Is Park Hopper Worth It?

[disEAR]

Just wondering, with the 1PM required entry into the second-park and further limitations in place, do you think buying a park hopper is worth it?

For us, we will be there from Sep 10-14. with our full days being on the 11th, 12th and 13th. We also have Oogie Boogie Bash tickets for the 12th. As I look at booking our tickets I am beginning to question if having a park hopper will really benefit us.

 

[whoever]

For us still yes, but Disney is gonna get a stern email from me about this 1PM garbage.

 

[smartlabelprint]

It is to me. DL feels crowded at night and I prefer to take my kids to DCA to lessen their anxiety. I love DL at night and we will spend some time there. We just like to keep our options open.

 

[jandegumas]

No park hoppers, no trip.

 

[colormegreen]

With me with a 5 year old and no stroller? Absolutely not. Lol. But older more seasoned kids absolutely!

 

[PDXHaugheys]

If you only have one day then yes do a hopper. But with multiple days I’d just focus on one park at a time. The parks are super close but you lose precious time hopping.

 

[midnight star]

I say yes mainly because the parks are so close together, it’s easy to parkhop. And personally I find it very hard to stay at DCA all day.

 

[gelatoni fan]

Since you're going to OBB, I would say no. But if you really value the chance to reride Web Slingers and/or Rise of the Resistance and are willing to pay for that, then sure.

 

[BriannaRuth]

For us, yes, because we rarely do DCA all day, but we like the option of doing both parks at night. Another reason is that I have teens. DH and I usually take an afternoon hotel break, our teens frequently use that time to head to DCA to do lots of thrill rides ad nauseum.

 

[jandegumas]

For us, yes, because we rarely do DCA all day, but we like the option of doing both parks at night. Another reason is that I have teens. DH and I usually take an afternoon hotel break, our teens frequently use that time to head to DCA to do lots of thrill rides ad nauseum.

How old are your teens, if you don’t mind my asking? Our boys will be almost 13 and almost 16 on our next trip and I’ve been contemplating with myself if they are old enough to do their own thing for awhile if they want to. Lol

 

[sjmac42]

You can always upgrade them before the day is over if you wish so no need to make a decision now. Personally I’ve never gone without a parkhopper but that was in the before times. These days with no parades, character meet and greets, limited entertainment and most importantly, no FP/MaxPass it would be harder to justify for a short trip. But I’d probably get one anyway if I could visit.

 

[disEAR]

Since you're going to OBB, I would say no. But if you really value the chance to reride Web Slingers and/or Rise of the Resistance and are willing to pay for that, then sure.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but one of our reasons to get the park hopper is for this very thing. But my understanding is that with Park Hoppers you can only enter the second park after 1pm, and to get the 12pm Boarding Group you need to have entered the particular park that day before you can join?

Please correct me if my understanding of it is wrong.

 

[disEAR]

You can always upgrade them before the day is over if you wish so no need to make a decision now. Personally I’ve never gone without a parkhopper but that was in the before times. These days with no parades, character meet and greets, limited entertainment and most importantly, no FP/MaxPass it would be harder to justify for a short trip. But I’d probably get one anyway if I could visit.

The lack of MaxPass/Fast Pass is one of our reasons we're questioning if Park Hoppers are worth it.

We do love the proximity of the two parks, and will utilize them but without Max Pass maybe not quite as strategically.

 

[BriannaRuth]

How old are your teens, if you don’t mind my asking? Our boys will be almost 13 and almost 16 on our next trip and I’ve been contemplating with myself if they are old enough to do their own thing for awhile if they want to. Lol

Well actually they are 17 and 21 now, but we've been doing it like this for a while. When they were 16 and 12, they were also spending time on their own, although less than they do now and they definitely had to stay together. We started out by letting them spend a couple of hours on their own while we were still in the parks, then increased from there once we could see they were handling it ok. We had GPS on their phones and they were required to photo check in with us every now and then as well. They've been going to DL since they were 3, so by the time they were on their own, they were very familiar with the parks.

 

[wassily]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but one of our reasons to get the park hopper is for this very thing. But my understanding is that with Park Hoppers you can only enter the second park after 1pm, and to get the 12pm Boarding Group you need to have entered the particular park that day before you can join?

Please correct me if my understanding of it is wrong.

Unless they changed it... I was successful in getting an afternoon BG while I was in the other park.
I believe what they mean is that you have to have scanned your ticket to any park that day to qualify for the 12pm BG refresh your phone madness.

 

[disEAR]

Unless they changed it... I was successful in getting an afternoon BG while I was in the other park.
I believe what they mean is that you have to have scanned your ticket to any park that day to qualify for the 12pm BG refresh your phone madness.

If this is the case then I’m much more inclined to do park hoppers!

 

[jandegumas]

Well actually they are 17 and 21 now, but we've been doing it like this for a while. When they were 16 and 12, they were also spending time on their own, although less than they do now and they definitely had to stay together. We started out by letting them spend a couple of hours on their own while we were still in the parks, then increased from there once we could see they were handling it ok. We had GPS on their phones and they were required to photo check in with us every now and then as well. They've been going to DL since they were 3, so by the time they were on their own, they were very familiar with the parks.

You sound like you parent the exact same way I do. Lol I would have all of those same “rules” if they were to go on their own. We’ve been going annually (minus a few years) since our oldest was 1 so the boys definitely aren’t strangers to the parks, but it still kinda makes me nervous. To be honest, I’m not even sure if they’d want to go off on their own so I’m probably nervous for nothing.

 

[smartlabelprint]

You sound like you parent the exact same way I do. Lol I would have all of those same “rules” if they were to go on their own. We’ve been going annually (minus a few years) since our oldest was 1 so the boys definitely aren’t strangers to the parks, but it still kinda makes me nervous. To be honest, I’m not even sure if they’d want to go off on their own so I’m probably nervous for nothing.

My dh just read a horrible article about a child predator ring in Disney world. My sibs used to go alone as upper teens. I don’t think the world is the same. But Ive got a few years before I really have to decide.

 

[JWelch62]

If this is the case then I’m much more inclined to do park hoppers!

7:00 AM - Must have reservation for respective park as your "first" park. So, DL for ROtR, DCA for WS.

12:00 PM - Must be scanned into your first park before 12:00. You can't hold two BGs at the same time, so if you haven't ridden the first ride, you can't get a BG for the second. For example, your first park is DCA and you get a WS BG with a high number. When 12:00 comes around if you haven't ridden WS you would not be able to get a BG for ROtR.

When we went a few weeks back we started at DCA, got a very low BG for WS, and then got a BG for ROtR at the noon drop while we were still in DCA.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

My dh just read a horrible article about a child predator ring in Disney world. My sibs used to go alone as upper teens. I don’t think the world is the same. But Ive got a few years before I really have to decide.

Just some clarification, the WDW employees were caught in a undercover child predator sting. They were not operating a predator ring. Still disgusting and terrible, but this was not a predator ring operating out of the parks.

We’ve allowed our daughter to go off with a
friend since she was 12. Usually only for 1-2 rides that they wanted to ride and then they met up with us right afterward. Now that she is 14, we would allow her to go off for longer periods of time (maybe an hour or two at a time) with a friend, but we haven’t been to the parks yet with a friend.

And in my opinion, the park hopper is well worth it. We did the 2 day park hopper in June and it was nice to move from one park to another.