hopper passes vs one day pass

[ob_rnkim]

We could save close to $450 for a 5night/6day trip if we didn't buy the hopper passes. Anytime we've ever gone before we've bought the hopper, so I'm torn. Has anyone ever went just buying the one park per day ticket and felt you still got your moneys worth? What if you have dinner reservations for a place, but it's not in the park you're in that day or do you have to plan your meals more for what park you're in.

Thanks so much. Trying my very hardest to make a Sept trip happen!!!

Kim

 

[Must C Mickey]

We have never gotten the Park Hopper option and been totally fine. we spend one whole day at a park a day. we plan our meals according to that park and find that it works well. We have 2 small kids w/ us and find it easier to stay in one park all day instead of running the kids to death from one park to another. their energy level runs out fast and they get cranky if they get over tired. i really think that you'll be fine. there is sooo much to do in those parks anyways, you'll find enough to do to fill a park a day. hope it all works out for you.

 

[ilovemickeymost]

We use to always get hopper option & then never used it. We plan our meals around the parks or the other way around depending on table ressies. And if you go to a certain park & don't want to eat there you can always eat @ one of the resorts. I've found the food to be better there in many cases. And most of them take the dining plan. But, if your adults only & really want to eat a bunch of times in Epcot, but want to visit different parks you'ld need it. DD mentioned getting a fast pass for way later in the day. You could go to another park & then come back when its time. Also, if you wanted to see fireworks, a parade, or show that are only on certain days, you'ld have to work around the parks schedule.

 

[ob_rnkim]

Another question....if you don't have the hopper, but have a small kid that needs a nap, can you go back to your resort for a while, then go back later that night? Did you ever find it difficult to watch Wishes or Illuminations? Those show times are all available for pre-planning, aren't they?

Thanks!
Kim

 

[RMulieri]

I always get hoppers. Why? Because I like to spend half my day at one park and end my day at Epcot and then walk thru the IG back to my resort. I also like to be able to plan eating anywhere without being limited to x park on x day. If you do not have the hopper you have to plan your dining around which park you are inthat day or eat outside the park.

 

[ncsbracergp94]

Only thing I would say is the Park Hopper option really lets you milk the Extra Magic Hours which can help get you on more rides and if done properly, avoid a little bit of the crowds esp on friday/saturday when locals are more likely to show up. The morning magic hours and evening magic hours are always at different parks on each day.

Example, do the early morning magic hour at AK to see the animals before everyone scares them away, then go eat lunch then head to HWS and use the evening magic hours to give you more shots at Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror after Fantasmic.

 

[DisTwix]

Only thing I would say is the Park Hopper option really lets you milk the Extra Magic Hours which can help get you on more rides and if done properly, avoid a little bit of the crowds esp on friday/saturday when locals are more likely to show up. The morning magic hours and evening magic hours are always at different parks on each day.

Example, do the early morning magic hour at AK to see the animals before everyone scares them away, then go eat lunch then head to HWS and use the evening magic hours to give you more shots at Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror after Fantasmic.

I totally agree with this. I've always had hoppers, and can't think of a time when we didn't do multiple parks in a day.

What seems to happen the most to us is that we get to Epcot and Fast Track is down --- and going to be down for the rest of the day. So, the next day, we get up early, and hit Epcot first JUST TO RIDE TEST TRACK. Yes, we do this! Or if we can't get on any particular favorite ride in a park, we like to go the next day early and do just that ride.

I guess I just like the flexibility of it --- being able to go with a plan, but then change it on the fly is critical to my Disney happiness.

 

[DisBride2009]

Well you can choose either one. For example if you don't feel like being in one park for the whole day....you should use the Park Hopper. But, if you don't mind staying in one park then you can use the One-Day. But it is better to save money since the economy is so bad. When I go I have the yearly passes and I added the park hopper just in case I ever wanted to go to two park in one day. But its up to you.

