Park hopper is it worth it?

[woodchuck]

In the past we all ways got it but this trip in may we are trying to save money because we are going to go to Clearwater after our stay at WDW.

 

[cdrn1]

I truly think it is. It's so great to be able to go to a different park in the evening, or if the one you go to in the a.m. is crowded. I just like the flexibility and have actually gone to three parks in the same day!

 

[tribus121]

We used our hoppers allmost every day so that we could dine where we felt like and see the nightime shows

 

[kalidk]

Worth it....This is a need not a want....

 

[Iowaswete]

Yeah I was wondering this same thing.....It will be my first ever trip to WDW. It will be me and my 6 yr old daughter....We will be there for 6 days...So would it be wise to just devote one day to each of the 4 parks and then for the remaining 2 days go back to the two that we enjoyed the most???

 

[Donald is #1]

For me Park Hoppers are definitely worth it. I hop almost every day of my WDW vacation. I love being able to go to another park either in the afternoon or the evening. That being said, there are also many people on this board who never park hop. So, I guess that it is really a question of your personnel touring style. If you are accustomed to park hoppers, before you decide to not hop on your next vacation, do you think that you will feel trapped or restricted because you can not hop?

 

[saschab]

We almost always go in the fall. Some parks close very early, and we like to go to Epcot most nights.

We also like the flexibility to zig to another park when it seems like all folks are zagging in a certain park. It's a short trip for us, this time...

Another reason: we've done MGM to death, only want to do a few things this time.

 

[woodchuck]

Yeah I was wondering this same thing.....It will be my first ever trip to WDW. It will be me and my 6 yr old daughter....We will be there for 6 days...So would it be wise to just devote one day to each of the 4 parks and then for the remaining 2 days go back to the two that we enjoyed the most???

That is what I was think too. I was not sure about having to plan our days be fore we get there. Do not get me wrong we plan a lot when we go to WDW we end up with 2 to 3 books of just print out of what and were we are doing/going.
Thank you all for what you have to say about this please keep it coming so I can say yes or no then I can book our trip. I can not wait we do 1 big trip for my ds's b-day my b-day and our anvers.

 

[woodchuck]

For me Park Hoppers are definitely worth it. I hop almost every day of my WDW vacation. I love being able to go to another park either in the afternoon or the evening. That being said, there are also many people on this board who never park hop. So, I guess that it is really a question of your personnel touring style. If you are accustomed to park hoppers, before you decide to not hop on your next vacation, do you think that you will feel trapped or restricted because you can not hop?

You just brought up a good 1! just know I can not hop might make me feel that way.

 

[glavine47]

I like the park hopper option;but, right now it does not work for us. We have a DD(5) and DS(2). We go to one park a day. Early morning, then go to the resort for nap and back in the evening. So it is not the best for us. You do have to plan your meals for the days you will be in that park. We just came back and I planned sci-fi,le cellier, crystal palace and other outside the parks. I love to plan out our trip. Someday when our kids are older I will probably buy the option.

 

[AJKMOM]

If money was a factor, I would do without the hoppers. We didn't think about it when all the passes were hoppers, but this last trip we had to figure out whether to get them or not. We found the best deal at Ticketmania and got 10 day no-expire-park hoppers that will last us 2 trips.

 

[MassMom94]

I love the park hopper option and would never visit the World without it. We go to 2 -3 parks per day, every day (We go for 7 or 8 day trips). Just not an issue with us. Maybe we all have ADHD or something

 

[I Love Pluto]

The park hopper option depends on your habits. For us, there is no question. We always get the hopper option. We go in July and some days it has saved us from overcrowded parks. The flexibility would be missing for us if we did not hop.

 

[pantherlj]

I think you need to plot out your general plans and then decide. If you plan each day and think you can live without them, why spend the extra money? However, if you look at your schedule and decide you want to do X in the AM and Y in the PM a couple of days, it will be worth it.

Also, you can always add park hopper option while you are there. In other words, you can buy base tickets now and then upgrade to park hopper if you find out you need them.

 

[dreamscometrue47]

When our kids were younger, we didn't park hop because we found that the kids just got really cranky and tired going from park to park, no matter if we took a break or not. But now that they are older (17 and 13) and we do allow them some freedom while at WDW, park hoppers are a must for us. I really believe that the more you have visited the World, the more you need park hoppers. I think the first couple of times you visit, staying at one park per day is actually preferable, as long as you plan out your meals, the fireworks and parades you want to see. We found it so much easier to relax for an hour on a bench or at a show when the kids were small than to trek over to another park.

 

[Boardwalker]

I think it depends on your history, your current situation and your touring style.
I have found that the hopper option saves money for us. We have no small children and can move between the parks easily. If you are late risers, or are still dealing with strollers and naps, and you need more time to transition, the hoppers aren't your best deal.
We are satisfied with 1/2 day at each of the Animal Kingdom and MGM if our trip is limited, so instead of saving money by skipping the hopper option, we would find it more cost effective to cut a day off the passes and take the hoppers.
We also feel that way about the extra days... we have found that we can re-do our favorite rides at MK and EPCOT in one day with the hoppers, when the crowds are with us.
And when the crowds are heavy, we would rather have the flexibility to leave and try a different park. We don't have too much patience, at least not near the end of our trip.
But we are true Disney commandos. We are up and out and loving every minute of it. We strike hard and fast and hit the thrill rides first. It is an illness that no ticket option will ever cure.

 

[woodchuck]

I to say thank you to you all and please keep your answers coming

 

[U2_rocks!]

We'll have 13 days, and since the 10 day tickets are relatively cheap (compared to, say, 5 day) it doesn't make sense for us to hop. We are happy to only spend half days in the parks, or leave at lunch time and go back to the same park in the evening.

For a shorter trip, or a very busy time when you might want the flexibility of leaving a super-busy park, or if you want to keep going to your favourite rides without spending all day in one park, or if you love commando touring .... then hoppers are a must.

But as it was said, you can add the hopper option later, it's a fixed price. So if you want to save money, try not hopping. If you find that isn't working out and you feel the need to hop, go to Guest Services and have it added.

 

[pixie@heart]

I don't think I could ever do a trip without the option to hop...Even with young ones, we like the freedom to make a choice that we want to be someplace different in the evening than we were in the morning. Or if we get to a park and its really crowded (due to EMH or some other event), we will do a few things and then head to another park.

I think that if you are used to being able to hop, you would want to keep that option open. But if the money is that much of and issue, then

 

[rie'smom]

We had hoppers in May and used them once. For our trip @ Thanksgiving,I've bought non-hoppers. I'll have 2 12 year olds w/me. I planned my days and ADRs to coincide.
If once we arrive we need the hoppers,we'll just upgrade.