2 Days at parks--hopper or not?

[cressmab]

We are traveling in Aug to DL and CA and we only have 2 days. Our kids are 6 and 8 and used to doing 12+ hour days at the magic kingdom. we have never done DL and i'm wondering if i want to pay the 20$/DAY/PERSON extra for a park hopper ticket?

Thanks for any info!!

I feel like such a newbie coming out west!!

 

[lizabu]

I would. Hopping is so easy and when one park starts feeling crowded you can hop.

 

[Brenda Kim]

I have never done park hopping at DL. I usually spend 2 days at DL and 1 day a CA. Since you are only doing two days I would say you won't need Park hoppers as you can spend one whole day in each park without the need to switch parks mid-day. There is one nice thing about park hopping at DL though the parks are so close together, you don't feel like you lose an hour just to hop to another park like at WDW, if you do decide on the hopping option.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

I wouldn't. It is true that hopping is easy, but depending on the time of day it can be time consuming. With only one day at each park you will have enough to occupy your time with a full day at each. Just want to warn you though, that 2 days is not a lot of time and you will miss a lot, so go in with the expectation that you will not see everything.

 

[Micahisgood54]

ALWAY HOPPER IN DL

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Think of Disneyland and DCA as Epcot's Future World and World Showcase. They are that close. We did not do Parkhopping in January and we regretted it.

We had a couple rainy days where it would have been advantageous to change parks. They do cancel fireworks because of wind. Ride closures also had us wishing for PH.

 

[GeneralTso]

Yes!! Definitely YES! It's really easy to do at DL. Much different story than WDW.
You can catch different shows and bop between the parks easily.

 

[POTCfan]

Isn't it possible to upgrade your ticket to a park-hopper after using it? I know you can upgrade to an extra day. If you can upgrade to the park hopper, then start off with the non-hopper option and upgrade if you feel you need it. I don't think you would need it (though as others have said, it is easy to do). I would start the first day with Disneyland.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Yes, you can add the PH if the ticket is still valid. We chose not to because it was the last day or two of our vacation and it would have been over $300 for all of us.

I would go with the base and play it by ear as the PP stated.

 

[tarheelalum]

Get the hoppers

 

[egritz]

I wouldn't. I would just spend a whole day in each park.
When we go (usually 5 days, but as few as 3) we usually don't hop our first 2 days, but days 3+ we move between the parks.

 

[mummabear]

There is plenty to do in each park to not need to hop.
As others have stated it is insanely easy at DLR and we have always had them and generally treat the resort like one park.
But with 5 of us now for a short trip like yours we probably would save the money.
I would probably start at DL then do DCA on the second day (depending on the nighttime entertainment schedule) as I think there is more to do at DL but much of it is similar to MK, you can always add the hopper if you decide you want it.
If you havent already check out @HydroGuy 's DLR guide for WDW vets: http://www.disboards.com/threads/a-dlr-guide-for-wdw-vets.1162599/

 

[jeffg4]

I do not recommend spending additional money for a PH ticket unless you have only one day for both parks. You can see most of the major attractions in each park each day with discipline and a good touring plan. Rides are rarely down for an entire day. Provided you are spending the same amount of hours in the parks whether you hop or not, you are giving Disney additional money for a PH ticket and getting only the ability to move from one Disney place to another. In other words, you are not getting any additional services from Disney in return for the extra PH fee - Disney is still paying the same amount of employees to operate the same number of attractions no matter where you are. The only other benefit I could see is if you had EE or EMH and used it, then hopped to the other park for the latter part of the day to avoid larger crowds in the EE/EMH park. But even then, I don't think the typical difference in crowd levels between parks on the same day is enough to justify spending the extra money to hop. I personally have never done EE/EMH or hopped except for one time years ago when I only had one day for both parks.

 

[ashleysev]

I agree with jeffg4. I would do the park hopper only if I had one day in the park. Otherwise I would plan to spend a day in each park.

 

[cressmab]

SO I think we are planning on days and NOT getting a park hopper and upgrading there if needed as people have suggested. My question is if I get my tickets through Ares, will is matter and will i still be able to upgrade if I want/need.

thanks

 

[HydroGuy]

SO I think we are planning on days and NOT getting a park hopper and upgrading there if needed as people have suggested. My question is if I get my tickets through Ares, will is matter and will i still be able to upgrade if I want/need.

thanks

I agree that a PH is not really needed in your case. And yes, Ares purchased tix can be upgraded just fine.

 

[cressmab]

Thank you so next question is if we do DL the 1st day and stay there but want to park hop 2nd day at CA could I upgrade for just 1 day? Or since my tickets were 2 day tickets would I have to do a 2 day...

 

[mlnbabies]

You can't upgrade just for 1 day. I bought 3 day tickets in Dec. Used one day at DL. Then on the second day I upgraded to hoppers and had to pay for the 3 days even though I was only going to hop for 2 days.

 

[8lovesmickey]

Thank you so next question is if we do DL the 1st day and stay there but want to park hop 2nd day at CA could I upgrade for just 1 day? Or since my tickets were 2 day tickets would I have to do a 2 day...

I'm pretty sure that the hopper is a flat fee no matter how may days your ticket is for... in other words it would be $40 each whether you hop both days or just one day. It would totally not be worth it to add $40 each for just one day of hopping. BUT for what it's worth, I would definitely get the hopper. The two parks are really like one big park in terms of walking distance, and you never know what your kids are going to want to do again or what attractions might be down, or whatever. IMHO it is possible to run out of things to do at DCA depending on what your kids are into. Also usually DL is open later than DCA, so if you are still ready to go when DCA closes, you can just go 'across the way' and have another hour or two at DL with lower lines.

 

[elaine amj]

We don't hop at WDW but really enjoyed our hopper at DLR. That said, we didn't use it quite as often as I thought. Is it worth the extra $40pp for 2 extra hours at DL on your DCA day plus some extra flexibility?