Opinions please - should I get the park hopper based on our plans?

[lovethesun12]

I have always read that the emh park stays busy.

I wouldn’t want to add on hopping with your plans or kid ages.

I personally would NOT do emh, go to a park that’s not drawing the emh crowds, and then go back there later for the adr.

Being an early riser, swimming, and returning for late nights is a “traveling with teens” thing to do, not with little ones, IMO. Swimming wipes people out, especially with summer sun.

hahahaha yes I know that would definitely NOT be doable daily. We've gone the past three years and our plans have generally worked well. We plan to get them to nap, and if they don't, well they still have to eat but we can head back after. They are pretty good at napping on command at disney. And we have rest days after many of our park days. We are usually back at the resort at lunch, with dinner reservations at 6:30pm so tons of down time on the park days. My kids are awesome with EMH though. We've gone during Easter which meant getting up at 540am (!) some days. But they'd have a nap and be good. We just usually decided not to go back but last year we had late lunch ADR's and got back from the parks later (since we didn't plan on coming back in the evening usually).

I don't think I'd even be considering the hopper if I was at any resort other than beach club (or epcot resorts in general). It seems like it will be so easy to plan and leisurely walk to epcot for a possible fourth FP+ then dinner. Doing this we could basically stick to MK/AK in the mornings, eliminate our epcot/hs mornings, and stick close to the resort in the evenings. I'm thinking worst case scenario they are cranky at 7pm so we take the 10 min walk back the BCV...

 

[lovethesun12]

If you have to ask the question - the answer is don’t get it and add it on when you get there if you find you want it. No cost advantage to getting it early.

Thanks! That is my plan actually because we already have our tickets The issue is the darn ADR's.

 

[CBMom01]

Our upcoming trip will be our first without PH. Last trip they were a waste, and i realized i was paying the extra $$ for the Epcot restaurants and maybe one experience at DHS.

Didn’t make sense but mostly I felt too much felt pressure to get our money’s worth, which killed some of the fun

Like someone said - add them now or your last day, the cost is the same

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We either have park Hoppers or APs because we stay for a minimum of 10 nights and like the flexibility of hopping.

But I agree with PP. In your situation simply add the hopper if you find yourself wanting to hop. No point in doing it ahead of time if it’s questionable.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[mjkacmom]

I can’t imagine staying at the BC without them, we hopped every single day with our 5 kids. We somedid 3 parks, like starting at MK, going back to the resort after lunch, some would walk to DHS for a show or parade, and then walk to Epcot for dinner and illuminations.

 

[Farro]

I read no further than you are staying at Beach Club.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.

You will love being able to just pop over to Epcot anytime you get a craving for food (or a cocktail) from there! Spend the day at DHS, have dinner at World Showcase! Hanging at pool, hop over and get a schwarma platter for lunch and MK for fireworks at night!

Hoppers at the Epcot area resorts are worth every penny. Always.

 

[crazylady]

If you have to ask the question - the answer is don’t get it and add it on when you get there if you find you want it. No cost advantage to getting it early.

Also, if your plans are already set up to not hop, I wouldnt get the hoppers just in case you might use them.

It's great to have the flexibility to hop into Epcot for dinner if your in the Epcot resorts but we found it added alot of walking to our days.

 

[GillianP1301]

I always get a hopper and get decent use out of it most trips. The flexibility is totally worth it to me. Plus you like to take advantage of EMH and doing a morning EMH park and then hopping is really maximizing your touring time. That EHM park will be busier on those days for all the people staying all day who don't have hoppers. Besides, you are staying 12 nights at BC, the cost of hoppers is such a tiny amount of your overall budget, I would just go for it.

 

[mdsouth]

We find hoppers a waste with kids. And honestly have not been able to do evenings with son until he got older (10ish). Until then he was just too tired to go past 3pm so we always did pool and dinner at hotel. He was a super early riser though. Never ever sleeping past 6.

I agree with this one based on the ages of your kids. Skip the hoppers for now and then when you are there if you feel like you would benefit from them than buy them then. I am guessing that you will want to take advantage of the Beach Club Storm-a-long Bay and will find yourselves at the resort more than in the past. Your kids will have a great time at the pool.

Seems like your strategy is basically the same but this time you're "forcing" yourself back into the park later so that you don't just get "lazy" and not go back for the nighttime shows.
Doesn't seem like you want or need park hoppers.

I agree.

IMHO, is always best to do one park per day. NO HOPPER. you WILL get more done and save money. Just do one park per day. simplified and efficient.

