To Park Hop or not to Park Hop?

[itsreally4mommy]

Do you feel Park Hopper passes are more or less stress? DH feels it is a waste, but since we tend to plan our itinerary around ADRs it can make things complicated. Especially if you want to squeeze in some late night magic hours. But I can also see that you may end up losing park time traveling from one park to another.

 

[RMulieri]

We never go without one...We like the flexibility of being able to change parks if the one we are in is too crowded, we also very often spend our evenings at Epcot since we stay at the BCV.I also like planning my dining for wherever I feel like.

 

[CanadianPaco]

We've always had them until this next trip. We've been three times and all were pretty long trips. We got to so a lot over the years. My planning skills and knowledge have imrpoved. In order to save money this ttrip, I passed on the hoppers. My ADRs worked out for out planning and I think we won't miss the hoppers. This will be our test though. Good luck!

 

[magicaldisney]

This is a topic where you will usually see no middle ground. People either simply like hoppers or do not like hoppers. Our family would never go to the world without hoppers, even though it costs more money. We like not being tied to a particular park for a day. If it is too busy and we want to switch parks, we can. If we have an ADR, but don't want to be in that park all day, no problem. If it starts raining and we feel another park is easier to tour with the rain, we can park hop. If we've been in a park that required a lot of walking or standing that day, we can hop to a park that offers more sitting activities for the evening.

 

[2manypets]

We usually hop parks the majority of days we're there. After going to our morning park we have lunch, then take a break to swim, we then head off to another park for the evening. The parks that have EMH will be more crowded during the day due to non-park hoppers. We prefer to avoid those until later in the day, after our swim break or dinner.

We've even done all four parks in one day a few times. Go to one for rope drop, ride our favorite rides, then it's off to another park for lunch and a few of our favorite rides. Go back to our resort for a break, head to the third park for dinner and rides, then off to EMH at the fourth park. We never found it making the day too stressful. Everyone is happy because we all get to ride our favorites one more time.

 

[seadd67]

Like a previous post, there Is going to be the crowd that likes It,sears by It or the crowd that dislikes it and sees It as a waste of time and money. Both have there good points, and really you can not go wrong either way. Personaly we have never gone with out them, and really could not Imagin staying In one park the whole day. But at the end of the day Its really a personal preference and what you and your Family can do.

 

[tommymac5]

I agree with magical. usually no middle ground. Also purely a matter of opinion for most families. I believe that if I'm spending the $$ on a Disney trip, we will always have the option of leaving a park that gets too crowded or hot or whatever, and head somewhere else. We also dine frequently in a different park than we started our day in. Traveling betweeen parks does not eat up too much time as long as you limit yourself. ( don't try to hit all 4 parks in a day)
If your family is searching for a way to save $$ then not having hoppers may be for you. With extra planning you can make sure to get ADR's in the park of your choice.
This subject is debated long & hard. The group you are traveling with should discuss the options & decide which is best.

 

[appletini]

Park Hopping all depends on your Disney "State of Mind". What type of family are you? Teens, tweens, younger, little ones, none? How often do you go? Twice a year, once a year, every few years, 1st timers? Having few trips our family doesn't need PH's. There's always too much to do in one park during the day than thinking about when to go to another. We want to see everything in our time (slow pokies). We're there for the experience, not being commandos. We plan everything around where we want to be. Pick a park, make an ADR, and we're off. Just think about it and you'll find your answer. Enjoy your trip!

 

[AuroraMeansDawn]

We hop, therefore are (happier)

 

[ancestry]

We don't go without them either. I like the flexibility they give us and couldn't imagine going without them especially on a longer trip.

 

[Kat&Dom]

We just got back from Disney and used the PH feature for the first time - it was our 3rd trip to WDW. In this case, I was glad that we bought the PH - it was great to be at park opening and get a lot of rides in before 2pm then head back to resort to swim then go to different park at 5pm. We spent 9 hours a day at the parks but by splitting it up with different parks, it was actually a more relaxed approach.

The reason that we did PH this trip was because there was Grad Nites for 3 of the 8 nights we were there so in order to have more park time overall, we needed to have the PH feature.

On our other 2 trips with no PH, we did not need it. If I was you, I would watch the schedule of the parks and see how the park hours work out for what you as a family want to do.

We are the type of family that always leaves the park for the afternoon to avoid the heat of the day and large crowds so to park hop or return to the same park would not make a difference. On this trip (we just got back last Sunday), having shortened days at MK meant we needed the PH in order to optimize our time at MK.

It is a hard decision because it is an extra $52 per person for the trip so it does add up. On my next trip, it will depend on how the park hours are scheduled as to whether or not we will buy the PH feature. It was worth the money on this trip because we did do 2 parks per day for our entire vacation but on my other trips, on maybe just one day it would have been nice to park hop so not worth the money on those trips. Good luck with your decision.

