DLR experts: do I really need park hoppers for a single day in each park?

[warrenz1963]

I'm slowly finalizing plans for a California/DLR trip the second week of December. We will spend one day each at DCA and DL, this is set in stone. I'm on the fence about park hoppers... do I really need them? DH has never been to DL, and neither of us have ever been to DCA. The cost isn't an issue, I'm not worried about wasting the money, but will I really need to hop? DLR experts, what are your opinions and experiences without and with hoppers?

 

[Matrixleos]

Are you also planning to get Genie+ for those two days? If you are, I think it would also make sense to get Park Hopping added.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I started with park hoppers as thats what everyone recommends but now I only do 1 park per day. Yes the parks are really close but I didnt like thinking, ok I suppose I better check out the other park as I have paid for hoppers. I find I am far more relaxed now and I can enjoy things at a slower pace.

 

[gelatoni fan]

I only recommend paying for park hoppers if you know specifically how it can enhance your day.

For example, DCA tends to have shorter hours so going over to Disneyland after the park closes for a few extra rides could be something. But not everybody wants to spend 8AM till midnight in theme parks 2 days in a row. If you're concerned about fireworks being cancelled due to winds, the option to hop gives you a second chance to see them. Others may want to ride the Incredicoaster every day since it's the most intense roller coaster in the parks while others find they get bored of the rides in DCA and want to go over to the DL side.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

If cost is not an issue I would get the hoppers to give you more flexibility over the 2 days. If you think it will make your trip simpler, the one park per day works too since you are only planning one day at DCA. I used to only get one park per day tickets but I would usually stay 3 days. The hoppers would help you avoid wanting to go back to the alternate park to do something on the second day and not being able to.

 

[CeCe0906]

My rationale for hoppers for my upcoming trip, is that with all the breakdowns I've seen reported lately, I would want the hopper to pick up something I didn't get to do, or reride something that everyone loved. Gave me more flexibility for dining or to catch a show. My granddaughter loves the Animation class, so more opportunities for getting the character she wants to do. When RCR went down recently, crowds were reportedly pretty bad in DCA, so hopping to DL would be nice in that scenario.

 

[katyringo]

I used to say I would never do Disney without the park hopper, but I currently do not have them added for our October trip. Though we have 5 full days, will have early entry, and genie +. The 1pm rule just kills it for us becauee we do an afternoon break.

I also think going to Disney world helped me see that when I focus on a single park in a day I tend to get the rides in, but I also start to find the little gems in each park and found myself doing little fun things I would usually forget or ignore for rides.

 

[AustinTink]

We are doing two full park days in August. We have park hoppers and will do genie+. We never go without hoppers. It's just too easy to walk back and forth.

The 1pm thing is kind of bogus but honestly still worth the price of the hopper to us. We usually do lunch at 1 followed by a short break at the hotel. We come back late afternoon to the other park and then hop in the evening.

 

[goooof1]

Hoppers = flexibility

 

[fly girl]

If I were you ... YES, get the hopper.

They are so close and since your time is limited and money isn't an issue I am all for getting them so you can enjoy as much as you can both days. Have fun!

 

[brentm77]

I'm slowly finalizing plans for a California/DLR trip the second week of December. We will spend one day each at DCA and DL, this is set in stone. I'm on the fence about park hoppers... do I really need them? DH has never been to DL, and neither of us have ever been to DCA. The cost isn't an issue, I'm not worried about wasting the money, but will I really need to hop? DLR experts, what are your opinions and experiences without and with hoppers?

