Whatever order you choose, however, it can def be done.:number1: