Does park hopping "work" in busy days before Christmas?

[aboveH20]

In conjunction with visiting our son in CA during December we're going to spend a few days at DL. My son will drive us to DL and then spend the day with us. I told him I would buy park hoppers for us so we could hop if a park seemed too busy. He wrote back that if we leave one park we might not be able to get into the other if it's too crowded.

So, how does park hopping work -- or not work -- on the busy days. BTW we're talking about 12/23. No sense buying a park hopper if there's no question of being able to use it. Also, if we go early in the morning, head back to out hotel at some point, would we be able to get back into a park we had been at earlier in the day?

I'm looking forward to seeing the decorations, the crowds, not so much. (We're going right before Christmas to babysit his dog while he heads to Ohio with his girlfriend for the holidays, so the dates are set.)

 

[SMD]

There's very little chance that DCA will close. DL might experience some sort of closure, but it would likely be brief. If you want to hop, start early in DL, then do DCA, then when you want to go back to DL be open to the idea of going back to DCA. The times when DL is likely to have a gate closure is before parades and fireworks. It will almost always reopen later at night. Most of the closures happen in the days immediately after Christmas, but it's not unheard of for the DL gates to close for a few minutes on very busy weekends and other holidays.

Have you considering buying multiday tickets for yourself? You could always get back on a second day after your son goes out of town, as they don't need to be used consecutively in the 13 day use period.

 

[aboveH20]

There's very little chance that DCA will close. DL might experience some sort of closure, but it would likely be brief. If you want to hop, start early in DL, then do DCA, then when you want to go back to DL be open to the idea of going back to DCA. The times when DL is likely to have a gate closure is before parades and fireworks. It will almost always reopen later at night. Most of the closures happen in the days immediately after Christmas, but it's not unheard of for the DL gates to close for a few minutes on very busy weekends and other holidays.

Have you considering buying multiday tickets for yourself? You could always get back on a second day after your son goes out of town, as they don't need to be used consecutively in the 13 day use period.

Thanks for your insight. My son went last year on Christmas Day and said the crowds weren't too bad early on

We are planning to buy multi days tickets for my husband and myself, just trying to figure out what to get for my son and his girlfriend for the one day they'll join us -- and since my original post I checked on the price of one day park hoppers -- YOUCH!

 

[SMD]

Thanks for your insight. My son went last year on Christmas Day and said the crowds weren't too bad early on

We are planning to buy multi days tickets for my husband and myself, just trying to figure out what to get for my son and his girlfriend for the one day they'll join us -- and since my original post I checked on the price of one day park hoppers -- YOUCH!

Yes, a few years ago they adopted the WDW model that hopping costs the same whether you add it to a 2 day or a 5 day ticket and it's more for a 1 day. It hurts the most on the 1 day tickets as previously all multiday tickets were hoppers and the difference for a 1 day ticket was as little as $25. When 1 park per day tickets were offered at the booths the additional cost of a hopper was only $3 more for a 1 day than a 2 day ticket.

You could always buy a 1 day 1 park ticket if your son is adamant that he wants to do 1 park. If you decide to hop he can detour to the ticket booth to upgrade.

 

[aboveH20]

Yes, a few years ago they adopted the WDW model that hopping costs the same whether you add it to a 2 day or a 5 day ticket and it's more for a 1 day. It hurts the most on the 1 day tickets as previously all multiday tickets were hoppers and the difference for a 1 day ticket was as little as $25. When 1 park per day tickets were offered at the booths the additional cost of a hopper was only $3 more for a 1 day than a 2 day ticket.

You could always buy a 1 day 1 park ticket if your son is adamant that he wants to do 1 park. If you decide to hop he can detour to the ticket booth to upgrade.

I never buy park hoppers at WDW and am only considering them in case the park becomes wall to wall people.

