This was the day LittleCJC and I were most excited about during this trip. For her birthday, she wanted to ride all the rides, and we couldn't wait! We even made special shirts for this day.
If you're not familiar with the Parkeology Challenge, it started back in 2013 when two guys attempted to ride every moving ride on Walt Disney World property. This meant, riding every ride at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom all in one day. Those guys were unsuccessful during that attempt, but tried again in 2014 when they succeeded in riding all 46 rides. The word soon got out and the WDW46 challenge was born. Those in the know were all excited to try the challenge themselves. With the constant changing of the parks, and rides closing and opening, the challenge changed from 46 to 47 and eventually 49. In 2018, the challenge officially changed it's name to the Parkeology Challenge, dropping the ride count from the name. I'm not sure when LittleCJC and I became aware of this challenge, but it had been a while and we were in the habit of following others in the challenge journey. Before this trip, LittleCJC declared that she wanted to try this. Of course, we knew we wouldn't be successful in completing all 48 rides that were operating at this time, if nothing else, due to the fact that LittleCJC was still too short to ride Rock n' Roller Coaster. We also figured that there was no way a family of 4 with 2 little girls, (one of them still a baby and occasionally nursing) both too young to utilize the single rider line, and a double stroller could possibly come close. Leading up to our trip, I did a lot of research and planning. I had a plan of action and I knew what rides we we were going to skip (and everyone understood that there would be no rider swapping) to get the most out of our time. So, we weren't making an official Parkeology run and our personal ride count goal was 42. I knew this was still probably more than we would get, but this was the ultimate, maybe possible goal we had in mind. There were several people attempting a run this day, so it was fun watching everyone's progress, spotting fellow challengers throughout the day, and seeing how we compared. Five teams completed the day with a successful 48 rides. So how did we do? Let's find out.
5:00
We started our day at Hollywood Studios, since it was the first park to open. We chose to start without the stroller, since we knew the morning rush would be hard to get through with it in tow. Here we are at security check at 5:30.
When we entered the park and everyone started traveling to Batuu, we made it to the front of the pack.
6:00
The storm troopers led us back.
When we reached the boundary of Galaxies Edge, the citizens of Batuu were there to greet us and guide us the rest of the way to the Millennium Falcon.
This was actually a very slow march to the back of the park. I think most groups attempting the challenge this day started elsewhere in the park and then tackled the new ride using the single rider line. Again, since LittleCJC was too young to ride by herself, that wasn't an option for us. (I'm pretty sure Disney's single rider policy states that the rider needs to be at least 8 years old.) So we endured the crowd and slow march to Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run, attraction #1. We completed this ride at 6:20.
While LittleCJC and I rode this first ride, Patrick and LittleCGC checked out the Oga's Cantina for the first time.
He decided to try some Jabba Juice.
The Cantina is empty this time of the day and they were able to snag a picture with DJ Rex.
The timing worked out nicely as they had just left the Cantina as we exited the ride.
We then hurried over to Toy Story Land. It was so pretty and empty this early in the morning.
We hurried past this first for attraction #2, Slinky Dog Dash, 6:54.
7:00
We then rushed to Alien Swirling Saucers, attraction #3 at 7:03.
Little Miss thought the swirling saucers looked fun.
By 7:11, we were onto our next ride Toy Story Midway Mania, attraction #4.
Poor Daddy had to ride all by himself.
My goal was to leave about this time so that we could also catch the rope drop at Magic Kingdom. We had planned all along to skip Rock n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, but we decided to skip Star Tours as well so that we make our first park hop. So at 7:28 we left Hollywood Studios.
8:00
We missed the rope drop, but we were on the ferry by 8:00.
We did choose to bring the stroller this time.
