Going with two children two and under - should we park hop?

[1rockinmamato2]

Back in the day when my parents took me to DW, we went to one park a day and that was IT! (I don't even know if we had the option to hop back then).

We're planning our first trip with children and I'm working if it will be worth our money to buy the park hopper passes? We're only getting three day passes because we're only planning on doing AK, MK, and maybe EP. Then, we're doing a day at SeaWorld.

I just keep thinking we should plan for the unexpected and what if we finish AK early, then we could hop over to EP for a few. BAHH!!! I'm going crazy with the trip planning!

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[beattyfamily]

Since you are only going for 3 days, yes I'd get the park hoppers (well, I'm a big fan of them and would get them no matter what!).

What we do is we do a park early and leave when it gets busy or when we're tired between 12:00p and 2:00p and then we take a break and nap or swim or eat. Then we head to a different park in the PM.

It's great to have in case the park you enter is super crowded. You can leave and head elsewhere.

You can do AK in half a day so I like being able to go elsewhere in the evening.

It's also great to have if you want to do something you missed or a family favorite.

Some aren't a fan of the hoppers with little ones claiming it takes more time but I disagree. I've hopped since my youngest DD was 1 year old. When they are that young you'll probably need a break anyway so you go take a break after being in MK and then in the PM head to MGM for Fantasmic. No extra time wasted.

Anyway, good luck deciding.

 

[emmismom05]

We just got back with our 2 year old for the first time and we got the park hopper option but we never used it! As far as AK goes, the plan was to head there in the morning, then in the PM we had ADRs in Epcot. However, by the time we were done with AK we were so exhausted we just went back to our condo (we stayed off-site). I must say, AK is awesome! We stayed until closing and we didn't even get to do everything we wanted. With us staying off-site, we did not go back midday for a rest so we just plowed through. It was plenty for us doing one park a day, however, everyone's different and park hopping works great for some!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I totally agree with beattyfamily. Our family could not do without the option of hopping.

You can always get there your first day and see how that goes...if things are going well and you want to hop, you can just hit guest services and upgrades your tickets. On the other hand, if things are pretty hairy on day 1, you just keep your tickets as they are and lose nothing. It really doesn't take more than 5 minutes to upgrade your tickets...we did it when we had extended family with us on a grand gathering last year and some famiy members weren't sure about the whole hopper thing. Everyone came around on our first day and wound up changing.

 

[dougsmom98]

On our first few trips we did not park hop. The kids were 4, 2, 2 and we were exhausted. Not only will the kids be tired, but you will likely be physically exhausted as well. When our kids were that age, we had to hold them a lot while standing in line, so if we finished a park early we were happy to go back to the hotel and swim or go to bed early. Even now, we do not park hop a lot. The only reason we park hop now is to go see a night show.

 

[ekball]

Me?? Would I buy the park hoppers??? Nope. I would not park hop with 2 little ones under 2. We bought park hoppers last year when we went with our 1 year old and our almost 3 year old....we hopped one day and it was pretty much a disaster. Not worth the money or the effort to hop with the little ones.
We are going again this Sept. and the only ones who will be hopping will be DH and I (with leftover hoppers - we have each planned 1 night where we will leave the hotel after kiddos are asleep and hit a park alone....other parent stays with the kiddos of course ). No hopping with the kids for us.
Anyway, I just would not attempt to hop around with the little ones....it's just too much! I always tell people when reading similar posts....Disney isn't going anywhere! Save some things for your next trip. Keep the kids from being overly exhausted and you'll have happy kiddos. Happy kiddos = happy parents! Save the hopping for when they are older. JMHO.

Oh and HAVE FUN!!!!!

 

[Ellester]

You can always get there your first day and see how that goes...if things are going well and you want to hop, you can just hit guest services and upgrades your tickets. On the other hand, if things are pretty hairy on day 1, you just keep your tickets as they are and lose nothing. It really doesn't take more than 5 minutes to upgrade your tickets...we did it when we had extended family with us on a grand gathering last year and some famiy members weren't sure about the whole hopper thing. Everyone came around on our first day and wound up changing.

This is a great idea! Personally, we are non-hoppers. It just eats too much of our day. We also don't go back to the room. The kids have always just napped in the stroller. Maybe when our kids get older, but when they are little it is always such a production to change parks. Unload the stroller, load the stroller on the bus (which I'm guessing in your case will be a double), reload the stroller, run the diaper bag through security again, etc.

I think it also depends on the time of the year. In the summer the parks are open much later so going back to the room is a more feasible option. When we were there in January, it didn't make much sense. The parks were all closed by 9pm, at the very latest (other than Magic Hours, which are way too busy in my opinion). Anyway, that's just my two cents. Have fun planning! Your babies will have a great time!

 

[tanyaandallie]

Plan your days out and see if you need the hopper or not. We had the hopper for our trip in the fall and it worked out well. We were there longer and would usually spend the morning in one park, go back to the hotel and nap and then go out for the evening (usually to a different park). We are going again this month (leave on Saturday!!!) and are not hopping. We are only there for 2 days and adding on the extra cost of the hopper is just not worth it. We are only doing 2 parks. I have planned out both days and decided we don't need the hopper this time.

 

[vbarry]

I have to agree that I would not get the hoppers with 2 small children. One park is enough for the day and then you can enjoy your resort and have a little down time. If you get to WDW and everything is going good-you can always add the hopper option.

 

[SnowWitch]

We have aways park hopped. We like the ability to leave a park if it is packed and head to another option. Our boys are now 17 and 14, now Disney veterans by anyones standards. Our girls are a newly turned 2 and 5 months. This is the 2 yr olds third trip and the baby's 1st. We like being able to change plans if we need to but we always go back to the resort for 3-5 hours for pool and naps!