To hopper or not hopper pass??

[Jedi5]

First trip to WDW coming up in January.
As we plan our trip, one of the many questions we have is
do spring for a hopper pass or pass on it?

Someone please correct me if I am wrong...

With a hopper pass you have unlimited access to all 4 theme parks at WDW.
If you do not have a hopper pass, then you have to pay the entry fee which somewhere around $75 or so for each theme park.

So lets say you only want to attend 2 theme parks.
Would it make more sense to bypass the hopper as you would not get your moneys worth?

Thanks.

[mx3man123]

The Hopper option is just like it sounds. It allows you to hop from park to park in one day. If you don't have a hopper option you can only do one park a day. I think the hopper option is very useful in case a certian park had huge crowds you could always try going to another park that may not be as crowded. Also I get the hopper option just for animal kingdom alone, you can do everything at animal kingdom by the time the parade starts at 4pm. After parade we leave then go to another park for the night. So yes the Hopper option is well worth it I feel.

[kimis]

Believe me the hopper pass is the best way to go. It gives you so much more freedom! enjoy

[DLBDS]

The park hopper is good if you want to go to more than one park in any given day during your trip. We like having the freedom to do what we want, when we want to do it. We always stay at the MK so we like having the freedom to hop over there at the end of the day for fireworks, a parade or just to walk around. Without the park hopper, you're restricting yourself to just one park per day. Hope this helped.

[Jedi5]

The Hopper option is just like it sounds. It allows you to hop from park to park in one day. If you don't have a hopper option you can only do one park a day. I think the hopper option is very useful in case a certian park had huge crowds you could always try going to another park that may not be as crowded. Also I get the hopper option just for animal kingdom alone, you can do everything at animal kingdom by the time the parade starts at 4pm. After parade we leave then go to another park for the night. So yes the Hopper option is well worth it I feel.

That's where I think we are right now. It will be myself, wife, and 2 yr old son going on this trip. And while hoping from one park to the other sounds ideal, we're not sure just how much our son is going to be able to handle before he wears out.

Having never atteneded WDW, is it safe to say that there is a lot one can do that will not require a hopper pass?

What I don't want is to kick myself after this is all said and done because we didn't go with a hopper pass. On the flip side, I also don't want to regret purchasing a hopper pass and not getting my moneys worth because we weren't able to hit all 4 theme parks.

[Mousema]

You don't say how many days you have planned. If you are just going for a few days and only want to do 2 parks, don't get a hopper. If you are going for a week or more, I would get the hopper. That way, when you've seen everything and want to do more, you can go to another park. Just because you have a hopper doesn't mean you have to visit all the parks, it's just in case you need more than one park in a day.

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

That's where I think we are right now. It will be myself, wife, and 2 yr old son going on this trip. And while hoping from one park to the other sounds ideal, we're not sure just how much our son is going to be able to handle before he wears out.

Having never atteneded WDW, is it safe to say that there is a lot one can do that will not require a hopper pass?

What I don't want is to kick myself after this is all said and done because we didn't go with a hopper pass. On the flip side, I also don't want to regret purchasing a hopper pass and not getting my moneys worth because we weren't able to hit all 4 theme parks.

This was our issue on our 1st trip as well. We did get the parkhopper and did not use it even once. This time we are not getting it. There is PLENTY to do at one park for an entire day. Even if you only spend 1/2 day at AK, you can always relax for an evening at the hotel pool or shopping in DTD. I can't imagine going from one park to another in one day with 2 little kids. I planned everything out really well and made sure our ADR's were in the park we were in on that particular day. Honestly, I'd rather spend the money on an extra night rather than a park hopper.

[dunbarfamily]

Good advice here already. Just throwing in my vote for the park hopper. Very worth it, especially for Animal Kingdom. As someone else said, you can do all of it by the parade, then go rest, and go somewhere else in the evening.

The only time I wouldn't do a park hopper is if I was only there for 2 days and only wanted to do 2 parks. But that'd never happen!!! :)

[stitchlover]

Our first trip the hopper pass was kind of a waste. Our second trip it was a must! The first trip we would hit a park and stay alllllllll day. This last trip we would go to a park in the morning, take a break mid-day and go to another park in the evening. On our upcoming scheduled trip we have one day that we plan to be at one park during the day, take a break, hit EPCOT for dinner at Coral Reef at 7pm, watch Illuminations and then hit MGM EMH for the rest of the night.
This gives you some idea of the flexibility with a Hopper Pass. BUT our daughter is 12, not two.
I would spring for them just in case.

[dunbarfamily]

Just wanted add, that we do have little kids and we still park hop. My kids are 5, 2 and five months. Not a big deal for us.