 

[Disneyfan18951]

You can start without the Park Hopper and find by day 2 you really feel like hopping then add it on. Or once you work out what parks you would like to do and where your ADRs are you may find it is okay to just have a base ticket.

I agree with pp that eating at the resorts is fun and a nice break from the parks.

I love to park hop and have done all 4 parks in one day.... That being said 2 years ago I went on a trip with a friend who had to watch every penny so she didn't get the PH option for her and her daughter (I had AP) and was fine just staying at one park a day.

Hope you are able to find what works best for your family.

 

[dismagiclover]

We didn't get hoppers on our last trip and found it worked just fine. We avoided the parks with EMH because of increased crowd levels. We even took mid day breaks and went back to the parks for evening entertainment. As far as meals, we ate in the park or a nearby resort. That being said, we are getting park hoppers this trip. However, the only reason we are doing that is so I can eat dinner at Epcot and walk right back to our hotel (the Beach Club.) Unless you really want to eat dinner every night in Epcot I think the non park hoppers work great. And that's a nice chunk of change you are saving. If that is the difference between going to Disney or staying home, definitely skip the park hopper

 

[kevgraub]

I think the best advice for someone who is not sure about whether to get the park hoppers or not is to just wait. You can add the park hopper option at any time after you get down if you decide you want to hop. The cost is the same (about $50) whether you buy it ahead of time, the first day of the trip or the last day of your trip.

 

[lgjjp]

we have always gotten and used the park hoppers, however this past january we decided to save the money and not get the hopper option. It was fine. We have been so may times that we are not big planners anymore and just go with the flo for meals. We just picked someplace in the park we chose for the day to eat. If they couldnt seat us ( there were 11 of us ) we just tried someplace else. We really didnt miss the hoppers and Im not sure I will spend the money for hoppers for our next trip.

 

[absmom2]

IMO it is a personal preference as to whether you want to plan your days around one park or not. With that said, last year we choose not to buy hoppers to save money. In our case, we probably should have upgraded once there. On the day we went to HS, the rain poured down. Since we had already entered that park, we could not go to another park. Also, all our ADR's for that day were at HS. The rain never stopped so we missed the parade which my kids really wanted to see and missed Fantasmic which was on our must do list. We had to use another park day to go back to see Fantasmic. But, it also rained on the day we planned to see Wishes and we didn't have any other day not planned to visit MK again. If we would of had hoppers, we could have just went back to MK one evening to see Wishes. For our upcoming trip in October, park hoppers are not optional.....I'm not willing to take a chance of missing anything important. It is also making the planning easy when we can eat at any place we want without worrying about whether we will want to visit the park that day. Good luck in your decision!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I my self like the hopper for some odd reason we always seems to go to ecpot at least once a day even if we are at other park, haha my fiance loves ecopt!

 

[Hootch]

Another question....if you don't have the hopper, but have a small kid that needs a nap, can you go back to your resort for a while, then go back later that night? Did you ever find it difficult to watch Wishes or Illuminations? Those show times are all available for pre-planning, aren't they?

Thanks!
Kim

can return to the same park later in the day without the park hopper option.

On our last trip our daughter was almost four and my son was almost eight. We watched Wishes a couple of times on that trip. B the time we got back to the resort nd the kids had baths, it was nearly midnight. The naps every day really helped.

The event times are available. They are supposed to be available three months in advance. They were a bit delayed this past month. Go to the Disney site and click the "Theme Parks and Water Parks" link at the botom left. Choose the park you're interested in. There will be a calendar option to the left. Clicking on a day will give you the events calendar for that day.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I have gotten a PH on every trip and really thought that it was a must have for me. On our last trip, I decided to go ahead and get the base tickets and plan around it. I knew that I had the option to add the PH if I really wanted to.

We didn't miss hopping at all and actually felt like the trip was at a much slower relaxing pace without the pressure to go do everything.

The other thing was I knew it would cost $200 to add the option and the one night I really thought about adding it - I realized it wasn't worth the money!!!

 

[Kimmumum]

We always get the hopper and we always use it. We do 2 parks most days.