 

[HarryLeg]

We always park hop. It's part of the plan. Do an EMH park and leave when it get's too crowded.

 

[itsreally4mommy]

It will be our 3rd trip, we usually stay all day in the park. But this is our first time in June and I worry about it being hot and needing a break. Which is also part of why we're staying at deluxe resorts close to parks (despite my DH's protest, LOL).

While on one hand you aren't going back and forth, I feel staying in one park for the day puts me in more of a commando state. Since we're only getting this park for 1 or 2 days we have to get it all in, kwim?

 

[lllGurulll]

I consider them to add stress myself. I tend to feel like if I buy something I am going to get my moneysworth out of it. Which tends to make me use it when I really don't want to. We don't do TS meals but maybe twice in an entire trip so I don't feel like there is any need to waste money on the PHs for my family.

 

[ReneeA]

We've been 4 times in the past 5 years, and have never added hoppers on - mainly because my kids were young. It seemed like lots of work to lug toddlers/preschoolers and all their stuff from park to park. We always went with the attitude that if we felt we needed them, they can be added at any time during the trip.

This time, I'm considering adding them just to see if it's worth it to hop. I still won't purchase them up front though. I'll wait until we are there and the want or need arises...then I'll add them.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We get them, but I know plenty of people who don't. A few things to consider:
1) Judging by your signature, your kids are plenty old enough to handle park hoppers.
2) Park Hoppers can be useful for seeing night time entertainment that you missed. Often in the summer the best laid plans can be spoiled by evening thunderstorms and this will allow you flexibility.
3) ADR's. The places my kids/ family like always seem to be in/ near the MK and Epcot. With hoppers we can just go to one of these parks after dinner even if we started the day at AK or DHS. Some people are able to plan ADR's for the parks they are going to be at, but we prefer to just make them for what we like.
4) I see you are at the Poly/ Beach Club. It would be easy for you to hit MK/ Epcot in the evening. Or you could go to one of those parks just for EMH and then hop to another.
5) Don't stress too much over the decision. If you don't get hoppers and then get there and wish you had, they can be added on to your passes.

Have fun!

 

[BelleBway]

I started going to WDW when there wasn't an option for getting multi day tickets that weren't hoppers, so that might influence my opinion. I really can't imagine staying without the flexibility of a hopper pass- I think we only hopped a couple times last trip, but it was nice for me to know that we always had the option to do so.

For my next trip, I asked my mom (who hasn't been to WDW since 2003) if she wanted hoppers or not and she absolutely wanted to be able to hop.

 

[HMGar]

My family ALWAYS park hops. We take an afternoon break no matter which park we are visiting. This allows us to power up for which ever park we select for our evening entertainment. More times than not, it's the park with the extra magic hours. We feel the hopper is absolutely worth it since it makes our planning so flexible.

 

[twokids0204]

I kinds skimmed through this thread, so forgive me if someone already suggested this, but I like to NOT buy Park Hoppers. That does not mean I won't use Park Hoppers, it simply means I will add them (for the same $52.00) when I actually need them.

If you decide you don't want to hop, you saved yourself the money. If you decide the park is to crowded, or you'd rather be elsewhere simply go to any ticket booth and upgrade.

 

[Bete]

I kinds skimmed through this thread, so forgive me if someone already suggested this, but I like to NOT buy Park Hoppers. That does not mean I won't use Park Hoppers, it simply means I will add them (for the same $52.00) when I actually need them.

If you decide you don't want to hop, you saved yourself the money. If you decide the park is to crowded, or you'd rather be elsewhere simply go to any ticket booth and upgrade.

Furthermore, it just depends on how you do your vacation. For onsite guests it's nice to start in the EMH early park and then transfer in the afternoon to usually a late night park like Epcot. This gives you a very full day. The time lost tranferring parks is gained with the extra time you get going to a late park. On shorter trips, it's a good stradegy to do it this way. You get the most hours at the parks this way.

If you like taking breaks away from the parks for a swim or nap, etc. then park hopping does give you the option of whatever park you feel like doing after your break. You haven't lost park time transferring; since, you are going away from the park, anyway. It gives you more chance to see MK fireworks and the night parade, as well as, Fantasmic.

On the flip side I think it's more stressful to park hop. I like staying in the same park all day. My mind is already in the mode of a certain park; so, I'm not rethinking it all midday. As long as, you schedule any special activities like the parades and F/W, etc. then you won't miss anything by not park hopping.

I like saving the money, too by not park hopping. I'll go to a fancier restaurant one night or buy that extra souvenir, etc. with the money saved from not doing it. This makes me happier then doing park hopping.

I've been over 30 times and there was a time I thought park hopping was the way to go, but no more; unless, it's a 4 day trip or less. We go for at least a week and sometimes two weeks, now; so, there's no park hopping for us.