Help - we're first timers!

[Nanisashi]

We have a 4yr old and 7 month old. We will be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. 5 days 4 nights. Day one hang out at resort and day 5 hang out at Downtown Disney. Plan is to do 1 day Magic Kingdom, next day Epcot, following day Animal Kingdom. Is it worth it to get the parkhopper option? Really how tiring is it to board and unboard busses with a dble stroller, would it be worth it to rent a car and drive to each theme park? We are open to any suggestions or advise.

 

[disneymom2twins]

The advantage of Park Hopping is it will allow you flexibility. Not sure when you are going, but MK is tough to do in one day, especially because your 4 year old may want to try some of the more "big kid" rides. If you are going from June - August, this is REALLY asking a lot.

Staying at POR, I would still take advantage of the bus service. This is where I stayed in October, and with a double stroller and 2 18 month olds. It can be a little tight, but not any slower than having to leave the park, get to the parking lot, load up, drive, etc. Plus, if you rent a car, you have the added expense that would be more than the hopper option.

If your 7 month old (or even your 4 year old) is having a bad day and you need to leave, you will not be able to go back.

Sometimes, it is just nice to do a day at MK, and the fireworks at EPCOT, or vice versa

 

[LglBlonde]

Interesting.... so if you do not have the Hopper - there is not a way to re-enter a park you were already at earlier?

 

[Ariel8676]

We have a 4yr old and 7 month old. We will be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. 5 days 4 nights. Day one hang out at resort and day 5 hang out at Downtown Disney. Plan is to do 1 day Magic Kingdom, next day Epcot, following day Animal Kingdom. Is it worth it to get the parkhopper option? Really how tiring is it to board and unboard busses with a dble stroller, would it be worth it to rent a car and drive to each theme park? We are open to any suggestions or advise.

I dont think the busses are a big deal...sure its tough at times, especially if its a busy time, but its really not that bad. We have been to WDW about 10-11 times in the last 6 years and my girls are now 5,4 and 1.
We usually get up and go early and get to the parks at opening, then we go back to the resort around lunch (either eat at the park then go or just eat at the resort) We can either swim (depending on when we go), or just relax for a bit. Then we head back out to the parks around dinner time..we always get a park hopper because if we do(for example) MK in the morning we can go to Epcot (or whatever park we weren't at that day ) later and eat dinner or watch Illuminations and walk around the world showcase when it isn't as hot (We go in August a lot).
You didn't mention MGM...my girls love it there PLayhouse Disney, Voyage of the little mermaid, Beauty and the beast, Pizza planet..lol
Some kind of carrer for the 7 month old would be a good thing to have...i wouldn't go to WDW without my Mei Tei or Beco(or slings ) , it is nice to have so if baby gets sleepy you can put them in there and still go on the rides and see the shows without having to worry about waking them from the stroller..and standing in line and having your hands free if another good reason..lol
Hope i've helped a bit....

** if you do not have a hopper, you can leave and go back to the same park, you just can't visit another park the same day.

 

[disneymom2twins]

Sorry If I was misleading, yes you can go bavk to the same park in the same day, but what I meant was if you lost a half a day at, for example, MK, then you are not going to be able to go back to that park if your days are alloted for other parks

 

[dfarner]

I vote yes for the hopper pass. Also, as others said, the bus system can be a little time consuming w/ strollers but not any more-so than hiking to the tram and going to a hot car.

 

[LglBlonde]

Thanks! That's what I thought!

I see your point, that if you wanted to finish up MK on another day, you could not!

We always get the hoppers!!!

 

[TheDizMom]

Yes. Buses and no car.

 

[Nanisashi]

We have a 4yr old and 7 month old. We will be staying at the Port Orleans Riverside. 5 days 4 nights. Day one hang out at resort and day 5 hang out at Downtown Disney. Plan is to do 1 day Magic Kingdom, next day Epcot, following day Animal Kingdom. Is it worth it to get the parkhopper option? Really how tiring is it to board and unboard busses with a dble stroller, would it be worth it to rent a car and drive to each theme park? We are open to any suggestions or advise.

Thanks so much for everyones advise, it sounds like we'll be doing the parkhopper! I will definitely check into the sling deal, thanks again.

 

[Ariel8676]

Thanks so much for everyones advise, it sounds like we'll be doing the parkhopper! I will definitely check into the sling deal, thanks again.

If you woud really like to look into getting some type of carrier..check out http://thebabywearer.com/ there is a ton of info there.
Pm me with any other questions you may have

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

Just wanted to note that we got Park Hoppers and never used them. So for us they were a waste of money. My children are 5 and 1.5.

Here was our itinerary, if it helps at all.
Day 1: arrival ; dinner at Chef Mickey's
Day 2: MK - rest - back to MK
Day 3: AK - rest - Downtown Disney at night
Day 4: MK - rest - BBB - character meal
Day 5: Epcot all day (did not plan on this, but DD 1.5 fell asleep in her stroller around the time we were going to leave for a rest, so we just went with it.)
Day 6: MK - rest - back to MK
Day 7: MGM - headed back midday to catch flight

 

[mom2aredhead]

My DS is 3 - we did not get the hoppers last time and it worked out fine BUT we went to MNSSHP twice and Mickey's Backyard BBQ once, so that accounted for a lot of our evening entertainment.
We planned the other park days around the evening EMH - went to that park in the morning, maybe back to the resort, maybe not, and stayed at that park for at least part of the pm EMH.
We were there in Oct, and looking at the park hours (and the nights we already had planned at MNSSHP and BBQ) I really didn't see us getting to more than 1 park in a day.
This trip I may do it only because there is nothing going on at night that requires an additional ticket, so MK is open a lot later every evening. It is possible we may, for example, go to MGM during the day then to MK at night for parade/fireworks.
It's about $120 for us to add the hoppers to the base tix - I'm still on the fence. Either way, I would try to add MGM into your itinerary somewhere - your kids will probably like the Playhouse Disney and Little Mermaid shows.

 

[NU2WDW]

Why not start with the base ticket, then decide when you get there if you will need to park hop? You can always upgrade (as I understand it), so if you decide after a day or so that 1 park a day isn't cutting it, you can add on.

That's our plan, anyway.