Parkhoppers for first time visitors?

[honicakes]

I need some expert DL advice.
We are visiting the parks on Sept 14 & 15th (Monday and Tuesday). If my research and planning is right, then crowd volume should be relatively low those days (early sept, weekdays etc).
As of now we have single day tickets. The first 2 reservation agents agreed with my theory that since it is our first visit to DL that we probably won't have that much of a use for park hopping.

Then I talked to another res agent (have been making some changes other than the tickets) and she said that I'd be better off with the hopper.

Now I am torn. I know I can upgrade once I am there which was my original thought - if we really find ourselves wanting to hop... but that most recent res agent said that you have to go to a specific place to upgrade and they have limited hours - so they might not be open at the time that we want to hop, plus we might waste time doing the upgrade that we could be using to enjoy the parks.

Footnote - We are staying at DLH, so we will have EMH and will most likely take advantage of that.

So DL experts - what do you think? If we want to be sure to see/experience as much as possible (primarily ride driven - shows/parades etc are less priority) can we do it well on single day passes? Or would it be better to upgrade to hoppers? I'd hate to upgrade and then feel forced to hop if we are really enjoying a park, just so we can feel we got our moneys worth.

 

[V.I.N.C.E.N.T.]

First time with two days in the parks? I think you could get by without a hopper. In particular with shorter park hours both days.

 

[Disney Kidd]

I would do without the park hopper. It might be overwhelming and confusing to park hop as first timers.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Personally I would never do with out a PH.
It gives you many options for when one park or the other is crowded or you just want to do something very different. And since they are so close to each other, it's quick and easy to bounce between parks and take it all in. It also gives you that many more options for types of food or places to eat.
I also feel that DCA has become a not-to-be missed park.

 

[Imdboss]

I always think getting a park hopper is a good idea. I just like having the option and like the PP said when one park is crowded you can go to the other. Also say you start at DL and do some rides, grab a FP for a late evening ride then go to DCA and do some rides then you can hit that ride in DL with your FP plus some other rides at the end of the night.

 

[madmaxx]

We visit the parks every few years, and while we've always ordered park hoppers, we've only taken advantage of hopping a few times. We get our park hoppers "free" using our Airmiles.ca points, but when I buy an extra day or two I just get the single park day passes.

We find that we can still spend an entire day in one of the parks, even for 5+ day visits. We ride our favourite rides several times (when possible), and take in all of the shows and such. I suspect the only time the park hoppers make more sense is when your visit is short enough that you might not get a full day at either park. Just my opinion though.

 

[kateandy08096]

Im going the first week in April and will be spending 4 days in DL as first timers and we decided not to get the hoppers.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

With only one day at each park i would say don't hop. There is plenty to do at each park to fill up a day especially at disneyland. With a full day at disneyland you will still miss a lot in that park and wont get to see everything, so there is no need to hop on your disneyland day. Your first day will be at DCA since you will have EMH that day. If you feel like you have accomplished everything you want to get done in that park earlier in the day, then you can decide at that time if you want to add the hoppers and finish your night at disneyland.

 

[LisaT91403]

but that most recent res agent said that you have to go to a specific place to upgrade and they have limited hours - so they might not be open at the time that we want to hop

Did they tell you where the "specific place" to upgrade is, and what the hours are? We were thinking of perhaps upgrading a one-day ticket to a hopper tomorrow sometime during the day, but I didn't realize that there were only specific times during which we could do it.

As for having a hopper or not (your original question)...I personally like to have it. For me, DCA is still not a "full day" park, especially when you should have relatively low crowds. If you were to get an early start at DCA, you could get a lot accomplished in a relatively short time, and then spend the rest of the day/evening back at DL.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

Did they tell you where the "specific place" to upgrade is, and what the hours are? We were thinking of perhaps upgrading a one-day ticket to a hopper tomorrow sometime during the day, but I didn't realize that there were only specific times during which we could do it.

As for having a hopper or not (your original question)...I personally like to have it. For me, DCA is still not a "full day" park, especially when you should have relatively low crowds. If you were to get an early start at DCA, you could get a lot accomplished in a relatively short time, and then spend the rest of the day/evening back at DL.

