Is Park Hopper for a first time group necessary?

[DreamsNPurple]

We are first timers and taking my 3 teens with us. We are trying to figure out if we really need the park hopper option. I have read the pros and cons, etc but am still not sure why we would need them. We are staying off site. We have a 7 day vacation planned with 2-3 days planned for Harry Potter/Universal Attractions. Other days are all Disney. We are going in June. What would you do?

 

[Starclassic]

I think it's personal preference really. I have a friend who swears by PH and won't do Disney without it. I've been 3 times...never got it and never felt like I missed anything because of it.

 

[snayak]

It depends how much the extra $ affects your budget. We won't go now without them - if one park is packed we can just hop to another, or grab dinner or grab ice cream from somewhere in the World Showcase after a day of touring animal kingdom (need a ticket to get into Epcot). Our style is to hit one park at RD, then head back to the hotel to relax around 2pm and then head back out somewhere else for dinner & fireworks.

if you've never gone, you won't know what it's like to go from park to park but for an extra ~$70/ticket for a 4-day ticket we do it every time (and those are disney prices, might be less from UT). We're just 2 people so it adds up quick for a family of 5+, I totally get that!

 

[Southernmiss]

You can add park hoppers after you get there if you want them. Our family of teens and older prefers to have hoppers.

 

[IrishNYC]

You can add park hoppers after you get there if you want them. Our family of teens and older prefers to have hoppers.

This is what we will do on future trips. Out last trip we got hoppers, but could have gone without. DH and I had dreams of wandering F&G at Epcot every night. Our 5 year old had different plans - to sleep. For our next trip we are planning 5 days, one park per day for 4 days, and 1 party night with a laid back day at the resort. If we really feel the need to hop, we'll add it on when we're there.

 

[annemce118]

Since it is your first time there I don't think you need park hoppers. Since I stay at a Disney resort and have been to the parks many times before, I like to do one park in the morning and another in the evening with a break in between . Have a great time!!

 

[Delirium]

I would give them more consideration with teenagers than with younger kids, simply because to gain maximum benefit from a hopper, you need to be able to stay up late.

 

[Shelbizzles]

It depends how much the extra $ affects your budget. We won't go now without them - if one park is packed we can just hop to another, or grab dinner or grab ice cream from somewhere in the World Showcase after a day of touring animal kingdom (need a ticket to get into Epcot). Our style is to hit one park at RD, then head back to the hotel to relax around 2pm and then head back out somewhere else for dinner & fireworks.

if you've never gone, you won't know what it's like to go from park to park but for an extra ~$70/ticket for a 4-day ticket we do it every time (and those are disney prices, might be less from UT). We're just 2 people so it adds up quick for a family of 5+, I totally get that!

This is basically exactly what I was gonna say. Lol. My husband and I would not go without them but we don't have any kids. I think it's less beneficial when you have young children because most can't stay up late.
Sometimes we even will take a quick nap in the afternoon if there's a park open really late. Lol.

 

[Keyser]

We found we hardly ever wanted hoppers. But, that was also in the old fastpass days, when you could "collect" FPs for rides during the day, and use them at night - that only worked in the same park. For our upcoming trip, we again decided to go without them. It's really tough to see why we'd get a significant advantage to use them. I can imagine being able to use them, but can't see where it's any significant advantage, and I can think of a lot better ways to use that $70/person.

The "best" use I've heard of for hoppers is to be able to go to one park to take advantage of Early Entry, then switch to another less crowded one mid-morning. But, if you are offsite, that's not really an option, either.

 

[joannamet]

It depends on how you do the parks. When our morning park gets hot and busy, we like to hop. We usually go to Epcot in the afternoon. World Showcase is a relaxing place to stroll and snack. With teenagers, however, you won't be doing much of that. If your teens like to sleep a little late and then stay in the park until close you probably don't need to spend money on hoppers.

You'll have a great time regardless.

 

[SirMickey]

We never use PH when we visit the parks - not because we don't see the value in them but rather because we just prefer to immerse ourselves in a given park on a give day. We'll focus on attractions, shopping, restaurants, parades, etc. until we are satisfied that we got our money's worth and then some at one park. Then, we move on to the next one the following day to repeat the process. Good luck with whatever you choose to do! Have fun!

 

[Fuhnuh]

We always get park hoppers, but also almost always stay at a resort close to Epcot or MK. Sometimes we do a split including AKL. We like being able to head to the close park at night after a morning at another park. I don't think we would be as likely to use PHs if we were staying offsite or at a resort that where we couldn't walk/boat/monorail to a park.

