How easy is it to Park-hop at WDW?

[Mrh182]

Hey all, I'm going to Orlando for the first time in mid-May and its probably obvious I want to do as much possible in a short amount of time. While going to WDW is my #1, others in my family want to go to places like Universal Studios.

So my question is this... how hard is it to Park-hop between different ones? I've gone through all the rides and attractions at each park and while the Magic Kingdom is an obvious all-day event, I don't feel the same way about Animal Kingdom.

Is it possible to do Animal Kingdom in the morning then head over to like Epcot to get them both done in the same day?

Give me all the tips you've got! Thanks!

[Never Enough Mickeys]

It's quite possible to parkhop two parks, but not three parks unless you know exactly what you want to do. Because of the size of WDW, you could be looking at a 30 to 45 minute ride from one park to another, and another 30 minutes of waiting for the bus/boat. It'll depend on how good your timing is.

I've done Animal Kingdom during the day, took a break back at the hotel (Yacht Club) and then took in Epcot with the extra magic hours at night.

Your best bet to do two parks in a day is to select one park that has extra magic hours.

Have a wonderful time! WDW does not dissapoint!

[uscfan7690]

Is it possible to do Animal Kingdom in the morning then head over to like Epcot to get them both done in the same day?


In my most humble opinion, EPCOT merits a full day's visit at least.

Having visited WDW on a similar timetable in the past, I attempted to do what you are suggesting and ended up regretting not devoting a full day to EPCOT. My pocketbook regretted the error too...

If you are limited to two days, it will be more cost effective if you purchase a two-day ticket without hopper priveleges versus a two-day ticket with them ($132 w/o hopper versus $177 with).

[Major Disney Freak]

What I suggest is doing Animal Kingdom and MGM together in one day. Animal Kingdom closes early, so go there in the morning. Since Animal Kingdom and MGM don't have a large number of attractions, it's easy to hit the major attractions at both parks in one park hopping day. Dedicate at least one full day each to MK and Epcot. Trust me on that one!

[Kileli]

It depends if you are staying at a Disney Resort. We were there for two weeks last summer, and oe day, we got all four parks in, plus a little of DD. If you are staying at a Disney Resortm thereis a great thing called the magical express. At each park and resort, a bus will come. each bus has a diffrent destination. You could easily get to each of the parks. and you can even take the Monorail from or to EPCOT from the MK.

[Mrh182]

hey all, we actually aren't staying at an on-property hotel when we go because we have a time share in Orlando for a condo for the week.

Is the "extra hours" thing available to people that don't stay on property?

Also, how does travel work between the parks? Do they have a bus or something we can get on that takes us from one park to the other? I believe I read that Epcot and the MK have the monorail, but not the other two.

Thanks again for all the help!



PS.... to anyone who has gone before, as far as Universal Studios... it is difficult to park hop from Universal in the morning to Islands of Adventure at night... or is it too big to do? Thanks

[Kileli]

oh...that makes it more difficult. now you can't use the bus thingy. (well, you could, but you are not supposed too...) and the after hours do not apply( they check something to see that you are a resort member) as for the park hopping from US, I have no idea

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Hey all, I'm going to Orlando for the first time in mid-May and its probably obvious I want to do as much possible in a short amount of time. While going to WDW is my #1, others in my family want to go to places like Universal Studios.

So my question is this... how hard is it to Park-hop between different ones? I've gone through all the rides and attractions at each park and while the Magic Kingdom is an obvious all-day event, I don't feel the same way about Animal Kingdom.

Is it possible to do Animal Kingdom in the morning then head over to like Epcot to get them both done in the same day?

Give me all the tips you've got! Thanks!

Park hopping is very possible at WDW, but it does take about 30mins out of your day to do. All properties are connected by bus. You can go anywhere from anywhere, except to Downtown Disney from a Theme Park and vice/versa. The bus operators ask no questions, there are no fees for its use, you can be an on or off-property guest, makes no difference. It's just up to you to be on the right bus going to the right place. Each theme park has several bus stops with destinations clearly marked out for each stop. Just be sure to read the signs to know where to pick up the bus going to where you want to go. Every bus has a large electronic sign above its windshield displaying its destination. There are also secondary electronic signs on either side about 2/3 of the way back. Make sure you look at those to ensure you're getting on the correct bus.

