Advice for first time user of a Park Hopper?

[roogard]

We are getting annual passes for the first time and we have never had the park hopper option before. Sooooo, on our February trip, with 4 kids 1-9 years old, what is the best way to use our park hopper? With the base ticket, I planned which park I would go to each day and plan the dinner reservations accordingly... should I keep the same tactic even though we have the ability to park hop?
Thanks!!!!

 

[chum]

This thread could be moved but to answer your question the hopper option is nice if your time is limited and you want to catch certain attractions or dinning locations. It's convenient to tour the Magic Kingdom in the morning and then have dinner at World Showcase (EPCOT) at night. Maybe you all want to ride Midway Mania (Hollywood Studios) and then spend the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom? The Hopper option is not cheap but can be used to maximize a trip to WDW especially if you can't return for a long time.

 

[ttepsich]

Congrats on your AP purchase We have only ever used the parkhopper option. I can't imagine trying to plan a one park day I especilally like being able to not have to stay at a particular park when it's crazy crowded, being able to go back to the resort to nap or swim (if it's too hot or someone is cranky)(we always stay at the Beach Club) and then regroup and go to a different park. I think you will enjoy the flexability. I think,too, that the AP is so much better than a reg parkhopper because you don't feel like you have to stay in the parks for mega hours to get your money's worth. It makes for a much more relaxed trip. Hopefully you are staying on property. I guess I didn't really answer your question. There is something to be said for "having a plan". Especially with 4 under 10! It's not fun loading and unloading a stroller. Either way, have a great trip!

 

[chipscamping buddy]

I would agree that a plan is still a great thing to have. I have found that the younger the kids, th emore of a plan you need, and the more flexibility to change the plan. The hoppers give you that flexibility. If your park of choice is packed, go somewhere else. The other benefit is to plan 1/2 days in different parks. With the younger kids we often took more midday breaks and it is nice to be able to go to a different park for the evening hours than for thr morning.

 

[crisi]

We usually end up in Epcot for the evening - its seldom a morning park for us. We'll do Magic Kingdom until 1 or 2 - then swim for an hour or so - be in Epcot at 4:00, have dinner and do some attraction. Sometimes the Studios is an evening park as well.

One trick is to take advantage of EMH in the mornings - but get OUT by 11:00 or so. Many people have good intentions, but don't get moving early enough, so you can usually get through all of Fantasyland in the MK by 11:00. By then you have the EMHers, those that had wanted to be EMHers, and everyone else who was going to the MK all in the park. So then its over to Epcot, AK or the Studios. Ditto any other morning EMH.

 

[DenLo]

I have to agree with the above posts that you can still plan but be able to expand your options. Spend the morning at one park, the afternoon at your resort and a few hours at another park in the evening or just have dinner at a park and see the parade or fireworks.

This would work really well with little ones as I just couldn't justify taking toddlers to Epcot as there are so few rides for them, but with an AP it won't matter. You can go to Epcot for the evening, dine and possibly see Illuminations (if it's not too late) and head back to your resort. And if you are staying at an Epcot DVC resort you can walk slowly home to your villa. Or if you are staying at BLT combine the experience with riding the monorail. A great ride for young children and tired adults.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We've never done the single park each day thing, so I'd be hard pressed to answer what we would do differently. We tend to go to one park in the morning, and another in the afternoon or evening. Since we often travel in winter, we end up at Epcot most evenings, since that park is the only one open until 9. We often just go into a specific park for a dining reservation or to see a specific show too. Many times we'll start say at DHS, and then take the boat over to Epcot for lunch at Teppan Edo before going back to our villa at OKW. Then we might end up back at Epcot for Illuminations after having dinner at one of the resorts. I don't think we have EVER gone to just one park in a day.

 

[kapeman]

What we do, since we have young children, is to split the day at lunch.

We go back to the resort for lunch/nap or swim and then go to a different park for the evening.

