Do you really need a "hopper" ticket?

[kksmom92]

My DH and I had hopper passes the first year we went (pre kids) and had the hopper. I don't remember how much we used it. Since having kids we have never bought the hopper pass. To us it's not worth the added expense. If we are done early with a park we just enjoy the pool that day. That way we are refreshed for the next day.

 

[kim_o]

Depends on your kids' ages. If they are older, non stroller bound, then I would get the hopper. With younger kids involving diaper bags, strollers, food containers, etc - it's a pain to park hop and wastes a ton of time.

It also depends if you want a mid day rest. If you're going back to the hotel anyway, a hopper might be a nice option because then you're already using transportation. We just have our kids nap in the stroller on the go, and if that's like you, then I'd advise against the hopper.

 

[married2mm]

We LOVE having Park Hoppers - for us, it actually allows us to slow down and relax more.
We enjoying getting up and heading to a Park in the morning...we travel during the HOT months...so an afternoon break/swim is a must. Then we head back to a different Park at night.

For us Park Hoppers add some much needed flexibility and options to our vacation.

this.

although not park hoppers as such,because we're from UK ,as pp said,we have water parks,disneyquest and any or all the park options each day on our tickets.

my dd did not even realise park hopping was not available on all tickets,she simply thought it was the norm.
and that's exactly what it is for us.

 

[nooneshome]

We have been so many times we no longer hop. it takes too much time to hop and i would rather spend the money on something else. but, to each his own.

 

[Peter Fan]

The only reason we get hoppers is so we can make ressies at epcot more than once. Before "free" dining we never bought hopper. There is plenty to do at each park for a whole day for us.

 

[GatorMommy2007]

For us, park hoppers are a must. MK is really the only park where we stay all day.

 

[Wendimn]

We bought park hoppers and used them once..lol. So my opinion is no.

 

[speake]

When/if you decide you want to add the hopper option, does it apply for all days? For example, i have a family of six, staying for 9 days. If, on day 4 we decide to hop from MK to EPCOT, does the hopping premium ($57 per ticket I think) get added on day 4 only, days 4-9, or all 9 days?

 

[Paradise18]

We prefer to hop. I like that I can go to one park in the morning, go back to the resort in the afternoon and head to a different park in the evening. It works well when AK closes earlier in the evening and we still have the energy to be touring the parks.

 

[pannm]

We've gotten a hopper once and didn't care for it. We do Disney hard and we love all the parks, so we can spend a full day at any of them with out leaving.

I KNOW that there are people who would never go with out one, but it's because they've done it before and they think it's something they can't live with out anymore. Sure, it has some perks and good things about it- but if you've never had one before and are questioning it, then it would be fine just to go with out and save yourself the cash...

We have been traveling with our kids there for several years, so we've been there with them when they've been really young, up until now when they are almost 9 and 11. We've rarely needed to bring them back to the hotel for naps or a break. For the most part, we get up and go until the fireworks are done or the park closes- at AK that's early. The day we go to AK, it closes early and we go eat someplace fun, like Boma and we have an earlier night to bed and an earlier morning the next morning.

Hoppers are not a need. They are a want and extra added conveniance. If you've never used one, you wouldn't know any different. It's really a personal preferance. We only used ours 4 days out of 8 and we found it to be a hassle to use (it was a free add-on when we had it). ONE of the days, we used it for extra magic hours and we liked that, but not enough to pay all of the extra cash for it!

 

[appleorchard]

I think where you stay also makes a difference. When my DD and DGD go, we stay at Bay Lake Towers, where we can walk to the MK. Because of the ease of doing this, we pop into the MK almost every day of our trip for the fireworks, or a parade or whatever, no matter what other parks we visit during the day. When my DH and I stay at Boardwalk, we hit Epcot almost every day for Illuminations or just to walk around or for dinner. If we had to ride a bus everywhere, it would make it less convenient and we might not use a hopper as much.

