Anyone not park hop?

[Crazy4Disney06]

My in laws just got back from WDW last week, they said that park hopping took up to much time and was stressfull waiting for the bus and all, they suggested we not park hop when we go next summer. It will also save us a little over $200...is this a good idea not to park hop?

 

[ppony]

I know tons of people hop but I've always had the hoppers becuase that was what you bought years ago if you weren't buying individual days and we have not once hopped. I think we MIGHT this year because we can (old tickets) but we aren't planning on it. For US, and it's only us I'm speaking for, we prefer to pick a park and stay in it all day rather than have to move our car and repark. And if it were the bus, I'd not do it even more. That's us though. If you can be happy to stay in one park for a whole day then I'd say save the $.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family & I use to park hop from time to time, however we have not done that in a few years. So whenever we purchase new 7 day MYW passes with the no expiration option, we get them without the parking hopping feature to save some $ on them.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've been hoppers since 1977 or APers. We hit one park in the am and then return to the resort for a swim and lunch and in the evening hit a different park. Do not like to stay in a park from opening to closing, like the mid break and like 2 different parks every day. This way we catch the afternoon parades and evening parades and see each park mornings and evenings many different times during our stay and if one park gets overly crowded we hop to another. As for eating up time on buses, we feel its no dent in our time, we stay on property 8-12 nights and waiting 15-20 minutes is actually a break for us and we like using the Disney transportation system. Plus if you have your ADR's scheduled at different parks then the one you picked for the day you can easily hop on over for your reservation. Worth the money for us.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We tend to hop as well but usually are looking for a break in the middle of the day so riding the bus or monorail is a nice break for us.

 

[jswalker1981]

I hop, but I also have an AP. If you are staying enough days to see all the parks, then you probably wouldn't have to hop. I know you can stay in Epcot and MK all day, and unless you want to see everything, MGM and AK can be half day parks. So you can do something else on those days after you are done with the parks. I do think that most people think of MGM and AK as half day parks, but if you want to see everything and take your time, then they could most if not all of the day. It all depends on how many days you are staying, and what you want to see.

 

[wilda]

Another consideration is the age of the kids. We just got back from 6 days with a 6 year old and went with the base ticket. At the end of a long day the last thing any of us wanted to do was jump on another bus and start all over again. We went back the the resort (AKL) and relaxed. Park hopping takes a lot of stamina.

 

[Tazicket]

We don't hop. I'd feel like I was wasting precious Disney time! We usually go for about a week, so we have enough time to spend a day in each park, though.

 

[Disney Ella]

We tried hopping on our first trip, but after we went back to the hotel and took a break, I had to practically drag everyone out to another park. Now we just stay at one park until we get tired and then we go back to the hotel and relax.

 

[mousebit]

We are not park hopping this trip. I think it just depends on your itinerary. I was able to plan things this time so that we would stay in the same park each day. (I use TGM to determine the least crowded park for each day. Love him - he's never been wrong.) Some days we are taking a break, but then returning to the same park in the evening.

Park hopping can be time consuming and stressful if you have a lot of ADRs you need to make on time plus a tight schedule with a lot of must-sees. I enjoy Disney transportation crazy: ? yep, I even like the corny bus driver jokes) but even at it's best it can eat up some time. I'd rather use that time relaxing at the resort or enjoying a nice meal.

So, I'd have to agree with your in-laws. Do some planning and skip the hoppers - save time and money.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

We USED to prefer not to hop but with the couple of trips we have already taken to WDW, we have a pretty good idea of the attractions we want to do in each park. We have base non expiring tickets to which we will definitely add the hopping option on our next visit. We found that this time around, spending the whole day in one park too long. We did not want to bother with attractions that did not really interest us so we were basically stuck in a park having to do a bunch of attractions that didn't really tickle our fancy in order to make a day out of it. I think that for us, having already visited most of the parks quite a few times, the hopping option will definitely be very handy on our next visit.


Now if this were our very first trip, I wouldn't bother. It is time consuming to hop and not every one likes to spend the afternoons at the resort than an evening at a different park.

 

[NC State]

We don't hop. I'd feel like I was wasting precious Disney time! We usually go for about a week, so we have enough time to spend a day in each park, though.

We do the samething. I love each park and like the idea of spending every open hour in the "park of the day".

 

[beattyfamily]

We always hop and couldn't live without it...especially in the HOT summer months.

We go to an EMH morning and then leave when it gets hot for a rest or swim or lunch and then we return to a different park in the late afternoon (because the EMH morning park would be crowded).

We also have used it on our last day to run and do our favorites or what we missed.

We also use it if we enter a park to discover its PACKED!

We also use it for AK. We can finish that park by noon so then we head to another park in the afternoon/evening.

We also enjoy doing a park in the am, then heading to MGM for Fantasmic or heading to MK for Wishes or heading to Epcot for Illuminations.

I just couldn't go without it.

 

[winterman]

We never hop even when it was included with the tickets. We don't have the strength to open one park and close another and then start over again the next day. We spend a day in each park and this year we had the time to go back to Epcot and MK one more time. I think not hopping makes planning yours days easier. That said, if I only had three days I would do it so I could visit AK and MGM instead of having to chose just one.

 

[bgdiznee]

We've hopped and not hopped. I do believe it really depends on crowds, weather and rather or not you are a WDW frequent flyer . Its always nice to have the hopping option but its nicer to have enough time at WDW and be familiar enough with the parks so you don't spend your day wondering around trying to navigate to the next attraction. Thats why I tell my DH its time for another WDW trip, I'm just trying to perfect my touring plan .

 

[ppony]

I should add to my post before that it might matter if we went during peak times when the parks are open much longer. We go during the sloest times so we make use of all the time we can in a park.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We've only hopped once or twice during our last 3 trips.

 

[Kimberly815]

I have never really been to WDW at a peak time, and have never really hopped. We usually buy the hoppers so that we have the option is we want (like to go to another park for night shows after spending the day at Animal Kingdom), but tend not to use it that much. It's just not really for us.

 

[MichelleVW]

As for eating up time on buses, we feel its no dent in our time, we stay on property 8-12 nights and waiting 15-20 minutes is actually a break for us and we like using the Disney transportation system. .

I love to take the boat from MGM to Epcot....that is such a nice relaxing break!!!!

 

[sandymandr]

On my first trip (3 days), we did not hop. This time we will hop. Mostly because our first weekend at WDW will have grad nights, so MK closes at 7pm. I scheduled Akershus dinner that night and after dinner we will walk around Epcot and just relax. For us, it is worth it to have the option. But we'll be there 9 days