To hop or not to hop?

[tae1218]

We love hopping. We will go to one park in the morning. Then back to the resort for a swim and a break, then head to a different park in the evening. This plan has always worked best for us.

 

[live4christp1]

We have never purchased park hoppers. We get to one park before opening and stay until the very last. Plan our days as to which park is open the latest and that's were we stay.

The only way I think hoppers might be of benefit is you could go to another park after AK since it closes so early.....but we usually just go to DTD or back to the pool on our AK day. Staying in one park has allowed us to work from one side of the park all the way through to the other without running back and forth trying do everything in a rush so we can get somewhere else. We do almost everything in the parks and we take our time and enjoy seeing WDW through our children's eyes.

Took my mom and dad this year (their first trip and they are in their 70's). We knew up front it would be slow going but it wasn't bad. We still did basically everything we planned to do.

 

[Hanover]

We were really glad to have had hoppers on our August 2005 trip. We hopped over to Epcot from MK via the monorail when it began to pour. It was nice to have the chance to go from country to country staying mostly indoors, out of the rain. The following day we went to MK from Epcot to see the afternoon parade that had been canceled the day before due to the rain, and headed back to Epcot for our dinner ADR. We also like to hop after going to AK since the closing hours are generally earlier than the rest of the parks. It's nice to have the option....we've found on our last few trips that we do take advantage of having the hoppers. If you do take the monorail and are a party of 4 or less, ask to sit up front with the driver. The kids will love it (and mom and dad too).

 

[DVCTiff]

Just knowing I COULDN'T hop if I wanted to would drive me out of my mind. I don't think I'll ever not buy hoppers.

 

[PoohMommy]

We always get Hoppers too...for the flexibility. We always stay at WL and usually take a mid-day break. So it's nice to have our options open. On our most recent trips, we've probably park-hopped 4 out of 5 days. (Sometimes just to go to Epcot after dinner for Illuminations...)

 

[twinsmamma]

We have always used the park hopper option. I tgives you the flexability to change your mind or leave if it is busy or just to catch something you missed the day before. We almost always do two parks in one day even if it is just to go for dinner or fireworks in another park. Like a few others said AK closes early so it is nice to go to another park later in evening. I am an obsessive planner so i know where we are going to be and which days etc., for all 8 days we are going to be there on the 15th. it also is nice if you are on the dining plan because you can have options were to eat not necessarily at the park you are in that day.

 

[bopper]

We did not buy the hopper option and do not regret it. If you don't tend to park hop, then it is probably not worth it. We pick a park and stay until closing. If a park closes early, we go somewhere like disney quest or downtown disney. We do like the "extra" option and the "no expire" option, but not the hopper.

 

[Lorelai]

You know, we always take the option to hop, but we almost never use it. We have 3 kids, and for them, one park a day seems to be about right. We usually go from opening to dinnertime and then head back to the resort to crash/swim/experience comalike Mickey bliss.

There have been a few instances where we bailed on a park after lunchtime instead, and then went back to that same park at night to see the fireworks/nightime parades/shows. Maybe when they get older we'll hop more - I think it varies by family ages/personalities.

 

[ratfam]

Thanks for the feedback! I am very impressed with those of you who manage to park hop after a day at AK. That was the one night we had planned to park hop on our last trip, but after being at AK from opening to closing (even though it was only 5pm) we could barely move. No one went anywhere that night!

 

[aviva5675]

So does that count as hopping??=== go to a park, leave for a nap or rest, come back to same park--thats hopping, not using same ticket/same park/same day??

 

[lucincia]

So does that count as hopping??=== go to a park, leave for a nap or rest, come back to same park--thats hopping, not using same ticket/same park/same day??

No this is not park hop. Has to be different parks.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

We are big hoppers. I think alot depends on where you are staying - if you are on site - it's great to go to one park in the morning, take a break and then go somewhere else that night. I like having the flexibility.

Couldn't say it better myself. Not hopping is not an option.

 

[Kapp]

Hopping always gives you more options and to us, visiting more than one park a day adds to the Disney magic!

Have a great time!

 

[Stacerita]

We had hoppers this last visit and it worked out ok for us. I liked having the flexibilty but the travel time and getting into the parks are very time comsuming. We didn't hop most days, just a few. And those days seemed like we had a lot of wasted time. We were using the transportation there and had to wait for our bus when we wanted to hop. I dont think I will be getting hoppers the next time we go. But I know I will probably regret it. Get the hoppers if the price wont put you out. Gives you more options even if you dont use them.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We could not do WDW without hopping!!!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Hopping does give your party choce when it comes to parks, but our family finds that we do just fien with no hopping. Funny how it works: Back when we would go with PHP tix we would find ourselves saying "Let's go to MK" even as we were standing in the middle of another park. It was just because we knew we could. BUt since going and not having hopper option, we do just fine with our plans because hopping is not an option.

 

[opal]

We generally go in "off-season" when MK, MGM & AK close earlier than Epcot. As a result we always seem to spend our evenings at Epcot. So hoppers are a must for us. I guess now that there evening EMH's you could do without hoppers and always have a Park choice in the evenings but the EMH parks always seem to be more crowded so will continue to get hoppers.