How Much Time Should You Spend in Each Park?
Not counting golf courses, World of Sports, Disney Springs, mini-golf, water parks or resort activities (I feel like I need to take a breath here), there are 4 theme parks at Walt Disney World. But even with 4 theme parks, not all things are equal. Some are larger (EPCOT), while others have more attractions (Magic Kingdom). So... exactly how much time do you need in each park?
Part of this answer depends on how you define "need". Are you trying to thoroughly explore, or just hit the major attractions?
The other part of the answer depends on how much time you have overall. I have an ideal amount of time I'd like to spend in each park, and I can usually do that if my vacation is 8 days long, but I'm not going to be able to do that if my entire stay is only 4 days long. Sometimes I have the luxury of planning the length of my stay around how many days I want to spend in each park. And other times, I have to work with ratios, hence all the pie charts you're about to see.
So, let's break this down, shall we?
But first... are you trying to do it all?
Not going to happen. Sorry to burst any bubbles out there, but having been to Disney World multiple times, and even having lived and worked there or four months, I still have not done everything the parks offer. Sometimes the attraction just doesn't interest me. Other times, it's so low on my priority list, that I don't ever get around to it. Or sometimes I want to do it, but the time involved just doesn't work out. I haven't met Anna and Elsa in their chalet because I have little interest. It's been years since I've seen Impressions de France during my stay even though I adore it. I'd been going to Disney for 10 years before I stepped into the Enchanted Tiki Room the first time.
There's just too much to do it all and if you try, you will likely end up disappointed and exhausted.
Are you trying to thoroughly explore each park?
Thoroughly explore, to me, means you have ridden the major attractions, any minor attractions you are interested in, depending on the line, and had time to get a feel for the park and find your own interests. This is me when I vacation. I want enough time to feel comfortable and enjoy each park thoroughly.
For this, I keep this ratio (ideally with each unit being a day) in my head of what I, personally, need to enjoy each park thoroughly:
Keep in mind, though, I know what I like by now. I'm not a huge fan of Disney Hollywood Studios. I've actually increased the time I would spend there from 0-1/2 day to 1 with Toy Story Land and Star Wars Galaxy's Edge opening now. I'm a big fan of EPCOT and Animal Kingdom and can easy spend 2 days or more in each of those parks, even though one runs out of attractions at each park relatively quickly. I enjoy the atmosphere in each, and there is a lot to look at, so I stay, walk around, snack, enjoy the ambiance.
If you are a first-timer, the below ratio might be a good place to start based on attractions, crowds, and size of each park only:
Here, I'm suggesting you give Magic Kingdom and EPCOT equal time, then the other two less time, with Animal Kingdom getting the least time (although this pains me). Although Animal Kingdom has slightly more attractions than Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Studios has two brand new lands that will draw major crowds with major attractions, so the time there may be necessary.
Here's how this could look staying for one week:
2 days MK
2 days EPCOT
1 day Animal Kingdom
1.5 days DHS
.5 days doing whatever else you want
Here's how this could look in a 4 day stay:
1.5 days MK
1.5 days EPCOT
.5 days Animal Kingdom
.5 days Disney Hollywood Studios (roughly)
But if you don't want to park hop, you may just as well spend 1 day in each park, knowing that some you'll need to move faster, and some you will slow down a bit)
Do you just want to hit the major attractions?
Here's a breakdown of how many attractions each park will have in 2019 (assuming Galaxy's Edge opens in August with one of the two planned rides):
As you can see, if you want to do all the attractions, you're going to need to spend serious time at the Magic Kingdom, which is smaller in size, but jam-packed with attractions.
Note that depending on what you consider "an attraction", Animal Kingdom could have an even smaller number as this count includes the nature trails (which you should definitely do as it's what this park is made for). This chart also does not include nighttime firework or similar shows. Each park has one, and Disney Hollywood Studios has two.
Ultimately, despite the science-y looking pie charts, this is all a matter of opinion, depending on what you like.
You won't be able to do everything, so I would advise you to not even try.
Here are some final tips to keep in mind:
If you are planning to do multiple parks in one day, you need the park hopper add on to your base ticket.
I would generally advise against trying to do more than 2 parks in one day. I've done 3 but the third was usually just for a meal or the nighttime show.
Transportation between parks takes time... up to an hour or more.
Research a little bit beforehand on Disney's web site and decide what attractions look best to you and what you want to skip.
The parks are way more than just attractions. There are snacks to try, street performances, parades, nighttime shows, nature trails, character interactions, and more. If you are just hopping from attraction to attraction, you'll be able to mark them off your list, but I don't feel like you'll really experience each park.
The shortest amount of time I've ever stayed at Walt Disney World was 4 days. We did the headliners at each park, but we missed a lot of things.
The longest amount of time I've ever stayed (on vacation) is 12 days. I still didn't get to do everything.
My "sweet spot" amount of time is 8 days. It allows me a day of arrival and a day of departure, and then 2 days at EPCOT, 2 days at Animal Kingdom, 1 day at Magic Kingdom, and 1 day at Disney Hollywood Studios. Newcomers may wish to increase days at the Magic Kingdom and decrease days at the Animal Kingdom.... that's just my personal preference.
So... clear as mud, right? The bottom line is you need to know what you want and get rid of any notions of "doing it all". Whatever you do, have fun and don't treat your vacation like a "to do" list!
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