Is Park hopper pass needed??

[momfor4]

Hi,

I am debating if we need park hopper pass or not?!? How do you decide if it is really worth it? We will have 7 park days with 4 kids 8-4 yrs. And see going to 1 park in morning then taking break in afternoon and maybe back to that park later in evening. But we will go to each park 1 day and then can go to MK at least 2 days and maybe a 3rd if that is our choice the last day!!

How do you decide if it is worth the 240.00 extra or not?? If I don't get it now I think I can add when I get to park then that is the new price of 287.00 ANy thoughts would be great!!

 

[Junebugwv]

Since you have plenty of days to see all of the parks, I don't see why you would need to add the park-hopping option.

Quite frankly, when we did not go to WDW often, we never park-hopped or left the park during the day. We went off season and felt like it was a waste of time to leave the park and it seemed so far to go back to the resort. That was our opinion at the time.

 

[Robo]

We hop every single day, but that's just how we like our trips.

Even without a Hopper, you can leave "Park A" and return to "Park A" later that same day.

Buy without the Hopper option, then, during your trip, you can decide at any time if you want to add the HOPPER option.

Just remember, it will cost the same full amount (based on the original number of days on your tix), even if you only decide to add it with a day or two left on your tickets.

The reason to add the option would be if you get "stuck" in a too-full park and need to go to another that day, or you want to eat at a different park than you are visiting, or there's unexpected RAIN and you miss a fireworks show one night, etc. so you can try to make-up for what you missed on a different day (or days).

 

[WEDWDW]

I always have an Annual Pass which allows me to park hop.I do enjoy going to different parks on the same day.For instance,I might catch Fantasmic! and IllumiNations on the same day.I might take the monorail from Epcot to Magic Kingdom on a night when Magic Kingdom is open late and/or having Evening EMH.Also Animal Kingdom usually closes earlier than the other parks,so it is nice to be able to go to another park from there.Some days I just like to start in one park and go to a different park after an afternoon break at the resort.Having said that,in your situation,$240.00 will buy a lot of souvenirs.You will be fine without the Park Hopper option,but if you think after a day or two it would be worth it,you could always add it then.By the way,I highly endorse taking afternoon resort breaks.

 

[disfam61]

Hi,

We have always done the hopper pass. We are going for 10 days in November and even though that is plenty of time to enjoy all the parks we love the flexibility to come and go as we want. We may start in one particular park in the morning and after leaving for a swim or dinner may not want to return to the same park in the evening. We especially love Epcot World showcase in the evening and with a hopper pass can go as many nights as we want. Also, with kids it seems to satisfy everyone, no fighting about which park every day because you can do them all.

 

[Snoozan]

Our family has always used the park hopper option. We like to go to the EMH park in the AM(at least for MK), stay until right after lunch and after a couple hour break for nap/swim, head out to another park for the evening. We like the flexibility of going to another park if one feels especially busy or there's something extra we want to re-do at another park.

 

[Bev J]

We love having the hopper option. We like to go to one park in the AM, take a break, different park for the evening. Our last day we usually hit 3 parks for our favorite rides. we love to have the flexibility of going to a different park if the one were at is too crowded or we want to go have a meal at a different park than the one were at. If you look at the per day cost it's not so much and worth every penny...

Bev

 

[CDN]

I've never had a hopper pass before this trip. I found I never did leave the park in the past. This time we have the dining package (no, not the free one) and in order to make use of all of our table service meals, we needed to hop. I never would have expected that but I could not plan my ARD's around the meals. Avalibility in many restaurants was so low, it made hopping a need.

 

[Donold_Fan]

I think with kids that young, you'd be fine to not get the hopper. Like someone said, that's a lot of $$$ for souvenirs. With 7 days, you will have time/opportunity to see anything you may have missed, and odds are, your kids will want MK the most anyway. If you were there 3 or 4 days, I'd say, get the hopper, but 7, you should be fine.

That's coming from someone that has always sprung for the hopper and only used it once or twice on any of our trips (each of 7 days).

 

[Hooked_on_Mickey]

I've also debated whether or not to add the hopper option. I came to the conclusion that although we might be willing to forfeit hitting two different parks in one day, the disadvantages of not being able to hop were many.

Examples that came to my mind-

* You plan to visit Epcot (or other park) one day. Illuminations (or another evening show) gets canceled because of weather. Now you must decide whether to skip Illuminations altogether or use another days admission. With the hopper, it's not a problem.

* You would like to take advantage of EMH but want to beat feet to another park in the afternoon when the crowds are overwhelming. Again, with the hopper, not a problem.

