Park Hopper Help

[mvrafanan]

Hi All - DH and I have been to WDW a few times but always with a one day one park ticket and for a longer period of time. We're planning on a shorter trip (either a thursday to monday with TH/Mon being travel days or a Wed-Sun with Wed/Sun being travel days) and are looking into park hoppers to try to maximize our time. Normally we'd be fine with just sticking to MK/Epcot but DH loves the bigger rides at DHS (me not so much) and we both want to check out the new Toy Story Land. Any tips on successfully using park hopper tickets? Are they worth the time, money, and energy? We will be back again in 2020 for a big trip so it's not a huge deal to skip out on AK but I think we might be a bit disappointed to not see the new land. TIA!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Are they worth the time, money, and energy?

You'll get lots of varying opinions on this. My opinion is NO, they are not worth it...but it really depends on your situation and how you like to tour. For my family, we have no problem spending a full day at any of the parks. We tend to stay RD to close, using an afternoon ADR as a nice "break" from walking and the heat. So for us, the time spent traveling between parks would not be worthwhile.

 

[mara512]

I know this wasn’t your question but if you are flying, flight are cheaper Th/Mon.
If HS is a must then park hopper is going to be worth it. For us we always get the hopper because we like the flexibility of being able to tour one park in the morning and a different park in the evening.

 

[Mome Rath]

For me, it's the only way to go. I go on short trips and I always do at least 2 parks per day, sometimes 3 now that Pandora is there. My new go-to strategy is opening AK to ride FoP and RJ, if there's anything else I want to do there, do it, then take off to a different park (usually EPCOT where I have my FP's). Then decide if I want to stay there the rest of the day or go watch a nighttime show in MK. lol Just add in enough time in your plans for travel. It's also great to be able to choose where to eat without having to stick in a particular park.

 

[KaitorTot]

We've only ever done park hoppers and feel like it's the way to go. It gives you flexibility in your plans - lines too long at your current park? Hop to another. Scored a killer fast pass at a different park? Go ahead and hop to another. It just gives you more options!

 

[Robo]

In dozens of trips over the decades, we have ALWAYS had a Hopper and USED it frequently.

That is, until Disney raised the price to ridiculous levels last year.

So, I don't think I'll endeavor to now pay that ridiculous price.


Can most newer guests get by without hopping? Yes. (With careful planning.)

Can most experienced guests get by without hopping? You bet! (Without breaking a sweat.)

 

[jerzeystar09]

I love hoppers. I love the flexibility it gives me. Especially on Epcot and Animal Kingdom days. I’m not a huge fan of either park and am finished in half a day at both, so I love hopping back to MK or HS. Our trip next week we are gonna hop from
HS to AK and back just to ride Everest and see the new Dino bash. With summer hours being later it is super helpful bc I would be so bored if I had to spend open to close at AK or Epcot lol

 

[glocon]

Our upcoming trip will be the first with hoppers. We always had a great time and had no problem staying in one park. It’s just a different way to tour. I am looking forward to hopping this trip- planning on more Epcot afternoon/evening time.
If you don’t want to spend the money on hoppers you will still have a great time and have more time in each park to explore it all. Have fun!

 

[FCDub]

There's no need to decide right now. You can choose to add the option while you're there.

 

[Moliphino]

Park hopping lets me eat and drink more effectively. Epcot has the best food, so we end up there at some point most days of a trip (I looked at last year's schedule - we were in Epcot 7/9 days). It also gives better flexibility to see nighttime shows and not be stuck with a park that closes early.

 

[sponica]

I've never not had hoppers. Partly because when I started going in the post 9/11 years those were the tickets that were bundled into the travel packages.

I even hopped with a stroller this past trip. The only day we didn't hop was our AK day. But that was mainly because we were doing early dinner in Disney Springs

 

[North of Mouse]

We always do Hoppers or have APs - can't imagine not having the flexibility, but we've never gone on that short of trip, have no desire to. Definitely worth the time and money for us, but we are usually there from 10-14 days.

 

[amberpi]

Park hoppers forever. If things get crowded at a park you're in, find the park that isn't and just LEAVE. Or wanna have some drinks and you're at MK? Hop to Epcot. The freedom is worth it. I've been 30+ times just during adulthood and have never not had park hoppers, I like to touch Epcot everyday at some point. If they ever remove the feature for tickets it would so radically change my time, I'm not sure I'd do WDW anymore. That's how much I love phers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

 

[danikoski]

I've done two trips without hoppers, and both involved a lot of planning. One time I was with a group that didn't get to the parks til 10 am and stayed to close. We were also staying at AKV Kidani, so afternoon breaks were harder. The other time I was with a group that did RD, but didn't stay in the evening. We were off site for that trip. No PH worked for both, but it was a lot of planning and less flexibility. Every other time I've went, I've had PH. The last two times it worked well because we stayed at WL and could pop over to MK easily. I also like to do DHS in the am, then boat to Epcot and grab food in WS (France, Morocco, and the UK are three of my favorite pavilions for food and there right there at the IG), then break in the afternoon and sometimes do a park at night. I also like to hop to the park with evening EMH after being at a different park in the day. It's just so much more flexible. And the price difference between MYW and PH, based on Undercover Tourist for a 7 day ticket, is $67. It's worth it to me.