Can all 4 parks be done?

[timsueshd]

We (Mom, Dad, 13 yr DS) are arriving the Sunday after Thanksgiving at the airport 11 am, so I am assuming we can be at a park by 2 or 3.

Then we fly out Wednesday at 5:30 pm, need to be at the airport by 3. Have not decided if we are doing Magical Express back to the airport, because don’t they pick us up 4 hours early?

Obviously we want to ride all the bigger attractions and will focus on getting them done with FP+. I know we won’t be able to do everything. I am also debating adding MVMCP to our trip to help get some of the rides at MK out of the way. If we did that, I would do Tuesday night and then probably no park Wednesday since we would get back late from MK.

Basically we will have half day Sunday, all day Monday, all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Is it possible to get all 4 parks done in the time we have?

Thank you!

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

Definitely you can see all four parks! I suggest budgeting a full day and your departure morning for MK, and then splitting the rest of your time between the other 3 parks based on where your interests lie. You definitely will not be able to see everything but I've been able to fit in all four parks w/ just 2 full days before. This coming trip I have 3 full days and plan to hit all of the parks!

 

[bigbabyblues]

You can certainly visit all 4 parks and do some things in each one, but you won't be able to do everything. I would pick 3 things to do at each park, get FP for those and then anything else you get done is bonus. If you have a full day at a park, you will obviously get more than 3 things done.

Does your son know about the trip? I would ask what he is interested in. My boys are now 17 and 14 and they aren't big fans of MK. They like some things there but haven't had any use for anything in Fantasyland except for 7DMT and Peter Pan in a few years. If you don't need to do much in Fantasyland, that helps with MK.

I *think* ME is going back to a 3-hour pickup, but I'm not 100% sure because we drive. If your flight is at 5:30 and you are using ME with a 3-hour pickup window, you will need to be at your resort and ready to go, waiting for the bus 15 minutes before your pickup, so 2:00-2:15 at the latest, which means you need to be leaving the park around 1:00.

 

[chipndales]

We do it every year due to a limited schedule. We do rope drop for bigger attractions that we can't get FP for (like FOP), make a plan, and we don't take breaks. We also have hoppers which allow us to switch things up based on wait times and definitely dl the app if you don't have it to keep up to date on those closures or wait times. Totally do-able! Have fun!

 

[DavidNYC]

I thought you were going to ask about doing them in1 day! I’ve done all the major rides we wanted in all 4 in 2 day weekends no problem (you move fast and there’s not much down time but we’ve done it). You’ll have no problem. You’ll still have to pick and choose among some things and how much time you want to just take in the parks or shop but you shouldn’t have to give up any major thing you want to do.

 

[gogiantsfan11]

Yep, I did not two years ago with my 3 older kids. We had a plan and we were able to hit everything plus. We drove our car in between parks which worked out for us. I am heading back next week and plan on doing the same with my one older daughter. Had to stay onsite this time to get EMH hours at AK so I can hit Pandora land and then rope drop at another park.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think you can do it, but I wouldn't do MVMCP. It's not worth the added expense, IMHO and I think you could get more done (and save some money), by just adding the hopper option onto your ticket. I would probably do DHS on your arrival day, schedule a full day at AK (with the possibility of hopping late afternoon/early evening), do MK on a MVMCP day and hop to EP when it closes, then do EP on your departure day. DME is picking up 3 hours prior now, but may revert back to 4 hours during the holiday period. There's just no way of knowing right now.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Sure you can do all four parks no problem. Parks should be open pretty late that week also.

 

[kiramay]

We (Mom, Dad, 13 yr DS) are arriving the Sunday after Thanksgiving at the airport 11 am, so I am assuming we can be at a park by 2 or 3.

Then we fly out Wednesday at 5:30 pm, need to be at the airport by 3. Have not decided if we are doing Magical Express back to the airport, because don’t they pick us up 4 hours early?

Obviously we want to ride all the bigger attractions and will focus on getting them done with FP+. I know we won’t be able to do everything. I am also debating adding MVMCP to our trip to help get some of the rides at MK out of the way. If we did that, I would do Tuesday night and then probably no park Wednesday since we would get back late from MK.

Basically we will have half day Sunday, all day Monday, all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Is it possible to get all 4 parks done in the time we have?

Thank you!

We have a 3.5 day trip in a few weeks. Doing all 4 parks.

Day 1- We land at 9:20 am. I always estimate 3 hours from landing to walking into a park. We’re going to Epcot. FP at 12, 1, and 2:10. Biergarten at 3 pm.
Day 2- MK at 8 am EMH. FP At 10, 11:20, and 12:40 (earliest 7 Dwarfs I could get). Will definitely get a 4th and 5th fp. BOG at 12:30. Hop to Epcot for dinner at some point.
Day 3- HS. RD toy story. Maybe get a star tour ride in too. FP At 9:30, 10:30, 11:30. Sci Fi At 12:15. Definitely hopping somewhere.
Day 4- AK. Rd Everest and Dinosaur. FP At 9:30, 10:30, 11:30. ME picks up at 6:55 pm. Flight at 9:55 pm.

