Guide to Park Hopping at Walt Disney World

Park hopping at Walt Disney World is a great way to pack even more magic into your Disney day. With four theme parks just a short ride away from each other, you may want to visit all four in one day!

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It’s entirely possible to start your morning on a safari in Animal Kingdom, enjoy lunch in the World Showcase at EPCOT, pilot the Millennium Falcon at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the afternoon and wrap up the evening watching fireworks over Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom.

While the idea of hopping between parks is exciting, figuring out how to get from one park to another may feel like a puzzle.

That’s where this guide comes in! I’m breaking down everything you need to know about park hopping, including the latest transportation info, our favorite ways to hop.

This printable visual reference guide makes hopping through your Disney day easier than ever. Download it to reference it during your planning!

When Can You Start Park Hopping?

You can start park hopping at any time throughout the day, bus transportation just officially starts running at 10am to get from park to park. If you’re a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder that still needs to make theme park reservations, you’ll need to scan into your first park of the day before you’re eligible to hop to another. 

After that initial scan, the rest of your day is totally flexible. You can visit one, two, or even all four parks, if you’re feeling ambitious! Park hopping is one of my favorite parts about being a WDW Annual Passholder!

Why Park Hopping at Disney World?

Park hopping is perfect for families or Disney fans who want to experience as much as possible in a single day. Maybe you want to rope drop Pandora in Animal Kingdom, grab lunch in France at EPCOT, and catch Happily Ever After at Magic Kingdom all in one magical day. That’s the beauty of park hopping! 

It gives you the flexibility to tailor your trip to your family’s interests and energy levels. You can start your day in a park with early hours, escape the midday crowds, and finish the night in a park that stays open late.

Park hopping is also a huge perk of having a Walt Disney World annual pass. Passholders still need to make theme park reservations for their first theme park of the day, but after they have scanned into their first theme park, you’re able to hop from park to park.

This works great if you visit Walt Disney World a lot and want to see specific attractions or eat at a variety of places across the four theme parks.

Who is Park Hopping Recommended For?

Park hopping can be great fun, I absolutely love park hopping when I’m at Walt Disney World on friends trips or when I’m there on a solo trip.

Found in photo: Purple Skirt / Skirt / Pink Bag / Sandals / Ears

When our family goes to Walt Disney World together, we actually prefer to focus on one theme park per day. Soaking in the magic of each theme park, and even if we take a break mid-day we typically will return to that same theme park in the evening.

So if you’re on the fence about whether to add park hopping to your ticket, a few questions to ask would be:

• Does our party want to see a little bit of everything throughout our trip?
• Do we return to Walt Disney World frequently? And do we want to focus on our favorite activities to do on this trip?
• Can our party walk a higher number of steps during the day? (Park hopping adds steps since you’re exiting and entering multiple theme parks in a day!)

Personally, I recommend park hopping if you return to Walt Disney World frequently and want to stick with going to do your assortment of favorite attractions and dining across the four theme parks. Especially if you’ll want to ride some of your favorite rides in one theme park during the day and then hop over to a different park for dinner.

If you’re planning one big trip where you’re wanting to see as much as possible in a day in one theme park, if you’re planning a budget trip, or if you want to keep your walking to a lower level – in those cases I would recommend evaluating if you need to add park hopping on to your trip. 

While I love park hopping and it is accessible to me as a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder, I don’t even use it on every trip that I go on. So evaluate your goals for your trip and factor in the additional cost, to arrive at whether it will be the best fit for your party.

How to Travel Between Parks at Walt Disney World

Transportation between parks is provided by Disney and is included with your ticket or pass. Buses to go from theme park to theme park start running at 10am, so plan your hopping accordingly. The type of transportation you’ll use depends on which parks you’re visiting.

To make things even easier, I’ve created a free printable visual guide that shows all the park-to-park and resort connections at a glance. Download this printable below and it will get sent right to your email inbox!

One of the most unique connections is between Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, which are linked by the monorail. This is actually the only park-to-park monorail route available. Guests transfer at the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), switching from the Magic Kingdom monorail loop to the EPCOT line. It’s a scenic and iconic way to travel between these two parks.

However, if there’s inclement weather or the monorail isn’t running, Disney does provide a bus service between Magic Kingdom and EPCOT as a backup option. This doesn’t happen often, but it’s good to know that there’s a plan B just in case.

Getting between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios is fairly simple as well, and you have a few options: you can walk, take the friendship boat, or ride the Disney Skyliner. The Skyliner is a fun and efficient choice that connects EPCOT (via the International Gateway entrance) to Hollywood Studios with a quick transfer at Caribbean Beach Resort.

If you’re in the front part of EPCOT, there is also bus service to connect to Hollywood Studios. 

If you’re headed to or from Animal Kingdom, bus transportation is your only option. Disney buses run between Animal Kingdom and each of the other theme parks throughout the day starting at 10am.

What About Disney Springs?

One important thing to note: there are no buses from Disney Springs to the theme parks. If you’re trying to go from Disney Springs to a theme park, you can’t do it directly. Instead, you’ll need to travel via a Disney Resort.

This can be done by going to any Disney Resort and then hopping on the bus there, but here are our favorite connections when getting to the theme parks after going to Disney Springs. 

Our recommended connections from Disney Springs to Theme Park:

• To Magic Kingdom, take a bus from Disney Springs to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, then hop on the monorail to Magic Kingdom.
  
• To EPCOT, we recommend taking a bus to Disney’s Beach Club Resort. From there, it’s a short walk or relaxing boat ride to EPCOT’s International Gateway entrance.
  
• To Hollywood Studios, your best bet is to take a bus to Caribbean Beach Resort. Get off at the Jamaica stop, then walk over to the Skyliner station and ride to Hollywood Studios.
  
• To Animal Kingdom, take a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge, or really any resort, and then transfer to a bus going to Animal Kingdom.
  

Additionally, if you’re going from the theme park to Disney Springs, you can just reverse these steps. With the exception of going to Magic Kingdom where walking over to the Contemporary or taking the monorail there may be more convenient since it is the first stop on the resort line going that way.

The Grand Floridian will still work (and going from the monorail to the bus stops is pretty easy there) however from Magic Kingdom it will be the last resort stop. So if you have a bit of extra time, transfer to a bus at whichever monorail resort you’d like to see as you’re heading to the buses. 

All of the other connections work going either to or from Disney Springs.

Planning Your Day at Disney World

Park hopping at Walt Disney World adds a whole new level of fun and flexibility to your trip. With the right transportation plan and a bit of pixie dust, you can make the most of every magical moment.

Found in photo:

Pearl Jean Jacket / Top / Polka Dot Skirt / Leggings / Sandals

Getting around Walt Disney World is part of the fun, but if you’re looking for more information to plan what transportation to use while you’re there check out all of our transportation related articles below.

• Navigating the Disney Skyliner
• All About the Monorail
• All About Boat Transportation at Walt Disney World
• Bus Transportation at Walt Disney World

Visiting our Guides page for more helpful tips to plan your time at Walt Disney World.