Do you really NEED to have a park hopper pass???

[marriedmarylander]

If I am reading right, there are 4 parks at Disney world - MK, Epcot, MGM, Animal Kingdom. If you go for 7 days what is the point of hopping parks??? Why not just go to one each day instead of going to two (or more) each day for several days days? I know Animal Kingdom isn't a whole day activity but if you get the Magic Plus you can always go to a water park, Pleasure island, shopping, or seeing other things other than another big park. I can understand if you are going for only a few days maybe you need to shove multiple visits into one day, but if you go for a week, what is the benefit of park hopping? It just seems tiring.......

 

[kyirish25]

For us with a small child we head back to the resort every afternoon for a nap so we like to have the option to go to another park instead of just where we came from. Also park hours are different for each place and just because AK is closed I don't have to call it a night and can head over to Epcot since it is still open.

 

[beattyfamily]

We LOVE parking hopping. It's so convenient.

One trip we unknowingly went to MK on a Saturday! Boy was it a mad house! The Pooh ride Fastpass return time was like 6 hours later! So we just turned around and walked right back out of there and headed to MGM. Much better.

It's also nice to go to MK in the AM for early entry or whatever, then go back and swim and rest and then head over to MGM for Fantasmic.

Or on one of our last days after being at MK in the am we realize we'd like to catch the MGM parade that we just never seemed to catch so we hop on the bus and run over to MGM and catch the parade.

Also staying at the BWV like I do, I could spend the day at another park and then in the evenings, I could hop on the boat over to Epcot to see the fireworks every night if I want to.

It so flexible and wonderful. Having had this option for my last 7 trips, I just cannot imagine not having, it especially with kids.

But to answer your question, no I guess you don't absolutely NEED a hopper pass, but we feel it's quite necessary and GREAT!

 

[goofy4tink]

We like to be able to leave a park mid-day, eat lunch and swim...especially during the hotter months. Since we've been many times, we know exactly what we want to do, so we do it and then hop on over to a different park. But, it really doesn't matter if you want to stay in one park all day. It's very doable. And you don't really want to take up valuable park time with traveling around from park to resort to a different park if it's a first or second trip. There are plenty of spots to sit and rest up a bit. And plenty of restuarants to get either a quick bite to eat or have a nice sit-down meal at. It just boils down to personal preferance. With the new MYW passes, you can finally get exactly what is going to work for your family. If you have 6 days and you are going in January, and you won't be going back anytime soon, then you can get a 6 day pass, with no pluses that will expire after two weeks. Saves you a lot of money. Or if you go in July, you might want those pluses so you can swim when it's brutally hot. I think it's wonderful that we can finally build a pass for each situation.

 

[Chuck S]

Truthfully, we're AP holders and use park-hopping occasionally to go to EPCOT for dinner. Other than that, no, we tend to stay in one park all day...so it really depend upon how you think your family will tour the parks.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

We have done it both ways. Both ways work fine. It just depends on what you want to do on YOUR vacation In July we took a break 1/2 way through the day and went to a different park in the late afternoon/evening. The year we went in Jaunary we stayed at 1 park for the entire day (shorter hours). You will have fun if you hop or don't hop.

 

[tjkraz]

For us with a small child we head back to the resort every afternoon for a nap so we like to have the option to go to another park instead of just where we came from. Also park hours are different for each place and just because AK is closed I don't have to call it a night and can head over to Epcot since it is still open.

Ditto. That's exactly what we do, too. As the kids get older (and want to stay in the park all day) I suspect that will change. But right now the mid-day break gives us a great opportunity to add a little variety to the day by switching parks.

 

[jarestel]

Since we have been many times to WDW, park hopping works well because we tend to do 4 or 5 of our favorite things at a park in the morning, return to the resort for some "down time", and then finish the day with dinner or a few favorites and fireworks in a different park. For those who are relatively new to the WDW experience, I wouldn't think park hopping would add much since you haven't seen an entire park yet anyway. That's one of the benefits of the new tickets, if you don't plan to "hop", you can save a few $$ on the tickets. Have a great time, whatever you decide!

