One of the Walt Disney World challenges that have eluded us over the last couple of years is the Parkeology WDW47 Challenge. It involves riding all current moving rides in all 4 parks. 1 Day. 4 Parks. 47 Rides. The number of rides can vary when Disney opens a new ride or closes a ride permanently. The challenge can only be a valid attempt when all rides are operating regularly and not under a scheduled refurbishment. #WDW47 is the toughest challenge that we’ve faced so far and we once did 100 attractions in a single day at the Magic Kingdom. Here’s how our day went:

I set an alarm to wake us up at 5:00am. We were staying at the All Star Sports resort and I had attended the Christmas Party the night before, so that left me with about 4 hours sleep. Well, the alarm didn’t go off because I set it for the wrong day. I know, I should have just asked Mickey to call me. I awoke in a spontaneous panic at 5:35am and quickly dressed. Our goal was to leave the resort at 6:00am to be super early for rope drop. After a quick stop at McDonald’s we arrived around 6:30am and were still among the first at security. We were held there until around 7:00am. The tap points were active around 7:30am. We were allowed to move up to the upper Oasis and held there. A few minutes later we were walked as a large group to the Pandora bridge. Around 7:45am we were walked into the line for Avatar: Flight of Passage.

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1. Avatar – Flight of Passage

At 7:56am we were boarding the ride vehicle for Flight of Passage and off the ride by 8:03am. The ride with the highest wait times in Walt Disney World was done by 3 minutes after the park officially opened!

7:45 – 8:03am

2. Na’vi River Journey

We then scurried over to Navi River Journey for Ride #2. We entered the line at 8:05am and exited the ride at 8:14am. Two of the biggest beasts were done before most WDW guests even woke up for the day.

8:05-8:14am

Park hop from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom. It took about 38 minutes from Na’vi River to Town Square.

At this point we had a strategic decision to make. One attraction that trips up many challengers for #wdw47 is the Main Street Vehicles at Magic Kingdom. We knew there COULD be a 10:30 final trolley ride this day, but didn’t want to chance it and really wanted to get Astro Orbiter out-of-the-way early, so we made our first park hop of the day. Jordyn was my designated driver for the day so I could use the time for watching wait times and looking for better Fastpasses.

As we made our way over to the Magic Kingdom, our first curve ball of the day was thrown at us. We had booked Fastpass+ for Peter Pan early in the day, but the system gave us an anytime Fastpass+ for that ride because it would have “delayed opening.” It had closed around 10am the day before and we were becoming concerned that it wouldn’t reopen. When that happens, the system allows you to book another Fastpass+, so we chose Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, since we’d be in that area early.

3. Main Street Vehicle

We entered the Magic Kingdom well before 9am and saw a little Main Street Vehicle car waiting. We asked for a ride, but the Cast Member said they couldn’t leave until the Welcome Show was completed at the Castle. We told her we would stand and wait. She may have thought we were nuts to make the car such a priority, but we are doing a challenge here! By the time we were ready to depart the car was filled 100% by others who were also attempting the challenge.

9:03-9:08am

4. Astro Orbiter

Astro Orbiter is a painfully slow loading spinner attraction that requires riding an elevator to experience. The wait times are usually 30 minutes or more all day. That kind of wait with a challenge like Parkeology’s #wdw47 can kill your chance to complete. We were among the first guests to ride for the day.

9:10-9:18am

5. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (FP 1)

When we arrived at 9:19am, there was no line, but we knew that we needed to complete all 3 Fastpasses before we could book a 4th, so we opted to go ahead and use the Fastpass. We were still holding the anytime Fastpass+ for Peter Pan. According to Parkeology’s rules, you must use it for the same attraction. Buzz stopped for a few minutes and I thought I’d have another Buzz breakdown issue.

9:19-9:31am

6. Prince Charming Carousel

It may seem like an odd choice to ride this early in the day, but it took me 18 minutes to ride this on my first #wdw47 attempt last year and that time destroyed my opportunity to complete. We’d take no chances and it took a total of 9 minutes. That would be really key at the end of the night for one of our goals.

9:35-9:44am

7. Haunted Mansion

There must have been some issue with omnimover attractions this day. It stopped for a couple of minutes right before we boarded and stopped again a little into the ride. It then moved slowly through the ride. A ride stoppage on Haunted Mansion almost cost Jordyn and I our 100 attractions in a day Ultimate Tour a few years ago.

9:46-10:02am

8. The Magic Carpets of Aladdin

We then saw the reality of the RED Magic Kingdom day during Party season. On a party day the park is really lightly attended, but on a RED day, especially with Extra Magic Hours, it is one of the busiest days of the year. We saw an easy 30 minute wait at Splash Mountain and longer wait at Jingle Cruise. We opted to fill time by taking the 10 minute wait for the Magic Carpets.

