Park Hopper- Is it Needed

[jodifla]

We always park hop on every trip. We tend to end our days at Epcot at one of the fantastic restaurants, since that park is always open until 9.

Also, if you choose poorly and get stuck at a crowded park, you can't switch over.

We went to MK during EMH, and left within a couple of hours. It was just too jammed for our enjoyment. We took the monorail over to Epcot for the rest of the day. It wasn't nearly as crowded.

 

[brymolmom]

I'm with the poster who says hopping with young children is difficult. We will have a 2 and 4 year old on upcoming Sept trip and I do try to schedule down/nap/swim time at the resort in the afternoons (especially if it is 95 degrees like last Sept when we went) - BUT - sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. If there is a parade or show coming up and I know my kids really want to see it - we might put off and stay in the park as long as possible, leading to a very late afternoon nap and thus no returning to the park in the evening.

But I do try to schedule with a return trip (to the same park) for the evening. Of course, we go in September with very low crowds, so we usually don't run into going to one park and finding it too mobbed and wanting to change.

And hopping just to do one or two rides...by the time you return the stroller, walk to monorail or bus, get to new park, get new stroller....it just isn't worth it really to us.

With MYW tickets it's so inexpensive to add extra days on - I just do it that way. Plan for one or two days more so I can spend two half days going back to what we wanted to do again.

Best of luck.

 

[investgirlmd]

WDWcat..... If you go to the Disney Web site and click on the calendar it will show you the time of each park, parades, fire works and EMH.

Hope that helps!!

 

[catherines_mama]

Definetly! I'm a huge park-hopper fan!

Especially with kids and traveling in the summer! Its great to take a break mid-day to swim and to have the option to go to a different park, its great!

With things like MGM. I don't think its a full day park. So to see Fantasmic I like to do another park in the AM, head to MGM for dinner then go over to Fantasmic.

Park Hopper also allows you to go eat great meals in Epcot (World Showcase) without spending the day there.

 

[Madi100]

Park hopping has never been an option for us. We are definitely not planners. We don't like the idea of our food planning us. In fact, the few ADRs we make always seem to make our life a little bit stressful. We like to be able to enjoy what we are enjoying and not have to leave because it's time to eat. But, with that said, it's nice to be able to pick a park based on what we want to do. If we have an ADR at MK we don't have to stay in that park. We can enjoy what there is there and then leave or spend the day at whatever park we want and then go to a different one for a meal.

Maybe for first timers it's not an issue, but for people who have gone before and just had the option, we need to have park hoppers.

 

[MomofCKJ]

It is our kids first trip in December but DH and I have been. Our kids will be 9, 7 and 4 at trip time.

We got the Hopper because I like the idea of the flexibility. We will be doing the early out to a park, home in the afternoon for rest and back out in the evening touring plan and I like that we can morning in one spot and evening in another. I like that if we do AK one day (which usually closes earlier than other parks) we can then go somewhere else that evening for dinner and fireworks or a show.

I guess it depends on how you like to vacation too. I like to have options for switching things up!

Allyson

 

[clonetothebone]

Now, I have already purchased my tickets, got the whole package 5nights at CBR, dining plan and 5 day park-hopper tickets. I also have my ADRs done. But as I keep revising my plan of attack for the parks, I am not sure if I really need the Park Hopper tickets. I have 2 boys ages 4 and soon to be 7(B-day on 2nd day at WDW) and I do not know if they would be able to handle jumping from park to park. We are going June 9th and my kids have never experienced such heat and humidity. As I have browsed over my plan (and everything is planned around my ADR's) I only see 1 possibility that we could park-hop.
So my question is, is it really worth it to buy this upgrade?

The key to the answer is the fact that you are only going to be there 5 days. You won't have time to park hop. In fact since you are going in June, you will definately have trouble seeing everything. Make a list of must sees and plan around that. You will need the extra hour or so wasted going from park to park to see the attractions you want to.

We are park hoppers but will be there 8 days which hopefully will give us enough time. I am having trouble fitting it all in though.

 

[Tiger926]

We are park hoppers as well. Our DD will be 3 in July, and has been to WDW 4 times, so she's a little expert, and park hopping is essential for us. We always vacation in the summer (tried March and December and it was too busy!) and since we are DVC members we have APs as we go for a minimum of 2 weeks each year. Park hopping is a must just for dining alone! We do tons of sit down restaurants and don't necessarily schedule based on what park we are visiting. MGM for instance is limited for dining choices, so we need to be able to visit another park for our meal. Park hopping actually breaks up the pace of the day as I find families who don't park hop are at the parks from morning till night - a very long day. We never do this as we like to park hop sometimes just to get a break or for a quieter change of pace if one park is too busy and we actually slow down our day with park hopping as there no need to stay at one park for a zillion hours at a time. We love to go to a park for a few hours, go back to resort for a rest, and go to another park for dinner or fireworks - a nice, leisurely day!

Park hopping all depends on your length of stay, and the temperaments of your kids - it's a must for my daughter, but she's been doing it since she was 10 months old, so it works for us!

Have a great vacation, Tiger