 

[SamanthaL]

The time of year that we usually go AK closes at 5pm and MGM at 7pm. I am not willing to call it a night at that point. Since we usually stay within walking distance of Epcot we tend to walk over there for dinner and to enjoy nighttime in the World Showcase. Walking around the countries at night is one of my fav. activities!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Truthfully, we're AP holders and use park-hopping occasionally to go to EPCOT for dinner. Other than that, no, we tend to stay in one park all day...so it really depend upon how you think your family will tour the parks.

We have APs as well and do the same.
From the look of the OPs question, I am assuming that it's their first trip to WDW, so staying in one park for the day makes perfect sense. Long timers tend to take part of their day and go back to take a dip in the pool, or nap a little, but first timers are an entirely different sort of animal. When we were kids, we would get to the park at opening and not leave until closing because there is so much to see and do in each park. OP: I wouldn't get the hopper, it won't be worth it for you.

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

It's also nice to go to MK in the AM for early entry or whatever, then go back and swim and rest and then head over to MGM for Fantasmic.

Great advice.

EE parks get very crowded later in the day, so it's nice to have the option to leave.

 

[minkydog]

If I am reading right, there are 4 parks at Disney world - MK, Epcot, MGM, Animal Kingdom. If you go for 7 days what is the point of hopping parks??? Why not just go to one each day instead of going to two (or more) each day for several days days? what is the benefit of park hopping? It just seems tiring.......

I find it very tiring. We have only done it once and it resulted in meltdowns with two of my kids. Now we just decide which park and call it a day. We take our time and thoroughly immerse ourselves, even though we hve been several times. Then when we're through, it's back to the hotel. This plan works very well for us. It's a vacation, for crying out loud, not a marathon..

 

[heathriel]

...but if you go for a week, what is the benefit of park hopping? It just seems tiring.......

Only once in my life was I in "danger" of not having a hopper pass, and that was in Disneyland. I'd never been to the California Adventure, but I'd heard it was horrible and really couldn't justify spending the money. Luckily, they were having a "buy one, get one" offer, so we went to the California Adventure, did everything in like 2 hours, then walked over to DL for the rest of the day.

Really, I think it has to do with your personality which type of pass you'll get. I like to walk around one park in the morning, and I ALWAYS end up in Epcot at night (helps that I always stay in Epcot Lagoon hotels.)

Actually, I just thought of something: Without a park hopper pass it would be EXCEPTIONALLY annoying to get back to the hotel every night. Without being able to cut through Epcot, I'd be lost coming back from MK (the park that is open second-latest most of the time.)

Anyway, my DH and I like to start out at one park in the morning, like AK, do everything there, then go back to the hotel when it starts to get really hot. In the afternoon, maybe we'll go to MGM and see Muppets 3D, or go do Millionaire, or head over to MK and see CoP, or even go back to AK and go to the Conservation Station or something. At night, I love to stroll through the World Showcase, catch Illuminations, buy a bottle of wine maybe, and then eventually head back to the hotel.

I'd be very sad without a hopper pass.

 

[Tinkim]

We used to always get PH's because we were only going to be there for four days at WDW and then do SW. On two trips with PH's, we park-hopped only two times. This last trip the kids and I stayed at Pop and I decided to buy the base tickets without park hopping because we seemed to use it so rarely. However, we love AK and consider this to be a full-day park for us. With that being said, we really didn't miss not having the PH's. We also go in February and not at a time when things are crazy busy and that makes a difference. We chose one park to spend the day in and sometimes we left and went back to the hotel so the kids could swim. We had our hand stamped on the way out and then after swimming we went back and rode a few rides or saw a nighttime show or we went back for EMH evening. I don't think you NEED the park hopper option and for me we saved $140 by not getting the park hopping option and I will do the same on the next trip. I know some people like to park hop but for me it is not a neccesity.