 

[pouncingpluto]

I think where you stay also makes a difference. When my DD and DGD go, we stay at Bay Lake Towers, where we can walk to the MK. Because of the ease of doing this, we pop into the MK almost every day of our trip for the fireworks, or a parade or whatever, no matter what other parks we visit during the day. When my DH and I stay at Boardwalk, we hit Epcot almost every day for Illuminations or just to walk around or for dinner. If we had to ride a bus everywhere, it would make it less convenient and we might not use a hopper as much.

I agree with this. If we are staying at AKL or somewhere else that isn't walking distance from a park, we rarely park hop, so I had generally stopped paying for park hoppers. But if we are staying at Beach Club or the Boardwalk or Bay Lake Towers/Contemporary (or probably another MK resort), being able to pop over to the nearby park for the evening is really nice. We now have APs, and on our upcoming trip to BLT with our DD, who will be turning 2 on the trip, we will need to be back in the room for her nap every day. Since we're probably not going to feel like dealing with 2 round trips to one of the further parks in a single day, I think we will be spending a lot of late afternoons/evenings in the MK. Or MK in the morning, then nap, then to another park in the afternoon/evening for Fantasmic or whatever.

 

[katt789]

The groups I go with usually end up paying for the hoppers, but don't actually use them until the last day (I have an AP, so I usually park hop all over the place)

However, it's really easy to just stick to one park per day, I find I take a midday hotel break on DHS day, and take a sleep in on our Epcot day and it lays the week out nicely. You definitely can park hop over to MK from Epcot really easily and it makes it a nice day, as Epcot can get boring, especially for younger ones, but it's defintely do able to not park hop

 

[fallen_angel727]

We usually park hop and I love it...lets us change it up a bit if we get bored. However this is our first trip without them so we'll see how it goes

 

[dchronister]

We have done both, our first trip we had them and we absoutely wore ourselves out trying to do everything because we did have the hoppers and wanted to take advantage, my kids were 6 and 8 at the time. The next time we did not get them on purpose to force us to slow down and not wear ourselves out, it worked well. We didn't get them for the next 3 trips, but now my girls are teenagers, so we get them now. Also, depending on the time of year you go, if they are having shorter hours it may not be worth it anyway, longer hours, maybe. We can save $220 if we don't get them, which we can use on a nicer dinner or miniature golf or something else, that's an entire airfare for one of us, so, it probably all depends on it your kids tire. My youngest was soooo crabby the first trip, we said never again, thus no park hoppers for us the next few trips. but it was a live and learn lesson for us, I did not know of the Dis back then, or even if it did exist back then. But, whatever you do, have fun.

 

[firstwdw]

We hopped twice during a six night stay. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge so it was quick and easy to do Epcot or Animal Kingdom in the morning and then jump on the boat to Magic Kingdom after a swim and rest at Wilderness Lodge Next time we are staying moderate and paying our own way so we are skipping the hopping option. I couldn't justify the extra cost and it does eat up a lot of time in my opinion.

 

[LaurieN]

For our family hoppers are a must! We stay at the Beach Club and fun ourselves at Epcot almost everyday weather it's our scheduled park day or just to visit world showcase at night. I personally like the "freedom" it allows to change parks midway thru the day, but everybody is different and you may want to just do 1 park per day.
Laurie

 

[bookgirl]

I like the hopper. I like knowing that if i'm in one park and i want lunch at another I can. Or if I've done my favorites and want to do my favorite at DHS I can just hop over.

Of course if you are on a 1st or 2nd visit you may be able to spend a whole day at one park. I'm going to be on my 4/5 trip next time. I don't need a whole day in one park, and in fact would probably miss not being able to jump around.

 

[siskaren]

When/if you decide you want to add the hopper option, does it apply for all days? For example, i have a family of six, staying for 9 days. If, on day 4 we decide to hop from MK to EPCOT, does the hopping premium ($57 per ticket I think) get added on day 4 only, days 4-9, or all 9 days?

The price of the hopper is the same regardless of how many days are on the ticket and is good for all days on the ticket.