 

[dancemonkey]

I'm not sure you'll need them being off property. For me we usually do two parks sometimes 3 but we always stay at a Disney resort.

 

[bbjunkie]

We always have Park Hoppers, but we stay on property. As teachers and with a school-aged child, we travel in the summer, so it is always part of our plan to take a long swim and relax break in the heat of the day. We typically go to the EMH park in the morning, and hop to the EMH park or MK open late in the evening. I know conventional wisdom says to avoid crowds and EMH parks, but in our experience rope drop until lunch and 7:00pm until close gives us the maximum amount of quality park time with shorter waits. But, there are only three of us, so it isn't as expensive.

 

[Zoesmama03]

I witnessed a British man in Epcot asking someone what's up with the band that everyone is wearing around their wrists. Hello MagicBand!

Been as a 10 year old first time but don't remember and probably only did MK anyway. But in my teens my dad took us and we did all the parks but spent entire day at one park. I'll say the only time I park hopped EVER was when I was a castmember and had my free admission. Even that was just the once I believe hoped from MGM to to Epcot I think but may be even miss remember. Yeah I know how could I possibly do that? hehe LOL

 

[Accident]

There are many good reasons to hop and just as many great reasons to not hop. Sometimes it comes down to what is happening on the trip. As first timers, you don't know what you'll like or dislike or want to do to make a choice..

My recommendation that I give all my friends and family is do not buy them. Put aside the cost difference in a budget and wait until your there. If you need to hop parks, it's the same exact cost to upgrade at the ticket window and takes just a few extra minutes of your time.. If you don't need to hop parks you just saved a lot of money. If you don't hop parks you just saved money.

Also something overlooked, if you upgrade the tickets at the park everyone can have different tickets. If the teens really hate a park and you want them to hop. You can add it on for just them and let them go off on their own. In advance, everyone needs to have hoppers to order them... Maybe you end up not getting everyone hoppers and save some money.

 

[aretha30]

There are many good reasons to hop and just as many great reasons to not hop. Sometimes it comes down to what is happening on the trip. As first timers, you don't know what you'll like or dislike or want to do to make a choice..

My recommendation that I give all my friends and family is do not buy them. Put aside the cost difference in a budget and wait until your there. If you need to hop parks, it's the same exact cost to upgrade at the ticket window and takes just a few extra minutes of your time.. If you don't need to hop parks you just saved a lot of money. If you don't hop parks you just saved money.

Also something overlooked, if you upgrade the tickets at the park everyone can have different tickets. If the teens really hate a park and you want them to hop. You can add it on for just them and let them go off on their own. In advance, everyone needs to have hoppers to order them... Maybe you end up not getting everyone hoppers and save some money.

This is great advice. You don't know yet if you will want or need them, having the money set aside so you don't have to come up with it later will keep you from having to blow your budget.
We love having hoppers, they work for our family. We stay on property, take naps/breaks daily, and like to switch parks from the one we RD in the morning. This might not work for your family since you're staying off property. Whatever you decide I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

[Nancyg56]

I would not add them now unless your plans look like you want to be in more than one park a day. We used to have them because they were added to the discounts we used in January, but I did not always pay for them. We would add and pay for hoppers if our preplanning took us into two different parks more than one time. I agree that if you do nto have more than one park a day already in your plans, wait till you get to Disney and see what you need.

 

[LovePug]

My recommendation that I give all my friends and family is do not buy them. Put aside the cost difference in a budget and wait until your there. If you need to hop parks, it's the same exact cost to upgrade at the ticket window and takes just a few extra minutes of your time.. If you don't need to hop parks you just saved a lot of money.

Exactly. Totally agree. Do not buy them up front and, if you find you want them while there, just add them on at that time.

 

[cjparker0110]

We are first timers and taking my 3 teens with us. We are trying to figure out if we really need the park hopper option. I have read the pros and cons, etc but am still not sure why we would need them. We are staying off site. We have a 7 day vacation planned with 2-3 days planned for Harry Potter/Universal Attractions. Other days are all Disney. We are going in June. What would you do?

As a first time group I would probably not bother. Everything is going to be so new and overwhelming that you won't feel like you need to hop around. We always had the ability to hop parks as far as I can remember. I did it a lot as a teen...and I wished I hadn't. All of my hopping cost a lot of time between leaving a park, waiting for a bus or monorail, going through the entrance of the next park, and then trying to get to whatever attraction I needed to do so badly. I could have easily just stayed in one park all day. I think for newbies who have never been that you will find yourself wishing you hadn't. Good luck!