First time visit: Park Hopper or not??

[Genie-In-Training]

I agree with the previous comments. It completely depends on your family and their preferences. Personally, I love park hopping. I enjoy the flexibility and options it gives me (I also might have a short attention span). However, I have friends who love to do one park a day and immerse themselves in the atmosphere and little details that make each park unique. There is no wrong answer. It's whatever speaks to you.

 

[figmentfinesse]

I’d say with that amount of time, do the parkhoppers! Especially since you’re already planning a midday break. It’s amazing to spend your morning one place and your afternoon elsewhere based on whatever suits your fancy. Since it’s your first time you have no idea what will be your favorite or how much time something will actually take. This lets you hit all your newfound favorites.

 

[finedice]

I also think that unless it's a stretch, definitely get hoppers. In June, you might want to hit a water park too - so consider that option as well! We generally rent a car, which definitely lessens time between places (with the exception of MK). We love to feel like we have the freedom to go anywhere/anytime. I also don't usually buy less days of tickets - even if I plan a down day. Sometimes a down day can be sleeping in, having some pool time, having lunch, heading to a park just to see some shows or a couple of quick rides, dinner and a show. I also second the nomination of Epcot as a food destination (second only to a few select resort restaurants and several at Disney Springs). You don't have that option if AK was your only park that day.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I personally would do hoppers.

The 2 times that we did not get hoppers in advance, we added the hopper after we arrived (which is an option - just know that you have to pay for hoppers for every day of your ticket even if you don’t add it until the middle of your trip.)

We like the hoppers for the last minute flexibility. It actually makes planning less stressful for me because I don’t have to commit to just one park.

It is really personal preference and hard to say what will work for you. We never make plans in advance to hop. We like to book our 3 FP in the morning. Most ADRs we do are breakfast or lunch. Everything from early afternoon on is pretty much tbd unless we have a dinner ADR somewhere. Maybe we’ll stay where we are, maybe we’ll go somewhere else. We love having the ability to book 4th/5th FP in another park if we feel like it. Some nights we just want to go to Epcot and walk around World Showcase, or maybe we’ll hop to MK just to catch Happily Ever After. Even if we don’t hop every day (we don’t) we have found that having the option is important to us.

I actually like the hopper because I feel less committed to just one park. But, we are also a group who likes to wing it and doesn’t plan every minute out. On a first trip, I think it’s valuable so you have the option to go back and do things you found you really liked.

I think the hopper can provide more flexibility rather than more stressful planning, but that’s my opinion.

 

[YesterDark]

I never understood hoppers. Getting around on property, while easy, takes time. Unless you plan on doing something like MK in the morning resort lunch/pool and then night time somewhere else, it's not worth it.

Unless you're a family that likes to hussle and spend the 1-2 hours getting from one park to another.

(1-2 hours is basically, exiting the park, going to the bus, waiting for the bus, riding the bus AKL to MK can be like a 15-20 ride, getting off the bus, walking into the next park)

 

[DGsAtBLT]

For a long trip, I’m team hoppers.

We love having the option to go to a different park in the evening after dinner, the option to go to EMH but not spend the day at that park, and the option to leave if we’re just not feeling a park that day. Also with ROTR the way it is, hoppers are looking like an even better option at DHS.

Normally I would say don’t waste time with hoppers as a first timer, but with enough time to hit up each park twice I think a first timer can find value in that.

 

[YesterDark]

For a long trip, I’m team hoppers.

We love having the option to go to a different park in the evening after dinner, the option to go to EMH but not spend the day at that park, and the option to leave if we’re just not feeling a park that day. Also with ROTR the way it is, hoppers are looking like an even better option at DHS.

Normally I would say don’t waste time with hoppers as a first timer, but with enough time to hit up each park twice I think a first timer can find value in that.

That's a good point, Depends on how late you stay up and how late some of the parks are open during your stay.

 

[Beer Me]

I always get park hoppers. It makes planning easier as you can split the days up - so typically I plan the park where we start each day and book fast passes there. But late afternoons and evenings can be whatever. So you can make a dinner reservation anywhere without worrying about which park you will be in. We also jump around to see nighttime shows sometimes.

Basically with park hoppers you don’t have to line up your whole schedule around which park you will be in each day.

 

[Park Pirate]

I agree with virtually everyone else that it is just personnel preference. And, hopping is something you can always add once you get there. It does add cost, so that is certainly a consideration. However, I cannot imagine our family going without the option. These are the main reasons we like them:

• Unless you plan on staying at a park all day, with no midday rest, then you will be spending the time on transportation anyway. And in June, in Florida, it would be difficult to go morning to night everyday without a midday break of some sort. If you are leaving the park after the morning, it is nice to have the flexibility of heading elsewhere for the night. Perhaps you want to eat at a restaurant in EPCOT, but do not want to spend the whole day there. Some parks are better than others for food options.
• Crowds: Sometimes you will head to a park and it seems like everyone has picked that park for the day. We have found that we can check the My Disney App. (there are others too) and get a good idea if one of the parks is less crowded than usual (or expected). We have had success jumping over to a different park to somewhat avoid crowds.
• Weather: The weather can have a huge impact on the parks. Expect frequent downpours at that time of year. This will affect ride closures and crowd patterns. Some parks are better in the rain than others. And, if the rain really bothers you, your family may want to simply leave the parks and do an indoor activity. It is nice to have the flexibility to change.
• This is really a personal issue for my family, but I absolutely hate the thought of waiting until Day 4 (the middle of the vacation) to see a park that I have been thinking about all year. Likewise, I hate the thought of leaving a park on Day 5 (again, midway through the vacation) knowing that I will not be back. That may sound strange or silly, but it is important to us.

