Is Park Hopper really worth it??

[DznyLvr2005]

Park hopping isn't even a question.. We 'hop' every day when we're in Disney, it makes it so much better (for us)
We usually do MK in the AM, Epcot for dinner, it's great. I wouldn't have it any other way

 

[mysparky]

I was one of the "never without hoppers!" kind of planner, but we are foregoing them this year because there are 7 of us and I'd rather use the money towards the waterparks plus option (we're going in August).

I would suggest, however, that you spend the $20 to sign up with TourGuideMike. These boards are terrific, but you will learn tons of information that will help you maximize your time in the parks without having the park hopper. His "Least Crowded Parks" chart will be very helpful in planning where you want to be.

I say that before you make any decision, purchase a subscription to Tour Guide Mike and figure out if you can make it happen without the hopper. It will seriously be money very well spent.

 

[bobbiwoz]

December '05 we had friends as guests in our DVC villa for 3 nights. They did not have park hoppers, but we did buy tickets to MVMCP, and it worked fine. They had never been to WDW, so we started off with the Princess Dinner at GF, went to MK for the party. One day at MGM, Osborne lights and all, next day at Epcot, CP, Illuminations and all, and they saved the AK for the last day, which was a short one, since they were traveling. They didn't feel stressed out with doing too many things and it was a remarkable wonderful visit.

Bobbi

 

[lokin4deer]

I am curious how eveyone park hops so conviently. It is my understanding with the buses that they dont go park to park or resort to resort only park to resort or resort to park. We were there in Sept of 2006 and had the PH but never used them it was just to much trouble to ride a bus to another resort then get on another bus to different park. Am I missing something here or is this how most people do it. Dont mean to hijack the thread but it is sorta realted to the origianl question.

 

[mouseman41]

We tried once to not get the hopper option, and will never do it again. We love going from park to park every day! We make most of our dining plans at Epcot so we arwe usually there for dinner because of the great places to eat!

 

[DznyLvr2005]

I am curious how eveyone park hops so conviently. It is my understanding with the buses that they dont go park to park or resort to resort only park to resort or resort to park. We were there in Sept of 2006 and had the PH but never used them it was just to much trouble to ride a bus to another resort then get on another bus to different park. Am I missing something here or is this how most people do it. Dont mean to hijack the thread but it is sorta realted to the origianl question.

We're usually early risers... Get to one park so early.. by 4pm, we go back to the hotel, shower and go to a different park at night. It's great since they have the extra magic hours in the PM at different parks now. We went to Epcot every night last time we were there.

 

[MushyMushy]

I am curious how eveyone park hops so conviently. It is my understanding with the buses that they dont go park to park or resort to resort only park to resort or resort to park. We were there in Sept of 2006 and had the PH but never used them it was just to much trouble to ride a bus to another resort then get on another bus to different park. Am I missing something here or is this how most people do it. Dont mean to hijack the thread but it is sorta realted to the origianl question.

We get to the parks at opening and then go back to the resort after lunch for a nap, swim, laundry, or whatever. Then after dinner, we go to a different park for a change of scenery.

 

[2minny]

We've never had hoppers, been at least 6 times, staying about 5 days each trip. We've been fine with it, we just plan our parks and go back to a favorite (usually mk). This time we're getting park hoppers for the first time, not sure we'll use them but my family wants to give it a try. I'm afraid it will take some of our precious park time, by hopping but we'll see. To answer your question, park hoppers are expensive, and we've always done without, you'll be fine not getting hoppers if it's not in the budget. We usually can't make time for downtown disney, water parks or putt-putt golf, not sure how we'll make time to hop!

 

[hogue123]

We are definitely park hopper fans. Although some days we don't need to "hop", others we do. We all have our favorite rides in each park and we always go back and do them again at some point in the trip. Some parks take longer than others and we've had to go back sometimes to finish what we missed. As some other posters brought up, you can spend part of the day in one park and eat dinner in another. We've done that many times. Definitely worth the money.

 

[mommykds]

I would have to say the hoppers are worth the money, no question.

 

[tomshortridge]

We have 7 day park hoppers for our April Trip.

Some parks stay open much later than others, so why call it a day after AK closes at 6pm? Hit MK til 11 or 12 midnight!

One option is to just get the base tickets. You can always add the Park Hopper feature when you are there BUT you will have to pay for the hopper feature for the total days not just the days you have left.

 

[QueueCT]

I am curious how eveyone park hops so conviently. It is my understanding with the buses that they dont go park to park or resort to resort only park to resort or resort to park. We were there in Sept of 2006 and had the PH but never used them it was just to much trouble to ride a bus to another resort then get on another bus to different park. Am I missing something here or is this how most people do it. Dont mean to hijack the thread but it is sorta realted to the origianl question.

