Travel Guide: Completing Walt Disney World’s 4-Park Challenge Solo (with time stamps).

I’ve now done three solo trips to Walt Disney World, but my latest one was my longest yet! I was there for 11 days, and with all that time on my hands, I was desperate to finally do (and complete) the famous Four Park Challenge.

I honestly had the best day ever and I’m here to tell you exactly how I did it (with time stamps!)

So, ready to find out how my WDW Four Park Challenge day went!? Let’s go!

The Four Park Challenge Rules

The rules of the challenge are pretty simple.

1. Take a photo at each park with one of the famous icons of that park
2. Go on at least one ride
3. Have a snack/food item
4. Ride all forms of Disney Transportation

To visit four parks in one day you need to make sure you have a park-hopper ticket. For US visitors you’ll need to specifically buy a park-hopper ticket, but for UK/Irish visitors it’s included in your 7-day or 14-day ticket.

Where I Stayed

I’ve stayed at six of the best resorts for Disney in Orlando, but was staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for this challenge and it was honestly such a perfect resort.

Super small and intimate, easy to get around, and absolutely stunning. 

Also I know it’s controversial, but I actually love the Disney bus service and will always choose the bus over the Skyliner (I know).

My Strategy

Now, my strategy for the day was to spend roughly two hours at each park.

I’m not very good at spending all day – morning to night – at the parks. I find I get really overwhelmed and exhausted, so I decided to start early with early entry, and finish with Animal Kingdom so I was back at the resort by around 6:30pm so I could chill and get an early night.

For me, this was the perfect choice as it meant I was back at my hotel by 6pm and eating a resort pizza in bed ready for an early night haha.

But most people do the opposite and actually start at Animal Kingdom, because it opens an hour earlier than the other parks.

If you have more stamina (and less health conditions) than me, it’ll be much easier for you to start early and finish late. But I managed to do the entire challenge between 8am-6pm, and I still had the best time even though I didn’t do any fireworks that day.

Also I did book two lightning lanes for rides I really wanted to do, but I made sure I did non-lightning lane rides in those parks as well, as it felt a bit like cheating to get LL?!

Park 1 – Hollywood Studios

I decided to start the day at Hollywood Studios with early entry, and then end it at Animal Kingdom. 

My main reason for doing this was because I wanted to visit AK in the late afternoon/evening when it’s quieter (most people seem to go in the morning and leave after lunch).

08:00 – Bus to Hollywood Studios

I woke up around 7am and got showered and ready for the day, then headed to the bus stop around 7:40am.

Port Orleans French Quarter only has one bus stop as it’s so small, and I’d annoyingly just missed a bus, but one came about 15-minutes later and by 8am I was on the bus!

08:17 – Arrive at Hollywood Studios for Early Entry

The bus service at Disney is sooo fast which is why I love it so much. By 8:15am we had arrived, and by 8:17 I was scanning my magic band.

I’d planned to use my early entry to ride Slinky, but annoyingly it was down and didn’t reopen until later in the morning. 

I had an individual lightning lane for Rise at Seven booked for 10am, and Runaway Railway was also down, so instead I pivoted and went straight to Star Tours.

08:32 – Star Tours

I was in the first group on Star Tours and I never understand why it’s such an unpopular ride.

It’s one of my favourites – it’s just a classic 90s Disney ride/simulator and I love it so much! 

Star Tours ticked off, I walked down to the Galaxy’s Edge section of the park to ride Smugglers Run as the wait time was non-existant. 

08:54 – Smugglers Run

I walked straight onto Smugglers Run and it was SO much fun!

It was so empty that it was just me and another single rider in the ship as pilots, we had no one else there to help us and well…it quickly became apparent that we weren’t the best pilots haha.

We survived with a score of 39%. Oops.

09:17 – Tater Tots at Woody’s Lunchbox

By this time I was pretty hungry so I went in search of food.

Annoyingly Hollywood Studios has the worst quick service IMO, and it’s even worse in the mornings as a lot of the places don’t open until 10am or 11am. 

I’m quite fussy with food, and so I just got a pot of the Tater Tots at Woody’s Lunchbox to stave off the hunger and tick off my park snack.

