If you haven't read my previous two posts yet (or visited my page describing my quest), I am going to try to visit all four Disney World parks in one day on October 29. And here's the tough part - I'm going to try to visit 25 attractions at the parks, including all the "biggest" attractions. Yes, in one day! As far as I know, this has never before been done successfully. And as I'm planning, I'm not sure I'll be able to do it either!
You may be wondering how I plan to accomplish this task. So I'm going to give you a high-level sense of my planning so far. I use similar planning techniques for my Optimal Magic customers. However, this is far more complex than the plans for my customers, because in essence, I'm trying to experience a week's worth of attractions in one day! And unfortunately, unlike my customers, I'm going to have to wait in some lines.
Constraints
First, here the constraints:
Park Hours
Animal Kingdom is open 8am-5pm (including morning Extra Magic Hours)
Magic Kingdom is open 9am-12am (including evening Extra Magic Hours)
Epcot is open 9am-9pm
Hollywood Studios is open 9am-8pm
Traveling - I will have access to a car from 7am-2pm, but not after (my brother will accompany me the first half of the day before he has to head to a trade show in the afternoon, and he's taking the car).
Attraction List - The 25 attractions I'm planning to visit are listed here - there are at least four attractions at each park (and the four "biggest" at each park, as well).
The biggest problem - Soarin' and Toy Story Midway Mania
Here's the deal - the two toughest attractions to complete without waiting in lines are Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios and Soarin' at Epcot. Both have long lines 10 minutes after their respective parks open, and their Fastpass times go through the roof early (so it's not an option). That means I need to be at one of those two rides right at opening (and suck it up and deal with a wait for the other). I think Hollywood Studios is a better place to go to first, because the other rides I'm experiencing at Hollywood Studios (Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours) all can have long lines, so I should pick them off early before the lines build.
However, you may notice that Animal Kingdom opens an hour earlier. While I'm less concerned about hitting all the Animal Kingdom attractions, every moment counts. So my thought is to quickly take in one or two Animal Kingdom attractions, then get to Hollywood Studios for its opening.
So here's the step-by-step strategy:
Start at Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hour
7:00am - be at Animal Kingdom parking lot (need as close a parking spot as possible)
8:00am - get to Expedition Everest - be on the first train
Next, there's likely only time for one more ride - gonna go with Primeval Whirl (sort of on the way back to the front of the park, and short)
By 8:15 I need to run back to the car, and drive to Hollywood Studios. I hope to make it to the front by park opening.
Next to Hollywood Studios
8:45 - Start Hollywood Studios plan. This is pretty easy - I simply MUST get to Toy Story Mania as fast as possible, followed by Tower of Terror, Rock 'N Roller Coaster (singles line), and Star Tours. Still haven't decided proper order of Tower of Terror and Rock 'N Roller Coaster
By 10:30 I'm hoping I'm done with Hollywood Studios, and can get to Epcot by 11:00am.
Onward to Epcot
Epcot is going to present a problem - at 11:00am I anticipate an hour wait for Soarin, and Fastpass return times too late to use. I'm probably going to just have to deal with the Soarin' line. My thought is to get a Mission: Space Fastpass, then hit Soarin, The Seas, Journey into Imagination and then Mission: Space, saving Spaceship Earth for last (as the lines get shorter as the day goes on at Spaceship Earth). I hope to be out of Epcot by 1:15pm.
Back to Animal Kingdom!
At this point, I need to get back to Animal Kingdom and finish off the park. Unfortunately, my brother and partner in crime has to leave me at this point for a conference (what kind of priorities does he have?!?). So he'll drop me off at Animal Kingdom, and I'm going solo. If I arrive by 1:50, I still have to experience Kali River Rapids, It's Tough to be a Bug, Dinosaur, and Kilamajaro Safari's. I'll probably get a Fastpass for one of Kali and the Safari's, hit the other attractions, then return to use my Fastpass. I think I can get out of the park by 4:15 (I'm counting on crowds to fade starting at parade time if I get in trouble).
To the Magic Kingdom (finally!)
I hope to arrive at the Magic Kingdom by 5:00 at the latest. Unfortunately, the Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom bus stops at the TTC and adds a monorail trip (more time!). So if I see a Contemporary Resort bus, I'm taking that instead. Then I can run from the Contemporary Resort to the Magic Kingdom entrance. (Though I'm pretty much taking the first bus to a Magic Kingdom area resort I can find).
As far as the Magic Kingdom plan, it's going to take some creativity. I have 11 attractions to hit in 7 hours. Sounds pretty doable - I'm still working on the optimal plan, but I'm sure I can come up with something. The key (beyond usual Fastpass strategies) is to hold off until later for the longest line attractions where Fastpass isn't a viable strategy (like Peter Pan).
Conclusion - will this even be possible?
To tell the truth, I have no idea if this will work or not. 25 attractions at four parks in one day is insane. And I have several "points of concern":
What are my odds of succeeding? I'm going to say maybe 25%. I'm fairly confident I can get to 20 attractions (heck, I KNOW I could get to 20 it if I just cut out Toy Story, Soarin', and three attractions at Animal Kingdom, but that's cheating). So we'll see! Don't forget to follow my Twitter page for updates (live as long as my phone survives on the day of the challenge)
And finally, a reminder - I am trying to use this crazy stunt to raise money for Make-A-Wish foundation. Please consider making a donation - you can do so at this link.
