3 or 4 day hopper pass??

[MicIsom]

I am planning our 1st trip to DL & DCA with my DH, 20 son, 17 yr old daughter & 11 yr old son as a surprise Christmas gift. I am thinking of going Dec 27- Jan 2nd but am not locked in on any special days except need to be home by Jan 7th. I am trying to decide if I should get a 3 or 4 day hopper pass, any suggestions? Can we get it all done in 3 days? Also, any suggestions on dates to go? Thanks in advance!

 

[jlundeen]

I am planning our 1st trip to DL & DCA with my DH, 20 son, 17 yr old daughter & 11 yr old son as a surprise Christmas gift. I am thinking of going Dec 27- Jan 2nd but am not locked in on any special days except need to be home by Jan 7th. I am trying to decide if I should get a 3 or 4 day hopper pass, any suggestions? Can we get it all done in 3 days? Also, any suggestions on dates to go? Thanks in advance!

In a word, "no". But that greatly depends on what you want to do. At this point, most of the FPs for the big rides will be gone, so if you want to do things like Pandora's FOP or River, 7 Dwarfs, and many others, it means waiting in the Standby line, and that will take a HUGE amount of your time. Eating, whether at sit down or quick service spots will also take time, but if you want to do sit down places, get advanced reservations as soon as you can...many of them are probably pretty tight by now, but you may luck out and find some that are newly canceled. Also, if you are staying offsite, getting to and from the parks will be time consuming (or MORE time consuming than staying onsite).

I guess you can do some things, and my advice is to pick out the things you all REALLY want to do most, whether all together or separately, and concentrate on them. As someone who has been there enough to know the things I really want to do, vs trying to do everything, I find I can also have a great time sometimes just walking through and paying attention to details - like how everything is laid out - they builts the parks in a way to help manage crowds, and that is really interesting to me.


It's going to be packed no matter when during that time frame you go - so try to pick the days you most want. And get 4 day Hoppers if you are planning to arrive early enough the first day and leaving later the last day.

If you look at some of the other DIS pages and forums, you'll get a better idea of what timing could be like.... and my BEST advice - PLAN AHEAD, and if the plans don't quite work out the way you expect, be patient and enjoy everything you are able to... It's truly a wonderful place, but not if you are stressed out by trying to do it all...save stuff for your next trip.

 

[starry_solo]

I am planning our 1st trip to DL & DCA with my DH, 20 son, 17 yr old daughter & 11 yr old son as a surprise Christmas gift. I am thinking of going Dec 27- Jan 2nd but am not locked in on any special days except need to be home by Jan 7th. I am trying to decide if I should get a 3 or 4 day hopper pass, any suggestions? Can we get it all done in 3 days? Also, any suggestions on dates to go? Thanks in advance!

The PP is talking about WDW so most of what she said is not relevant to DLR/DCA.

I would go for the 4-day hopper pass. It's not that much of a price difference between the 3 and 4 day hopper if you are only doing Disney on this trip.

You are going during the Christmas holiday, when all but two passes (Signature Plus and Premiere) are blocked out so the lines shouldn't be as bad, but they will still be bad. As soon as you get into either park, you should get the Max Pass, which is a digital fast pass. It is $10 per ticket per day so get it on the first day and get there when park opens. This saves you time to run all the way to one end of the park for a fast pass. Plus, you can get a FP for the other park (DCA) when you are in DL and vice versa.

Here is a recent review of the Max Pass:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/just-back-max-pass-is-totally-worth-the-cost.3649453/

Christmas Day is a nice day to go; it doesn't get busy until later on in the day since most people are at home spending it with their families. Remember, you don't have to go 3 or 4 consecutive days. You can take a break in between. You just have to use it within 14 days of the first day that you used the ticket.

How often have you been to either DLR or WDW? That would help with planning as far as "must do" rides versus others. You should definitely partake in Indiana Jones, Buzz Lightyear, IASW, and Haunted Mansion Holiday (the last two due to the holiday overlay that isn't available at WDW)

 

[cruisehopeful]

Since those are some of the busiest days of the year, I'd suggest the 4 day park hopper. Check the blockout schedule. You will want to go when most of the passes are blocked. They start being released in January.

 

[jlundeen]

The PP is talking about WDW so most of what she said is not relevant to DLR/DCA.

I would go for the 4-day hopper pass. It's not that much of a price difference between the 3 and 4 day hopper if you are only doing Disney on this trip.

You are going during the Christmas holiday, when all but two passes (Signature Plus and Premiere) are blocked out so the lines shouldn't be as bad, but they will still be bad. As soon as you get into either park, you should get the Max Pass, which is a digital fast pass. It is $10 per ticket per day so get it on the first day and get there when park opens. This saves you time to run all the way to one end of the park for a fast pass. Plus, you can get a FP for the other park (DCA) when you are in DL and vice versa.

Here is a recent review of the Max Pass:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/just-back-max-pass-is-totally-worth-the-cost.3649453/

Christmas Day is a nice day to go; it doesn't get busy until later on in the day since most people are at home spending it with their families. Remember, you don't have to go 3 or 4 consecutive days. You can take a break in between. You just have to use it within 14 days of the first day that you used the ticket.

How often have you been to either DLR or WDW? That would help with planning as far as "must do" rides versus others. You should definitely partake in Indiana Jones, Buzz Lightyear, IASW, and Haunted Mansion Holiday (the last two due to the holiday overlay that isn't available at WDW)

Oops.

Sorry...not enough coffee before responding... duh!

 

[goooof1]

4 day hoppers....most definitely!! We normally do the 4 day hoppers and still do not get around to do everything that we'd like to do!! That said, we do have time to take a more leisurely / stop and smell the roses pace (part of the time! lol)..! You won't want to rush things....enjoy all the details!

 

[Frozen2014]

We did 4 day park hopper end of August when it wasn't busy and it was a perfect amount of time (and could have even used another day). I would think that the Christmas holidays would be busier and so the extra day may help. I also recommend getting MaxPass if its in your budget. It's great with getting FP for those busy headliners.

 

[lalasmama]

I'd go for 4 days, ending like 1/6. Its a busy week, but not likely to be at capacity. Many families will be headed back home after spending the week between the holidays at the parks. Christmas decor will still be up. 4 days because there's a large age spread, so you may find not everyone agreeing on what to do, and the extra time allows for everyone to get everything done they want, within reason.

 

[PinkHelloKitty]

What are you planning on doing? If you're wanting to do absolutely everything including rides/meet and greets/parades/shows I would go for four days. We tend to focus on rides and omit parades so three days is more than enough for us

 

[gottalovepluto]

Because that is the busiest week Disneyland sees all year I'd go for the 4 day.

 

[starry_solo]

Oops.

Sorry...not enough coffee before responding... duh!

Sometimes I forget which board I'm on!

 

[Tattylou]

We got 5 day hoppers when we went 2 years ago in April and were glad to have 5 days. My kids were 4 and 6 at the time so that does slow the pace a bit. However, I wouldn't do less than 4 days, especially over a holiday week.