We usually hop to convenient places from where we are. For example, we'll do AK, leave at 3:00 or so, then go to MK. Really not a problem from a transportation standpoint, might be more difficult to go from AK to MGM but you could go the the S/D then walk or take the boat.

I found that we use our hoppers when we want to do some shopping at MK or Epcot or go to dinner at Epcot. We can't do without them.

 

[phyllis1966]

This is a tough one for me...on 1 hand, we always buy the hopper and do what others have said - arrive at 1 park at opening, go back to the resort for a swim in the early afternoon, and hit a different park for dinner and the rest of the evening. We love vacationing this way at WDW and it works really well for us.

On the other hand, we just went to our first MVMCP and we really loved it, so for your first time, this is a hard choice to make! We didn't find it too crowded (we went 12/7/06) and if you skip the first parade and see the second instead, the crowds are much smaller (if your kids are old enough to hold out until 11 pm). There was hot cocoa and cookies (free!) character dance parties with DJ's, storytelling, special shows - we loved it!

I think it would help to know how old your kids are and whether or not you are staying onsite.

ETA: I just saw that your kids are 6 and 2 - DD2 is kinda young to stay up for the second parade...I might do the hoppers and go to the party when she's a bit older, if that's an option.

 

[SlipKid918]

It's worth it if you have some room in your budget to do so. Let's put it this way, it's not the best feeling if you know you'd like to go to another park and then you can't because you didn't get the add-on.

 

[eddieras]

It's worth it if you have some room in your budget to do so. Let's put it this way, it's not the best feeling if you know you'd like to go to another park and then you can't because you didn't get the add-on.

but then you can just add the PH at that point and money wise you are no further behind then if you paid for PH up front..

 

[kennezgirl]

Well, that's hard to say. I will tell you that when we went in 12/05, we had every day planned. We had no intentions of doing more than one park in a day, but I bought the hoppers, just in case. There are at least two days where we went to a second park, even if it was just for a ride or two. I know one day my boys wanted to take Daddy to see the Narnia display and ride Star Tours again. So we rode the boat from Epcot to MGM and did those things and then rode back. Another day we rode the monorail to Epcot and rode Soarin' again, then went back to MK and finished what we wanted to do. Even though we hadn't planned on those things, I couldn't have planned for what we'd be in the mood for, when. Made for a lot of great memories we wouldn't have had, like being in the front of the monorail at sunset or the fun my boys had on the boat to MGM.

HTH
Mary

I was just reading over this and I did not even know there was a place to ride a boat from Epcot to MGM! How exciting! Where do you load and unload at each location??
Thanks!

 

[plove53]

We didn't have them and were glad we didn't get them. We went for 9 days and also had the water parks and more option, so on three of the days we went to a water park and then to a regular park. The other days, we went to one park and often went back to the hotel mid-day and returned in the evening. The only time we wished we had a hopper is when we couldn't ride expedition everest on our AK day(long story) and so went back to AK on a day we had planned to go to epcot to explore world showcase and eat at Le cellier. However, for just that one day it would not have been worth it to have them!

 

[NancyIL]

We have done it both ways, and I prefer being able to park hop. It costs a flat $45 plus tax to add park hopping, whether you have a 1-day ticket or a 10-day. So the longer you're at WDW, the less it costs per day to park hop.

I think MVMCP is fun, although I've been enough times that I'll probably skip it in the future. BUT - I would not go to the Christmas party AND pay for park admission on the same day.

 

[littlestix]

I've been on 2 trips to WDW and we didn't buy the hoppers. It didn't bother me at all to not have them.

The first trip was off-site and really wasn't even a question. Our 2nd trip we stayed at POP and decided we could live w/o them. We just planned things out and all went well. I guess I didn't mind staying in 1 park for the day. You can always eat dinner at a resort instead of the park chosen for that day.

 

[Donald is #1]

I am curious how eveyone park hops so conviently. It is my understanding with the buses that they dont go park to park or resort to resort only park to resort or resort to park. We were there in Sept of 2006 and had the PH but never used them it was just to much trouble to ride a bus to another resort then get on another bus to different park. Am I missing something here or is this how most people do it. Dont mean to hijack the thread but it is sorta realted to the origianl question.

Lokin4deer, I am not sure if anyone answered you. So here goes..yes there are buses between the parks. The only time you have to go park->resort->xxx is when you are going to DTD. So a summary is:
AK -> buses to MK, EPCOT, MK
EPCOT -> bus to AK (maybe also bus to MGM), boat to MGM (through the international gateway), monorail to MK.

MGM -> bus to AK & MK (& maybe EPCOT), boat to EPCOT

MK -> bus to MGM & AK, monorail to EPCOT

Now for the OP's question, for me park hopping is a must. But as you have seen with all of the posts, it really comes down to touring style.