10:12-10:24am

9. Liberty Square Riverboat

We then hustled over to the Liberty Square Riverboat to find that it was offering its first round trip of the day at 10:30am. The boat only departs on the :30 and :00, so you have to time it well. We rode with Kent, who was also taking on the challenge.

10:25-10:50am

10. Tom Sawyer Island Rafts

Part of the fun of doing this on what was dubbed as #parknado was that so many teams were trying to complete the challenge on the same day. The day started with 14 teams with a legitimate chance to complete. 1 was only beginning in the afternoon for fun. 1 was lost early due to Main Street Vehicles and another due to illness. At this point 12 teams still had the opportunity.

We had the chance to ride one of the first rafts of the day with the girls from Epic Disney. People always think we are nuts when we just ride a raft over and ride it right back.

10:52-11:06am



11. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (FP 2)

It was time to use our 2nd Fastpass+. The Fastpass return line looked formidable with it extending almost to the entry point, but Disney does a really good job of making sure that line doesn’t stay jammed up. It took us a total of 13 minutes to experience the “Wildest ride in the wilderness!”

11:07-11:20am

12. Walt Disney World Railroad

We then hopped on the next train from Frontierland to Tomorrowland. At this point the only things that weren’t on our original plan were substituting Carpets for Splash and Peter Pan’s Flight was still broken. Choo Choo!

11:21-11:32am

13. Space Mountain (FP3)

We like to use our 3 initial Fastpasses as early as possible in the day, so we can then begin booking additional Fastpasses one at a time through the rest of the day. Space Mountain isn’t a favorite for me as it leaves a 50 year old guy in a bit of pain being tossed about. After riding we acquired a Fastpass for Kilimanjaro Safaris.

11:37-11:51am



14. Carousel of Progress

We knew that CoP would close at 11:00pm as the Disney World website demonstrated, so we chose to ride it earlier in the day and not have to worry about it later. We had the joy of riding with another Challenger team Steven and Brandon. We had to repeat the Christmas scene an extra time, but otherwise it was relaxing.

11:53am-12:22pm

It’s Christmas, over and over and over.

15. Peter Pan’s Flight (FP4 Anytime)

Jordyn kept checking to see if Peter Pan’s Flight would show a wait time instead of closed and shortly before we left CoP Peter Pan’s Flight opened! We were able to use our Fastpass before leaving for Animal Kingdom. Off to Neverland!

12:27-12:36pm

Hopped from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom. It took about 42 minutes from Peter Pan’s Flight to Kilimanjaro Safaris.

By using our own personal car, we were able to pack sandwiches, chips, snacks, water, socks and extra shoes. We just grabbed one of our 2 PBJ sandwiches each and chow while we cruised. There is no time to stop at a food location during this challenge!

16. Kilimanjaro Safaris (FP5)

In my original plan for the day, I wanted to be out of Magic Kingdom by 12:30pm to have time to complete the other parks before returning. We had finished Peter Pan’s Flight at 12:36pm. In retrospect, we should have done Peoplemover, then Pan and then left. After tapping (we call it tap and grab or tap, grab and modify in challenge circles) we acquired Kali River Fastpass.

1:18-1:51pm



It was a warm, mid 80’s, but beautiful December 6 day on the Safari. I love when we have blue skies and clouds!

This guy probably had the right idea for the day.

17. Wildlife Express Train

Another big tripping point for many challengers is the Wildlife Express Train. Some challengers thought it opened earlier or closed later and it causes the plan to unravel to try to squeeze this in. We were on at 1:52pm. We had 2 hours to spare here :) Once they made me leave the train and return to it for some odd reason, but the crowds were incredibly light, so we were allowed to remain on for the return leg from Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

1:52-2:05pm

18. Kali River Rapids (FP6)

We didn’t want to get wet at 2:20pm and slop around all day, so we had ponchos ready. I had purchased 2 cheap ones at the dollar store, but couldn’t find the 2nd one when packing, so I grabbed my rain jacket for Jordyn. People on the raft thought it was funny that we had this covering, until they got soaked! Tap, grab and modify for Dinosaur FP. If you’re unsure what that means still, the screenshots are on my Twitter account.

2:11-2:28pm



19. Expedition Everest (Single Rider)

The posted wait was really low, but we didn’t want to chance it. We saw a grand total of 2, yes 2 people in the single rider line. The Parkeology #wdw47 challenge allows challengers to use Single Rider lines, but you cannot use Rider Switch tickets or other special passes.

