Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for visiting Disney Parks Moms Panel. I love that you are asking about park hopping strategies!
We always enjoy
park hopping and love the flexibility and variety of making different plans for different theme parks and resorts throughout the day. Hopping from one theme park to another to take in an event like fireworks or to get to a dinner reservation is certainly doable. That said,
how to best get around Walt Disney World, and how much time it takes to do that, is a bit of an "it depends" answer.
Generally speaking, as someone who prefers not to rush and who prefers to arrive early for reservations, I typically allow about an hour to get where I want to be. Others might say that's it takes less time or more time. You'll want to take into consideration walking from the park to your transportation, whether that's Disney Transport bus,
Monorail, ferryboat, or water taxi. Then there's the time for waiting, boarding, and traveling. Then, depending on your route, you might have to account for bag check.
Now, you pose a very specific question about leaving Magic Kingdom, hopping over to Epcot or Disney Springs for dinner, and then returning to Magic Kingdom. My opinion — and this is my opinion only — I'd say I'd allow more time to travel to Disney Springs and return to Magic Kingdom then, say, taking the Monorail to hop to Epcot for dinner and return to Magic Kingdom. Keep in mind that the Minnie Van service is an option if you are staying at a participating Walt Disney World Resort.
There's fun to be enjoyed in exploring, and excellent dining to savor throughout Walt Disney World.
Enjoy your Disney!
Jerry