Or we do one park in the morning, do lunch, and then go to the park where we have an ADR and then hop over to whatever park has PM EMH.

While I try to coordinate our ADRs with the park we will be at, I also couldn't stand not having the ability to park hop.

For example, a day at DHS with dinner in the World Showcase.

 

[disneynutz]

IMHO the park hopper option is a good option for commandos.

Commandos are people who want to hit their favorite rides at different parks in the same day.

There is so much for a family to do and see at each park, it's easy to take the whole day. Moving to another park takes time and can be tiring. Paying extra to hop isn't worth it to me.

 

[Snowgod]

The Studios in the AM, then take boat to Boardwalk and the International Gateway to Epcot. Maybe a late lunch at Beaches and Cream. Then enjoy a leisurely stroll around the world showcase with frequent stops for Musical performances and such then when you get tired head back to resort for a break (naps). Head off around 7PM to the beach at the Poly resort for the fireworks. After enjoy a snack or late dinner somewhere around the MK resorts of go to DTD for an evening stroll. MK in Am and then afternoon at the DAK is good as the DAK is nice in the afternoon. Explore the paths you have never used around the Tree of Life. Go to the Dawa Bar and enjoy the different entertainment and the parade.

 

[crisi]

IMHO the park hopper option is a good option for commandos.

Commandos are people who want to hit their favorite rides at different parks in the same day.

There is so much for a family to do and see at each park, it's easy to take the whole day. Moving to another park takes time and can be tiring. Paying extra to hop isn't worth it to me.

I think it works even better for the non-commando trips where you want to bop into a park for a little bit in the morning, spend the afternoon by the pool, and catch Illuminations that night. Or you feel a need to ride the Safari, but not do much else in AK, and want to eat in Epcot that evening. Since we seldom spend all day in any park, switching parks after the mid day break is easy. No additional travel time - since you'd use it for the break.

Its REALLY nice to have the hoppers when we stay at the Boardwalk. Because we can then just stroll into Epcot when we want. Often we take the monorail back from the MK after lunch, and cut through Epcot. We can catch some attraction with a short line, stop by Ice Station Cool or whatever it is now for a taste, grab a fastpass for the evening for Soarin'. Then we spend a few hours at the resort, come back for dinner and to use our Fastpass.

 

[bumbershoot]

IMHO the park hopper option is a good option for commandos.

Commandos are people who want to hit their favorite rides at different parks in the same day.

There is so much for a family to do and see at each park, it's easy to take the whole day. Moving to another park takes time and can be tiring. Paying extra to hop isn't worth it to me.

But the OP is getting APs, which means she CAN hop, but isn't really paying extra for it.

 

[disneynutz]

But the OP is getting APs, which means she CAN hop, but isn't really paying extra for it.

You are correct, thanks for setting me straight. I saw the word "hopper" and thought that she had purchased park hopper tickets.

APs give you more freedom, but changing parks is still extra work and takes time.

Bill

 

[roogard]

Thanks for all the input.... It sounds like it may actually be more complicated to plan in a way as there will be more options! We will be at the BLT so the monorail will be a bonus making park hopping easier. We have in the past stayed at the Poly and on days we were at MK or Epcot we would come back mid day and then go back to the same park... I like the ideas posted about going back to Epcot or MK after a break. We have always stayed away from the EMH due to the crowds, but maybe we could hit one as we are up early anyway, and then change parks.... hmmmm.... thanks for the ideas!


BTW, Chum, where would this thread be moved to? Did I put it in the wrong section?

 

[DoleWhipDVC]

We have annual passes and usually have the dining plan. We tend to eat many of our dinners at EPCOT, so we can go to whatever other park has morning EMH and go to EPCOT for dinner, then maybe go to another park that has late evening EMH. We do have our own car with us, so we can navigate quickly form park to park. This doesn't really make things more complicated, it gives us more options!! Look at it this way, if you decide at the spur of the moment to go to one park from another - you can! It all depends on how you see the situation. Enjoy the flexability, don't let it fluster you

 

[WilsonFlyer]

You are correct, thanks for setting me straight. I saw the word "hopper" and thought that she had purchased park hopper tickets.

