How do you take advantage of Hopper passes?

[corinne76]

Last visit we had a 5-day non hopper. We did 2 days at each park, then an additional half day at DL after visiting a smaller attraction during the day.

I'm wondering if it's worth the extra cost (for 2 adults an 2 kids) to get hoppers the next trip.

Thanks!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Last visit we had a 5-day non hopper. We did 2 days at each park, then an additional half day at DL after visiting a smaller attraction during the day.

I'm wondering if it's worth the extra cost (for 2 adults an 2 kids) to get hoppers the next trip.

Thanks!

Normally I would say absolutely. Our family hops almost everyday on trips and especially toward the end as we re-do our favorites. However, because you've already done it non hopper I would consider a couple things. 1) When were you last a DL? Was DCA completed (ie Radiator Springs Racers/Carsland)? Prior to this DCA was a one day park for us, but now we love to visit a few times a trip. 2) Was having non-hopping tickets an annoyance or disappointment to you? If it didn't really bother you then save the money for four people and stick to how you would normally divvy up the parks.

Also we like the freedom of being able to visit DCA and eat in DL, our fam just doesn't care for much of the food in DCA so park-hopping is absolutely invaluable to us.

 

[corinne76]

Normally I would say absolutely. Our family hops almost everyday on trips and especially toward the end as we re-do our favorites. However, because you've already done it non hopper I would consider a couple things. 1) When were you last a DL? Was DCA completed (ie Radiator Springs Racers/Carsland)? Prior to this DCA was a one day park for us, but now we love to visit a few times a trip. 2) Was having non-hopping tickets an annoyance or disappointment to you? If it didn't really bother you then save the money for four people and stick to how you would normally divvy up the parks.

Also we like the freedom of being able to visit DCA and eat in DL, our fam just doesn't care for much of the food in DCA so park-hopping is absolutely invaluable to us.

Last visit was June 2013, so not super long ago. I didn't really feel the need to hop, but then again I've never done it before so IDK if I'm missing anything KWIM?

Just wondering how others take advantage of the perk to see if we'd use it

As far as the food thing, my kids are so not food driven that they don't care where they eat really. They were good at the pizza place and the stir fry place in DCA. oh and flos.

 

[PigletSeeker]

I wouldn't think so, since you have plenty of time to explore each park over 5 days. We always get hoppers, but our trips are usually just 2 days, so we have to pack as much as we can in those days.

 

[SFMommy]

We are going to try NOT hopping this next trip. We are going to do DL, DCA, DL with a 3-day non park hopper ticket. We will save over $100. We used to always get hoppers and found that we didn't really hop too much. And now with Fastpass times being enforced, we will be more likely to stay in the same park all day. The only bummer will be if we miss something at DCA on our 1 day there. But if we change our minds, we can upgrade to a hopper ticket on our last day. I think we'll be fine not hopping, but we will see!

 

[superlarz]

Last visit was June 2013, so not super long ago. I didn't really feel the need to hop, but then again I've never done it before so IDK if I'm missing anything KWIM?

Just wondering how others take advantage of the perk to see if we'd use it

As far as the food thing, my kids are so not food driven that they don't care where they eat really. They were good at the pizza place and the stir fry place in DCA. oh and flos.

Hoppers are good for short trips. Really, it adds a lot of extra walking. They are convenient if one park is crowded and another park is not. I would just get the one park tickets, you can always upgrade later if you change your mind.

 

[rentayenta]

We weren't going to hop but because our trip is 5 days, we are opting for park hoppers.

I would say the cost is worth it when you've got multiple days OP. Our last few trips were each 2 days and then one single day. Not hopping was awesome!

 

[corinne76]

I wouldn't think so, since you have plenty of time to explore each park over 5 days. We always get hoppers, but our trips are usually just 2 days, so we have to pack as much as we can in those days.

Thanks! that was what I was thinking. We will definitely be going 2 days each, not sure what to do with the last day. If we do go in Oct 2015, I may do DCA with the 5th day in the morn, and MHP at night.

We are going to try NOT hopping this next trip. We are going to do DL, DCA, DL with a 3-day non park hopper ticket. We will save over $100. We used to always get hoppers and found that we didn't really hop too much. And now with Fastpass times being enforced, we will be more likely to stay in the same park all day. The only bummer will be if we miss something at DCA on our 1 day there. But if we change our minds, we can upgrade to a hopper ticket on our last day. I think we'll be fine not hopping, but we will see!

