Park Hopper...is it worth it?

[crisi]

I think hoppers add a lot in terms of flexibility. There have been days we've shown up in one park and discovered its too crowded. Or days when we've only had a few things we've wanted to do in one park before moving on. They let us plan ADRs without being obsessive about which day we will be in which park - we can always hop if its important to us. Or change our mind on dinner if we can get an open ADR somewhere else.

But look at it as "what am I giving up to hop." If hopping is a big burden to your budget, don't bother.....

 

[lisa3635]

For me it's absolutley worth it. I wouldn't want to be stuck in a park that got too crowded. If you never use it though, obviously you probably don't value it as much as me. We usually go to the MK in the morning and Epcot for dinner.

 

[TULIPS1726]

Thanks for all the responses!!!

I think this trip we might pass on the park hoppers. I'm an "over planner" so I think that is why we don't usually do more than one park a day...and it is so hard with the kiddos. We do go back to the resort for a relax/swim break, but always go back to the same park...and I plan the parks around ADR's.

I think this go round, we will use the park hopper money towards the Halloween party!!

 

[Samar]

With first-timers or small kids, I wouldn't do hoppers. However, that is just me. When I went with DH a few years ago and were able to leave the kids with my mom, we hopped and enjoyed. We knew what we wanted to see solo and that would've cramped us toting around our 2 kids at the time (you know, potty breaks, must-have snacks, etc). This time we're sticking with base tickets as DH plans on keeping the kids with us the entire time so hopefully our 6 days will cover us.

 

[pmdeve]

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.

What is the Y.E.S. program? What is the maximum number of days for which you can purchase a ticket. What age group? This is the first time I've heard of this program. Please fill me in. Thanks

 

[sahummel]

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?

Wouldn't do without it!

 

[micheleq]

I think hoppers add a lot in terms of flexibility. There have been days we've shown up in one park and discovered its too crowded. Or days when we've only had a few things we've wanted to do in one park before moving on. They let us plan ADRs without being obsessive about which day we will be in which park - we can always hop if its important to us. Or change our mind on dinner if we can get an open ADR somewhere else.

But look at it as "what am I giving up to hop." If hopping is a big burden to your budget, don't bother.....

This is exactly why we've used Park Hopper in the past. It simply allows us to be more flexible. We have left one park when it was too much for us and gone to another. It also allowed us to spend more time in the MK on our last trip -- there were two mornings we spent maybe 2-3 hours at HS and then the rest of those days at MK unexpectedly.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

If you won't use it, don't spend the money.

We go on very short trips so we like having the hopper so we can sometimes do two parks in one day. If we went for a week or so at a time, it's not necessary.

 

[Pigeon]

We have no problem at all in planning our days so as to be at a single park. In fact, the first trip we took, we paid for park hoppers and didn't end up needing it once. I think it's a complete waste of money for us.

 

[nilseks]

This will be our first time w/o hoppers. In the past they were useful when our kids were younger--we would always leave the park at nap time, then go out to another park later. This year we decided we wanted to save some money, and our kids are older, so no more naps. We sat down and looked at the park schedule for each day and really thought about where we wanted to go on what day, did our ADR's in accordance with what park we would be at...I feel strongly that we have a good, workable schedule and we won't miss the hoppers at all!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Hoppers are a great way to SAVE money!

We usually go at slower times of the year, and since we don't have children, we can get a LOT done, quickly. AK or DHS only take us a matter of hours each, so we always hop back to MK on those days. We get a LOT more done faster, and don't need to stay 8, 9, 10 nights to see everything we want to in the World. The $52 hopper saves hundreds of dollars in resort nights.

 

[lurkernj]

Two years ago we got the hopper for our 11 day trip. We used them twice. There was 6 of us, so that was $300.

Last year, I went with just DS11 on a budget trip and didn't get them. This was perfectly fine. It just requires a little more planning. I planned all our meals based on what park we would be in that day. It allowed us to take our time in each park without worrying about rushing to the next activity. We spent an entire day just walking around in world showcase going in each and every shop and show, at his request (I don't really like shopping), but it was very relaxing and fun. AK and DHS are not full days for us, so we just planned to go to DTD or spend some time at the resort those days.

 

[Ava]

I'm debating what to do for our trip next year with DD, who will be 2. We've always gotten hoppers in the past because we'd only spend 1/2 day at HS & AK, or when AK closed we'd hop over to another park for the evening. But with a 2 year old, I know our pace will be a lot slower. I do like the flexibility though, so if one park is too crowded or DD is not enjoying it we can go to another park. Also my parents & MIL are joining us & I know my dad will want to eat dinner in Epcot whenever possible, lol.

