Non-Park Hopper Tkts - Did We Go Wrong?

[DestinationDisney]

We were just in Disney in February and for our trip we purchased 5 day park hopper tickets. I was a little bummed out because we only ended up needing to use the park hopper option once when we did AK for 1/2 day and MGM for 1/2 day.

This time around, we opted not to get the park hopper option and we just went with a base 5 day ticket. We'll be in Disney from Dec 25 - 30, and I figured the crowds are going to be really bad so we wouldn't want to bother going from park to park.

Do you think this was a bad decison on our part? I was told that we could always add the park hopper option on (which I'm considering doing for peace of mind), to have it "just in case". It just seems like a waste of money if we don't end up using it.

What do you think?

 

[mom2my3kids]

We are not doing hoppers either, with three kids and 6 days I figured we would have plenty of time to do everything even with being stuck at one park per day. We used the difference and purchased MNSSHP tickets instead..I think you will have a blast..

 

[bicker]

For us, the real question is what are we going to do at night when MK, D-MGM and AK are closed. We typically spend such nights at Epcot, and trying to match them up against the specific days that we're at Epcot and no others doesn't work out, at least not when we stay at the BoardWalk. So we need park hopping. I suppose I'd also figure that we need park hopping if our trip is less than six days, because otherwise I don't see a good way of dividing up the days so that we spend the "right" amount of time at each park.

 

[ptrbryant]

Additionally, there've been times--non-peak season--when we've arrived at MK and it was shoulder to shoudler people for some reason. We were very happy to have the Park Hopper option so we could leave the crowds and head to a different park.

I think since we've always used the PH feature, it would be hard with us to stay at one park all day and night.

Karla B.

 

[kidd_freeper]

I don't think its a mistake at all.

It might be a mistake if you are real fans of Epcot restaurants and want to eat there often, for example.

It might be a mistake if you don't like sticking to a minimal plan.

Or if you have less than four days in the parks, but want to hit the highlights.

EMH hours should be a factor in your planning...if you can, plan to go to the park that had EMH the evening before...or plan to hit the park that has EMH in the morning, but then take a mid-day break.

I was there in July and had 6 days in the parks. We didn't park hop at all and we didn't miss a thing. There is plenty to do in each park to last an entire day (or more).

But if all else fails, you can always add park hopping while you're there.

 

[SnwflkCts]

I think you just fine, especially since you really know how you didn't end up using hopper much last time. I got park hopper in Feb and never used them once. DH and I did what we wanted and then went back the the resort for swimming and relaxing. The restaurants we ate at were either in the park we were in or at the resort.

I'm sure others make good use of park hopping but I must be un-bunny-like (no hopping about!)

 

[brbenoit]

This depends on many factors and how much the extra $$ is worth to you, and also where you are staying.

I would never go without the park hopper option, I like the flexibility of going from park to park whenever I want without restrictions. Also, once the money is spent for the tickets it is gone, I don't think about it anymore (wish I could do that with airfare).

In our situation we are staying at the Beach Club, with MGM and Epcot so close it is nice to be able to pop into the park for a few minutes. Or on the nights MK closes early we can run to another park. My daughter has become addicted to MGM mornings and Epcot afternoons for some reason.

On this trip we are going to go to more than one park at least 4 out of the seven days because of dinners etc.

 

[NancyIL]

It's too bad you didn't know in Feb. that you would be back in December, because you could've bought a 10-day non-expiring hopper for less than two 5-day expiring hoppers. In fact - I would recommend that you think about buying 10-day non-expiring hoppers for ~ $400 through a discounter (Subscribe to www.mousesavers.com newsletter for links to extra discounts on tickets.) I think that a park hopper makes even more sense at holiday time, because you might want to go to a different park if your first choice is packed.

**Oops...you already bought the tickets! Well....depending on price, I'd upgrade to 10-day non-expiring hoppers, or cancel the tickets entirely and buy them elsewhere for less.

 

[raven69david]

If you feel you've made the wrong decision, take your unused tickets to any Guest Relations and explain the situation. They will be glad to help you exchange them for whatever you'd like. I recently went through this on Monday and the CM was very helpful and straightened out my problem. It's never too late to change your mind, even if you've used some of the days on your ticket.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I had 6 day base tickets back in July. I was not sure if I would hop or not. But...if I wanted to hop, I could have easily added it to my ticket at the time I decided I needed to hop--for the same price that I would have paid in advance.

