Opinions on Park Hopper vs. Single Park Admission

[sunny_sc]

We will be taking my 2 kids (4 yr & 1 yr) to Disneyland soon and I'm wondering if the Park Hopper option is worth it.

Unfortunately I booked my daughter's Bibbidy Bobbidi Boutique appointment for the day that DL does not have a Magic Morning (it's at DCA).

I hadn't been planning to get the Park Hopper option (extra $120 for 3 days), but now I'm wondering if it would be worth doing. Or I could reschedule her appointment for the day before, though appointments were much more limited that day and we wouldn't be able to be seen until the afternoon. I have a morning appointment right now.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mom2rtk]

We never buy hoppers at WDW but always do at DLR. The parks are side by side, so almost like one big park. No matter how hard we try to do one park per day, there always seems to be a reason to catch something in the other park at some point, maybe a show that doesn't happen every day, or a parade we missed on another day. It just makes the planning a lot easier.

 

[Butterfly123]

I agree. We love hoppers, and would really miss not having them. To us the flexibility to totally worth the money.

 

[Hojoanaheim]

You can always call as the day gets closer to see if there are any cancelations for BBB, you never know you could get lucky If you are going for 3 days, you could always do one park per day and go to your favorite park on the last day and see what you didn't get to see on the other 2 days. But I agree with mom2rtk, I always hop between the parks. Be in CarsLand on minute and watch the fireworks the next, it's great and makes is less stressful. You don't to "HAVE" to watch a parade or show, just because you wont get to the next day, you have the option to see it the next day.

Have fun,
Kriss

 

[Steven G]

I personally like the one park per day, and only used hoppers once.
But I get why they are popular.

 

[tarheelalum]

Hoppers give you great flexibility. I would never go to DL without them.

 

[Darkbeer1]

But as the prices go up on tickets, the costs for a ParkHopper vs a single park per day makes the decision difficult, and I would think about the Single Park per day option.

The cost for a one day upgrade is not worth it to me, as there is way more than a day's worth of things to see/do including the parades and fireworks at Disneyland Park. (Depending on the day, it can be $60 extra above the $95 Single Park ticket.

If you are not staying at a Disney owned Hotel, you get ONE day of Magic Morning at Disneyland Park. So you could do 2 days at Disneyland, and one day at DCA, and pick the non BBB day for the MM.

 

[chickapin parterre]

as a first time visitor and your children in their age group there is no advantage to park hopping....unless you and your spouse are going to go solo during nap times and late evening and want to see WOC, ride screamin at night and get wet on Grizzly and RSR.

 

[GunnarCharles]

My trip to Disneyland we didn't have hoppers because it wasn't in the budget. With it being our first trip and having limited time, we honestly didn't need them. There was enough to see and experience in each park that we could focus on that particular park and downtown disney without hopping. That being said, if its in the budget I would certainly get a hopper next time. The parks are so close to each other it makes the process much easier.

 

[disneydadazut2]

I debate this every time we are planning a trip to the park. When DCA was :cough: lame :cough: in the early 2000s, I wouldn't have even considered a single park pass. However, since CarsLand has opened, I love DCA and can easily spend the day there without thinking about crossing the esplanade. Our last trip we purchased Hoppers and found we really didn't need them. We can ride so much more and enjoy the less busy things if we stay put in one park

Here's another thing to keep in mind. For our upcoming trip, the difference between Hoppers and single day for my clan is $240. That is equivalent to a table service meal at Cafe Orleans, snacks and Pins for the whole family. So for me, it's become a no-brainer... but I'm still conflicted at times.

 

[22Tink]

We always park hop at DL. I can't imagine ever going without hoppers because it's so easy to just walk back and forth between parks. Some people do fine without, but for our family it's worth the extra money to have that flexibility.

 

[smithfamilyof7]

I always go back and forth each time we go. The first time we went (as a family), we did not have hoppers and the second time we did. While it's nice to have the hoppers so you do have the option to switch parks, we didn't miss them at all not having them. We're going down next week and did not get hoppers this time (though I still debated!). For me and my family, as long as we know we don't have the option we'll just plan our day accordingly. It's not a big deal. We can always find enough stuff to do in one park to keep us busy the whole day! Plus, like a PP said, with a large family the difference in prices is pretty substantial. I'd rather use that money for something else!

 

[Darkbeer1]

I debate this every time we are planning a trip to the park. When DCA was :cough: lame :cough: in the early 2000s, I wouldn't have even considered a single park pass. However, since CarsLand has opened, I love DCA and can easily spend the day there without thinking about crossing the esplanade. Our last trip we purchased Hoppers and found we really didn't need them. We can ride so much more and enjoy the less busy things if we stay put in one park

Here's another thing to keep in mind. For our upcoming trip, the difference between Hoppers and single day for my clan is $240. That is equivalent to a table service meal at Cafe Orleans, snacks and Pins for the whole family. So for me, it's become a no-brainer... but I'm still conflicted at times.