Does anyone know . . .if we leave the park and then it hits capacity, will we be allowed back in? My son is afraid that if we leave (to go to the other park, back to the hotel) we won't get back in.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

There are different levels of gate closure and they don't always go in order. For example, at the last 24 hour party, the gates closure was announced at level 2 or 3, bypassing level 1 entirely. If you have been in DL early on and received a hand stamp when you exited, then you should be allowed back in during a low level gate closure (say level 1 or 2), but there is no guarantee. As in the previous example, if the first closure level announced is 3 or higher, then you would have to wait in DCA until the DL gates reopen. And, as SMD noted, the gate closures rarely last for more than a few hours at most. As more guests exit the park, other guests can enter. So, at some point, you would be able to re-enter the park.

 

[SMD]

You will almost always be allowed back into DCA, which is why I suggest doing DL first. Then if you do hop or go back to the hotel you can go there, but haven't completely missed out on DL.

Hand stamps are only used for 1 day tickets now. For multi days they take pictures and can tell which park you've entered if they go into a closure phase where they're only closed to new entries. So no need to worry if you don't get a hand stamp. Though it sounds like your son will have a 1 day ticket, so would need a hand stamp.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

And CMs aren't always up to date on policy, so if the CM at the turnstile suggests you get a handstamp, just get one. It can't hurt. We've had CMs tell us we needed to get a handstamp, even when we use APs!

 

[aboveH20]

There are different levels of gate closure and they don't always go in order. For example, at the last 24 hour party, the gates closure was announced at level 2 or 3, bypassing level 1 entirely. If you have been in DL early on and received a hand stamp when you exited, then you should be allowed back in during a low level gate closure (say level 1 or 2), but there is no guarantee. As in the previous example, if the first closure level announced is 3 or higher, then you would have to wait in DCA until the DL gates reopen. And, as SMD noted, the gate closures rarely last for more than a few hours at most. As more guests exit the park, other guests can enter. So, at some point, you would be able to re-enter the park.

It's hard for me to comprehend how packed it will be to have park closures, although last year I went to Hollywood Studios to see Osborne Lights and it was wall to wall people and impossible to move on the streets of NY. Ugh!

You will almost always be allowed back into DCA, which is why I suggest doing DL first. Then if you do hop or go back to the hotel you can go there, but haven't completely missed out on DL.

Hand stamps are only used for 1 day tickets now. For multi days they take pictures and can tell which park you've entered if they go into a closure phase where they're only closed to new entries. So no need to worry if you don't get a hand stamp. Though it sounds like your son will have a 1 day ticket, so would need a hand stamp.

Last time I was at DL the photo thing wasn't working the greatest! But that was almost two years ago, no doubt they're worked out all the bugs.

And CMs aren't always up to date on policy, so if the CM at the turnstile suggests you get a handstamp, just get one. It can't hurt. We've had CMs tell us we needed to get a handstamp, even when we use APs!

Handstamps seem sooooo old school!

 

[figment_jii]

The 24-hour day was a bit of an anomaly in terms of how the crowds in the park felt...the parade route was packed (wall-to-wall people, hard to move), but other areas of the park was much more manageable. That was the first time I've been in the park when it closed due to capacity, but I've been there on really busy days before. It is basically as you described...wall-to-wall guests and hard to move about. It doesn't mean the entire park is like that, but the main routes and more popular areas can be difficult to maneuver through. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any consistent way to find out whether the parks are approaching capacity or have implemented entrance restrictions (i.e., they don't announce it via Twitter or Facebook), so you'll have to wait to see what is happening when you get to the gate or try to search through social media to see if anyone has posted anything.

 

[agamble]

It sounds like your son lives relatively close to the parks and could go another time if he chose. In that case I would get the tickets you want for your husband and yourself, and then ask him which park he'd like to go to that day. When we buy APs we do sometimes parkhop, but generally I enjoy visiting one park in a day. There is plenty to do at each park. DCA is generally less crowded/busy than Disneyland, but Disneyland has more to do. Of course you don't have little kids, so they may be more into DCA than Disneyland.

 

[aboveH20]

How do families afford Disney!!?! When my sons were young we went on the budget plan (and didn't know enough to know what we were missing). Now I usually go solo so don't fully appreciate how expensive everything is times 3 or 4 or . . .