Right

 

[DavidNYC]

Thanks! That is my plan actually because we already have our tickets The issue is the darn ADR's.

Yup - understood. That's one of the main reasons we get hoppers. It gives us a lot more flexibility with ADRs. The other big reasons for us are:
1. Evening shows: I may want to catch fireworks in MK on a night when I don't want to spend the day at the park.
2. General flow: I think there are things that are better to do at certain times of day. World showcase for us is typically an evening tour for example. If you have a thought out plan - hopping can help you save a lot of time by doing things at optimal times.

 

[Lou'sMommy]

Since you are staying at BC, I would definitely get the hoppers. When we stay at the Epcot area resorts we find that almost every evening we want to walk over to Epcot for a treat or meal. In addition, it is super easy to get to the Studios which are fun for the evening shows or enjoying the Toy Story area in the evening. You are going to love staying at BC. It may spoil you for ever staying anywhere else!

 

[lovethesun12]

I read no further than you are staying at Beach Club.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.

You will love being able to just pop over to Epcot anytime you get a craving for food (or a cocktail) from there! Spend the day at DHS, have dinner at World Showcase! Hanging at pool, hop over and get a schwarma platter for lunch and MK for fireworks at night!

Hoppers at the Epcot area resorts are worth every penny. Always.

Ok you pretty much just summed up why I'm thinking about the hoppers way more efficiently than I did

Questions - do you get the dining plan when you are there? I'm kinda wishy washy about that too...we probably will because we are doing a lot of character dining but not 100% sure...

 

[lovethesun12]

Since you are staying at BC, I would definitely get the hoppers. When we stay at the Epcot area resorts we find that almost every evening we want to walk over to Epcot for a treat or meal. In addition, it is super easy to get to the Studios which are fun for the evening shows or enjoying the Toy Story area in the evening. You are going to love staying at BC. It may spoil you for ever staying anywhere else!

I'm so excited! I know I will love it and so will the kids. I'm hoping it also spoils my husband from staying anywhere else

 

[scrappinginontario]

We have been to Disney often and have never found getting the hopper to be beneficial to our plans. We have had it the last 3 trips in order to qualify for FD but we still haven't used it much.

If you're not sure I would recommend not getting it but then adding it while you're there if you think you'll want to hop.

 

[lovethesun12]

Thanks so much for all the responses and taking the time to reply! Lots to consider and lots of things brought up that I hadn't considered.

I still have a few months to make the decision...

 

[jina]

Staying at BCV in mid July??? Summer crowds, plus heat, plus amazing pool? I'd say 99% hopper unless:
- most of your evening ADRs are at AK or MK

for AK/MK EE days:
do the EE morning, do an AK/MK lunch ADR, leave back to BCV to rest/swim/relax
walk to EP or DHS for evening QS somewhere (or another EP resort or DS)
if you want to do an evening show at AK/MK then return there instead but it will be a later night

For DHS/EP EE days:
do EE morning, back to BCV to rest/swim/relax (QS lunch somewhere or cook in the room if you have a villa), return to DHS/EP if you feel like it

I also agree w/ the approach to plan based on 1 park per day but upgrade to hopper when you're there if you feel like strolling over to EP or DHS.

We've had hoppers for both our trips (when DD was 4 and 8 and will again when she turns 10). We are staying some days at BLT, others at BWV and we find hoppers are a must when in the EP resorts plus for our split-travel day as we can walk to MK in the AM for rope drop before check out, but then hop to DHS or EP so its a short walk when our room is ready.

Last time DD and I wanted to ride R&R at DHS but DH wanted to sleep in so the two of us walked over to DHS, rode it, and made it back in time to head over to EP together later in the morning. Also we loved the flexibility to stay at BWV or BLT during the high crowd/heat time, then walk over to MK/EP/DHS if we felt like it - no planning. So our planning was focused on the morning FP+, most ADRs were lunch at the park before heading back to relax but we did a few evening ADRs (+ dessert/fireworks parties) at the resorts we could walk to depending on whether we were at BLT or BWV).

 

[Farro]

Ok you pretty much just summed up why I'm thinking about the hoppers way more efficiently than I did

Questions - do you get the dining plan when you are there? I'm kinda wishy washy about that too...we probably will because we are doing a lot of character dining but not 100% sure...

So yes, we have done quick service and the regular dining plan. While I dont regret them, I've found that we like appetizers over desserts, sometimes I want an appetizer for dinner, etc. And the way the plan works just doesn't fit to our style of eating. So next trip is our first trip without it!