Now, if you already knew about the Parkeology Challenge, you know that one of the most difficult rides to get is the Main Street Vehicles. First of all, yes, it counts as a ride because it's listed by WDW as an attraction and it moves. These are difficult to catch though, because they only run at specific times of the day (mostly just the morning at park opening) but the times are unlisted and some days they don't appear at all. LittleCJC was aware of this challenge and was excited to spot this vehicle waiting just inside the gate. So of course, we jumped in making Main Street Vehicles, attraction #5 at 8:15.
It's customary for challengers to post a picture as proof of motion on this attraction.
Like I said, LittleCJC knew this was awesome timing, so she asked for a special picture.
My plan was to run straight to Space Mountain where we had our first fastpass, but LittleCJC spotted Astro Orbitors and Daddy gave in. Therefore, we spent more time in this line than I would have liked, but at 8:36 here's Astro Orbitor, attraction #6.
From here, we got back to the plan, using our first fastpass at 8:46 on Space Mountain, attraction #7.
We were able to move right along at 8:55 on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, attraction #8.
9:00
We stayed here in Tomorrowland for one more ride. At 9:02, here's Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover, attraction #9.
This ride gives you a good look at the new Tron ride construction.
LittleCGC must have fallen asleep, so Patrick was able to get this picture of LittleCJC and me on the ride.
Patrick also had a little treat waiting for us when we got done.
Now, if this was an official Parkeology Challenge, we would also be required to ride Carousel of Progress here, but this is one of those rides that we determined ahead of time that we were going to skip. Instead, we decided to cross the park to Adventureland. By 9:23, we were on Jungle Cruise, attraction #10.
We had some bad timing on our next ride, but both girls were awake and wanted ride. Since we were here, we rode Aladdin's Magic Carpets, attraction #11 at 9:43.
Continuing through Adventureland, our next stop was Pirates of the Caribbean, attraction #12 at 9:54.
10:00
With Adventureland done, we moved on to Frontierland. We used our second fastpass and by 10:18, we were on Big Thunder Mountain, attraction #13.
Thankfully, our next fastpass was right next door at Splash Mountain, attraction #14. Patrick and LittleCJC were on this ride by 10:30.
Unfortunately, the ride broke down and we lost more than 30 minutes here. Although the timing stunk for our challenge, they had fun and gained a new Disney experience.
With this many boats all backed up, it took a while for them all to be unloaded.
Die hard Disney fans always enjoy getting evalcuated from rides and here's why. Sometimes you get taken backstage and you get a glimpse of something that normal park guest don't get to see. In this case, they saw this room that helps make this ride possible.
11:00
While they were on the ride, I was able to snag our next fastpass. So, when they finally made it off, we headed to Haunted Mansion, attraction #15. Using fastpass #4, we were on the ride at 11:20.
I guess the girls thought the fastpass line was a little long.
By 11:56, we were using fastpass #6 at It's a Small World, attraction #17.
We even got some special goodbyes.
12:00
At this time, we knew we needed to jump parks again. We still had 8 rides left here at Magic Kingdom for our ultimate goal, but we were going to have to come back. This was the plan all along since Magic Kingdom is open later than the other parks, but remember we had to come in the morning to get that coveted Main Street Vehicle ride. Most of our remaining rides were also known to have little to no line late in the evening since they are kid rides. Just in case, we decided to get a picture here in front of the castle on our way out of the park.
After the picture, LittleCJC decided to join her sister and they both napped while we switched parks.
I don't remember when exactly we got our next fastpass, whether we were still at Magic Kingdom, traveling, or already at Animal Kingdom, but we scored with getting Flight of Passage. We had little time before we could use it, so we were hoping the stand-by lines weren't too bad at Animal Kingdom.
1:00
By 1:38, we had made it to Animal Kingdom and were on our next ride, Dinosaur, attraction #18.
Since we were running this challenge with kids, and Patrick didn't care about the challenge like LittleCJC, we made the decision to stop here in Dinoland for some real food.
2:00
After our lunch break, we jumped right back in with Triceratop Spin, attraction #19. To those in the know, this is Dino Dumbo, and we were riding at 2:16.
