Disney Parkeology Challenge

On Wednesday, two Walt Disney World enthusiasts completed the Parkeology Challenge – according to the Orlando Sentinel is was an endurance test to ride all 46 attractions at the four parks in one day.

And there was a twist. They decided not to use everyone’s favorite time saver – their Disney FastPasses.

For Shane Lindsay and Kristina Hawkins, it was the latest way to push themselves and test their knowledge of the parks. It was a mental puzzle, one that was fleeting to try before Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens and massive summer crowds pack the parks.

“I’m not sure either of us thought it was completely possible,” said Hawkins, 31, of Clermont.

Their 18-hour day weaved them across Disney property, visiting Magic Kingdom three times to knock out different rides that closed early, rope dropping Hollywood Studios to be among the first to ride the Toy Story land roller coaster and making stops at Epcot and Animal Kingdom along the way.

The challenge, that Lindsay, 45, of Davenport invented with his friend Ted Tamburo, has grown in popularity as it has received more national attention.

Typically, a challenger spends much of the day, scrolling on his phone, hoping the theme park gods are in his favor and an elusive FastPass to a popular ride will pop up. Hawkins sometimes relies on more than 20 FastPasses to cut the long lines on her past challenges.

Instead, Lindsay and Hawkins waited in lines in parks that were moderately crowded.

“It seemed like something really crazy to try and do this,” Lindsay said. “In some ways, it felt not purer, but a little more old school.”

Without any MagicBand technology as a shortcut, the two friends devised a plan for which rides, like Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise, close early in the day or when Animal Kingdom might be quieter in the evening.

The longest line was for Flight of Passage, a thrill ride at Animal Kingdom, which took about an hour or so. Most of the wait times went by quickly, they said.

On Thursday, after getting a few hours of sleep, Lindsay was ready for a nap. Hawkins drank a sports drink to help her tired legs recover.

“We hustled our butts off,” Lindsay said.

“So much running!” Hawkins said.