So even with your flight times it’s easy to do 2 full days and 2 half days, especially with FPs. Even if you do the party, I’d plan to get to a park the next day for fastpasses, even if it’s later in the day.

 

[matheke]

Since you are planning on getting to MCO around 11, allowing 2 hours to get through ME and check-in, it would be 1-2PM. Relax a little, have a decent lunch at your resort then leave around 3:15 for the 4PM opening of MVMCP that Sunday night. That still leaves you with 2 full days (Even if you start a little late on Monday) plus part of Wednesday.

I highly recommend MVMCP on arrival days since you have already killed 1/2 a day travelling.

 

[Gehrig1B]

With a 5:30 departure I would use RAC before heading out in the morning and, if possible, take carry on items with me to the park and place in a locker to maximize my time. You could then use Uber/Lyft from the park, leaving as late as 3:00. Otherwise leave carry on items with bell services and have your ride share go by the resort before heading out to the MCO, adding 15 minutes to your departure window.

We used RAC and then Uber to MCO during the holidays recently. Even with a return to a 3 hour DME pick up I would use Uber again.

We had an Uber pickup at 3 hours prior to departure from Wilderness Lodge and arrived at our gate (JetBlue), using TSA Pre check, a full 2 hours prior to departure. Seems the no TSA security check earlier than 2 hours prior to departure at MCO does not apply to pre check, at least it did not for us. The posted wait time at security was 38 minutes.

I believe even without pre check arriving 2 hours prior to departure is plenty of time when your bags have already been checked in at the resort and boarding passes are in hand. We will now choose an Uber/Lyft pick up at 2 hours prior to departure.

There are always extenuating circumstances and if you are risk averse then this may not be comfortable for you.

 

[cindyfan]

We easily do 2-3 parks a day when the weather isn't hot. You will have 2 full days plus 1/2 day (arrival day) to do parks.
Why do you need to be at the airport by 3? Are you flying internationally? Otherwise ME is back to the 3 hour prior to flight for pick up. So you can do a park that morning.... just be back at the resort for ME by 2p.
Here's a typical 3-4 day trip for us.... such as we did for Food and Wine in fall.
Day 1.... Arrival 10am.... ME to resort.... Head to Epcot 1-1:30ish.... have FP+ for late afternoon and enjoy Food and Wine for dinner. Hop the monorail to MK only if MK is scheduled to stay open later... like till 11p.
Day 2.... AK... rope drop.... rides/shows/lunch .... then head to Studios ... have FP+ for afternoon. Stick around for Fantasmic depending on time. Then head back to Epcot for some food and Illuminations.... depending on what time we get out of Studios.
Day 3 ... MK ... rope drop (hit Big Thunder, Haunted, etc) .... FP+ for late morning/early afternoon for things like 7-Dwarfs then try for additional FP+. Possibly hop the monorail to Epcot for dinner... then back to MK.... stay for Happily Ever After.
Day 4.... AK ... rope drop.... try for FP+ .... by 12:30 head back to resort to catch ME.

Some things will totally depend on park hours and scheduled times.... such as if Fantasmic is scheduled at 7p... it is easy to make it to Epcot for Illuminations at 9p. Same with being able to hit Rivers of Light.... which if the time wasn't good we'd skip... but if it was at 7:15 we could easily get back to Epcot or Studios (if Fantasmic has a second show)...
Really just takes a bit of planning and being flexible. And rope drop is important!

 

[GPC0321]

We (Mom, Dad, 13 yr DS) are arriving the Sunday after Thanksgiving at the airport 11 am, so I am assuming we can be at a park by 2 or 3.

Then we fly out Wednesday at 5:30 pm, need to be at the airport by 3. Have not decided if we are doing Magical Express back to the airport, because don’t they pick us up 4 hours early?

Obviously we want to ride all the bigger attractions and will focus on getting them done with FP+. I know we won’t be able to do everything. I am also debating adding MVMCP to our trip to help get some of the rides at MK out of the way. If we did that, I would do Tuesday night and then probably no park Wednesday since we would get back late from MK.

Basically we will have half day Sunday, all day Monday, all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Is it possible to get all 4 parks done in the time we have?

Thank you!

We did exactly this time frame (Sunday arrival through Wednesday departure) when we went for Christmastime (December 17-20). We had 3-day park-hoppers and MVMCP tickets on arrival night. Rides weren't a priority, the holiday stuff was our focus, as was taking our leisurely time. We did Epcot and MVMCP our arrival day (we got to our resort at 9am). AK, HS, and MK on Monday, and MK and Epcot on Tuesday. Departed on DME at 10:00am Wednesday.

This was without really trying. We had one "main thing" each day (MVMCP Sunday, JBJB Dessert Party Monday, Candlelight Dinner and Processional Tuesday), and we just filled in around those things. It helped that we actually flew in on Saturday night, spent the night at the MCO Hyatt, and were first in line for Magical Express ("line"...there were four other people total) first thing Sunday morning.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Then we fly out Wednesday at 5:30 pm, need to be at the airport by 3. Have not decided if we are doing Magical Express back to the airport, because don’t they pick us up 4 hours early?

It's back to three hours, as of this past Thursday. If it changes again, it would be due to airport recommendations, just like last time.