After our ride, LittleCGC needed some Mom time. I gave Patrick and LittleCJC instructions to head to Everest without us since LittleCGC couldn't ride that one anyway while I took LittleCGC to the baby care station. If you're not familiar, every park has an area where little ones can get in some AC. They are convenient places for diaper changes, nursing, pumping, and calmer bathrooms for new or sensitive potty users. So while I was here nursing LittleCGC, I looked at my Disney app on my phone and noticed a new picture. I was surprised to find LittleCJC not on Everest, but instead visiting with Goofy, character #1.
She's pretty stinkin cute, but I couldn't believe they spent more than 15 minutes meeting a character on our ride challenge day. I was a little upset with Patrick even though he said well he didn't really have a line. Timestamps don't lie, babe.
Eventually, they made it to Expedition Everest, attraction #20 at 2:56.
3:00
When we all met back up, we made our way to Pandora to use fastpass #7 at Flight of Passage, attraction #21 at 3:40.
4:00
We were able to grab fastpass #8 for Na'vi River Journey, attraction #22 and were on board by 4:00.
From here, we were able to score fastpass #9 at Kali River Rapids, attraction #23. Unfortunately, this line seemed to be really backed up and we didn't get on the ride until 4:36.
It was even backed up to get off.
We were unable to pull a useable Safari fastpass, and knowing how long that ride takes without a line (which it definitely had) we opted to skip safari and make the hop over to Epcot since it had a few rides that closed early. At 4:56, we stopped in front of the Tree of Life for our Animal Kingdom family photo.
5:00
After our picture, we jumped in the car and drove over to Epcot, park number 4. By 5:32, we were getting that final park picture in front of that iconic ball.
Of course, this was the one time that we got a photographer that wanted to take some extra time with us. I couldn't really complain though when we ended up with this adorable picture.
After these photos, we jumped in line at Spaceship Earth, attraction #24 where we walked on at 5:35.
Little Miss had some fast fingers while I was getting this shot, and we ended up enjoying this attraction in Portuguese. As we exited this attraction, LittleCJC stopped for a picture at the bubblegum wall.
At this time, we took a quick bathroom break, and then headed to our early closure rides.
6:00
First up, at 6:03, Journey into Imagination with Figment, attraction #25.
The other early closure is Living with the Land, attraction #26. We made it on this one at 6:18.
Once we finished here, we braved the stand-by line for the other ride here in The Land pavilion, Soarin' Around the World, attraction #27. We made it aboard by 6:43.
7:00
Moving from The Land, we also took care of The Sea pavilion at this time. Right at 7:00 we were on The Seas with Nemo and Friends, attraction #28.
At some point, we had picked up another fastpass and we were ready to use it now. So, we crossed the park and at 7:45, Patrick and LittleCJC had used fastpass #10 at Test Track, attraction #29.
8:00
When Patrick and LittleCJC finished their ride, they moved right on to Mission: Space, attraction #30. They chose the orange side and made it on at 8:10.
With only two more rides in Epcot, we moved on to the World Showcase where we stopped first in Mexico for Grand Fiesta Tour, attraction #31. We actually made it on the ride by 8:23.
We never were able to pull a fastpass for Frozen Ever After, attraction #32 so we had to wait out the stand-by line. At 8:53, we finally made it on the ride.
9:00
With Epcot done, we needed to hop back to Magic Kingdom to finish up. By the time we made it to the front of the park, both girls were asleep. We thought we would be able to get LittleCJC back up once we got there so that she could finish her night at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. She loves that ride, so we thought she would rally when she saw it. To make the park hop easier, I took the girls and the stroller on the monorail, while Patrick drove the car.
10:00
After a few failed attempts to get LittleCJC up, we eventually gave up. Patrick and I decided it was silly to continue on while she was asleep, so instead, Patrick and I had a little date night at Magic Kingdom and got ourselves some dessert.
When we finished our dessert, we decided there was no need to stay to park close so we stopped for one more picture before leaving.
