No hoppers?

[Elephantay]

We decided that for our upcoming trip, we wouldn't get hoppers like we usually do- to save the money. But now we are having a very hard time trying to plan our park days and dining
We are going in August, and want to avoid the heat of the day. Trying to consider EMH and such.
Basically we are going for a week, and want only one day at DHS and AK. Prefer park nights but also like RD as long as its not the morning after an EMH night. Help!
How do you all plan without the hoppers?

 

[blf14]

I find it so much less stressful to plan without hoppers! One park per day narrows down dining choices to that park or a resort. I start by either picking which park on which day (according to hours or predicted crowd levels) and making reservations from there - or for harder to get ADRs I make them whenever I can get them, and plan the parks around them.

 

[Minsc]

I understand. Your budget dictates what you can and can't (or shouldn't) do, but like the PP, it's such an inherent part of our park planning strategy, I could not do without the ability to hop. Lot's of people make do without them, however.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

When I go without hoppers I pick which park on which day and then pick which ADR in or near that park and then go.

I guess I just don't see what is tripping you up?

Almost seems more like you just like the way you have been doing things in the past and aren't looking forward to change.
In that case I'd just spend the money and get park hoppers so that you can plan it how you always would and be happy with your decisions instead of feeling disappointed or defeated in some way.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I find it so much less stressful to plan without hoppers! One park per day narrows down dining choices to that park or a resort. I start by either picking which park on which day (according to hours or predicted crowd levels) and making reservations from there - or for harder to get ADRs I make them whenever I can get them, and plan the parks around them.

Totally agree its much less stress knowing that you are in the same park all day and don't have to decide so far out what time you'll be at what park for the ADR you want and coordinate you FP selections.
Don't get me wrong I still love planning it.
I've been going on short trips lately so for us PH is a must but when I do go for longer I like base tickets.

 

[siren0119]

I guess I'd ask what exactly is becoming the sticking point for you?

wanting to leave the parks and return later in the day? You can do that with a non-hopper, you just have to go back to the same park you were in earlier that day.

Wanting to utilize EMH and used to bouncing between parks that have and don't have EMH? Plan your day for the park that has the EMH.

I've done it both ways and honestly prefer non-hoppers. For me, knowing we are in a park for the entire day just makes planning simpler for me. The only reason we have hoppers for our August trip is because they were necessary for the free dining package we booked. But everyone tours differently, it would help to know what about the single park per day strategy you're struggling with, we might have suggestions more specific to your needs. But at the end of the day as PP mentioned, if it's just the way you prefer to tour, I'd spring for the hoppers.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

It’s not hard to spend a whole day in one park, there’s plenty to do. The only reason we get hoppers is because we’re always there during MVMCP. If not for the party days we wouldn’t hop at all. Get there early while it’s cooler, Head back to the resort for s break in the heat of the day and return to the park in the evening if you’re trying to avoid the heat.

 

[Searc]

I put a higher priority on fastpasses versus dining, so for me, hoppers are a must. That way, I can grab whatever hard to get fastpasses are available on whatever day instead of being locked into a certain park on a certain day. Dining is easy enough to change ~ fastpasses aren't always.

 

[Disneypro1]

Never get hoppers. Life is much easier at the world and cheaper NOT to hop. We have never hopped. I always advise against it. You’ll get more done doing one park per day. Can’t recall the podcast but it basically talked about just how much time is wasted going from park to park while hopping. And the unneeded expense.

 

[Disneypro1]

I find it so much less stressful to plan without hoppers! One park per day narrows down dining choices to that park or a resort. I start by either picking which park on which day (according to hours or predicted crowd levels) and making reservations from there - or for harder to get ADRs I make them whenever I can get them, and plan the parks around them.

110% correct.

 

[dprincessmom]

We have APs and get hoppers when others come with us BUT unless it is a crazy weekend trip we seldom hop. I pick the park per day based on hours and our touring style. Then I pick FP+ for that park and our specific plans. The hopper aspect comes into play if we decide we are done at one park and want others. In the past when we didn't have hoppers, we would maybe do a resort dining or extended break after rope drop and before the evening fun.

It can be done, you just have to make a plan and stick to it, knowing that you don't have the flexibility that you used to have.

 

[glocon]

We’ve done both ways and have fun both ways. Is it the fear of the unknown for you? If you like to rope drop, you know to do that. Then maybe do some things that don’t need fp. Then have lunch or a back to your resort break, then do your fp back to back, then try to get more fp.

 

[DisneyMomma930]

We are going for 8 days in August and got hoppers only because it was required in order to get free dining. But I planned out my days and really only have 1 park per day. We just dont have time to do more than one and its more complicated to make ADR if we are doing more than one. Plus I know we will want to have resort time too. So theres really only one day that we MIGHT hop and do 2 parks. So for us its not worth the extra $350 that it cost. But like I said we didnt have a choice. So dont feel bad, I think doing the parks without hoppers works out well. You could still even take a mid day break and return to the same park later on for evening EMH.

 

[epcotty]

We never use hoppers and find that to be easier

 

[epcotobsessed]

We only got hoppers once and thought they were a waste of $. I start by looking at the park hours (which can change 30 days out, with the exception of when there are things like EMM), decide on park days, book my ADRs, then see what FPs I can get and adjust ADRs as needed (much easier to do than trying to plan FPs around ADRs).

 

[DisneyMomma930]

We are going for 8 days in August and got hoppers only because it was required in order to get free dining. But I planned out my days and really only have 1 park per day. We just dont have time to do more than one and its more complicated to make ADR if we are doing more than one. Plus I know we will want to have resort time too. So theres really only one day that we MIGHT hop and do 2 parks. So for us its not worth the extra $350 that it cost. But like I said we didnt have a choice. So dont feel bad, I think doing the parks without hoppers works out well. You could still even take a mid day break and return to the same park later on for evening EMH.

Now that I think about it....for this trip I wish we didnt have hoppers because I just keep thinking about the waste of $. Im actually trying to think of when we could possibly hop and all it does is make me think of how tired we will all be. Especially since we have a 2 year old. So in order for me to get our moneys worth we need to hop at least 2 days and I dont see that happening. I would have rather have an extra day of tickets with non-hoppers (7 day tickets) than what we have now (6 day hoppers)

 

[dachsie]

I have never bought a hopper. This year when I got the AP was the first time I would do any hopping or even wanted to do it. I understand where you are coming from tho - I like the flexibility but if its not in the budget, I would get base again with no problems.

 

[MainMom]

We always get hoppers. However, we are not open to close people. We RD, take a break after lunch, then go to another park from our hotel. If we were all day park people we probably wouldn’t hop.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Park hoppers are about the only add on I'm willing to pay for. We would find it more stressfull I believe without it. We love the flexibility. We love being able to hop on over to another park should we find the current park too crowded or wait times too high.

For us it isn't about removing park hoppers to save money we would trim the fat so to speak elsewhere.

That said we haven't park toured with kids. I do think though even as budget conscious my husband and I are we would get antsy without the ability to park hop even if with a child we didn't park hop every day.

At least the nice thing about Disney is you can upgrade to park hoppers if you bought base tickets but found you really wanted hoppers.

 

[Brett Wyman]

PH to us aren't so much about doing multiple parks in one day, they are more about being able to pop in for a quick visit right before bed(when in a resort that allows this), or do an EMM in one park even though our main park day is elsewhere. Sure we could survive without them, but I wouldn't want to.