Also keep in mind that Epcot and Magic Kingdom are connected by Monorail, which is easier to use than the buses, though take about the same amount of time. Keep in mind that there is a transfer at the TTC that must be made between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. All guests traveling between those two parks must change Monorails at the TTC. Again, simply follow the signs and you'll get to where you want to go.

Hope that helped some. :smile:

hey all, we actually aren't staying at an on-property hotel when we go because we have a time share in Orlando for a condo for the week.

Is the "extra hours" thing available to people that don't stay on property?

Also, how does travel work between the parks? Do they have a bus or something we can get on that takes us from one park to the other? I believe I read that Epcot and the MK have the monorail, but not the other two.

Thanks again for all the help!

PS.... to anyone who has gone before, as far as Universal Studios... it is difficult to park hop from Universal in the morning to Islands of Adventure at night... or is it too big to do? Thanks

Extra Magic Hours are for on-property guests only I'm afraid. As for Universal, I wouldn't recommend park hopping because of the multitude in each park, especially at Islands of Adventure. IoA has the best themeing of any theme park in the USA today. I know some will be shocked at my saying this, but if you go there and see it for yourself, you'll understand what I'm talking about. There is a multitude of good thrill rides, dark rides, immersion rides (Poseidon's Fury), and it's a very fun park to see. If I were you, I'd devote one full day to IoA, and then see how much time it takes to do Universal Studios Florida (the other park on the property). In the past 2 years I've been to Universal Orlando twice, and never walked into the Studios park. Why? Because Islands of Adventure is just that good.

-- PMM :cool:

[Major Disney Freak]

If you're staying off-property, park hopping is extremely difficult. All I can say if you are going to try to park hop, good luck!

[Mrh182]

Hmmmmm....

So I've now gotten conflicted reports about it... Some say it's quite possible... others say it's nearly impossible....

I guess I'll just hope for the best :)

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Where you're staying is irrelevant to how easy park hopping is. Everyone rides the same buses. There are no advantages for staying on property when it comes to hopping between parks. It's never considered. Say you're at Epcot and you're going to Animal Kingdom. You go to Epcot's bus stops, find which area the bus to Animal Kingdom loads at, and wait there. Then when the bus comes, you get on it. It's really quite simple, just time consuming.

-- PMM :cool:

[Major Disney Freak]

PeoplemoverMatt, if you think about it, if Mrh182 stays off-property, unless her hotel has a shuttle to the parks, she has to use a car to get to the parks and to park hop. Park hopping with a car is possible, but it can be really time consuming.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

PeoplemoverMatt, if you think about it, if Mrh182 stays off-property, unless her hotel has a shuttle to the parks, she has to use a car to get to the parks and to park hop. Park hopping with a car is possible, but it can be really time consuming.

It'd be an accomplishment these days to find an off-property hotel that doesn't have a shuttle. Every hotel within 15 minutes of WDW will most likely offer one, and they'll advertise having that shuttle to potential guests. If you're looking at a hotel and there's no mention of a free shuttle, don't count on there being one. It's quite easy to find an off-property hotel with a free shuttle service.

Once she uses that to get to the parks, she can ride the buses to park hop, which is no more/less time consuming on average than hopping by car. Sure there's no waiting for your car but factor in the time it takes to find your car in the huge parking lot, get out of that lot, drive to the next park, park in its huge parking lot and walk from whereever you were told to park to that park's gate...it might have ended up taking even longer than the bus would have.

It's always a question for off-property guests whether they need to rent a car. Last time I went, we rented a car because we didn't want to operate on anyone's schedule but ours. We still used the buses to park hop & things worked out pretty well mobility-wise. The process takes time, but its relatively painless to do. Like I said before, the worst part about park hopping at WDW is that it takes time.

-- PMM :cool:

[sora_145]

Those extra magic hours really come in handy. Thats one or two hours where theres only about 75 people in the park. No waiting times. Nothing.

[head mouse]

2 years ago. my ex wife and I did 3 parks in one day. We didn't do everything, but hit the "hot spots" It was a very tiring day, but it can be done (kinda).

This year my Wife and I are doing our Honeymoon 8 days so we'll have plenty of time to see the parks.