I appear to be the exception, but my opinion is "no." We travel from out of town for visits one, two, or three times a year, and have done both with and without park hoppers. While I think DCA doesn't necessarily offer a full day's worth of activities, it gives you an excuse to slow down a bit on that day, and I wouldn't waste any of my Disneyland day hopping to DCA, because Disneyland is superior in nearly every way (Cars Land, Soarin, and Guardians excluded). But that's just my two cents, because we found we didn't get much value out of the hopper tickets.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I like the ability to hop for the flexibility especially for nighttime entertainment or if there are special events that close one of the parks early (which you might not know about when you initially book your trip … for December that could very well be the Christmas parties they did last year that closed DL early) and also for flexibility in dining as it’s very difficult to simply get dining reservations these days and then needing to make sure what you get matches your park is harder if you’re not hopping.

The park hopping option is $60 whether you add it to a one-day ticket or a five-day ticket. On a five-day ticket that’s just $12/day, which I feel is well worth it for the flexibility alone.

Lately, with the park hopping restriction (can’t hop until 1pm) and how crowded it’s been, if someone is coming for one day only I always suggest choosing one park and maximizing their day in that park.

 

[shosh1530]

We recently had park hoppers on a 3 day trip that we did not end up ever using as we just never had a reason to hop.

But with a two-day trip, I'd probably get them. Disneyland has a lot more attractions than DCA so you may want more time there.

When are you going? There may be factors to consider like special events happening that close DCA down early or when shows are playing at each park (e.g. Fantasmic only on weekends part of the year).

 

[mouschievous]

We're at the end of 3 Park days and we hopped everyday. Once it was just at the end of the day, because DCA closes earlier so we closed it down, then hopped over to DL and closed it down too.

Yesterday, we left DL because our had gotten too crowded for our liking. We went to DCA instead and the crowds were lighter. Having that flexibility was really nice.

We're the hoppers necessary? Nope, but they definitely enhanced our trip.

 

[mdmost]

Flexibility is great, especially around the holiday season. When we went in 2018 for Christmas, we really enjoyed going over for a nighttime ride on Guardians when we had spent most of our day at DLR. This past trip we park hopped on two of the 4 days we went. Our kids park hopped 3 of the 4 days. The only day they didn't was our first day at DLR. You may want to go back to ride something in either park and it's nice to have that option.

 

[tobikaye]

I had hoppers my last trip and did use them because my sister only did a limited number of attractions at each park so it was good for us. I am going solo in September and I did go with hoppers since I like flexibility. If I was going for just 2 days though, I would hold off on purchasing park hoppers. I would wait until I arrive and then only purchase if I really wanted to hop.

 

[Pluto468]

If cost isn't an issue I'd get the hoppers. One year we didn't get hoppers and we didn't go to DCA at all because we couldn't tear ourselves way from Disneyland! If we'd had hoppers it would have been easy to do both. It also gives you more flexibility to see night time entertainment. We bought hoppers for our last trip and it was great. Our first day we did DL, but went to DCA in the evening for World of Color.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I had hoppers my last trip and did use them because my sister only did a limited number of attractions at each park so it was good for us. I am going solo in September and I did go with hoppers since I like flexibility. If I was going for just 2 days though, I would hold off on purchasing park hoppers. I would wait until I arrive and then only purchase if I really wanted to hop.

It isn't easy to upgrade to park hoppers anymore with the reservation system. You can only add the hopper if there are hopper reservations available that day. In the recent past reservations have been completely full so you couldn’t add hoppers. Right now reservations have been pretty wide open the last few weeks, but it might not be that way during the holidays. There is no way of knowing.

 

[Matrixleos]

Something else to thing about. If it's not in your budget to get both Park Hoppers and Genie+ with you only being able to do one of them. I'd easily select Genie+ on both days, as the ability to skip the long standby lanes trumps over having the ability to hop back and forth between the parks.

 

[tobikaye]

It isn't easy to upgrade to park hoppers anymore with the reservation system. You can only add the hopper if there are hopper reservations available that day. In the recent past reservations have been completely full so you couldn’t add hoppers. Right now reservations have been pretty wide open the last few weeks, but it might not be that way during the holidays. There is no way of knowing.

Good point, I always forget about that part of upgrading now.