The Sample Itinerary

Image: Disney

Of course, the easiest way to understand how this all works is with a sample itinerary. So, here we go. We’ll pick a day that has ample Extra Magic Hours to aide in our quest. And, considering the time zones, it probably makes the most sensee to start in Walt Disney World -- that way, our flight to Los Angeles can make up some lost time.

According to TouringPlans’ crowd calendar, Friday, Sept. 21 has both Morning Extra Magic Hours and is a 3/10 crowd day at Magic Kingdom. So, we’ll go with that. We’ll also assume we booked our Fastpass+ reservations right at the start of our window and got our perfect options. 

So, let’s go!

Walt Disney World

We arrive in Orlando Thursday evening right at midnight and stay on-property at the Contemporary Resort — putting us close to the Magic Kingdom. We hit the hay and wake up around 6:30 AM to get dressed and have breakfast, walking over to the park around 7:30 to make sure we’re in place for the 8:00 AM Extra Magic Hours start time.

We check out of the resort as we leave, bringing our bags with us and store them in lockers at the front gate. As you’ll see later, this is crucial.

Once the park opens, we’ll head straight for Splash Mountain. It’s about a 6-10 minute walk from the front gate to Splash Mountain, so assuming no road blocks, we should be off the ride around 8:30. From there, we’ll head straight to Haunted Mansion and enjoy that wonderful attraction. Assuming a minimal line at that time, and allowing for a bathroom break if need be, we should be off Haunted Mansion around 9:00 AM at the latest. 

Now that the park is full open to guests, our FastPass+ reservations come in handy. 

We walk on to Jungle Cruise and laugh our way through that classic Disney attraction. Between the walk to Adventureland and the eight-minute attraction, we should be finished with Jungle Cruise around 9:25 at the latest. We rush over to Mickey’s Philharmagic to catch the next show with our second FastPass + reservation, and barely make it — leaving that theater around 9:50. 

At that point, we’re making great time — after all, this is the easy part of the day. It’s time for our final Magic Kingdom attraction: Space Mountain. Allowing 10 minutes to walk over, a short bathroom break, and then using our final FastPass+ reservation, we should be finished with our Magic Kingdom attractions at 10:20 AM. 

Now comes the hard part.

Disneyland

Image: Disney

It usually takes about 40 minutes to get to the airport from Walt Disney World. That means — if we allow 15 minutes to walk to the front of the park, grab our bags from the locker, and call a Minnie Van — we should get to Orlando International Airport around 11:30. 

Because we have PreCheck expedited security, we barely make our flight — an 11:38 direct flight to LAX on American Airlines. 

Then, we get some rest.

We land at LAX at 1:50 PM local time. We scramble off the plane and hop in an Uber/Lyft and head straight to Disneyland Resort.

Disneyland has yet to release their hours for Sept. 21, but we can assume they’ll remain open until 9:00 PM.

Similarly, it takes about 40 minutes to drive from LAX to Disneyland, which means — if it takes us 20 minutes to deplane and get in our car, we’ll arrive just before 3:00 PM at Disneyland. That should give us 6 hours to ride 7 attractions. It’s gonna be close.

The first thing we do is use MaxPass to book a FastPass reservation on Pirates of the Caribbean and get in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Assuming an hour wait, we should get off the attraction right around 4:10 PM. 

From there, we need a bit of calm respite from the hectic energy of transcontinental travel, so we head to Adventureland and enjoy the Enchanted Tiki Room. 

That brief show gives us time to snack on a Dole Whip and relax, and we’re out of there right at 4:30 — perfect timing for our Pirates of the Caribbean Fastpass. 

A short walk and a gloriously long attraction later, and it’s 5:00. We still have four attractions and lands left: Critter Country, Mickey’s Toontown, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland. And, we have four hours to complete them. So, we decide to tackle them in that order. We grab a FastPass for Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters and walk over to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to enjoy the modern classic.

With a 10 minute wait and a 10 minute walk, we don’t finish that attraction until 5:30 — at which point our FastPass for Buzz Lightyear still hasn’t reached its window. So, with some time to kill, we take a long walk to Mickey’s Toontown and board Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. With a very minimal wait, we’re out of there around 5:55.