Opinions on park hopping?

[leebee]

I can't decide if I should spend the extra $$$ for park hopper tickets. Travelers are me, DH (who is not a huge Disney lover) and DD20, going over October break 2014 to celebrate DD's 21st birthday. We will be at BWV and will have 5 day tickets. We love the Food&Wine festival, but also have favorite Disney restaurants that are "can't miss." We are not typically rope droppers, so I'm planning on getting our FP+ for afternoons/evenings, depending on the park.

I was planning on getting base tickets, because adding hopping is going to cost $190 (with tax). That seems like a lot. I know that we'll spend at least one evening in MK, HS, and EP, as we enjoy the evening shows at each park. Also, if I can find info on MNSSHP, we might be interested in going to that. I just cannot decide whether to spend the money to park hop or not… I'm not sure if we'll want the ability to go into EP and nosh at F&W for lunch/supper, or if we'll be busy enough at other parks that it wouldn't really be worth the money on a PH. Input would be appreciated...

 

[siskaren]

You don't have to add it on until you get there so I would just wait and see if you want it once you're there.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You don't have to add it on until you get there so I would just wait and see if you want it once you're there.

 

[Delirium]

Park Hoppers are very valuable during the fall. Crowds are much lower early in the day at MK on Halloween Party days so you can get a lot done there between 9:00-4:00 which is when the party people start to arrive. Then you use your hopper to jump over to Epcot or HS for evening entertainment.

It also works in reverse. Crowds are heavier at MK on days where there is no party and the MK park hours are usually extended until midnight or later. Take advantage of the early part of the day at one of the other parks and then hop over to MK for the parade and fireworks. Those will be crowded, but the park really thins out after the fireworks and you'll have about 2-3 hours of much smaller crowds to enjoy MK as families with younger children leave.

Finally, the F&W festival at Epcot usually has great food and some good bands for the Eat to the Beat concerts. You may find yourself wanting to be at Epcot on many nights for the festival but have no reason to be there during the day. HS during the day is just a boat ride away and MK is just a Monorail ride away.

 

[wendybeth75]

We find it helpful because we doing morning EMH then leave after it starts to get crowded. The park that has EMH is usually the park to avoid on the crowd calendars. I find with the P.H. option I can maximize my time. We will do EMH or RD then go to a different park where we have our FP+ scheduled.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Hoppers are great for a trip with all adults, as well as your location. I like being able to go into the World Showcase for a couple of hours each day when staying next to Epcot.

 

[uramr]

We like to have hoppers when we stay at resorts that are in walking distance from parks--Boardwalk, Beach Club, Contemporary. It is just so tempting to walk over to the parks for a few hours here and there--usually in the late afternoon or evening after we had been at a different park in the morning. It also opens a lot of dining options. We are less likely to do this if we need to bus to all the parks.

 

[dis_guy]

I suppose we're park hopper fans. We typically eat dinner mostly in Epcot so we do other parks earlier in the day. The last few times we've stayed at AK until it closes and then hop over to MK for Evening Extra Magic Hours. A nice way to end the day. I'm not sure how FP+ will affect the value we get from having hoppers.

 

[dmonroe]

We like to have hoppers when we stay at resorts that are in walking distance from parks--Boardwalk, Beach Club, Contemporary. It is just so tempting to walk over to the parks for a few hours here and there--usually in the late afternoon or evening after we had been at a different park in the morning. It also opens a lot of dining options. We are less likely to do this if we need to bus to all the parks.

 

[hill6]

We love park hopping. We end up most nights at Epcot for dinner. Very rarely do we do Epcot early in the day. We do AK and DHS as half day parks.

We have done 3 parks in a day quite often.

 

[DisneyAnytime]

It is totally possible to have a great trip without Park Hoppers. It just takes a little bit of careful planning to line up all your dining reservations with your chosen park of the day.

That being said, it is always nice to have the option to hop; especially during Food and Wine! What a great way to wind up the day than eating/drinking around the world?

Basically, my two cents, if you are unsure you want them, plan like you won't have them then add them when you get there if you decide it's worth it.

 

[MamaBear58]

Park Hoppers are very valuable during the fall. Crowds are much lower early in the day at MK on Halloween Party days so you can get a lot done there between 9:00-4:00 which is when the party people start to arrive. Then you use your hopper to jump over to Epcot or HS for evening entertainment.

