Park Hopping is the ability to visit more than one of the Walt Disney World theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom — in one day. Let’s GET HOPPIN’ with all the info you need about Park Hopping at Disney World!
FIRST THINGS FIRST: In order to Park Hop, guests MUST have a valid theme park ticket that includes Park Hopper benefits or a Disney World Annual Pass. A standard one-park-per-day ticket will not grant this option.
Guests have the ability, in fact, to visit ALL four parks in one day, if they wish (as long as park capacity allows).
Is Disney World’s Park Hopper Ticket Worth It… and, if so, When?
There is some VERY important information to note:
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- Guests need to have a valid ticket or Annual Pass with Park Hopping capabilities. You can learn all about the ticket options with Park Hopping — including pricing to add Park Hopping, which varies by date — on our Walt Disney World Tickets page.
- The Walt Disney World Resort is about 43 square miles, and it’s going to take some time to get around. If you are park hopping because you have a Dining Reservation or a Lightning Lane reserved, be sure you are allowing yourself enough time to get between parks, get in the gate, and walk to your destination. A general rule of thumb is to allow at least an hour to “hop”.
- Theme park reservations may be required for Annual Passholders and guests with certain non-dated tickets to enter their first park. But after a guest enters their first park (the one they had the reservation for), they will be able to visit another theme park.
- The Disney Genie service made its debut on October 1, 2021. Disney Genie+ provides an optional paid service in addition to the standard Disney Genie. Disney Genie+ allows guests to bypass standby lines and enter the Lightning Lane (previously known as the FastPass line) at over 50 select attractions across Disney World by paying a base price starting at $15 per day, per ticket. Disney Genie+ works with Park Hopping, AND Individual Lightning Lane Attraction Selection, so guests who purchase either service are NOT limited to one park per day. Guests may buy either a single-park Genie+ option or a multi-park option (to accommodate Park Hopping) as seen below. You can learn more HERE.
Park Hopping Transportation Options
Are you ready to park hop? Great! But how do you get from one park to another? Well, the sheer amount of transportation options may surprise you…
For the purposes of this Park Hopping page, we’re only discussing getting from park-to-park. But guests are also able to use Disney transportation to get to the parks and Disney Springs from all of the Resort hotels. (Just click THIS LINK to learn more!)
Keep in mind that park-to-park bus routes start to run at 10AM each day.
Getting to Magic Kingdom
From EPCOT:
- Guests may take the EPCOT Monorail to Magic Kingdom. This includes a transfer to the Magic Kingdom Monorail at the Transportation & Ticket Center (or TTC). Guests may also choose to board the Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat from the TTC.
- If Monorail Service isn’t operating, guests will often find a Disney bus available from EPCOT to Magic Kingdom.
From Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
- Guests may take a Disney bus to Magic Kingdom.
From Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
- Guests may take a Disney bus to Magic Kingdom.
Click HERE for a Complete Guide To Park Hopping To and From Magic Kingdom
Getting to EPCOT
From Magic Kingdom:
- Guests may take the EPCOT Monorail from Magic Kingdom. This includes a transfer from the Magic Kingdom Monorail at the Transportation & Ticket Center (or TTC) to EPCOT.
- If Monorail Service isn’t operating, guests will often find a Disney bus available from Magic Kingdom to EPCOT.
From Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
- Guests may take a Friendship Boat which sails along Crescent Lake to EPCOT. This will include stops at the EPCOT area Resorts; however, no transfer is needed. Simply remain on the boat until arrival at EPCOT.
- Guests may also choose to walk to EPCOT along Crescent Lake on a dedicated walking path.
- Guests may take the Disney Skyliner. Board the Skyliner at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and disembark at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (the Skyliner’s hub). From here, take the Disney Skyliner to EPCOT.
From Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
- Guests may take a Disney bus to EPCOT.
Getting to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
From Magic Kingdom:
- Guests may take a Disney bus from Magic Kingdom to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
From EPCOT:
- Guests may take a Friendship Boat which sails along Crescent Lake to Hollywood Studios. This will include stops at the EPCOT area Resorts; however, no transfer is needed. Simply remain on the boat until arrival at Hollywood Studios.
- Guests may also choose to walk to Hollywood Studios along Crescent Lake on a dedicated walking path.
- Guests may take the Disney Skyliner. Board the Skyliner at EPCOT (the Skyliner is located at the International Gateway, which guests can access between the United Kingdom and France pavilions in World Showcase). Disembark at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (the Skyliner’s hub). From here, take the Disney Skyliner to Hollywood Studios.
From Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
- Guests may take a Disney bus to EPCOT.
Getting to Disney’s Animal Kingdom
From Magic Kingdom:
- Guests may take a Disney bus to Animal Kingdom.
From EPCOT:
- Guests may take a Disney bus to Animal Kingdom.
From Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
- Guests may take a Disney bus to Animal Kingdom.
Park Hopping While Using Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lanes
We touched on this briefly above, but want to give you a bit more info about Park Hopping while using the Disney Genie+ system. Disney Genie+ allows guests to bypass standby lines and enter the Lightning Lane (previously known as the FastPass line) at over 50 select attractions across Disney World by paying a base price per day, per ticket:
- Disney Genie+ starts at $15 per day*, per ticket at Disney World;
- Price also varies BY PARK in Disney World**; Guests can either buy a single-park Genie+ option or a multi-park option (to accommodate Park Hopping).
Guests may also use the service to purchase Individual Lightning Lane Attraction Selections (Pay-per-ride) for select in-demand rides.
Disney Genie+ AND Individual Lightning Lane Attraction Selection both work with Park Hopping, so guests who purchase either service are NOT limited to one park per day.
When you first tap into Disney Genie or purchase Disney Genie+ through the My Disney Experience app, you’ll find that the system doesn’t automatically know that you plan to park hop. At the bottom of your My Day page within Disney Genie+, you’ll find a button that notes “Plan for Your Next Park.” (In the photo below, you will see the option in bold blue.)
If you select this option, you’ll be able to tell Disney Genie which park you plan to park hop to and what times you plan to be there. You can even add a third or fourth park if you want!
From there, you can continue planning your day by selecting your preferences and must-dos with the free Genie offering and/or selecting your paid Genie+ Lightning Lane options. Even if you don’t tell Genie you intend to hop, you can still book Lightning Lanes in other parks.
Click HERE to learn everything you need to know about Disney Genie+!
So, there you go, my friends… HAPPY HOPPING!
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