2:31-2:39pm

20. Dinosaur (FP7)

We used our Fastpass, but there was ZERO people in line when we arrived. We did the pre-show with like 8 other people and walked down to find an empty loading area. We didn’t even have the time to get the formula for Ketchup, Mayo and Mustard! Tap and grab for Primeval Whirl.

2:43-2:54pm

21. Primeval Whirl (FP8)

Ted from Parkeology calls this a “World War 2 Death Machine.” We call it Primeval Hurl. It spun more than I’ve ever spun. I really thought I might hurl. At least my body had consumed the PBJ by this time of the day.

2:55-3:03pm

22. Triceratop Spin

Dinosaur Dumbo usually has a 15-25 minute wait when I try to ride it in the afternoon, but the crazy low crowds led to a very short wait. It took us 9 minutes in total to experience this. We acquired Tower of Terror FP as well.

3:03-3:12pm

Park hopped from Animal Kingdom to Hollywood Studios. It took about 33 minutes from Triceratop Spin to Tower of Terror.

23. Tower of Terror (FP 9)

Tower of Terror is my favorite ride. I love the air time that you get with just a simple seatbelt preventing you from squishing your body against the top of the super fast elevator. Tap, grab and modify for Rock n Roller Coaster.

3:45-4:00pm



24. Rock n Roller Coaster (FP10)

We were zooming right along and about to be shot out like a rocket. We made the countdown, then nothing. I acted like we were actually riding to make those in the line laugh. A little boy behind us was trying to put his arms up through the restraints, so the Cast Member had to pause the ride to help him understand that his arms had to go outside the restraints. After the couple of minutes we were launched to Dream On!

4:02-4:21pm

25. Toy Story Mania (FP11)

The Fastpass line for TSMM snaked outside the building, way down to the left. It was a scary sight, thinking we’d be waiting a long time. It didn’t take long at all to reach the merge point and proceed to the ride vehicle. Tap, grab and modify for Star Tours.

4:31-4:47pm

We once won a free cruise playing this game at a Disboards meet up. My score was higher then. We are a little out of practice as a team. I’m the guy on the right.

26. Star Tours (FP12)

I was hoping they would choose Jordyn as the Rebel Spy, but they picked a younger padawan learner to transport to far off galaxies. Jordyn enjoyed the new scenes, but wondered why they created a randomizer to only use it when they aren’t releasing new movies. Tap, grab and modify for Soarin’

4:51-5:08pm

Park hopped from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. It took about 27 minutes from Star Tours to Imagination.

27. Jouney into Imagination

The posted wait was only 10 mintues, so we didn’t bother trying for Fastpass. We had a Fastpass for Soarin’ that we’d use next. We just needed to do this ride before 7pm.

5:35-5:46pm

28. Soarin’ (FP13)

Sometimes in the midst of a challenge like this small things can slip through the cracks. This photo was almost one of them. We were laughing and enjoying the ride and toward the end it had that moment of panic that sets in when you realize that you almost missed something. We enjoyed the ride and got our photo too! Initially we had tapped and grabbed Test Track, but with continued searching, we found Frozen Ever After and picked that up instead!

5:50-6:16pm

29. Living with the Land

LwtL was a total walk on. There was no one in front of us, but a few people loaded after. We’re smiling because that Frozen Fastpass gets us much closer to our goal. The Epcot Crush didn’t get us.

6:17-6:34pm



30. The Seas with Nemo and Friends

The only time it took here was to walk the crazy long queue line. I think Nemo needs a GPS tracker. That little fish gets lost more than my car keys.

6:38-6:46pm

31. Frozen Ever After (FP14)

We were certainly feeling a lot better about our chances of completion when we found that FP earlier. Our rear ends got a bit wet from the splash down, but it was worth it for getting this breakdown beast completed.

6:56-7:12pm

32. Gran Fiesta Tour

It was time for some Mexican Small World fun! Some people don’t like this ride and many now want it to become themed to Coco, but it’s much better than the regular Mexico travelogue that it used to be.

7:14-7:26pm

33. Test Track (FP15)

Jordyn tried to build the fastest car that she could. She got it up to an 82 power rating and seemed pleased with that. We didn’t stop to see how it compared to the other cars of the day. We figured Jingle Cruise would be a good thing to Fastpass next. We each had to get our own FP that had a time overlap, because it was difficult to acquire for the time we wanted.

7:30-7:54pm

34. Mission: Space – Green

It was Jordyn’s first ride on the newer version where you fly around the globe. It’s much tamer and hardly moves these days, but that’s good when you don’t want to get sick and she enjoyed everything except Lt. Dan being gone. R.I.P. Lt. Dan. The Cast Member at load was amazed that we had completed 33 attractions already and that we had a shot at 47 in one day.

