Don't normally HOP but thinking about it....

[TnTWalter]

I've had hoppers in past but it was way back when I hadn't a clue and didn't use them well.

Last time we went I didn't purchase hoppers and we just chose parks based on crowd calendars and rested during day and went back for evening [after getting FPs on way out].

Now there were a couple times that it might have been nice to have hopped to another park because the park we were in was filling or we were done with it for the day.

I'm leaning towards 6 day base $1185 for 5 of us ... 4 of us are over 10.
it jumps to $1443 for hoppers...

we are there first week of April. Planning on Sat or Sun-Thu or Fri at parks.

Staying at Bonnet Creek.

My reasoning for maybe doing hoppers this time is that if a park is more crowded than expected, I can hop away....LOL. Or to eat meals at Epcot.

If you do hop, how do you do it successfully? Does touringplans have 'hopping' schedules?

Would you talk me into it or out of it?

Thanks.

Trish

 

[imthatgirl]

We always hop. I don't like the idea of having to only go to one park a day. that being said, there will be times we stay in one park all day.

A good example is our upcoming trip. we are "hoping". This is my itinerary(in a nut shell
day 1.EP during the day then after dinner MK for EMH. (staying at WL)
day 2. MK all day
day3. EP in the morning then back at the resort to swim. After dinner DTD
day4. DHS rd then walk over EP(if we didn't have hoppers we would run out of thinsg to do and spend the rest of the day at the resort)
day 6 AK in the morning , break at the resort then MK in the evening(again without hoppers we would just stay at the resort because there isn't enough at AK to hold our interest and they close early.
Day 6 anywhere we want. Most likely DHS at rope drop for RRC and TSM then MK to close out the trip.

We've also taken trips where we will go to one park in the AM then after a swim go to another park everyday. I like being able to use the whole kingdom, and not just one part everyday.

 

[janiejake]

Park Hoppers are worth every penny. Would not do without that feature. Gives us the opportunity to be at a park at RD when that park as EMH, enjoy the park til the crowds really pick up, and then be on our way to the next park. We already have several ADRs spread throughout the week. PH give us the opportunity to NOT have to spend the day in that park just because we want to dine there. When I made the ADRs, I made them expecting that we'd be in that park for much of the day. But, crowds are not always as predicted or expected. Plus, PH give us the chance to close a park that may be closing earlier (ie AK or DHS), and then move on to the MK or Epcot. I LOVE being in those parks when they are lit up at night.

 

[Eric in TX]

IMO, hoppers are always worth it if you can afford it.

On our last trip, we were there for 9 days. We hopped 6 of them.

Most of the time, we start the day in one park and stay through lunch. Then we head back to the resort for swimming/resting, and will head to a second park for dinner or the evening.

Sometimes we'll hop at lunchtime when it's convenient -- say from MK to Epcot via the monorail, or DHS to Epcot using the Friendship launches.

Hoppers are not necessary, but they are very convenient. I would never visit WDW without them.

 

[Thumper_Man]

We had park hoppers on our last trip. We didn't seem to use them as much as we thought we would. Think we only park hopped one day. Was nice to know we could hop if we really wanted to though. So it all depends on you really.

FYI, I'm guessing you're looking at prices on the Disney site for tickets? If so, you can save some money by buying your tickets through Undercover Tourist. I did a price comparison, and you can save anywhere from $50-$80. If you sign up for the Mousesavers Newsletter, you can even get tickets a little cheaper through UT with the link.

 

[Balt ravens fan]

She is staying at Bonnet Creek - so EMH is not a factor - so that is not a selling point for her.

I am a NO to park hoppers - JMHO. If you are off property people (like me) then it makes no sense to buy park hopper - Just my oppinion. Just go to a park that doesn't have EMH and be there for rope drop, take a break in the middle of the day and go back. If you plan right you can save yourself the extra dollars (200 -400) on park hoppers. I don't think it is worth 1/3 the price of your tickets, when adding days is so much cheaper. Especially since you are in a timeshare where you are there for a week for sure. Add days I say at 8 dollars an extra day.

I made some comments on another thread see here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2668761

If you are going for 3 days OR have money to burn OR seriously don't like to Plan then Yes buy Park Hoppers.

But if you are there for a long time and are not rich and can plan, then don't.

if you got the money to burn go for it. I just can't see with 6 or 7 days of tickets why you we need to Hop, unless you want to eat in Epcot all the time.

