Welcome to planDisney, Jayla. Where to park to park hop? You have come to planDisney with one of life's most important planning questions. As Ursula says, "Life's full of tough choices, innit?"
Two underlying questions would help me decide: (1) Are you trying to go to all four parks in one day? and (2) Are you planning to go from Rope Drop to Park Close?
If your answer to either of these questions is "yes," I would check the
Walt Disney World Resort calendar and see which park opens first and which one closes last. This week, it looks like both
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park and
Magic Kindom Park open at 8 am, but Magic Kingdom is open much later. I would drive to Animal Kingdom and enjoy this park first. Animal Kingdom is only accessible by bus and car, so I would then drive to Magic Kingdom Park. Your parking fee covers the whole day, so you can move your car without worry. Just show the Cast Member at the gate your parking receipt.
When you park at Magic Kingdom, you will take a tram to the Ticket and Transportation Center. From the Ticket and Transportation Center, I would take the Highway in the Sky and let the monorail transport me to
EPCOT. From EPCOT, you could take the
Disney Skyliner to
Disney's Hollywood Studios. After some time with Andy's toys and in a Galaxy far, far away, take a bus to the Magic Kingdom to end the day under the glow of
Cinderella Castle, where your car will be close when the park closes.
If you want to park once and leave your car in the same lot all day, I would park at Magic Kingdom and enjoy this park for just a bit before taking a bus to Animal Kingdom. I might suggest a Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich from
Sleepy Hollow as a perfect treat to start your adventurous day.
If you are not planning to visit all four parks or stay until Cinderella runs from the ball, I would suggest parking at EPCOT. The Skyliner makes moving between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios a breeze. And with the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, you can have a day filled with fun modes of transportation. The magic never ends!
If you are hoping to make the world tour, you may want to check out my friend
Alison's advice to a similarly ambitious guest on
maximizing your time to enjoy all four parks. She has some great tips for you!
Ultimately, there are a lot of choices and with Disney's transportation, you can make any of them work. The only option I would least recommend would be parking at Animal Kingdom, just because it usually closes first and is not connected to the skyways.
Please come back to
planDisney with any other questions as you plan your trip! We love to share our insights on gadgets and gizmos aplenty!
Life is the Bubbles!
Jana