It also works in reverse. Crowds are heavier at MK on days where there is no party and the MK park hours are usually extended until midnight or later. Take advantage of the early part of the day at one of the other parks and then hop over to MK for the parade and fireworks. Those will be crowded, but the park really thins out after the fireworks and you'll have about 2-3 hours of much smaller crowds to enjoy MK as families with younger children leave.

Finally, the F&W festival at Epcot usually has great food and some good bands for the Eat to the Beat concerts. You may find yourself wanting to be at Epcot on many nights for the festival but have no reason to be there during the day. HS during the day is just a boat ride away and MK is just a Monorail ride away.

Would the same be true in November with respect to Mickey's X-mas Party? Although it will cost us $255.60 (4 x 60 plus tax) to add park hoppers to our tickets, it seems to that it give us more flexibility, which I really want as the one responsible for planning the first family Disney trip (and young kids to boot!). I know people say add them if you need them, but I could see having FP+ reservations, arriviing to find a short stand by line, and then wanting to cancel the FP+ and make them for something at another park for later in the day. We can't do it right there in line on our phone if the system knows that we haven't bought park hoppers yet, right? So out of line to guest relations/tickets to get the park hopper. Might be worth it to already ahve them?

 

[shyjade]

We have only skipped park hoppers on one trip, and coincidentally it was our by far our least favorite visit. Because it's just DD16 and I, we love taking advantage of the flexibility the hoppers give us. I'm sure if we were a bigger family or had small kids, it would be different. For us, being able to decide at the drop of a hat to leave one park and go to another as the mood hits us is so worth the price, especially during F&W.

And now that FP+ seems to be limiting our flexibility with rides, we have started enjoying other parts of Disney. Last October we didn't get to ride Soarin' 6 times during our visit, but we enjoyed (free) mini golf and Disney Quest for the first time. We spent more time at DTD and did several shows and attractions we've never taken the time for in the past. Plus, it's nice to enjoy one park earlier in the day and hop over to another to use our scheduled FP+ in the evening.

While it's a personal choice, for my family it's a must-do.

 

[katt789]

If you're not rope droppers, and only plan on really being in the parks in the late morning til close, I would say don't bother with it.

However because you are just over at the Boardwalk, and you like the option of food and wine for meals, I would say add it. It gives you the freedom to walk over to Epcot, have some snacks on your way through the park, and then transport to the ttc and to another park.

With all adults in your party park hopping is always made easier and quicker than if you had kids with you. With no kids I sometimes do 3 parks, fantasmic & wishes all in one night with the power of park hoppers.

MNSSHP is by far something you should look into though, the best fireworks & parade you'll see at Disney, plus the ability to dress up in the parks for adults, and all the other amazing bonuses of the party!!

 

[linskypens]

We always hop. AK and DHS half day for us for sure, so we often start at DHS, and move to AK, then to MK for wishes.
We actually try to be in the MK every night for wishes. With FP+ now we will be making our FP+ reservations in the evening park, and rope drop the first park as we always do. In the old days of hording fastpasses in the morning, we never used them before the evening anyway, so still think this is our best option.
Hopping is just worth it for us. Opens a lot of flexibility.If you are there for five days at BWV, I cant imagine another 190 bucks is going to make or break your vacation.I say go with it

 

[SuperRob]

My opinion is that it largely depends on where you're staying. Commute time between parks reduces the utility severely. If you're at an MK or Epcot resort, I'd say it's still worth it. Other onsite resorts, possibly. If you're offsite or driving, it's a bit of a crapshoot. Age of your party could be a factor as well. Little kids or mobility-impaired adults might also not be able to park hop as easily.

With a great many things, there's no right answer for this. Everyone's values are different. I find that my willingness to park hop is largely tied to whether or not I purchased the hoppers. If I did, I try to find ways to use them (like Epcot for dinner). If not, I maximize my time in the one park I'm at each day.

 

[TreeSapp]

I haven't had a chance to read the other posts yet, but...

If you're not doing rope drop what time are you arriving?

If its 11:00 or later, hopping probably won't make a lot of sense in October.

The DHS & AK parks generally aren't open as late (because its low season) and MK will close at 7pm many days for the Halloween party. Epcot may be open later than the others, but WS can become unpleasantly crowded after 6-7pm due to F&W guests.

Lets say your average day is then 10am-7pm (I don't have the exact park hours on hand). That's about 9 hours, less 1 hours of hopping time. Means you'd spend either 4 hours in two parks, or less in one - for us, hopping isn't worth it for 3 hours or fewer.

Just a thought