Just go to the ticket booths between the two parks. Not sure of the actual hours, but they are open before the parks open, and are still open after the parks close.

 

[SeattleSuz]

I think it depends on your family and if you have kids who might like different rides. We also get hoppers whenever we go, cuz we like the flexibility of walking across the courtyard area over to the other park in the middle of the day, or whenever. it's also easier in smaller groups, IMO. If you are traveling with a large group, then I probably would suggest not getting hoppers. But with a small family of 3 or 4, you might be surprised how much you like that flexibility.

 

[disneyfirsttimer18]

We were first-timers at Disneyland in March for 3 park days and we loved having the hopper.

 

[skier_pete]

IT's tough - because hopping at DLR is completely different experience from WDW. The parks are about 150 feet apart, and so you can go back and forth as much as you want.

With two days, it seems like 1-park per day is the way to go, and you certainly could fill your time that way. But even after the DCA revamp, there is still a LOT more to see in Disneyland than in DCA. Many of the big ticket things in DCA are identical to WDW - Soarin, ToT, TSMM, Little Mermaid are all identical and could easily be skipped. Meanwhile, in Disneyland, the "identical" rides aren't so identical - Pirates and Space Mountain in particular - and there are many, many more. My advice would probably be this: Spend your first day in Disneyland, then see if there are things you feel you didn't get to see. Then add the hopper before you start your second day

 

[8lovesmickey]

I vote for the hopper - for us it's totally worth it because, as said before, you can go back and forth easily. Also IMHO it's possible to run out of things to do at DCA if you go early; especially if your kids don't like certain types of rides.

 

[luulu1999]

We always get hoppers, we don't stay on site so we start in the opposite park that EMH is in then spend then morning there and take a break then go to the other park, but for 2 days I don't really see it necessary or maybe just get it for one of the days incase you want to leave DCA and go back to DL for some things missed

 

[4Siamese]

We always go with park hoppers but since it is your 1st visit I would recommend just going with the regular non hopping ticket. Even with research and looking at park maps it is difficult for the 1st time visitor (I remember what it was like) to not be overwhelmed and a bit confused on where to go and when to do it.

My advice for what it is worth is do one park each day, have a game plan and do what you can in the time you have. It is true that it doesn't take a lot of time to park hop but if you do then you have to orientate yourself to an area you have never been in and confusion and frustration could set in. If you don't get everything in during the time your there it gives you an excuse to come back for another visit.

Enjoy your visit.

 

[chttyangel]

I ALWAYS did the park hopper until the last trip I went on and would have had a completely different opinion before that trip. It was DH's first time and we were only there 2 days. The savings was substantial so I went for it. Didn't miss hopping at all. I had a well laid out plan for each park each day. I know we never stay as late in DCA so that day I planned some of my dining. It worked great. I am even considering it again this next trip because once again it is only two days and were traveling with a newbie. I think when we stay longer that we move back/forth more but with only two days concentrating on one park per day worked well and we didn't miss a thing.

 

[BobearQSI]

Like many others on here have said, I myself would never go without a hopper. However, the main reason for that is because I am already familiar with the parks! For example, I may just feel like going to one area of one park or another at a time and want the flexibility to just do that on a whim. But I want to go to that place because I already know what it's like.

I would second the notion to go without hoppers as first timers. And like was mentioned before, you can always upgrade if you really really just want to get out of DCA, or really really just want to go back there the next day.

After this trip, you'll have been to each park once, and then you'll know if you want hoppers next time or not.

 

[McNs]

One thing to note - if you are making use of EMH, this means DCA on Monday and DL on Tuesday. DL always takes more time than DCA, so you won't want to get to late Tuesday and realise you should have spent some of Monday across at DL.

Maybe stick with non hoppers for now, hit DCA on the Monday, if it ends up taking all day then great, but if you get to mid afternoon and you have done all you want to do, then upgrade to hoppers and finish the night at DL.

 

[tarheelalum]

Hoppers.