Parkhoppers for first time visitors?

[jina]

Mon has EE at DCA so that would be your first park if you want to take advantage of EE (HIGHLY recommended!)
Tues has EE/MM at DL.

Given this I'd highly recommend getting hoppers so you can have more time at DL, especially if you have any young kids. We did 18 park days this past year w/ DD5 and spent 3/4 of our time at DL - and we LOVE DCA. There is just a whole lot more to see at DL and DCA with EE you can cover a great deal in that first hour if you get a RSR Fastpass instead of using our EE time in line. I don't see you needing an entire day for DCA even w/ the shortened September hours unless you plan to see all the DCA shows too (Disney Jr, Aladdin, Pixar Parade, Frozen Sing-along, WOC if they have it that night, etc.).

If you were doing a Tues/Wed then I agree with the posters who say do DL on day 1 and if you want to go back, upgrade to a hopper for day 2. But given you are going Mon/Tues I'd really think about getting a hopper right off the back.

 

[sgrap]

We always hop! So easy and so fun! Totally worth it!

 

[GromMom]

Even when I've had annual passes i rarely hop. There's enough to do in each park that i can spend an entire day in one park. The only reasons to hop imho are it's your only day and you really want to do one ride at the other park before you go home, you want to see world of colorbut want to spend the day at Disneyland or it's super crowded at one park and you want to try your luck at the other, which i still don't recommend because you might leave Disneyland and not be able to hop back because it's at capacity.

I'd skip the hoppers unless you really like doing extra walking between parks. Imho hopping can be a huge time suck.

 

[carrierael77]

I would do 1 day park hopper. DL will be a full day plus. DCA is going to be less. You are king to find you do first day at DL, then 2nd day at DCA and wish you could go over to ride or see something one more time at DL.

Also, keep in mind if there are shops etc in downtown disney as well, sonic you don't want to do hoppers you can always spend a little time there as well.

 

[honicakes]

So just some more info - we are 2 adults, no kids. Also, I'm a WDW vet so I am fairly confident that I can quickly acclimate to hopping at DLR. I went ahead and upgraded to hoppers and at this point I am thinking it will be worth it.
1. It was $80 to upgrade for both days (didn't ask if it would be different just for one) which is worth the gamble to me as it seems like things are leaning more towards hopping being feasible/necessary.
2. Since we will already be set to hop when we get there, we don't have to waste time with upgrading whenever we are ready to switch parks
3. I did a few itineraries on Touring Plans (I know not the MOST accurate but just to get some idea). Especially with the most recent info that Screamin will be closed during our trip, there aren't TOO many attractions/rides at CA that I am really interested in (TSM, RSR, TOT, Wheel of Death, GRR and MAYBE Little Mermaid if there is like NO line). I feel like I can probably get through those in less than a full day - especially if using EMH.
4. I don't know if I can contain myself to waiting until Weds to go to DL which I what I would have to do if we stayed on Single Day passes and wanted to take advantage of EMH.
5. My list of MUST RIDES at DL is considerably longer, and I am even hoping to ride some faves more than once (HM, POC).

All of those things considered, I think once the hours/schedules come out (which should hopefully be ANY DAY NOW) for the days we will be there, if I study my park maps, make a good but flexible plan (especially making good use of FP's) - 1/2 day in CA then 1.5 days in DL should get in all of my MUST DO's.

 

[Jon84]

We hopped on our 2 day trip, upgrading as soon as we arrived. It gave us so much more flexibility. Then we had VIP for USH the third day.

 

[ashleyrm]

I'm a pretty dedicated hopper. Have an AP at WDW so it's not an issue. I got the three day PH last weekend for my three days at DLR and hopped a lot between the parks on Saturday and Sunday.

 

[skier_pete]

So just some more info - we are 2 adults, no kids. Also, I'm a WDW vet so I am fairly confident that I can quickly acclimate to hopping at DLR. I went ahead and upgraded to hoppers and at this point I am thinking it will be worth it.
1. It was $80 to upgrade for both days (didn't ask if it would be different just for one) which is worth the gamble to me as it seems like things are leaning more towards hopping being feasible/necessary.
2. Since we will already be set to hop when we get there, we don't have to waste time with upgrading whenever we are ready to switch parks
3. I did a few itineraries on Touring Plans (I know not the MOST accurate but just to get some idea). Especially with the most recent info that Screamin will be closed during our trip, there aren't TOO many attractions/rides at CA that I am really interested in (TSM, RSR, TOT, Wheel of Death, GRR and MAYBE Little Mermaid if there is like NO line). I feel like I can probably get through those in less than a full day - especially if using EMH.
4. I don't know if I can contain myself to waiting until Weds to go to DL which I what I would have to do if we stayed on Single Day passes and wanted to take advantage of EMH.
5. My list of MUST RIDES at DL is considerably longer, and I am even hoping to ride some faves more than once (HM, POC).

All of those things considered, I think once the hours/schedules come out (which should hopefully be ANY DAY NOW) for the days we will be there, if I study my park maps, make a good but flexible plan (especially making good use of FP's) - 1/2 day in CA then 1.5 days in DL should get in all of my MUST DO's.

I think your plan is excellent. As a WDW regular who rarely pays for hopping at WDW, I would always get hopping at DLR. Even some of the things you mention at DCA as "must dos" shouldn't be high priority. TSMM is the same as at DHS, and there's no FP, so you have to wait in standby. ToT is actually shorter than @dhs, it doesn't have the randomized drops of florida, only a standard pattern. And Little Mermaid is not as nice as MK, because the outside/queue is not well themed. However, we've never had a wait there, so the 5 minutes out of your life would be no loss.

The highlights of DCA - Carsland, GRR, the Aladdin Stage show (excellent) the Monsters Inc. dark ride (cute but trivial) and California Screamin'. And of course, World of Color, which is DON'T MISS! (So please DON'T MISS it. I'm serious, it's better than ANY of the nighttime spectacles in WDW.)

 

[DisneyloverinWA]

If you plan to stay in the parks until close, I would get a hopper. DCA closes earlier than Disneyland, so if you spend a day in DCA and it closes at 8, DL might still be open until 10 +1 hour of shopping on Main Street. I would feel like i might miss something if I couldn't park hop.