About those afternoon breaks ...

[Max Rebo]

This is from my "I think I understand this but want to make sure" file.

If you're taking an afternoon break from a park, and want to return to the SAME PARK in the evening, do you have to have a Park Hopper?

I'm thinking you don't, but I wanted to make sure before I got all the way to Florida, only to find out I misunderstood the rules on this.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Park hopping is only when you go from one park to another.

Example: MK in the morning and MGM later in the day.

There is no park hopping allowed for the water parks.

 

[elvistaco1]

We were at rope-drop at MK 10 days ago(opening day of Pirates) with base tickets, and returned to GF for a nap in the p.m., and we just used our same "keys" to enter again that evening.

 

[MOmousefan]

Our last trip was in 2005 and also our first on-sight stay (POP). We were at every rope drop and came back to the resort around 1:00 PM until around 5:00 PM, then back to the parks until around 10:00 PM. I took a nap every time and by the third day my girls (adults) were also napping. It worked very well for us.

 

[jimmalru80]

Not 100% certain because we have always had the "Park Hopper" option or it's equivalent. We have never had a problem this way.

 

[POB14]

No hopper needed, just come back to the park, put your ticket in just like the first time you went in, and you're in!

Also note that you won't need to pay for parking again, if you're paying to park. Just show your parking reciept at the gate and you'll be waved in.

 

[luv2playallday]

This is kind of off topic, but I wanted to ask anyway. How do you manage to go back to your resort for a nap? I know HOW, but doesn't it take you like an hour to get back? I always plan on going back, but it just takes so long to get to and from the park we never do it. We end up staying late, then sleeping in, and rushing to all of our ADR's. I found this especially bad at the Magic Kingdom if you drive you have to drive there, then take a tram then don't you take a boat or something I can't remember, but it seemed like it took a long time. VERY WORTH it of course, but we never went back for a nap. This time I say we will, but who knows.

 

[goofy4tink]

This is kind of off topic, but I wanted to ask anyway. How do you manage to go back to your resort for a nap? I know HOW, but doesn't it take you like an hour to get back? I always plan on going back, but it just takes so long to get to and from the park we never do it. We end up staying late, then sleeping in, and rushing to all of our ADR's. I found this especially bad at the Magic Kingdom if you drive you have to drive there, then take a tram then don't you take a boat or something I can't remember, but it seemed like it took a long time. VERY WORTH it of course, but we never went back for a nap. This time I say we will, but who knows.

You're absolutely right. It can be time consuming. But, for those who travel to WDW during the hot summer months, it can be a life saver. Since the parks tend to be open quite late, you can head back to the resort midday, and then return to a park late afternoon, early evening.
It can take awhile to get back to the resort, but that afternoon swim, and rest, really pays off later in the day. The heat/humidity can take a toll on you, especially the kids. Those mid-day rests are the best reason for stayig on-site....no need to take you car, especially to MK. Just hop on the bus, rather than deal with boats, trams etc.

 

[WillCAD]

This is kind of off topic, but I wanted to ask anyway. How do you manage to go back to your resort for a nap? I know HOW, but doesn't it take you like an hour to get back? I always plan on going back, but it just takes so long to get to and from the park we never do it. We end up staying late, then sleeping in, and rushing to all of our ADR's. I found this especially bad at the Magic Kingdom if you drive you have to drive there, then take a tram then don't you take a boat or something I can't remember, but it seemed like it took a long time. VERY WORTH it of course, but we never went back for a nap. This time I say we will, but who knows.

MK is definitely the worst for leaving and returning by car, since the parking lot is far away from teh gates and accessible only by monorail or ferryboat - and you usually have to take a tram from the car to the monorail and ferryboat stations.

The other parks are not so bad, since the parking lots are just outside the park gates and it only takes a few minutes to get to your car.

I have always found it very easy and quick to get out of the parks in the afternoon and go back to my hotel, even when I am staying off-site, as long as I am driving myself. However, if you don't have a car, that's another ballgame - the WDW transportation system will get you anywhere you need to go on-site, but it can be very time-consuming and not terribly comfortable.

 

[helenm29]

I agree that it can definately be a tiring thing to go back to the hotel mid-day. The walk to the Parking lot alone will make you want to take a nap! Luckilly this time we are at the Poly and are hoping that the monorail will be a bit quicker . Now that the kids are older we don't usually go back to the room during the day unless we have an ADR somewhere and need to shower and change. In the past when the kids were small we used to go back to the hotel and we never had a problem getting back into the parks....just get your hand stamped and have your ticket handy. I was a little worried about that the first time too! we thought you used a whole day up when you went in that day . Yo Ho!

 

[FigmentKid]

There is no park hopping allowed for the water parks.

What exactly does that mean? You can't leave a water park and then come back? Or you can't hop from (for example) the Magic Kingdom, to a water park, then back to the Magic Kingdom?

 

[ChrisZ]

What exactly does that mean? You can't leave a water park and then come back? Or you can't hop from (for example) the Magic Kingdom, to a water park, then back to the Magic Kingdom?

No - actually I believe you can't hop from one water park to another. You can certainly come and go from the same water park and go into the MK. To the best of my knowledge...keep in mind the waterparks aren't included the park hopping (which is the 4 main theme parks)...so if you have a park hopper...you can't go into MK...and then go to TL...and expect that to count as only "one" admission. Make sense?

 

[WillCAD]

What exactly does that mean? You can't leave a water park and then come back? Or you can't hop from (for example) the Magic Kingdom, to a water park, then back to the Magic Kingdom?

This is part of the distinction in WDW tickets between DAYS and PLUSSES.

A DAY gets you admission into the theme parks. DAYS can be made into park-hopping admission by adding the park hopper option to your tickets. You cannot use more than one DAY in a single day.

PLUSSES get you a single all-day admission into one of the water parks, DisneyQuest, or Pleasure Island. PLUSSES cannot be made into park-hopping admission (the hopper add-on only applies to DAYS, not to PLUSSES). However, you can use as many PLUSSES as you want on a single day (for example, if you want to visit both water parks on the same day: 2 PLUSSES, or a water park, DQ, and PI 3 PLUSSES, etc). You can also use PLUSSES on the same day as a DAY.

When you use a PLUS to enter a water park, PI, or DQ, the admission you get is for the entire day's operating hours, so you can go to Blizard Beach in the morning using one PLUS, then take a rest in teh middle of the day and go back to Blizzard Beach later without using another PLUS. But if you go to Blizzard Beach in the morning and then go to Typhoon Lagoon later, you would use one PLUS to get into BB and a second PLUS to get into TL.