PS I did not end up hopping.

 

[seashoreCM]

The best time to add hopping to a non-hopping ticket is when you arrive at the second park you wish to visit on a given day.

This way you know you need and want hopping at the time you are about to pay for it.

There is also one technicality that is so covered -- if the ticket has already been used but not used more than 13 days ago, adding a feature costs just the posted price of the feature, for example hopping costs about $45. per ticket.

For unused tickets, depending on where you bought them, the cost of modifying the ticket depends somewhat on how much you paid for the ticket.

 

[GoldenOldie]

...For unused tickets, depending on where you bought them, the cost of modifying the ticket depends somewhat on how much you paid for the ticket.

Not since 2004. Prices of upgrades on MYW tickets are figured on gate price to gate price no matter where the ticket was bought. But there are times that the transaction is handled incorrectly, mostly at Lobby Concierge locations as opposed to Guest Relations.

BTW, adding park hopping, water park fun & more and no expiration are all fixed price transactions. Where you bought the ticket or how much you paid fot it has zero effect on the cost of these add ons.

 

[DestinationDisney]

Thank you all so much for your input. Since the tickets are already paid for, we'll just stick with what we have and if we decide that we need to "hop" then we'll add it on at guest relations. We just figured that since we didn't use it at all in February, that we wouldn't need it this time. However, as someone mentioned, since it will be holiday season and the parks will be extremely crowded, it might be something that we'll need to add on.

It's too bad you didn't know in Feb. that you would be back in December, because you could've bought a 10-day non-expiring hopper for less than two 5-day expiring hoppers. In fact - I would recommend that you think about buying 10-day non-expiring hoppers for ~ $400 through a discounter (Subscribe to www.mousesavers.com newsletter for links to extra discounts on tickets.)

Nancy - We thought of the same thing when it came to booking this trip! If only had known, it would have saved us a TON of money. This coming trip was completely unexpected, but next time I will buy a 10 day non-expiring hopper. I've just subscribed to mousesavers because everyone keeps telling me such great things about the website.

Thanks again for your help and advice, everyone!!

 

[Magalex]

We always buy the park hopper option because we can do one park in the morning and catch a show at another park in the evening. I always like to be on the safe side of planning and being able to change parks if need be.

 

[jeni1072]

We opted for non-hoppers. It was a difference of $140 for us, which is a lot of money. However I knew that we would not use them anyways, because with a 5 and 2.5 year old, I think we need to keep it as simple as possible, and park hopping is just more activity than we need to deal with. I don't want to look back and feel like I was dragging them all over the place, ya know?

 

[welovedis]

We usually hop, it works out well for us, but not sure of what your family does on vacation. As others have mentioned, if a park seems really crowded, we can always leave & hop over to another park. Also, as someone else mentioned, you can dine Epcot or head over there for a late dinner & Illuminations.

Plus you can head to an EMH park if you are staying on property, that is why we probably wouldn't do a trip without PHs or APs!

 

[Ashes711]

It really just depends on your situation. We always get park hoppers b/c we go to Epcot almost every night to have dinner at the restaurants, and just hang out with some friends at the Rose & Crown pub. We also try to avoid crowds, if we see that the park we chose for the day is really crowded when we get there, we'll try another park out just for kicks. For us, not having a park hopper would be tragic! lol I'm sure once we have kids, we will switch to a base ticket since we won't be able to stay out late at the parks like we do now.

 

[simzac]

I don't like to park hop either, so I think the OP did right. JMO

 

[TinkerbellMama]

So why not just wait until the day you need hoppers and upgrade then? You'll pay "full price" (even for past days on which you didn't hop), but at least you won't pay for this option and never use it. You don't have to do it on day 1, is what I'm saying. They'll take your money at any time!

 

[DestinationDisney]

I think we'll just stick with the Non Park Hoppers that we have for now.

TinkerbellMama - I had no idea that you could add it on at any time you want to. I thought the park hopper option had to be added on before the tickets were activated. I think if we decide that we need to hop, then we'll just add it on at that time, like you said.

Thanks again everyone, for the help!