We'd talked about doing a four-park day for years before we actually committed to one. The idea is simple to say out loud and a lot harder to pull off: Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom, all in a single day, without the whole trip falling apart by two in the afternoon. One decision made the difference before we'd even left the room that morning: we skipped the bus entirely and rented a Minnie Van for the day instead. Three park-to-park transfers on Disney buses would have eaten more time than almost anything else on the schedule.
We were up at 5:30, at Animal Kingdom by 7, and through rope drop by 7:30. That first half hour did more work than any other part of the day. Avatar Flight of Passage, the Na'vi River Journey, Kali River Rapids, and the safari, all four, back to back, before most of the park had even found its coffee. We were out the gate and in the Minnie Van by 10:30.
EPCOT was the slow middle of the day, on purpose. We walked in through the International Gateway on the France side around 11, grabbed lunch, and let ourselves ride at a normal pace instead of a sprint. By 1:30 we were headed out the same way we came in, and the Skyliner had us at Hollywood Studios by two.
Hollywood Studios is where the day got tight. We had Lightning Lane picks stacked almost back to back, Alien Swirling Saucers, Toy Story Mania, Slinky Dog Dash, and a single Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance, and we cleared all four in about two hours flat, snack break included. From there it was the Minnie Van again, straight to Magic Kingdom.
We walked into Magic Kingdom a little after 5, and that's the part I still can't quite believe. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, the Tea Cups, Space Mountain, dinner at Tony's Town Square, Tiana's Bayou Adventure after 8, and TRON right before we closed the park down. Four parks. One day. Somehow still standing.