Do we need park hoppers? (How do you use yours?)

[BriLovesDisney]

We always buy hoppers - mostly for dining. We also like to have the option of being able to hop.

If you know for sure you aren't going to hop then I would save the money.

 

[LVSWL]

We have annual passes, but have often had the conversation about whether we would use/pay for the park hopper option. I agree with the PP who said that if you are staying at an Epcot resort then park hoppers would be a good idea. I also think that what time of year you are going could be a big factor. During some times of the year most of the parks close early, so other than Epcot(open oil 9) there may not be much of a need for the park hopper option. Also, if you go during Food & Wine or Flower & Garden then it is nice to head to Epcot to eat your way around the world for supper.

 

[LVSWL]

Forgot to mention that if you have kids, it may depend upon their ages and whether or not they will want to go to another park later. Many times kids just want to hit the pool at the end of the day.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

When we first started going, we were rope drop to close and we never hopped.

Now, I need a midday break. So it is back to the resort for a rest, then back out to a park. With hoppers, or an AP, when we go back out, we can choose another park.

 

[Lovetherodent]

I'm a daily hopper. We always break mid-day for a swim (or a nap - we RD and end the night with fireworks). Since we go back to the resort mid-day, it's nice not to have to go back to the same park. We can go back to the one with evening EMH or to whichever one is open latest. We can eat dinner in Epcot every night. And for us, HS is a half day park. Even AK can be wrapped up in the better part of a day, and then we can go somewhere else at night!

 

[TiffanyA]

You definitely do not need them, but IMO, they add options.

We will often take a look at crowd levels if we have no more FP to use, try for FP there and then hop to that park. Our favorite area to stay is the Epcot Resort Area and given the proximity to things, we find we have a hard time touring the way we like without. Last trip, we were in MK when decided we were getting peckish and didn't want anything in MK. We found a late lunch reservation for Teppan Edo and were able to run over and make it then return to MK to resume our FP.

 

[goodeats]

I have always had them, but generally only used them a couple times a trip. Except the trip we stayed at the Beach Club during F&W - we hopped to Epcot nearly every day!

On my next trip we are saving the $300 and skipping PH. We'll have my daughters with us and it's their and my DH's first trip and they will have enough to see in each park to make a full day. My only dilemma is "wasting" a day at HS.

 

[debdebdebby13]

We've been with them and without. For us it's not necessary. I use Touring Plans so I feel confident in the decision of which park to visit each day. We have always had a smallish child with us and it does just make for too much chaos, too much to and fro and it is exhausting. If DH and I ever manage an adults only trip I can see us using a park hopper with regularity, but for our whole family we are content to stay in one park for the day.

 

[CynBeth]

I always buy park hoppers, but then hardly ever use them. We mostly stay in one park all day unless it's for a dining reservation. I like having the flexibility though and would feel "nervous" without.

Same here.

 

[mernin]

We always have had them but very rarely "needed" them. For our next trip we are going without.

 

[izzylovesmickey]

We love park hoppers for the flexibility they offer (as others have mentioned). We may not hop every day but we do most days. We do tend to stay mostly at BC but do tend to stay 2 days elsewhere and hop even from those resorts. Nice thing is you can usually add them once you are at the parks so if you find you need/want them you may have an option.

 

[Okinawanchick]

This is our 4th trip to WDW and first time getting park hoppers. The only reason we got the hoppers this time was to get a free dining package. You will be fine without the hoppers.

 

[DisneyDad2015]

Do you need park hoppers? No. Park hoppers are a personal preference thing IMO. I’ve done trips with park hopper, and trips without it.

I’ve personally found that with young children, it does me no good. It was just too much of a hassle and too time consuming to park hop.

However, the DW and I are going down in December without the kids, and we plan on putting the park hoppers to good use.

 

[vacamom4]

We only get hoppers when we stay at the Beach Club. It's so easy for some of us to hop over to Epcot after we get back to the resort for the night. Otherwise, we tend to do one park per day. You can always add them if you find you want them after you get there.

 

[Nohal]

We haven't ever gone to Disney without hoppers. You don't say if you've been there before, or how many in your party, or their ages. For us park hoppers are necessary because most of our dinners are in Epcot. Also, we don't spend much time in AK or HS as there just isn't enough for us to do. With hoppers you have the ability to go to another park if the park you are in is over crowded. You don't have to get them before your trip but can wait and add them at the parks if you feel you want them.

 

[lynzi2004]

My sister and I were just discussing this the other day. IMO, base tickets are great for people who are a one and done with Disney World or for people who only go every 5-10 years. There is plenty in almost every park to spend a full day and spending an afternoon at the resort isn't a shabby way to spend an afternoon either. On the other hand, a short trip where you want to see multiple things in multiple parks in a short time frame or frequent Disney travelers that have their favorites in each park can greatly benefit from a park hopper.

 

[hllb]

With the ages of your kids, I may opt to keep them. If you leave the park mid day for a nap or break, you may want to hit a different park in the evening.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We have never gotten hoppers at Disney. I just find it easier to plan and less complicated to stay in one park each day. And I just have no problem staying in one park for the day. The fact that we have 3 kids under 10 makes hopping even less desirable. The one time I would have liked them was two years ago when the Star Wars fireworks were not every night and they were not on our HS night.

We do get hoppers at Universal because of the evil marketing genius that is the Hogwarts Express (that’s one expensive ride). It’s a lot easier and less time is lost getting between the two parks there. Even then we’re just going back and forth to use the hopper. We don’t really have any need to hop.

 

[JerseyJanice]

My last two trips, I stayed at the Swan with a bunch of AP holders. I didn’t want to be unable to go with them if they wanted to change parks. I did seek out a deal on UCT for hoppers and did well that way. I must say that I got good use out of hopping since we hit Epcot every day in F&W.

But back in the day when I was doing budget trips at Pop, I wouldn’t even consider paying to hop. I never felt like we missed anything—those were super fun trips. Never felt even an urge to add it.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

My family and I (DH & DD14) usually stay a week at a WDW resort. We have never used PHs before for a week trip. We go to one park per day, and if it's our HS day, we take a good, long afternoon break. We typically get to the parks early, take an afternoon break, and head back until we can't stand any more. I plan well and obsess over ADRs and FPs, but I have never felt we've been missing out by not hopping. I try to follow crowd calendars, but as long as we can ride whatever we FP and a couple more, we're okay. And I always make ADRs, so we don't worry about where we're going to eat.

Now, DD and I did just get back from a long weekend trip. I couldn't imagine going to WDW without riding TSMM, but we also wanted to go to Pandora at night and see HEA, so we got PHs. It was fun, but I couldn't handle if for an entire week. We had 2 park days. On our first day, we hit HS just to ride TSMM a couple of times, then walked over to Epcot for F&W lunch. We still had a short afternoon break, and then we headed to AK for the evening (I really wanted to try to get to MK that day, just to say we did all 4 parks, but they closed early for a MNSSHP). The following day, we started at Epcot late morning and had lunch at VN, had our break, and then headed to MK for HEA. I could see DD and I doing it for a longer trip, but I don't think DH would like it. And I have to admit, I was confused myself! Our first evening when we were walking to the bus stop to head to AK, a AK bus was pulling up. I told DD "We don't need to hurry, we're going to Epcot". I didn't realize until the bus drove away that we were heading to AK. I did it the following night, too. Oops!