Growing up in Central Florida meant I was a Disney regular. I’m lucky enough to have been an annual pass holder for as long as I can remember and consider myself a Disney expert. When the out-of-town family comes to visit, I’m always the Disney tour guide. Despite being a regular, it wasn’t until almost eighteen and a half years of existence that I attempted the famous “Four Parks in One Day” challenge.
While it might seem self-explanatory, there are a few rules to the challenge. To have “officially” visited the parks, you have to have seen a show or gone on a ride, not just stepped foot into the park. Some might argue that you have to have a snack or drink to call it official, but Disney prices being where they are, that would get super expensive!
Before school started up, my neighbor Allie and I decided we were going to attempt this challenge as kind of a farewell to summer. We had always talked about doing it but finally decided to take action. We set a day aside and planned out what we were going to do. Both of us like sleeping in, so we decided we would start in the afternoon. Considering we were both about to be college freshmen, we decided to pass on the drink/snack at every park and instead went for just an attraction.
Photo courtesy of Alexa Hilston
The first park we went to was Hollywood Studios. We watched the Star Wars stage show (one of my personal favorites) and decided on our first official attraction would be. It was pretty crowded, so we settled on watching the live Beauty and the Beast stage show, which Allie had never seen.
Photo courtesy of Alexa Hilston
Our second park was Epcot, which was rough to get to with all the construction. Epcot is the best place to go for walking, considering it is just one giant circle. Because of that, we decided to not go super far into Epcot and ended up on Spaceship Earth, which took quite a bit of time (mechanical issues kept stopping the ride). We then stopped for our last free soda tasting at Club Cool, before heading on to the next park.
Photo courtesy of Alexa Hilston
Our third park was the Animal Kingdom. At this point, we decided to have dinner, but we conquered the ride with the shortest wait in the park, which was Dinosaur. We both forgot how intense it was, and after we had (barely) survived we headed to Pizzafari. Disney pizza is the best pizza, and the best days calls for only the best meals. This was also the perfect time to relax and recharge before heading on to our last park of the day.
Photo courtesy of Alexa Hilston
Our final park was the Magic Kingdom, where we officially were able to say we had conquered the four parks in one day challenge. We obtained our celebratory buttons and were in place at the perfect time to watch the best show on Disney property: Happily Ever After. The fireworks were the perfect end to the perfect day. While we waited for the biggest crowd to clear out, we ran back to Fantasyland and met Tiana and Rapunzel, then headed back home.
Visiting all four parks in one day is quite a challenge, but not to worry, I have three quick tips for conquering the challenge. First, have a good person to do it with. Allie is one of the best people I could’ve had alongside me. I’ve known her since we were in fourth grade, and while we may not always be in the same social circles, we have quite a bond. The second tip is to be prepared. Carry a portable charger, wear good shoes and comfortable clothing, and have a rain jacket. These are all essentials! The last tip is to take advantage of the My Disney Experience app. The app helped us plan which park was next, which ride had the shortest wait time, and literally anything else we needed from Disney.
If you’re a Central Floridian with a Disney pass, this challenge should be something that you at least attempt. You never know what will happen, but you’re bound to make a ton of memories.