Park Hopper...is it worth it?

[TULIPS1726]

I'm debating not getting the park hopper option on our upcoming vacation...it seems everytime we go, we get the park hopper and don't use it. I was just thinking that we could use that extra money to pay for our tips at our meals.
What do you think?

 

[BrettS]

I know there are a lot of people that swear by the park hopper and a lot that absolutely refuse to spend the extra money, so it can definitely be done either way. If you get it and don't use it, then I would suggest that you stop getting it... Disney gets enough money as it is... no need to give them more

However, a lot of people are not aware that you can add the park hopper option once you're at the parks if you decide that you do want it. You can upgrade your tickets within 14 days of their first use, so get the tickets without the park hopper option initially. If you get down there and decide that you really do need to hop, then go to a ticket window and add it then. If you never need it, then you didn't waste your money on something you didn't use.

HTH,
Brett

 

[daleswife]

I know there are a lot of people that swear by the park hopper and a lot that absolutely refuse to spend the extra money, so it can definitely be done either way. If you get it and don't use it, then I would suggest that you stop getting it... Disney gets enough money as it is... no need to give them more

However, a lot of people are not aware that you can add the park hopper option once your at the parks if you decide that you do want it. You can upgrade your tickets within 14 days of their first use, so get the tickets without the park hopper option initially. If you get down there and decide that you really do need to hop, then go to a ticket window and add it then. If you never need it, then you didn't waste your money on something you didn't use.

HTH,
Brett

I agree with Brett. I am one of those people who absolutely refuse to get it. I just plan my day around what ever park I will be at that day, like meals and shows and stuff. For us, it takes us a day or two to see everything in a particular park anyways, so we save that money for our souvenirs and extra snacks we may want.

But like Brett said, dont get it at first. Then if you decide you wanna hop, just add it when you get there...

HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[Justsyd2]

We won't go without getting park hoppers, but that's us. Just do what's best for you.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

It really depends on you and how you like to tour and do the parks.

I couldn't (wouldn't) go without it because it would make trying to plan and do things frustrating for us. We like to sleep in and get to a park around 10-11, eat lunch, go on a few rides, leave in the afternoon, take a nap, relax back at the resort, and/or change, go somewhere for dinner, and then hit up whichever park has night EMH's. Since I have to make ADR's before I ever know what night EMH's are it would be almost impossible to make our lunch ADR's and dinner ADR's for the same park and hope that they're also doing EMH that night.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

My suggestion is do not get it as part of your initial ticket purchase. If at any time during your trip you do decide that you need (or want) to park hop you can take your tickets to any ticket window or Guest Relations Office and it only takes about a minute uop upgrade them to hoppers. The cost is the same, $52 plus tax, per ticket.

 

[disney1990]

We go during Food and Wine. So matter which park we start in, we always end up at Epcot. Non-Hoppers are not an option.

 

[secretpantssam]

I LOVE the park hopper. We make reservations for places in Epcot a lot but don't always want to stay in that park. We also like to get the maximum amount park time...sometimes Animal Kingdom closes early and I'm not done having fun, so I'll go to another park afterward.

Last trip we went to all 4 parks in one day, which was really fun!

 

[clanmcculloch]

If we were to stay at an Epcot area resort, we'd likely get hoppers just so we could go into Epcot for dinner and atmosphere in the evening. If we were to stay at a monorail resort we'd likely get hoppers just so we could go into MK for some atmosphere in the evening. We never seem to stay at a park area resort so we just don't hop because we don't want to deal with the extra travel time that's involved.

I'm a major planner so it's very easy for me to plan for no hopping. We'll be getting APs in June and I just can't figure out how to put a hop into either of my upcoming trips. LOL Hopping's just too inefficient of a use of our time.

 

[kjmommie]

I think that is also depends on your group. We have three kids 3, 4, and 11. It is a lot of work for us to leave the park, pack up the stroller, get on some type of transportation, then enter another park. As just adult groups we loved it. Now with kids it is really more than we can do as if we have it on our tickets we feel like that we have to use it. We find now that when we visit a park that closes early (AK especially) we don't feel like we have to go to another park, we can just go back to "home" and enjoy having a calm evening.

 

[ShesAPirate]

I have a question on this topic. For some reason, I never knew you could upgrade the non-Hopper tickets (I've never *not* bought Park Hoppers, so I guess that's the reason). If I buy my tickets from another source, like Undercover Tourist, can I still upgrade them to Hoppers once we're at the parks?

Also, with non-Hopper tickets, could I go to one park in the morning, back to the resort, then back to the same park that night?

Thanks for your help!

 

[bartleby1]

We don't hop. It would cost us over $250 for our family of 5 to add hopping. I'd rather add an extra day or two on to the trip with that money.

Only problem is, every year I use the same rationale to add an extra day or two. Now, we can't seem to take a disney trip for less than 12 nights, LOL!

 

[clanmcculloch]

As long as the tickets weren't some kind of promotional ticket like those you may get for attending a time share presentation (those tickets can't be upgraded in any way) then yes you can add the hopper option at any time during your trip for the same price. UT sells regular park tickets.

With non-hopper tickets, you can go in and out of the same park as many times as you'd like on the same day.

 

[solfan68]

We are another family that wouldn't go without Hoppers. We typically do Park A in the morning/afternoon, then take a resort break before hitting Park B for ADR's and the evening entertainment. It really depends on your touring schedule.

 

[gr8tdame]

We definitely would not go without park hoppers. We like to dine lunch and dinner @ Epcot and do not like any of the dining options at HS.
We usually stay 10-15 days and park hopping is a must especially with all the early closings at MK for MNSSHP.

 

[lorac4disney]

This trip will be the first time we go without hopping. In years past, we always added the park hopper and the waterpark fun and more option. We rarely used the waterpark option so I knew for sure that we weren't going to get that this time.

Since this is a budget trip for us and we are only going to be there for five days, my hubby and I decided that we would do this trip without hopping while still going back to our room for a mid-day break. Of course, we no longer feel as though we have to see and do it all inside each park. We just go straight to our favorites.

 

[ShesAPirate]

As long as the tickets weren't some kind of promotional ticket like those you may get for attending a time share presentation (those tickets can't be upgraded in any way) then yes you can add the hopper option at any time during your trip for the same price. UT sells regular park tickets.

With non-hopper tickets, you can go in and out of the same park as many times as you'd like on the same day.

Thanks! I think we'll just go with non-hoppers this time, and if the mood hits, I'll upgrade when we're there. Over a hundred bucks saved with no hopping is something to think about. Someone mentioned AK closing early, which is a good point, but I think the day we do AK would be a good night to go to Jellyrolls for some drinks

 

[abmitch01]

We rent a house in Windsor Hills, very close by. We do few if any ADRs so I don't feel we need to hop. We like spending a whole day in one park.

 

[kidd_freeper]

In the Y.E.S. program, park hoppers are only another $16 a person.
(http://disneyyouthgroups.disney.go.com/wdyp/ticket/ticketPackagesPage?page=OpenEnrollmentTicketPackagesPage)

We normally wouldn't pay extra for park hopping, but the Y.E.S. program offered premium tickets (hopping and water park) for another $32/ticket, but didn't offer the water park only option. So this July we'll have the option to park hop, but I can't see us using it very much.

 

[MomToOne]

I used to get park hoppers. Then I sat down after one trip and figured out we had used that ability a grand total of ONE time in 7 days. From then on, I've not bothered with park hoppers. Just slightly better planning and we're fine.