 

[HollyJoy]

I guess you don't NEED the parkhopper feature, but I think it's a good thing to have. There was only one day on our trip that we didn't parkhop! Only 1!

 

[MeredithJ]

I find it very tiring. We have only done it once and it resulted in meltdowns with two of my kids. Now we just decide which park and call it a day. We take our time and thoroughly immerse ourselves, even though we hve been several times. Then when we're through, it's back to the hotel. This plan works very well for us. It's a vacation, for crying out loud, not a marathon..

I have to agree...I have been to Disney many, many times, and I really don't enjoy hopping. Maybe it also depends on whether you stay onsite or not....we have typically stayed off site, so once we left WDW, we didn't want to drive all the way back, park, etc. Now that we are planning to stay onsite, the hopping feature is beginning to look more attractive. However, I am not willing to pay $175 for the "convenience" of hopping for 5 of us. It's just not worth it to me. I can just as easily take a mid day break and go back to the same park I went to in the morning rather than going to a different one. Just my opinion of course, but I would choose the plus option over the hopper any day, even if it is $10 more per person.

Meredith

 

[WillCAD]

I have two major reasons and one minor that I ALWAYS get a hopper pass:

1. If I get to a park in the morning and it's mobbed, packed, crowded, and otherwise full beyond all reason and sanity (this happens, not just in summer but in the off-season sometimes too), I turn right around at the gate and head out to another park.

2. Since I don't do kiddie rides, MK is not a full day park to me. I hit my faves, then go someplace else. Likewise, AK is not a full day, either, and it closes early, so I typically leave AK around 2-3pm and go to another park.

3. (minor) I have favorite places to eat, and many of them are in Epcot, so if I finish up at one park and want to go to Akershaus or Marakesh for dinner, I can.

 

[Mainebound]

If I am reading right, there are 4 parks at Disney world - MK, Epcot, MGM, Animal Kingdom. If you go for 7 days what is the point of hopping parks??? Why not just go to one each day instead of going to two (or more) each day for several days days? I know Animal Kingdom isn't a whole day activity but if you get the Magic Plus you can always go to a water park, Pleasure island, shopping, or seeing other things other than another big park. I can understand if you are going for only a few days maybe you need to shove multiple visits into one day, but if you go for a week, what is the benefit of park hopping? It just seems tiring.......

We just retunred from an 11 day trip. We visited WDW parks on 7 days. We did ot purchase the hopper option and do not regret it.

We have two children ages 3 and 5.

The past two years we had the hopper option and used it once each trip. We are glad we paid extra for more days and not for hopping.

 

[drcmk]

I probably won't hop every single day of our upcoming 8 day trip. (For example, we generally spend all day at MGM without hopping). But I will definitely hop often enough to make that option worthwhile. My plan is to end up at EPCOT for dinner a few nights, especially our AK day since AK closes early. I generally carefully plan the first half of our vacation then leave the last few days mostly free for us to revisit things we missed or want to see again--since there are four of us, chances are we'll want to visit our favorites at different parks, so we have the freedom to bop about those last few days. It is amazing to me how easy it is to do that. On our last trip, we visited three different parks on our very last morning at WDW to say goodbye to our favorite attractions very quickly and easily using the busses and monorail.

 

[MargaretF]

If it's your first trip, try it without park hoppping. You will have just as much fun. I debated not buying the park hopper this year for our seven day trip, BUT we are too used to park hopping. We typically spend the morning in one park and the later afternoon/evening in another. It keeps us fresh and lets us eat at Epcot anytime. The neat thing about park hoppers is that it lets you do unexpected things, especially if you are a repeat visitor. One day we went to AK in the morning, rode the bus to AKL for lunch at Mara, took the bus to MK to transfer to GF and as we arrived at MK at parade time, we decided to go eat ice cream at the Plaza restaurant and catch the parade and that's all we did at MK. That night we went over to MGM for Fantasmic. That's the fun of park hoppers.