09:35 – Alien Swirling Saucers

After my tater tots I still had about half an hour before my Rise lightning lane, so went on Alien Swirling Saucers as the queue was only 5-mins.

Possibly the shortest ride ever, but good fun and a new one for me!

10:09 – Pink Milk in Galaxy’s Edge

I’d heard sooo much about the blue milk at the Milk Stand in Galaxy’s Edge, but when I got there I instantly wanted the new pink milk instead.

The pink milk didn’t look as fun or unique as the blueberry-flavoured blue milk (it just looks like a pink strawberry drink…which it is haha), but it was so tasty and exactly what I wanted!

10:18 – Rise of the Resistance (individual lightning lane)

And then finally, it was time for Rise of the Resistance, one of my favourite rides at Disney World!

It’s one of those rides that just never disappoints. 

It’s an unbelievable experience every single time and 100% worth the lightning lane in my opinion because the queue is always huge.

10:44 – Skyliner to EPCOT

After Rise it was time to head to my second park of the day: Epcot!

I took the Skyliner, and 25mins later I had arrived.

Park 2 – EPCOT

11:09 – Arrive at EPCOT via Skyliner

Epcot is my favourite park at Disney and I can easily stay there for hours, so I needed to be very careful to make sure I didn’t get distracted.

Because I entered via the back entrance near the Skyliner, my original plan was to go to Remy’s first, but it was down, so I walked straight to Guardians.

11:24 – Guardians of the Galaxy (individual lightning lane)

I had a lightning lane for Guardians because again, the queue is always huuuuge.

It’s my absolute favourite ride at Disney World and I can ride it again and again and again and never get bored (although I’ve ridden it so much now that I just cannot stand the pre-show as I’ve seen it so much).

The only downside on this ride was that I got Conga, which is probably my least favourite song to get on Guardians (September & Everybody Wants to Rule the World are my faves).

12:19 – Figment 

After Guardians I went on Figment as I’d never been on it before.

It was…um…not good.

I’m so sorry, I know it’s a cult favourite.

I really wasn’t a fan and it wasn’t worth the 20-minute queue for me.

Definitely a one and done.

12:40 – Peach Dole Whip from Swirled Showcase

But…the Peach Dole Whip more than made up for Figment!

Oh. My. Goodness.

It was incredible!!! The texture was sort of a cross between sorbet and ice-cream, but it was utter perfection.

12:55 – Monorail to TTC

So, rides, snack, and photo done, it was onto the third park: Magic Kingdom!

Now, my aim was to take all forms of Disney transportation, so in order to get the ferry to MK, I took the Monorail to TTC and then the ferry to MK.

It was a very long way to get to the park as I just missed the ferry and had to wait 20-minutes for the next one.

Annoyingly I forgot to take any photos – I only got videos for my YouTube video. Oops.

13:22 – Ferry to Magic Kingdom

Finally I was on the ferry and on my way to Magic Kingdom – and I had successfully used all forms of Disney transportation in one day!

Park 3 – Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom was so insanely busy when I arrived, that I wanted to leave as soon as possible haha.

13:29 – Arrive at Magic Kingdom

I usually only go to MK early in the morning or in the evening, so it was slightly stressful being there at lunchtime.

The wait times for the rides were also huuuuge, and by this point I was very hungry as I hadn’t really had any proper food all day.

So, I needed to be in and out – do my challenge tasks, then move on to Animal Kingdom.

13:33 – Watch Dapper Dans at Casey’s

I walked up Main Street and heard the Dapper Dans singing outside Casey’s, so naturally stopped for a quick listen.

Then, it was onto the ride with the lowest wait time…

13:39 – People Mover

Yes, the People Mover! This is actually a ride I’m very fond of. 

I love how you can just sit and chill for 10-minutes, it’s so peaceful and relaxing.

When I got off the Little Mermaid was only a 5-minute wait, so I headed up there but by the time I arrived it had gone up to 30-minutes!

I decided to abandon the plan, and headed to Columbia Harbour House for lunch.