7:56-8:17pm

35. Spaceship Earth

We were feeling pretty positive and upbeat on Spaceship Earth. We had done most of the rides with really long waits and were about to hop to the Magic Kingdom to try to finish off the night. We were extra thankful to the Phoenicians this evening.

8:22-8:39pm



36. Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover

The crowds that I mentioned earlier were absolutely nuts. It was as packed for the fireworks this night as it usually is on Christmas. We made the decision to ride Peoplemover since it closes at 11:00pm and we didn’t want to back-track. Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow.

9:09-9:20pm

37. Jingle Cruise (FP16)

Trying to get across the hub from Tomorrowland was one of the worst experiences of our lives. People were everywhere. So much bumping and pushing and people shouting at each other. Few people know Magic Kingdom as well as we do, but we felt lost in a sea of humanity, then we saw train tracks. When we reached the Jingle Cruise, there was a crazy long line for stand by and Fastpass. We were doubting that we had made the right decision on which direction to go when we entered the Magic Kingdom.

9:29-9:53pm

38. Pirates of the Caribbean (FP17)

Once we had broken through the crush of people, it wasn’t too bad in Adventureland. We had acquired a Fastpass for Pirates, so the stand by wasn’t important to us. I’ll need to apologize to every pirate I know, but each of us spent the entire queue wait trying to find two single Fastpasses for Splash Mountain. We were each successful at finding the exact same time. We were a bit nervous because the app would say no more Fastpass, then refresh and find something.

9:54-10:11pm

39. Splash Mountain (FP18)

Whew! We were so happy to have that Fastpass for Splash as the regular line was easily 30 minutes or more. Laughing place, you call that a laughing place? Well, Splash did have a treat for us. We got SOAKED. Not wet. Totally drenched. We’d have 2.5 more hours wet and ridiculously sore. Jordyn’s hip was hurting badly, so our power walk when to more of a stroll.

10:14-10:34pm

40. it’s a small world (FP19)

We had acquired a final Fastpass for iasw, but it ended up being unnecessary as we walked right onto the ride. We were feeling good that we could complete this. We began checking on other teams on Twitter and checking wait times to see if they could make it.

10:42-10:58pm

41. Under the Sea

This was a blur to me. I was so tired at this point, remember I had like 4 hours sleep before beginning this crazy journey, that I know I rode it but I’m not sure if I surrendered my voice to Ursela or not.

11:00-11:09pm

42. Barnstormer

Saving all the little kiddie rides in Fantasyland for Extra Magic Hours proved to be very beneficial to us. We walked on most rides from 10:40pm onward or had short waits. We were so sore that riding in the same plane seemed like torture, so we did it this way.

11:10-11:14pm

43. Dumbo

Just a Father and his 20-year-old daughter riding Dumbo together, nothing wrong with that!

11:16-11:22pm

44. Mad Tea Party

I had no interest in spinning this thing. I’m much more happy than the photo shows, but very sore and tired. As we walked up the gate was open and we walked right on.

11:23-11:26pm

45. Tomorrowland Speedway

The posted wait was like 35 minutes, but it took more like 12-15. They only operate one rail in early and late hours, so it takes longer than it would otherwise. Jordyn is a great car driver, but a terrible rail car driver.

11:27-11:46pm

46. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The nickname that I gave Jordyn when she was little was Pooh Bear. We wanted to close the night with this, but didn’t want to take the chance of missing out on completion. At this time we discussed how only 2 other teams had entered their final line by the 16th hour.

11:47-11:57pm

47. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Boom! We did it! We started this expedition at 5:35am with a lack of alarm clock and completed our excessively long day at 12:35am. The most enjoyable 7DMT we have had. We finally conquered the Parkeology #wdw47 Challenge!

We wanted to wait around to meet up with other challengers, but Jordyn’s hip was extremely painful and we were exhausted. I think we were continuing on adrenaline the last hour because everything on my body hurt except my eyelashes. It was fun and I am glad I got to enjoy it with my daughter and fulfill the challenge together.

At the beginning of the day 15 teams had registered for #wdw47 #parknado and only 4 teams actually completed it. Over the last several years at least 145 attempts have been made at #wdw46, #wdw47 or #wdw49 and only 19 were completed. That’s a 13.1% chance of completion. Only 8 have completed #wdw47. It’s a pretty great club to join!

This successful challenge wouldn’t have been possible for us without the awesome park hopping plan builder that is available on Character Locator!



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