 

[disneystacy]

We don't do park hoppers. We plan on one park a day. We spend morning to night at the park and see everything. We either eat in the park we are in or eat at a resort if we don't like the choices at the particular park we are in.

 

[crisi]

I think the last two posts are kind of telling - if you have a lot of time, you can spend a day and a half in a park and have no need to hop to another park for "mop up" attractions. If you are trying to really maximize your time, chances are good you'll end up hopping because there will be "mop up" attractions.

Planning helps, but planning can be a strange thing. We had a trip a few years ago that was very well planned. Did our research with Tour Guide Mike and the Unofficial Guide people to determine what day was best where. We went to the Studios on a day that was supposed to be light - and it was wall to wall people. The CMs didn't know what happened. They were staffed for the light day they'd anticipated as well. We hopped over to Epcot, then went back to the Studios the next day, when it was much less busy.

I'm not a fan of the Halloween party - but plenty of people are and I think that is definately a good trade for hopping. If I hadn't done the Halloween party, I might trade hopping for the party.

 

[rdevine10]

For us its worked this way so far:

Longer trips we hop

Shorter trips we dont

Longer- due to wanting to dine often in Epcot. Spending less time at DHS (not a huge draw for my kids).

Shorter we dont hop, as its pretty easy to plan 1 or 2 days at each park and just stick there.

Is there logic in that? who knows

 

[Praying Colonel]

For our last 2 trips we got base tickets with the idea that we'd add the hopper once we got there, if we needed it. Turned out we didn't, so that was money well-saved. YMMV.

 

[daisyyy]

We've always gotten the hopper... I never thought about not doing it UNTIL our last trip... we hopped occasionally, but that was mostly due to our ADRs... we would have been content statying in one park and just going to DTD or back to the resort to swim after the park closes. Our last trip we wasted more time getting from place to place, then if we just planned to have our ADRs in the park we're in. SO.. this trip is the 1st time we're not hopping, and I'm a litle worried that I might feel "stuck" if we want to go somewhere else, but as another PP said, with a little planning, and realizing that we don't HAVE to see everything in one day, we may like it better. Time will tell.... We'll try it this way for this trip, and if we hate it, then we'll be hoppers from now on. Also... I think it makes a difference if you're toting kids.... If its just me an DH, I would definitely hop .. end up in EPCOT at night.. But honestly... with kids.. it just seems more draining, or maybe I'm just getting old.

 

[novdisneydreams]

The first time we went we had hoppers - but honestly we thought it was an awful lot of time on buses in between parks to hop. Also we didn't like being in one park having a great time and realizing that we had to start the hour long hop to the next park in order to make an ADR. We were traveling with small children, though, and we were doing naps in the afternoon so it was a lot of time in transport. The plus was that it WAS really fun to hop late at night, on a whim ... just say hey, lets do Epcot now and leave MK and go.

Our next trip we didn't hop, had a car and condo and saw WAY more. Of course I had discovered the disboards & how to plan (I swear by Tour Guide Mike) and we had great success with having good plans in place and doing one park per day. There was one night, when my parents watched the kids and DH and I went on a "date", when I sort of missed the hopping at first... but we ended up having a blast doing "grown up" stuff in Epcot where we'd been with the kids earlier that day. Also watching the fireworks from the monorail, sigh. Anyway, it wouldn't have ended up being worth the extra $200 for us that trip.

I agree that it just depends on your style. But base tickets are entirely doable (and to me, with kids, less stressful even). Just plan well and you'll have a great time!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

The first time we went we had hoppers - but honestly we thought it was an awful lot of time on buses in between parks to hop. Also we didn't like being in one park having a great time and realizing that we had to start the hour long hop to the next park in order to make an ADR. We were traveling with small children, though, and we were doing naps in the afternoon so it was a lot of time in transport. The plus was that it WAS really fun to hop late at night, on a whim ... just say hey, lets do Epcot now and leave MK and go.

Our next trip we didn't hop, had a car and condo and saw WAY more. Of course I had discovered the disboards & how to plan (I swear by Tour Guide Mike) and we had great success with having good plans in place and doing one park per day. There was one night, when my parents watched the kids and DH and I went on a "date", when I sort of missed the hopping at first... but we ended up having a blast doing "grown up" stuff in Epcot where we'd been with the kids earlier that day. Also watching the fireworks from the monorail, sigh. Anyway, it wouldn't have ended up being worth the extra $200 for us that trip.

I agree that it just depends on your style. But base tickets are entirely doable (and to me, with kids, less stressful even). Just plan well and you'll have a great time!

I think it depends on where you're staying. Since we stay at the GF, it's easy peasy to hop anywhere, except maybe AK to DHS. All the other hops can be done by monorail, boat or walking.