Good luck! I'm sure you will be fine!

Hoppers are good for short trips. Really, it adds a lot of extra walking. They are convenient if one park is crowded and another park is not. I would just get the one park tickets, you can always upgrade later if you change your mind.

I didn't think about the walking, that is a lot of extra walking.

 

[awdsmama]

I love the flexibility it adds, so even with 5 days I still choose the Park Hopper.

That way, if I'm in DL but decide we reallllly want to go to WOC that night, we can. Or vice versa if in DCA and we want to watch F!, it's not a problem!

 

[whoever]

We only use hoppers and will usually hit three admissions per day

 

[mominstl]

We always hop too. The flexibility is worth the extra cost to me.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

We've always hopped... usually looks something like this... Park A that is having EMH from EMH till lunch, then nap time, then Park B from end of nap on... if EMH is crazy early like 7 am, we've been known to do Park A from 7-10, Park B from 10-1, then nap...

 

[goooof1]

Another hopper here! we always do.....as pps have stated, the flexibility is what makes it worth it. We look at the parks as one big park, so it is back and forth at our leisure and desire!

 

[rentayenta]

I told my son we were most likely going to hop on this next trip and he told me we waste something like 240 minutes a day by hopping. He likes math.

 

[wenrob]

We always get hoppers. We are the type that will not only hop but walk across parks multiple times in just a couple of hours, we don't mind the extra steps. That said, this last trip we tended to hit one park one day and the other the next. Not really a plan just kind of happened. However, there was one day where we were in DCA and everything was down every time you turned around. So we headed over to DL and then back to DCA at the end of the night to finally get our ride on RSR. Situations like that or as someone else mentioned higher crowds in one park over the other is what makes hoppers essential for us. I like the freedom of just being able to switch when the mood strikes but if you've never toured that way and what you've been doing works for you I really don't see a real need. As mentioned up thread you can always upgrade if you run across an issue.

 

[whoever]

We like to swing through DCA on our way back to the Grand when coming from DL, so Having hoppers helps there. We move around a lot, and quickly. I challenge anybody to say you are wasting time by hopping because the parks are so close together its a 600' walk between then. When attractions go down, crowd levels spike, you get a whim, you can do what you want. Its totally worth the cost for someone who likes flexibility. I think the reason most people who don't like DL dislike it is lack of getting hoppers. When the park gets packed or attractions are down, they are just stuck. With a hopper you have options.

 

[JandD75]

I told my son we were most likely going to hop on this next trip and he told me we waste something like 240 minutes a day by hopping. He likes math.

Your son sounds like a great kid! Concerned about wasting money and time!

My family and I have always hopped, too, but, after our last 5 day trip, my DD pointed out, "You and Dad hardly park hopped at all, and only on the first two days." (Dad and I are 60+.) We are seriously considering getting non-hoppers next time, especially since there is decent nighttime entertainment at DCA now. If non-hoppers work for your family, then save your money. If you're going to feel deprived at not being able to go back and forth, then buy hopper passes and economize somewhere else. Either way, hope you have a great time!

 

[algae]

We always get hoppers when we are there for more than 1 day. Usually it's so we can go to DL for a few hours after DCA closes.

Since we are DVC now, a smaller benefit is being able to grab a FP for something at DCA on the way from VGC to DL and then head back over to DCA for the FP later.

 

[ehrawn]

I told my son we were most likely going to hop on this next trip and he told me we waste something like 240 minutes a day by hopping. He likes math.

haha. You're son is awesome.

Old habbits are hard to break for me. We don't hop very much, but the ticket allows us to spend half of a day at DCA without feeling like we've wasted money. For my family with two young kids, I found it hard to fill a day with the attraction offerings there. You can also extend your day at DCA since it normally has a shorter open time, by heading back to DL in the evening. Especially in the "off season," the added flexibility to change your plans might be necessary with ride closures, lower capacity operating posture and limited hours.

That being said, our last 3 day, we spend 1 morning and 1 evening in DCA- on different dates but they could have easily been all on the same with different scheduling.

 

[tarheelalum]

I say go with the hoppers every time. Having the hoppers gives you a great deal of flexibility that you need when rides break down or one park gets too crowded. Also we use it to get fast passes in both parks at the same time to save time. We always go to both parks every day we are at DL. Not being able to hop would really bother us if the rides at DL we wanted to go on all of a sudden went down and we could not leave to go to DCA.