First Disney Trip

[jjfamily]

Hello. This is our first trip to Disney and I have a couple of questions. Should we go with the park hopper pass? and why or why not?

Also, if we are in the Magic Kingdom and take the children to nap, can we just back in on our previous ticket from the earlier entrance?

Where can I go to to find a list of parades/shows for Disney. We are visiting Feb. 18 - 24.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I really like the park hopping option and wouldn't do without it. If you hit a park on a crowded day or see everything you want to see early in the day, you are stuck at that park if you can't hop. And yes, you can return to that same park later in the day if you don't have the park hopping option. Go to www.disneyworld.com and click on calendar. It will list all the parade, show times, events, hours and ride closures. That will be a very busy week due to President's Day. Study these boards and learn about fastpass. I will also suggest Tourguide Mike. www.tourguidemike.com I use it everytime and its the best $20 you will spend. He will tell you how to maximize your vacation without waiting in too long lines. The unofficial Guide is a good book to buy. With those crowds, you need a gameplan. If you have some kind of plan you can have a great time. We went the week between Christmas and New Years, the most crowded week of the year and with using Tourguide Mike, never waited in long lines and had a ball. The good news too is that during crowded times they have nice long park hours. You will have a ball I am sure!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

As far as tickets my advice would be to buy the base ticket and then add onto it there when you see how it works for you. This is what we did. We had sort of planned on adding hopping but realized that concentrating on one park worked better for us. We had also thought about adding the water parks but on the day we had planned on going we changed our minds and drove to the beach. So if you go to MK the first day and by midday are thinking "we have the energy to do Epcot today too" you can always add the hopping.

As to the ticket, yes you can reenter the same park on the same day after a nap or break without a problem.

I thought tourguidemike.com was a great way to learn all about parades and shows, and very worth the money we spent on it.

 

[disneyaggie]

First of all -- how exciting! I hope you all have a magical time!

I always get a park hopper pass. But, how long will you be visiting WDW? I find that when I go for several days, the park hopper is well worth it. You can go in and out of the 4 parks as you please. Also if you did not see all of the things you wanted to see in one day, that frees you up to going back during your stay to finish up your list (or at least come close to it).

I believe (not sure) that if you buy a 1-day pass, they can stamp your hand or something to let you back in that park that day. But I am not sure on that.

The parades and show times are usually found just as you walk into one of the parks. I believe you can also get them online. Here are a couple of sites that might be of some assistance: www.allearsnet.com and www.disneyworld.com .

One thing I will advise (learned this one the hard way), it go and enjoy. Once I had so much planned that I actually came back more stressed than when I left. Not good. Have a wonderful time!

 

[raven69david]

Hello. This is our first trip to Disney and I have a couple of questions. Should we go with the park hopper pass? and why or why not?

Also, if we are in the Magic Kingdom and take the children to nap, can we just back in on our previous ticket from the earlier entrance?

Where can I go to to find a list of parades/shows for Disney. We are visiting Feb. 18 - 24.

Thanks in advance.

If you have young kids i would NOT go with the hoppers. There is too much to do at the parks and hopping may be too much for them. I had my first experience with my 15 month DD and we did not use the hopper feature. We could only visit 1 park per day.

If you have a base ticket you can go in and out of the same park all day. You can also do that with a hopper pass.

I'm sure someone will be able to post the showtimes for the days you are visiting. I'm having some browser issues otherwise i'd get them for you. Have fun on your trip.

 

[mhingher]

I am an advocate for the park hopper! It allows for more flexibility, so you can skip to another park if it gets too crowded or you did what you want to do in one park and still have time left during the day.

If you go to the MK in the am and head back to the hotel for a break, be sure to get your hands stamped at the exit. If you don't have a hopper, this will allow you to go back to the MK later in the day. If you have the hopper, you then have the option to back to the MK or any other park.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Another reason to have a hopper centers around EMH (Extra Magic Hour). Getting there early (this only applies if you are staying at a WDW resort and can take advantage of EMH) is great. You can get a lot done during the first hour or two of an EMH morning. But then the rest of the world arrives and you have all the EMH people, plus everyone else and that park becomes nasty as the day wears on. Many times, we have done morning EMH, at Magic Kingdom in particular, but then left around 11:00 and headed to another park. As we leave the EMH park and see all of those people we are glad to be leaving and going somewhere else! If you are not staying onsite than you cannot take advantage of EMH so my advice is check the WDW website, www.disneyworld.com see when EMH at the various parks is each day and avoid those parks like the plague! Go to a park that isn't having EMH. Another reason for park hopping is if you want to see nightime entertainment. Animal Kingdom doens't have any and generally closes around 5:00 p.m. So if you have gone to that park that day, once it closes at 5:00 you have no other park to enjoy and no fireworks to see unless you have the hopping option.

 

[traciedee]

I too am in the planning stages. We go in June. I have looked at all the guidebooks and the unofficial guides and the tourguide things and I have read all the posts on the forums I can find. Here is my take to date

The tourguide things all have different opinions on best days to go and not go to certain parks.

I am staying off site so I will avoid the EMH days at parks if I can.

No matter how many times I re-work a plan I learn something new and change my plan.

Go to the water parks early or go late, like at 2pm for a few hours.

Do non Disney things on weekends-they seem to be the busiest days. We'll do IOA or Busch or airboat rides.

I have also learned I won't be able to follow a plan. I know what days I want to go to certain parks, but thats about it.

I know I won't be able to stick to meal reservations so I've only made one for Fantasmic. Who knows where you will be at a certain time?

I love to plan and I love all the info I get on these boards, so I know I will go armed with knowledge....even if I don't have a plan.

As far as park hoppers, I think it just depends on you. I know we will have plenty to do if we don't have the hoppers. We can go back to the same park, hang out at the resort pool, go to Disney Quest, pleasure island, downtown disney..Besides you can always add them after you get there if you decide you need to hop...

Have a great time planning..

 

[tinknutt]

Hello. This is our first trip to Disney and I have a couple of questions. Should we go with the park hopper pass? and why or why not?

Also, if we are in the Magic Kingdom and take the children to nap, can we just back in on our previous ticket from the earlier entrance?

Where can I go to to find a list of parades/shows for Disney. We are visiting Feb. 18 - 24.

Thanks in advance.

WOW your first trip to WDW !! I like the park hopper for flexability. Are you staying in one of the resorts? How old are the children? I am a frequent flyer to Disney...went last Monday (stayed at Port Orleans), going this Monday (staying at the Wilderness Lodge), going first week of March (staying at Carribean beach), also went last Sept (and stayed at the Grand Floridian). Hope you and your family have a magical time Keep us posted And welcome to the boards!!