14:26 – Lobster Roll Lunch at Columbia Harbour House

I’d never eaten at Columbia Harbour House before, so I got the Lobster Roll as everyone raves about it.

I actually arrived there around 2pm, but the queue was so huge I finally got my food at almost 2:30pm.

But, the lobster roll was great (although I’m still not sure how I feel about the hush puppies…) and I felt ready for my fourth park after filling up on the lobster roll and hush puppies.

14:59 – Bus to Animal Kingdom

Full from lunch and desperate to get away from the insane crowds, I left MK and got the bus to my fourth and final park: Animal Kingdom! 

Park 4 – Animal Kingdom

I’m a big fan of Animal Kingdom, but it’s definitely a half day park for me. Or in this case…a 2-hour park.

(Don’t worry, I had another day here later in the week to do it properly!)

15:19 – Arrive at Animal Kingdom

I arrived at AK and instantly felt my body de-stress now that I was away from MK.

Honestly, Animal Kingdom is just such a beautiful park.

15:25 – Photos with Pluto

I was walking towards the Tree of Life when I spotted a very short queue to meet Pluto, so I jumped in and got this epic series of photos haha.

They make me laugh so much.

I’m not much of a character person – I definitely prefer the animal/costume characters to face characters – and Pluto is one of my favourites.

15:35 – Na’avi River Journey

Then, after taking my obligatory photo with the Tree of Life, I got a strawberry ice lolly and a powerade and then headed to Na’avi River Journey.

It’s a favourite of mine – I love it so much that I wish it was an hour long and in canoe style boats so I could just lay down and have a nap while floating along the river. I find it sooo calming and feel like it almost resets my nervous system?

The darkness, the music, the lights. It’s sensory perfection for me.

16:10 – Cookie Dough Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwich from Terra Treats

Although I’d got a strawberry ice lolly already, I wanted my ‘official’ park challenge snack to be the new Cookie Dough Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwich from Terra Treats. 

Now, it’s important to remember that a lot of the snack huts at AK close at 5pm, so make sure you go before 5pm!!

Thankfully I checked before joining the queue for Flight of Passage, so I ran over to grab one before FoP.

You guys.

This snack is probably my favourite snack in all of WDW. 

It is incredible!!! 

But it is huge. I sadly couldn’t finish it no matter how badly I wanted to. It’s definitely enough for two people!

I mean just look at it!

16:48 – Avatar Flight of Passage

And then it was time for my last ride of the day! 

Flight of Passage is another of my faves, it’s just sooo magical. Like it genuinely feels like you’re flying on a banshee through Pandora. Absolutely stunning.

Thankfully the queue was only 30-minutes long as I was pretty exhausted by this point.

I’d done three park days before my Four Park Challenge Day, so I was very ready for a shower, and early night, and a good sleep. 

17:19 – Check out the Flamingos & Otters

On my way out of the park I visited the Otters and Flamingos, and then it was time to head to the bus stop!

17:21 – Completed the Disney Four Park Challenge!

I still can’t believe I actually managed to finish it! So, here are the things I did to complete the challenge:

Hollywood Studios:

1. Took a photo with the Chinese Theatre/Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway 
2. Went on Star Tours, Smugglers Run, Alien Swirling Saucers, Rise of the Resistance
3. Had Tater Tots and Pink Milk!
4. Bus & Skyliner

EPCOT:

1. Took a photo with the EPCOT ball
2. Went on Guardian and Figment
3. Had the Peach Dole Whip!
4. Skyliner & Monorail

Magic Kingdom:

1. Took a photo with the caste
2. Went on People Mover
3. Had the Lobster Roll & Hush Puppies!
4. Ferry & Bus

Animal Kingdom:

1. Took a photo with the Tree of Life
2. Went on Na’avi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage
3. Had a strawberry ice lolly and the Cookie Dough Brownie Ice-Cream Sandwich!
4. Bus x2

I got back to the hotel and let me tell you, that resort pizza in bed while watching American TV before going to sleep at 9pm was exactly what I needed haha.

The day was so much fun and I’d 100% recommend doing the Disney Four Park Challenge. It was such a great day!