Everyone has different goals, objectives, opinions and things to consider.

[Jedi5]

Good advice here already. Just throwing in my vote for the park hopper. Very worth it, especially for Animal Kingdom. As someone else said, you can do all of it by the parade, then go rest, and go somewhere else in the evening.


We will be staying at AKL. What would we need a hopper pass for if we are staying at AKL?

[pktflack]

I have taken trips with and without the park hopper. It depends on how long your trip is. We took 3 days after a cruise last year and didn't get the park hopper because I knew that we only wanted to go to MK and AK. The park hopper option is $45 per person. If you have a group of 4 that's money towards a nice meal or souvenirs. And you can always go back to the same theme park on the same day. So if you went to EMH in the morning at MK and wanted to go back to see the fireworks in the evening you could go back to your hotel and rest or use the pool if it's warm enough before heading back.

[Jedi5]

we're going for 4 days. of those 4 days, 3 are going to be spent at the disney sports complex for the soccer 3v3 tournament. not sure exactly how long i will be at the sports complex as the schedules have not been posted yet.

[dunbarfamily]

We will be staying at AKL. What would we need a hopper pass for if we are staying at AKL?

Just staying at AKL doens't get you admission to Animal Kingdom. So, if you don't have a park hopper, and you go to AK in the morning and get done with everything by 3, you couldn't go to another park, unless you wanted to use your pass to gain admission to another park. Not a good idea, because you'd be wasing a full day's pass. Does that make sense? Hard to explain what I mean. Or, you could go to another park and then pay cash for it, but again, you'd be paying ful price for just a few hours.

[DLBDS]

We will be staying at AKL. What would we need a hopper pass for if we are staying at AKL?

I think what dunbarfamily meant was.....AK closes early in the day (around 5:00) because of the animals. For most folks, that's too early so they hop to another park in the evening.

[pktflack]

If you are going to be busy for part of 3 of the 4 days that you are in WDW you will not need to go with the park hopper. The park hopper is good for visits where you will be fully engaged in park touring. Otherwise, it will be a waste of money. And just to reiterate, staying on-property (at Disney hotels) gets you free parking at all of the theme parks and Extra Magic Hours (times when the park is open (morning or evening) only to Resort guests.) It does not include admittance to any of the parks. AKL is a great resort. I recommend it highly. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. And the architecture is stunning!
Have a Magical trip!

[Unseen-Unheard]

You don't have to buy the park hopper ahead of time, you can go to disney, go to one of the parks and if you feel then, after ou have looked around, that you would like to try another park that day, simply go to one of the guest services and tell them you would like to add the park hopper option to your tickets. this way if you get there and don't see a need for it you havn't waisted your money on it, but if you do want it buy it then, you have that choice.
Hope this makes since,
Paul

[PurpleEars]

I think another factor that should go into your decision is if you plan to eat at the restaurant in the parks. We got the park hopper both times we went because we were also on the DDP. Having the park hopper meant that we could go to Animal Kingdom during the day, go to Epcot for dinner, and go to Magic Kingdom after dinner to watch Wishes. We just loved the flexibility.

However, given the description of your trip, I am not sure if the park hopper is of benefit to your family. I think it depends on how much time you will be at the tournment (2 hours/day, 6 hours/day, somewhere in between?) and how much time you want to spend walking around the parks after the tournment.

I hope this helps!

[Jedi5]

Hi everyone.

Thank again to all for the suggestions.
I think for now since I will be busy most of the time, we are going to hold off on the hopper pass.

I can't wait.
January can not come soon enough!!

[DLBDS]

Hi everyone.

Thank again to all for the suggestions.
I think for now since I will be busy most of the time, we are going to hold off on the hopper pass.

I can't wait.
January can not come soon enough!!

:thumbsup2 I think you've made the right choice. Have fun!

[PolynesianMedic]

In my opinion, you SHOULD get the hopper. Just in case you want to go to dinner in a different park, the one you are at is busy, or you finish what you wanted to do in the park you are at. For the little extra that it costs, to me it is worth it.

[FamilyGuy]

You already have plenty of input, but I just wanted to add that even though we have annual passes (passholders can hop as often as they like), and often intend to visit to parks in a day, we RARELY end up actually hopping...

In the future, if we are not passholders and purchase MYW tickets, it's unlikely we would pay extra for the ability to park hop...

The idea of not adding the hopper now and adding it later if need be makes the most sense to me.

[ZoZo]

Just staying at AKL doens't get you admission to Animal Kingdom. So, if you don't have a park hopper, and you go to AK in the morning and get done with everything by 3, you couldn't go to another park, unless you wanted to use your pass to gain admission to another park. Not a good idea, because you'd be wasing a full day's pass.

