Do people "Hopalot?"

[crazymama]

Here's a question that I haven't seen lately so looking forward to some opinions. I have never been to DW before (DL yes) and am wondering if people think the parkhopper is a good use of money. Is the flexibility worth it? How long does it take to drive back and forth. Would we get the hopper and never use it? I guess I thought we may want to go back to MGM for Fantasmic one night even though we may have spent the day at another park etc. Or what if the kiddos are begging for some more time on a favourite ride at a prior park? I am confused as usual! I am also "frugal" (is that a nice way of saying cheap?) and want to spend our hard earned disney money productively!! Thanks for the pros and cons!!

 

[DisneyWorldWisher]

You know, we are getting it, but we actually don't have any days when we plan to hop.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

We were frugal last yr adn said no to the hopper and had a blast! HOWEVER we are doing it this year!! we missed too much of the F&W festival with only one day on park kind of tix. we're HUGE Epcot people and LOVe going there often....sooo that's just the way we are! we probably will stick to hoppers

 

[NUguyinCrew]

I've gotten it every time. If you have a bigger group who cant always agree on everything its nice to be able to split up and then meet up somewhere other than where you started for a meal or whatnot.

 

[BankBunny]

I would never go without a park hopper. We usually go to one of each of the parks for a full day for the first 4 days and after that we'll hop the remaining days. Sometimes we'll go to one park in the morning go back to our resort to rest or swim and then do a different park in the evening; especilly if there is EMH in the evening instead of spending tht much time in one park for one day. Or if one park is a little too crowded and you wnat to try a different one. Or if you're in one park and someone else in your party wants to go to a different park you can compromise and spend part of the day in each. I guess the only con is that it costs extra, but to me the extra cost is worth the flexibility.

 

[haleofafamily]

We get the hopper and use it alot. We have small children so we would go to MGM, Epcot or AK in the morning and then usually end up at MK in the late afternoon and evening after naptime. It is also nice to be able to go back to our favorite rides one more time before we go back home.

 

[Cyndo723]

We always hop. At least 2 parks a day. We go in Sept. when the crowds are really low and we can do a lot of one park in the morning, then hop over to Epcot for dinner. Or go to AK until closing and then hop over to MK for Wishes. It just makes everything more flexible for us.

 

[sukhakuli]

We always get the hopper. The way I look at it is, with a trip this expensive, I am willing to pay a little extra in case I want more flexibility. What if I want to go to the Crystal Palace for breakfast, and then my husband and I decide to have a romantic dinner at Epcot? What if the fireworks at the MK are cancelled one night, and the only other night they are doing it will be the same day that you need to be in a different park for a character meal?

One downside to hopping, though, it the amount of time it takes to travel between parks. That's time that could be spent in the parks. You can definitely have a blast without the hopper, but for us, the extra cost is definitely worth it.

 

[NUguyinCrew]

haleofafamily...I take it thats your last name...Ditto here. We make cracks like that too (ie - Hale, Hale the gangs all here or my dad's recipe book he made "Recipes from Hale"). If youre from IN or IL, we're probably distantly related.

 

[crazymama]

Well... so far it seems that the hopper is a popular option. We have 3 kids that will be 12, 9 and 6 so I can see the littlest princess wanting more MK time than her two older brothers. We will have a rental car... does it eat up a lot of time to travel between.. lets say... MGM and MK? I also wasn't sure we would hit Epcot although I am getting the feeling we shouldn't miss it! If we had hoppers we could monorail between MK and Epcot correct? I think that even this old cheapster is getting convinced!

 

[MinnieGirl33]

I can't image NOT hopping.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

park hopping is great. last year we started at epcot for breakfast and lunch. then finished the day off at MK to see wishes. 2004 we started at TL and it was cool for november and we finished out at Epcot. if you goto AK the park closes at 5 pm, if you wanted to you could goto MGM to see fantasmic or to MK for wishes and spectromagic or lastingly illuminations at epcot. so i would say park hopping is well worth it

 

[AJKMOM]

A lot depends on your budget, but we always get hoppers, and the longest non-expiring tickets (from Ticketmania the last time ). That's how we justify the hopping option. Anyway, we love to hit Illuminations more than once, and usually -before Expedition Everest- stay at AK only 1/2 day.

However, if you are on a tight budget, it isn't the end of the world if you can't hop. Lots of people don't.

 

[goNDmay9]

we are major hoppers! But then again - we go every year, so we are typically only hitting the rides we like (with the lines we like too). We are also big eaters so we like to eat at different parks.

Also - AK closes earlier, so on that day, you could wander over to another park.

ONCE - and only ONCE, my family did all parks in one day! There were just a few new rides that we wanted to see, so we decided to see if we could do it all with one ticket! WHEW! We were so exhausted by the end. But it was kinda of cool to have done it. For the record tho - we will NOT be doing that again! We took monorail and disney transportation everywhere too. We did not drive.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We enjoy WDW vacations and like to take a lot of them . We have found that our family of four does great without hopping. For us that's $160+. If we forego hopping (no great loss for us) we can explore other options like resort upgrades, special meals, tours etc. (and we have done them all) without breaking the bank for one trip. Really it all depends on your budget... if you've got lots of money to blow and like the security of being able to change parks in case things don't work out according to schedule by all means the hopper is a must.

We have done it both ways and don't mind doing without them. I think there is a psychological incentive to having the hoppers. Part of what you are buying is the feeling of being relaxed because you know you've got all your bases covered and you can go anywhere you want at any time ---whether you actually use that ability fully or not.

 

[madalex]

Parkhopper option is a must for us. It gives so much flexibility to change plans during the day if a certain park is too crowded or weather changes such that we want to be somewhere else. Also, we usually stay at YC and, as a result, end most evenings at Epcot wandering around WS. Thus, it is critical to be able to park hop to do this.

 

[kimysbug]

We have no children so it is easy to hop.
I love it we go to one park in the am go to the hotel shower maybe nap
then go to another park at night

 

[beattyfamily]

We sure do "Hopalot"!

I wouldn't leave my resort without it.

I love the flexibility. I love doing EMH morning and then heading somewhere else in the PM.

I love doing 1/2 at AK and then Epcot or MGM in the PM.

I love that if I enter a park and it jam packed, I can walk right back out and try another park.

We have 2 little ones and yet we find hopping easy and enjoyable.

I just budget it in automatically and just pretend (in my head) that they never changed the tickets so that you can opt not to have the hopping. I'm in a time warp!

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep!!!!!!!!! I swear by parkhopping! It doesn't take long to get from one place to another and it's a good time to regather yourself, put new things (food, dry clothes, etc) in your bag, etc.

 

[KittyKitty]

One advantage to a park hopper.
1.Lets say you decide to go to a EMH morning hour at a park. You are there early, get to do a lot of attractions, and around noon the park is very busy. You are tired so decide to go back to your Disney resort, or go to another park.

2. Maybe you rode something you want to do "1 more time", but it's in another park. You can do it!

3.There's a restaurant you've always wanted to eat at, but it's in another park. You can do it.

4. You really want to see...Fantasmic, Wishes fireworks, Illuminations, but missed it cause everyone was tired. Now you can do back to that park with a park hopper.

And tho I know this is a big debate on the boards, I suggest you do not drive to Magic Kingdom. It is quicker to take the bus from your Disney resort to the park.

One thing many 1st times are amazed at is how big WDW is. Don't try to do everything there is to do. Unless you are staying for a couple of weeks(maybe more), you can't do it all.

Have a great time. How exciting.