Not to mention it can be a lot of extra transportation.

Just giving the other side of the coin!

 

[kkmauch]

Honestly, we wouldn't ever go without hoppers. We have Premium Annual Passes now, so we thoroughly enjoy all the parks whenever we want!

Our main reasons for hopping:
1. Planning around EMH
2. Crowd levels
3. We're on the dining plan, so we eat where we want and hop around the rest of the day

I would have a hard time planning without hoppers. Best of luck!

 

[TnTWalter]

we are offsite no no EMH for us
we will have a car so would be easy to get around
no dining plan also
that was with mousesaver discount on undercover tourist

thanks for ideas

i've read the great tip about if you decide to hop then get one right then and there. but i'm an itinerary junkie so deciding right then and there would stress me out. LOL.

 

[buffettgirl]

for me it's a psychological break - park in the morning, break at the hotel mid day, and having a new park at night makes me refreshed - especially if the morning had been one of those tiring, nothing in the plan worked, sort of day.

 

[exwdwcm]

I've never gone without hoppers. It is a must for us. We never stay at the same park all day.

We usually take a midday break, even before we had our son (3yo). It is just nice to take a mental break from all the activity of the parks and nap, swim, relax for a bit. We usually do rope drop at one park, leave by 1-2pm, take a break for 1-2 hours, then hit a different park in the evening until closing.

I like that we can take advantage of the morning EMH park, ride some rides with no lines for a few hours and then take our break and hop somewhere else. If we stay at the EMH park all day, the crowds usually are big. We are going in Oct when Food and Wine is going on- so we plan to avoid Epcot at night on the weekends when possible, but we will do it in the am when it is less crowded and hop somewhere else at night. That is what I love about hopping- you can really tailor your schedule more.

For example on F! nights, HS is going to be crowded all day long, since those without hoppers will obviously go there all day so they can see F! that night. Now if we want to dare to fight the F! crowds to see it that night, at least we have the option to do another park during the day and only deal with the F! crowds that night.

huge benefit for us and we love the flexibility. If there is something we missed, we can go back without worrying. For example, RnR was down one day, we were able to go back another night for just a few hours to ride it.

 

[Cherinva]

On long trips (anything over 2 or 3 days) we always get park hoppers. It allows flexability in our schedule. Plus, when going to DHS...we don't like any of the food venues (well, 3 of us like 50s prime time, but 1 does not )..so we leave to have lunch or dinner and if we've done what we wanted there, which for us is easy in a half day...then after lunch or dinner, we hop to another park.

It's up to you, if you think it's worth it....I feel it is...good luck and have a great vacation.

 

[Love Tink]

Just one thing to consider - if you are there during a busy time (which it sounds like you will be), it's really nice to be able to collect FP during the morning, to use later in the day. We usually have a whole pocketful.

If you hop to a different park in the late afternoon or evening, you totally lose that benefit.

 

[Balt ravens fan]

Just one thing to consider - if you are there during a busy time (which it sounds like you will be), it's really nice to be able to collect FP during the morning, to use later in the day. We usually have a whole pocketful.

If you hop to a different park in the late afternoon or evening, you totally lose that benefit.

Never thought of that reason! But I do that all the time. Thanks tink - another reason for me to be cheap (or as I call it frugal).

 

[trekker93]

When we get into a park and it starts getting really crowded we book over to another park knowing that it will be less crowded. And it's actually fun because we often take a monorail to/from MK or Epcot when it's too busy in 1 park. We've never found AK or MGM to be so busy we had to leave during the Sept./Oct time frame that we usually go in.

 

[Love Tink]

Never thought of that reason! But I do that all the time. Thanks tink - another reason for me to be cheap (or as I call it frugal).

No problem! Yes, I'm always telling my husband we don't need park hoppers for this very reason (but deep down inside I know I'm also trying to save $300.)

 

[Stephanie84]

for me it's a psychological break - park in the morning, break at the hotel mid day, and having a new park at night makes me refreshed - especially if the morning had been one of those tiring, nothing in the plan worked, sort of day.

TOO TRUE!!! Thats exactly how I feel.

 

[ZoZo]

You're going smack in the middle of spring break season, a pretty busy time of year. Seems like the flexibility of hoppers would be a big asset!

But you don't have to decide until you get there! You can add the hopper option at any time. If you end up not needing them, you can save yourselves a lot of money -- but it's nice to know that option is there if you want it.