This is actually incorrect. Without the hopper option, you can't go to more than one park per day, period. Multi-day passes are based on the number of days you're going to the parks, not the number of admissions. So you can't get a 10-day pass and expect to go to 2 parks a day for five days. Once the computer system records which park you've gone to first, if you don't have a park-hopper option, you won't be able to go to any other parks that day, regardless of the number of days you have left on your pass. The computer system simply won't allow you entrance into another park the same day, unless you have the hopper option. Make sense?

My advice is, if it's your first trip, you probably won't need the hopper option. Lots of folks never hop, even those who are WDW veterans. We always get the hopper option, but we like the flexibility because we go during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Regardless of which park we start out at on any given day, we always end up at Epcot, so it totally makes sense to have a hopper.

And it's important to know that if you decide to get non-hopping tickets, you can always add the hopper option to your ticket after you arrive, if you decide you want to park-hop. It's a flat fee of around $50, regardless of the number of days on your ticket. So don't add the hopper feature if you only plan to hop one day - that costs you $50 per ticket! But if you hop every day on a 7-day pass, it's only about $7 per day.

[NewRocDad]

The hopper is nice because it gives you more options. It's your first trip (amazing, by the way!:thumbsup2 ), and you may want to see more than just one park on that fourth day.

Either way, enjoy your first time!

[ntsammy5]

Everyone has different goals, objectives, opinions and things to consider.

Well said.

[BigGreen73]

We have gotten the hopper option our last 4 visits, but we questioned it for our next trip in Dec. We really only used the park hopper a couple of days on our trip as we like to spend at least one full day at each park and spend some time at DTD and at the resort. And you realize at times that you waste alot of time going from park to park. So we decided against the park hopper for our Dec trip as we will be spending 1-2 full days at each park and that gives us a little extra freedom to spend time at DTD and our resort.

[wezee]

We always get the hopper if we are staying the entire week. We usually visit a park in the morning and take an early afternoon break by the resort pool then get ready for an evening out. Also we always make ADR's all over WDW property and the hopper gives us the freedom to do so.
One exception, planning a long weekend trip in a couple of months and wil not do the hopper, since we plan on spending a day at Epcot and hanging around the Boardwalk and DTD.

[prekteacher]

We are going in May and we have prebought our hopper passes. we thought that with two children and one adult we has never been it would be a good idea. if we want to do two parks in one day ( one in am and one in pm) we could and tthen if we want to spilt up we can .

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

We have done both, in Oct. we didn't hop, just visited the parks we wanted each day, enjoyed the pools and such.
This year we decided on hoppers and glad we did. We went to one park, then rested and enjoyed the pools for awhile then went to another park at night, specially whichever ones had the magic hrs. Worked good for us, but everyone is different.
Good Luck with your choice and your trip!;) :)

[Raenstoirm]

We always use the park hopper. We start at one of the parks that does NOT have extra magic hours that day (since the crowds tend to be at the parks that do especially AK). Then, when our park closes we hop to the magic hours park for the rest of the evening.

If you have little kids and you don't mind wandering the hotels and pools then it probably isn't worth it.

For us it always is.

[CleveRocks]

In my opinion, you SHOULD get the hopper. Just in case you want to go to dinner in a different park, the one you are at is busy, or you finish what you wanted to do in the park you are at. For the little extra that it costs, to me it is worth it.

In my opinion, you SHOULD NOT buy the hopper option ... well, not yet.

You can add it at any time if you decide you want it. It won't cost any more to add it then that it would to purchase it now or with your package.

For a family of 4, the hopper option will be roughly $195. You might not know whether or not it's worth it 'til your there and decide you want to do something else.

[DCLWDW]

we like to hop so we always buy it.

[Kaler131]

We used to use the hopper when it didn't cost so much extra...but now it's just not worth the price for us. It is cheaper for us to add extra days on our pass than get the hopper option.

[The6ofUs]

This has probably already been mentioned -- if you're buying the dining plan, the hopper option is a great thing to have so you can plan restaurants in any park - not just the park you're visiting that day.

[Jenniww]

We went in Jan 07 and bought it $200 for our family of four. Didn't use it but once. Turned out there is a public code that tends to come out in Jan for a free hopper with a package. Could have saved two hundred :confused3

I am going back in Jan 08 I did not buy the hopper again. BUT if the code for it for free starts floating around I will get it.

[MomPOM]

We didn't purchase the Park Hopper on our trip in February last year. We just made sure we scheduled things so we didn't need it. We also went to PPP so we did one park during the day and then MK around 4:30 when we could get in. I really can't imagine paying the extra money. If you do AKL one day and they are closing early, make that evening when you go to Downtown Disney or get dinner at a resort and explore there some more.