I just went online to get two one-day park hoppers for my son and his girlfriend and two three-day park hoppers for my husband and me. $860 And, to add insult to injury, another $5 if I want the tickets mailed to me instead of printing a bar code or something from my computer. I'd like the actual tickets, but come on, Disney, another $5 on top of $860???

 

[SMD]

How do families afford Disney!!?! When my sons were young we went on the budget plan (and didn't know enough to know what we were missing). Now I usually go solo so don't fully appreciate how expensive everything is times 3 or 4 or . . .

I just went online to get two one-day park hoppers for my son and his girlfriend and two three-day park hoppers for my husband and me. $860 And, to add insult to injury, another $5 if I want the tickets mailed to me instead of printing a bar code or something from my computer. I'd like the actual tickets, but come on, Disney, another $5 on top of $860???

If you are able to print and save $5, they just scan it at the turnstile and hand you the ticket. I think they can also scan phones.

 

[ArchOwl]

How do families afford Disney!!?! When my sons were young we went on the budget plan (and didn't know enough to know what we were missing). Now I usually go solo so don't fully appreciate how expensive everything is times 3 or 4 or . . .

I just went online to get two one-day park hoppers for my son and his girlfriend and two three-day park hoppers for my husband and me. $860 And, to add insult to injury, another $5 if I want the tickets mailed to me instead of printing a bar code or something from my computer. I'd like the actual tickets, but come on, Disney, another $5 on top of $860???

It is definitely expensive. I guess I compare it to other entertainment options, which are also fairly expensive. A night at the ballgame, a theater production, and even a day at the regional fair have all gone up in price. I think Disney has a pretty good bang for the buck!

If you haven't bought the tickets yet, don't pay the $5. You take the voucher and exchange them for tickets at the turnstiles. No need to pay extra.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

And if you haven't already bought your 3 day hoppers, check around online (e.g. aRes Travel, Getawaytoday, Way.com, Orbitz, AAA, etc.) to see if you can get a better deal. The one day tickets are the worst. There are hardly any discounts for those.

 

[aboveH20]

If you are able to print and save $5, they just scan it at the turnstile and hand you the ticket. I think they can also scan phones.

Where's the romance in a bar code?

It is definitely expensive. I guess I compare it to other entertainment options, which are also fairly expensive. A night at the ballgame, a theater production, and even a day at the regional fair have all gone up in price. I think Disney has a pretty good bang for the buck!

If you haven't bought the tickets yet, don't pay the $5. You take the voucher and exchange them for tickets at the turnstiles. No need to pay extra.

I agree about Disney comparing well with other entertainment venues. I like to take the train to New York to see a Broadway show and that ends up being a $500 day, just for one person!

I won't pay the five bucks (although it's very minor considering the price or our trip) it just seems chintzy on Disney's part to charge $5 on top of $860.

And if you haven't already bought your 3 day hoppers, check around online (e.g. aRes Travel, Getawaytoday, Way.com, Orbitz, AAA, etc.) to see if you can get a better deal. The one day tickets are the worst. There are hardly any discounts for those.

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought I could get a AAA discount but their website just sends me to Disney's site. I'll check your other suggestions.

 

[Malcon10t]

I don't know if you can still get a discount at AAA. But, just because it sends you to the DL website doesn't mean there isn't a discount. My credit union will send me to a DL link, but it saves me $20 a ticket.

 

[DLfan4]

I don't know if you can still get a discount at AAA. But, just because it sends you to the DL website doesn't mean there isn't a discount. My credit union will send me to a DL link, but it saves me $20 a ticket.

are you saying that if your a credit union member you can get discounted tickets ?

 

[aboveH20]

I don't know if you can still get a discount at AAA. But, just because it sends you to the DL website doesn't mean there isn't a discount. My credit union will send me to a DL link, but it saves me $20 a ticket.

Thank you for that suggestion! I was able to get a good discount from my union, not credit union.

are you saying that if your a credit union member you can get discounted tickets ?

It's worth a try. It didn't occur to me to check my (retired) union, but I got a discount.