* You want to make an ADR for a special restaurant but can only obtain one for a specific date. You now must plan everything else around that one ADR to make sure you're in that park that day, all day.

For me, I figured that the freedom was well worth the extra $$$...

HTH..

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

It just depends on how you like to tour. I know the increased cost is becoming easier for people to decide to eliminate it (though tickets are actually cheaper now then they were before MYW was introduced, because you used to have to pay for all the extra options if you wanted them or not).

For me, it's essential. I like being able to move parks freely, and especially on my solo trips I often hit three in a day.

If you've got small kids, or it's your first visit, then just concentrate on one park and you can still have a great time.

I think the biggest value in the park hopper is nighttime choices. You can spend the day at Epcot, and then see the fireworks at the MK. Or for the times Fantasmic! is cancelled due to weather, if that happens on your MGM day you can come back another night to try again even if you go to another park for the day. Or spend the day at AK and then have a nice dinner at Epcot and watch Illuminations.

But it really does just boil down to how you plan to spend your time. Some people never hop and don't miss it, and others like myself couldn't imagine being constrained without it. The best thing is you don't have to decide right away, you can always add it on during your stay if you think you'll need it enough to make it worth the cost.

NED

 

[GoldenOldie]

...
* You plan to visit Epcot (or other park) one day. Illuminations (or another evening show) gets canceled because of weather. Now you must decide whether to skip Illuminations altogether or use another days admission. With the hopper, it's not a problem...

You cannot opt to use another day's admission from a non-hopping ticket to go into another park on the same day. Park tickets are sold on a per day basis, not a per admission basis. Once you have used a day of a non hopping pass at any park, you cannot use another day off the same ticket to get into a different park.

 

[anbouk]

its not needed but if u go for like a week and u plan on going to more than one park a day (like u go to epcot then at night u visit animal kingdom or disney quest) it is worth it.
they recently went up $50 like a few weeks ago. i am getting them a week before my trip on August 30

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

We always have gotten it. I like knowing I can go to a different park the same day, if I want to. And, we almost always do!!

 

[wendypooh]

We are going down for 10 days in 2 weeks. We always get the hoppers. We just like being able to go where we want to go....... perhaps we are riding buzz lightyear at MK, and then DS(6) decides he wants to go over to MGM to ride star tours........... well, we can and do!!!! Plus, we like being able to be at AK for the day, then hopping over to Epcot to have dinner at LeCellier.......... there are many reasons why one gets a hopper ~ for us, it suits the way we like to tour the parks!!!

Good Luck!!

 

[wendypooh]

You cannot opt to use another day's admission from a non-hopping ticket to go into another park on the same day. Park tickets are sold on a per day basis, not a per admission basis. Once you have used a day of a non hopping pass at any park, you cannot use another day off the same ticket to get into a different park.

Correct!!!!

 

[fAnnF]

I always hop doing Park A in the morning going back to resort for a break and then Park B, but my trips are normally just 3-4 days, so with 7 days you should be fine without park hopper,

 

[Hooked_on_Mickey]

*You plan to visit Epcot (or other park) one day. Illuminations (or another evening show) gets canceled because of weather. Now you must decide whether to skip Illuminations altogether or use another days admission. With the hopper, it's not a problem...

You cannot opt to use another day's admission from a non-hopping ticket to go into another park on the same day. Park tickets are sold on a per day basis, not a per admission basis. Once you have used a day of a non hopping pass at any park, you cannot use another day off the same ticket to get into a different park.

Who said anything about getting into a different park on the same day?

I meant-- to use another days admission to get back into Epcot on a later day to watch Illuminations when you may have only wanted to spend one day at Epcot to begin with.

 

[Zoemakes5]

We have purchased hoppers each and every time we've gone since they've had them, and for each of those times we used the hopper option on a majority of the days for our trip. In fact, I searched and searched once to find two day hoppers so we could hop. Honestly, I wouldn't do it without.
I think there are just too many "what if's". What if the kids want to do different things one day? What if one of the shows is cancelled. What if you don't really care for one of the parks, or if you go to one of the parks that closes earlier, and you want to go to one of the parks that's open later?
For me, it is well worth it. And, we're a family of 5, too, so I know about the additional price of hoppers/non-hoppers for a larger family.

 

[Angela&Kayla]

I debated this issue myself, and in fact, each time I call Disney about something, I ask the CM's for their opinions. Every single one of them told me that in my case (8 full days at the parks plus 2 travel days), the hoppers would probably not be needed.

So, I had to be very careful when planning out my ADR's to correspond with a certain park for a day, but in the end, I feel my money will be better spent on something else. Anyway, I like the idea of being able to take my time to enjoy a park...maybe I won't wear out as fast this way!