APs give you more freedom, but changing parks is still extra work and takes time.

Bill

I have to tell you, Bill, I oft see this repeated time and again and I have to say that IMHO; after years of park-hopping virtually every day, nothing could be further from the truth.

I'll grant you that we drive and use our own transportation to get around (except on days when we plan on doing only MK and/or EPCOT, it which case we park at one or the other and use the monorail) and it is much faster than using the Disney transportaion. I can certainly see and agree with your point when using Disney transportation exclusively, which is probably the case with many here.

I'll never be w/o my own transportation at Disney again. We learned this when airfares skyrocketed a few years ago and we were finally forced to drive or simply not go. Our choice became obvious and in hindsight, I wish I had started driving years ago (we did rent a car when we flew sometimes but it was a rarity and it's just not the same as having your own car/SUV there).

I can hop to any park in under an hour; usually 40 minutes or less. Yes, I have timed it repeatedly. That's obviously less time than we spend in line waiting for some of the most popular rides. Sometimes we switch parks 3-4 times a day depending on crowds. I've never felt like I lost anything in doing so. Contrary actually. Except for one night each trip to see the nightime parade and Wishes! at MK, we almost always end up at EPCOT at evening's end.

It just feels right to us and we enjoy the luxury of being able to do so.

 

[roogard]

I didn't realize that there was a boat from DHS to Epcot. How long does it take compared to taking a bus? If it isn't TOO long, it might be a fun way to get to another park with the kids

 

[crisi]

I didn't realize that there was a boat from DHS to Epcot. How long does it take compared to taking a bus? If it isn't TOO long, it might be a fun way to get to another park with the kids

Twenty minutes - you can walk it in about the same amount of time, which is faster if there is not a boat waiting (it stops at the BW/Y&BC/S&D).

 

[crisi]

I'll grant you that we drive and use our own transportation to get around (except on days when we plan on doing only MK and/or EPCOT, it which case we park at one or the other and use the monorail) and it is much faster than using the Disney transportaion. I can certainly see and agree with your point when using Disney transportation exclusively, which is probably the case with many here.

We use Disney transportation (plus cabs if we are in a hurry), and it still doesn't take a lot of time to park hop - generally because - except for MK to Epcot or Epcot to DHS - we don't go park to park (and both of those are easy transportation routes), we do a stop at the hotel for a break. But even when we don't, we usually hop because we are saving time. Last trip we went to DHS on a day when all the crowd sites said it would be a good day to go. It was wall to wall people by 11am. We got our TSM fastpasses, got a few things done early - got done with TSM - and there was no reason to stay.

We've also spent enough time at Disney that it seldom takes a full day in any one park for us to see what we want to see.

 

[Sandisw]

We always do one park in the AM and if we decide to go back at night, it is either Epcot or MK.

We go in the summer and it is hot, so a mid day break is required. Sometimes, the kids are too tired to do anything but eat dinner and hang out at the pool or the room.

Since we were most often at the CR, and our kids were older the last few trips, DH and I would head to the MK for a stroll, ice cream, and to hit a few rides like Pirates and Haunted Mansion.

Having the ability to park hop allowed me to book ADR's at whatever restaurants I wanted for dinner without having to worry about what we were doing that day ahead of time. We usually plan our visits to the parks the morning after a park has had night EMH. Those are not always out when we were booking reservations so I didn't want to lock myself into any one park on any given day.

Last year, we were staying at VWL and had to return our rental car at the Dolphin. We did that, took a boat to Epcot, and because we had park hoppers, we were able to just walk through Epcot, get a slushie, and then head to catch a bus back to VWL. Had we not had the hopper, it would not have been as easy.

Now th