Doing a Trip Without Park Hoppers - Pros and Cons

[Disneylover99]

Since you can add the hopper at any time, go without and see how you like it. Add them later if you deem it necessary.

Best advice! Don't even worry about it now or give it a second thought. If you want to add them later, go for it!

 

[crazymomof4]

I think it depends on where you stay as well. Being that we stay at the Boardwalk its way to easy to come back in the afternoon from the main park we wanted to see and catch lunch or dinner in Epcot followed by an evening either at MK (Monorail Hop), Epcot (stay there), or HS (boat hop).

I will second this.
Way back in the '80s (when it was just DH and I) we always got hoppers. Then our family slowly grew to 6 and we began staying offsite for the most part. With babies and toddlers and strollers (also brought my mom for several trips and she needed a w/c for the parks) No way were we going to hop to catch "late night" EMH at another park! So, we found that we RARELY used the hop option, so for years we didn't get it and it was fine. We liked the relaxed pace of concentrating on one park per day and not worrying about whatever was going on at the other parks bc we'd be visiting them for a FULL day later in the trip anyway. Basically, I feel that at BC we are more easily "connected" to other parks transportation-wise, so want to take advantage of that.
Then a switch ..... for this trip in Sept we are staying at BC. AND we don't have any babies anymore (youngest is 14) and mom isn't coming on this trip. Another factor was definitely that BC was walking distance to 2 parks. We really wanted the ability to go to Epcot for morn EMH and then hop to another park for the rest of the day. Also, there are 2 evening EMHs at DHS that I'm sure we will want to hit after spending the day at another park.
For sure, like others have said, a park hopping trip is more "busy" LOL I look at my itinerary and think, "Did I even schedule time for sleep?" but with DH and I still in pretty good shape and kids ages 14-22 we feel we are up for it! First trip in 25 years where we won't have a stroller or a w/c to worry about!!

 

[jenrose66]

We were always hopper people and I do like the freedom that hopping affords. With that said we have not added hopper options to our tickets during the last few trips. The reason for this is purely cost. With 5 tickets to purchase the hopping perk is too expensive. There is plenty in each park to keep us entertained for an entire day

 

[U2_rocks!]

On longer family trips (6 or more days) we never found a need to hop. Even when we were taking breaks in the middle of the day we could just go back to the same park later (don't need a hopper for that). On days we were done with a park early (like AK) we would plan a resort dinner or DTD or the pool or something else for the evening. With a longer trip you have that luxury. With a shorter trip you may feel the need to go to another park after AK.

For our family of 5, hoppers meant an investment of over $200, which just wasn't worth it. We found better things to spend that $200 on.

 

[sydneysmom]

I have always kind of thought that it was (for us) a waste of money because the two times we went, we maybe hopped once. When I brought it up to my DH for this coming trip, he said, "no, we have to know we CAN park hop....". Say what??

Then we started planning it out. One of the things we hated about our last trip was that we did it all wrong... we went in June and it was 3,000 degrees and crowded. ( I exaggerate just a bit... I know) We didn't take breaks or anything like that... it was all commando. SO..... we decided that for this coming trip, we'd do Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom in the mornings (eat breakfast and lunch at each of those on their particular day) then about 2:00 head back to the resort to swim. About 5:00 pm, we're going to then head out to either MK or Epcot for dinner and spend the evening hours at that particular park. So for us, we'll be out of the crowds and the heat at the peak and get to enjoy some down time... and actually park hop!! So for me, I'm a new believer in the park hopper !!

 

[lizzyb]

We got them once and didn't really use it. Have since never got them and don't feel like we are missing out on anything. We just plan accordingly.

 

[U2_rocks!]

Best advice! Don't even worry about it now or give it a second thought. If you want to add them later, go for it!

I always used to advise people to do the same, and it's good advice if you're really not sure if you'll hop and think that you probably won't need to.

One thing to keep in mind though: you may try not to hop for most of the trip, and then on the last day you find you want to do last-minute things in 2 (or more) parks so you decide to add hoppers. You have a family of 5 and you go to Guest Services to add the hopper and you're told that will be $200+. It can be pretty hard to swallow that extra $200 just for the privilege of being able to enter 2 parks instead of 1. And just for 1 day! Some people will be fine with it, but others will find it hard to swallow. If you're the kind of person who will really hate to be hit with that sudden expense, you may find that waiting to add hoppers doesn't work for you. Sure, it's the same $200+ in the end, but the timing of it and the realization of what you're getting for that $200 might be a turn-off to some. Some people prefer to have the hoppers from the start so they can really get their money's worth from them, or budget for them. Others may decide to try harder to make the non-hopping work (i.e. plan better) so that they don't get faced with this decision at the end of a trip.

 

[Julylady]

We were a long time family of hoppers. However, in the past couple of years, I began to question whether they were really adding value to our trip and could the money I spent on them be put to a better use. For the past two trips (one without MBs, the other with MBs), we decided to change up our plans a bit.

We now skip EMH and let the kids sleep that extra hour. We then go to the park that had EMH the prior day. We still do a mid-day break most days, but then return to the same park we started in. Like others have said, this method takes some additional planning up front. If we don't take a mid-day break, we usually return to the hotel right before dinner. We have realized that all day in the parks from opening to closing doesn't suit our touring style anymore. And, my kids like to spend downtime at the hotel in the pool or arcade.

The advantages are that we all get an extra hour's sleep as well as a part that is slightly less crowded than on a EMH day. And, you can always add park hopping during your trip if for some reason you decide you want to!