Those are just our preferences, but like many other things with Disney, it is a simple trade-off of more money vs. convenience.

 

[Miffy]

• Crowds: Sometimes you will head to a park and it seems like everyone has picked that park for the day. We have found that we can check the My Disney App. (there are others too) and get a good idea if one of the parks is less crowded than usual (or expected). We have had success jumping over to a different park to somewhat avoid crowds.
• Weather: The weather can have a huge impact on the parks. Expect frequent downpours at that time of year. This will affect ride closures and crowd patterns. Some parks are better in the rain than others. And, if the rain really bothers you, your family may want to simply leave the parks and do an indoor activity. It is nice to have the flexibility to change.
• This is really a personal issue for my family, but I absolutely hate the thought of waiting until Day 4 (the middle of the vacation) to see a park that I have been thinking about all year. Likewise, I hate the thought of leaving a park on Day 5 (again, midway through the vacation) knowing that I will not be back. That may sound strange or silly, but it is important to us.

I agree with all of these, especially the crowds. I've gone to MK in the morning, used all my FP+s, maybe even gotten a couple more FP+s, then fled when the crowds became unbearable to me. Hopped over to another park, breathed a sigh of relief, and had a great time.

I'm an always-hoppers fan. Love the flexibility. But you can just buy regular tickets and then, while you're there, add on the hopper option. It's not a big deal, although the lines at Guest Relations can sometimes be daunting, depending on what park you're in and what time of day/day of the week it is.

 

[chris benton]

IMO, if you are on the fence about getting hoppers, you shouldn't get hoppers unless you know what you'll use them for.
That said, I always get hoppers, but I plan our days ahead of time, and I know what I will be using the hoppers for. I normally rope drop one park, then hit a diff park late afternoon for a relaxed "tour" and nighttime shows/fireworks. I also think staying at a resort that is close to a park REALLY lends to hopping. Epcot Area resorts are pretty fantastic for hopping. They negate the whole "travel time" issue.

SO, I'd say if you just want hoppers to have them for flexibility, then that's fine for you.

I'd get hoppers and plan out exactly what I am going to do with them..

 

[mkla2015]

Get the hoppers. We always get hoppers and have NEVER regretted it. Our normal day is- go to one park early, use 3 FP, take a midday break, go to a different park at night. I just like having the ability to switch parks if I want to.

 

[m3000]

I say go for the hoppers. They're not that much more, and since it's a long trip the kids and you will likely want to revisit your favorite rides at the end without having to be stuck with a whole day in a single park. And since you're already planning on heading back to your rooms in the middle of the day (which is smart for June!), the extra transportation time is a wash.

Also I'd suggest buying enough days for your whole trip. Adding a day or two is only like $10 and you can take advantage of the extra Fastpasses on those days to ride some of the major rides, even if you're only in a park for a few hours that day.

 

[Jonfw2]

I say yes to park hoppers. They will give you the flexibility to schedule a dinner or evening event in a park other than the one you've spent the day. This will add a lot of ease to your scheduling.

 

[IluvMGM]

We always do park hoppers. I like the flexibility of being able to go wherever we want whenever we want. If a park seems super crowded and we want to go somewhere else, we can.

 

[Tormania]

On our two previous trips we got park hoppers and will do so again this year. Back in 2013 we may have only used it once or twice, but in 2017 we utilized it more, especially for more dining over in Epcot after a day in the park someplace else, just gave us more options. Also we went in Dec and we did MK on non-MVMCP nights so with the early close at MK we could hop someplace else for a few hours to finish the night.

 

[Crusader10hky]

We get the Park Hopper every visit unless its a 2-3 day quick stop. Our first visit was about 5 days and we were very happy to have the hopper. Since then, we have gotten better at using/planning with the hopper. We usually hit 1 park hard for the first couple days maybe, but after that the freedom is key. I've had several days where we plan only 1 park, but when the family is worn out we head back to the resort. Then, my oldest daughter and I catch our second wind and go out to the park with the lowest waits and crush a bunch of favorite rides without the crowds. Totally worth it IMO

 

[angryfigments]

Personally, I love park hoppers. I get them pretty much every extended trip I go on. With how many days you have you could easily just do single park days, but with the midday break you're not missing any time in the parks that isn't already in your itinerary. On my longer trips, I make sure to see the night time shows at each park then always park hop back to my favorites on the remaining nights. As for crowds, park hopping has its benefit in that if it gets crazy at MK then you could jump over to the park the app is showing less wait times for. However, if you and your family don't think you'd park hop at least half your days then I don't think it'd be something you necessarily need.

 

[BobbyDukes]

I agree with some people here that with those many days at the parks the Hopper is not worth it. If you are a super doper planner though park hopping adds a little element to your planning.

 

[Delilah1310]

Considering the kiddos in the mix, too, the park hoppers can be great when their priority is a certain ride in another park.