You may be wondering how I plan to accomplish this task. So I'm going to give you a high-level sense of my planning so far. I use similar planning techniques for my Optimal Magic customers. However, this is far more complex than the plans for my customers, because in essence, I'm trying to experience a week's worth of attractions in one day! And unfortunately, unlike my customers, I'm going to have to wait in some lines.
Constraints
First, here the constraints:
Park Hours
Animal Kingdom is open 8am-5pm (including morning Extra Magic Hours)
Magic Kingdom is open 9am-12am (including evening Extra Magic Hours)
Epcot is open 9am-9pm
Hollywood Studios is open 9am-8pm
Traveling - I will have access to a car from 7am-2pm, but not after (my brother will accompany me the first half of the day before he has to head to a trade show in the afternoon, and he's taking the car).
Attraction List - The 25 attractions I'm planning to visit are listed here - there are at least four attractions at each park (and the four "biggest" at each park, as well).
The biggest problem - Soarin' and Toy Story Midway Mania
Here's the deal - the two toughest attractions to complete without waiting in lines are Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios and Soarin' at Epcot. Both have long lines 10 minutes after their respective parks open, and their Fastpass times go through the roof early (so it's not an option). That means I need to be at one of those two rides right at opening (and suck it up and deal with a wait for the other). I think Hollywood Studios is a better place to go to first, because the other rides I'm experiencing at Hollywood Studios (Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours) all can have long lines, so I should pick them off early before the lines build.
However, you may notice that Animal Kingdom opens an hour earlier. While I'm less concerned about hitting all the Animal Kingdom attractions, every moment counts. So my thought is to quickly take in one or two Animal Kingdom attractions, then get to Hollywood Studios for its opening.
So here's the step-by-step strategy:
Start at Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hour
7:00am - be at Animal Kingdom parking lot (need as close a parking spot as possible)
8:00am - get to Expedition Everest - be on the first train
Next, there's likely only time for one more ride - gonna go with Primeval Whirl (sort of on the way back to the front of the park, and short)
By 8:15 I need to run back to the car, and drive to Hollywood Studios. I hope to make it to the front by park opening.
Next to Hollywood Studios
8:45 - Start Hollywood Studios plan. This is pretty easy - I simply MUST get to Toy Story Mania as fast as possible, followed by Tower of Terror, Rock 'N Roller Coaster (singles line), and Star Tours. Still haven't decided proper order of Tower of Terror and Rock 'N Roller Coaster
By 10:30 I'm hoping I'm done with Hollywood Studios, and can get to Epcot by 11:00am.
Onward to Epcot
Epcot is going to present a problem - at 11:00am I anticipate an hour wait for Soarin, and Fastpass return times too late to use. I'm probably going to just have to deal with the Soarin' line. My thought is to get a Mission: Space Fastpass, then hit Soarin, The Seas, Journey into Imagination and then Mission: Space, saving Spaceship Earth for last (as the lines get shorter as the day goes on at Spaceship Earth). I hope to be out of Epcot by 1:15pm.
Back to Animal Kingdom!
At this point, I need to get back to Animal Kingdom and finish off the park. Unfortunately, my brother and partner in crime has to leave me at this point for a conference (what kind of priorities does he have?!?). So he'll drop me off at Animal Kingdom, and I'm going solo. If I arrive by 1:50, I still have to experience Kali River Rapids, It's Tough to be a Bug, Dinosaur, and Kilamajaro Safari's. I'll probably get a Fastpass for one of Kali and the Safari's, hit the other attractions, then return to use my Fastpass. I think I can get out of the park by 4:15 (I'm counting on crowds to fade starting at parade time if I get in trouble).
To the Magic Kingdom (finally!)
I hope to arrive at the Magic Kingdom by 5:00 at the latest. Unfortunately, the Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom bus stops at the TTC and adds a monorail trip (more time!). So if I see a Contemporary Resort bus, I'm taking that instead. Then I can run from the Contemporary Resort to the Magic Kingdom entrance. (Though I'm pretty much taking the first bus to a Magic Kingdom area resort I can find).
As far as the Magic Kingdom plan, it's going to take some creativity. I have 11 attractions to hit in 7 hours. Sounds pretty doable - I'm still working on the optimal plan, but I'm sure I can come up with something. The key (beyond usual Fastpass strategies) is to hold off until later for the longest line attractions where Fastpass isn't a viable strategy (like Peter Pan).
Conclusion - will this even be possible?
To tell the truth, I have no idea if this will work or not. 25 attractions at four parks in one day is insane. And I have several "points of concern":
- Making rope drop at Hollywood Studios. I miss rope drop by 15 minutes could cost me over three hours over the course of the day (because of the snowball effect - each wait makes the next wait longer). Part of me wants to forget about morning hours at Animal Kingdom to ens
- The Soarin' wait. Can't avoid it. Hope it's not that bad!
- Walking/running over 15 miles - I run 5K races with my daughter every so often, so I'm not totally out of shape, but I haven't run more than four miles in a day in over a decade!
- When will I eat?
- What if a ride breaks down when I'm in line? Or (even worse) when I'm on it? If I lose an hour of time sitting on a broken-down attraction, I'm toast.
What are my odds of succeeding? I'm going to say maybe 25%. I'm fairly confident I can get to 20 attractions (heck, I KNOW I could get to 20 it if I just cut out Toy Story, Soarin', and three attractions at Animal Kingdom, but that's cheating). So we'll see! Don't forget to follow my Twitter page for updates (live as long as my phone survives on the day of the challenge)
And finally, a reminder - I am trying to use this crazy stunt to raise money for Make-A-Wish foundation. Please consider making a donation - you can do so at this link.
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