Comes down to the big question, cost vs benefit. Since the cost for Hopping is the same on most tickets, the longer you stay, the less cost per day.

And there is a big difference between a non-regular visitor (such as a First Timer and once every year or two or longer) and someone who visits regularly. For a non-Disney Geek, and just a fan of Theme Parks and popular Tourist Attractions, there is much less need for a ParkHopper.

 

[nikerbokers]

We have never done the hoppers and we go 1-2 times a year. We love it that way. Lots of time wasted walking to and from each park IMO but I'm in the minority of this opinion.

 

[bumbershoot]

as a first time visitor and your children in their age group there is no advantage to park hopping....unless you and your spouse are going to go solo during nap times and late evening and want to see WOC, ride screamin at night and get wet on Grizzly and RSR.

What do you mean there's no advantage to hopping with young kids?

My son LOVED bug's land; far more than he still loves Fantasyland, and hopping over there once we started having real visits was great.

When DCA was :cough: lame :cough: in the early 2000s, I wouldn't have even considered a single park pass. However, since CarsLand has opened,

Hey now. Our first real trip was in 2007, no Carsland, and we fell madly in love with DCA. They ruined it in our opinion with the changes they made. OK they didn't ruin it, but they pretty much copied Universal Studios Orlando's look in the front entrance. When we finally went to DCA in '07 we regretted the two one-day one-park trips we had taken the previous two years.

We have never done the hoppers and we go 1-2 times a year. We love it that way. Lots of time wasted walking to and from each park IMO but I'm in the minority of this opinion.

If you've never hopped, how do you know if it feels far or takes a long time? Hopping can be well worth it; worth trying, at least.

 

[Darkbeer1]

If you've never hopped, how do you know if it feels far or takes a long time? Hopping can be well worth it; worth trying, at least.

OK, in recent threads, people have been talking about the longer walks need due to the security changes, and future plans. People are complain about adding a 1/10th of a mile to the walk (each way).

The walk from the Disneyland Turnstiles to the DCA Turnstiles is .06 of a mile.

From the Disneyland turnstiles to a Bug's Land is .3 of a mile each way.

Add that to up to $60 more to get a ParkHopper, I would say I would give very serious thoughts for a couple of hours riding a few kiddie rides. Between Fantasyland and Mickey's Toontown, plus rides like the Astro Orbiter and Buzz Lighyear, and other attractions geared toward kids, why pay the $40 to $60 per person. i could do a lot of things with that money, if I had extra time in the area.Maybe a Dinner Theater like Medieval Times or the Pirates Dinner Adventure.

Adventure City is close by and a great small Amusement Park focused on Kids, less than $20 per person and free parking.

Knott's Berry Farm is just over $40 per person with advance purchase.

But each person is different, as stated, I recommend it for longer stays, but not shorter trips.

As for DCA, I have covered it since before it was built, and DCA version 1.0 was a failure for many reasons, but Disney finally admitted that in 2007... Bob Iger said of the park, "Any time you do something mediocre with your brand, that's a withdrawal. California Adventure was a brand withdrawal." and in front of the Disney Shareholders, the Chairman and CEO also said in 2016, "We’re still working to assure the second gate is successful", Iger said, referring to California Adventure. "In the spirit of candor, we have been challenged."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-08-09/bob-iger-on-disney-california-adventure

And here is something I wrote in 2007, in regards to DCA's 6th BD...

https://discuss.micechat.com/forum/...-an-interesting-look-back-at-the-last-4-years

It is clear that DCA did not deliver on many different levels, and Disney finally woke up and addressed the issue, too bad they didn't do it back when the park was being built.

 

[cruisehopeful]

For me, I cannot stand not having a park hopper. I always want to go to the other park. I bought single park tickets a few times and always wished I had both parks.

However, I've been reading reports from people who attended for the first time or only attend once every few years and they are extremely happy with one park per day. You could easily have a great time and save some money doing it that way. Look at the park hours for each day, too. Sometimes, DL is open a couple hours longer than DCA and if you are leaving DCA on those days, you may want to go to DL and will need a park hopper. If your kids will be tired by then, it won't matter.

 

[mom2rtk]

And just as an FYI to the OP. You can buy single park tickets and upgrade if you decide to hop.

 

[sunny_sc]

And just as an FYI to the OP. You can buy single park tickets and upgrade if you decide to hop.

Oh that's great info. Thanks! Where can I upgrade if we decide to do that? And can I upgrade for only 1 of the days? (Of a 3 day pass)

 

[Darkbeer1]

Oh that's great info. Thanks! Where can I upgrade if we decide to do that? And can I upgrade for only 1 of the days? (Of a 3 day pass)

Alas, no, but it is $40 to upgrade a ParkHopper from the regular ticket gate price, regardless of how many days the Ticket is. So unless you have a discounted admission, you can upgrade any on any one of the three days, and pay the $40.

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!