Park hopper on first trip?

[minoh]

Just wondering how useful the park hopper option is. We're going to WDW for the first time, have kids ranging in age from 6-11, and will be there for 5 days. I've planned our days so they're pretty full and have kept us within one park/day. I've planned for 1 day in each of AK, HS and EP, with 2 MK days.

My question is, with kids is it better to stick to 1 park/day? I feel tired out by the thought of going from one park to another but is there any advantage to doing that? Just wondering if park hoppers are worth the expense, and good to have in case. Or if on our first trip it makes more sense to just do 1 park at a time?

 

[mom2rtk]

Most here swear by hoppers. We never get them at WDW. We don't take mid-day breaks and look at time spent traveling between parks as a waste of additional park time. We like going to a park for the entire day.

 

[ErinsMommy]

we love PHs because while you may want to be at one park a day, IMO some parks are not full day parks. plus you may want to go to another park that may have extended EMHs or for dining.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

We don't usually get hoppers. It works well for us to be in one park per day. Remember that you can always add the hopper option later if you are in the midst of your vacation and think you will need it. No need to purchase it up front.

 

[freewill]

I'd say not worth it for your first trip, especially with younger kids. We had PH our first trip and didn't use them much after the first day as we underestimated the time and fatigue factors of trying to pack multi parks in.

Time of year could matter too. If it's summer, days are longer meaning conceivably you could do more than one park a day--but the heat knocks you out, especially kiddos. In summer, I'd probably be even less inclined to get PHs on your first trip and devote more time to the pool!

 

[scard192]

we always get hoppers as we travel in the Fall when the parties close MK 4 nights/week at 7PM. gives us lots more flexibility in the evenings

 

[Farps]

We love park hoppers, but we plan our day intending to use them. We hit EMH and then hop to another park. With that being said if you already planned your trip out for one park per day, I think that you are better off staying with your plan and not getting hoppers. You can always upgrade to them after you get there if you feel that you need them. Have a wonderful trip

 

[JiminyOhana]

We always get the park hopper tickets. We will typically always go to 2 different parks in 1 day. That way you can take advantage of EMH in the morning at one park and in the evening at the other. It also gives you more freedom on your ADR's. If you can only find a reservation on certain day/time then you don't have to worry about planning the rest of what you do that day around your reservation that night.

 

[minoh]

Thanks so much for all the input! We've kind of planned to be at each park for full days followed by dinner and then just relaxing for the evening. So maybe the park hoppers wouldn't be all that useful if we don't plan on any evening or night park time. I guess the only thing is that maybe grandparents could stay with the kids and my sister and I could go exploring in the evening if we did have the park hopper. Just hard to say if we'll be too tired by then. It'll be March so I'm assuming it won't be too hot then... Now I'm flip-flopping on what might be better. Either way, it's good that we can always add them on (and then perhaps we'd just add it for some of us and not everyone if they're too zonked).

It's always hard trying to plan these things in advance without any prior experience to go on, so I definitely appreciate hearing all of your strategies!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Just wondering how useful the park hopper option is. We're going to WDW for the first time, have kids ranging in age from 6-11, and will be there for 5 days. I've planned our days so they're pretty full and have kept us within one park/day. I've planned for 1 day in each of AK, HS and EP, with 2 MK days.

My question is, with kids is it better to stick to 1 park/day? I feel tired out by the thought of going from one park to another but is there any advantage to doing that? Just wondering if park hoppers are worth the expense, and good to have in case. Or if on our first trip it makes more sense to just do 1 park at a time?

Park Hoppers (when used "correctly") can give you alot more flexibility so whatever time you lose between parks you can make up for with reduced crowds. Also, it means you don't have to eat at Hollywood Studios when you go to Hollywood Studios.

 

[minoh]

Park Hoppers (when used "correctly") can give you alot more flexibility so whatever time you lose between parks you can make up for with reduced crowds. Also, it means you don't have to eat at Hollywood Studios when you go to Hollywood Studios.

Right! I wish I knew the trick for using them correctly. One dilemma was AK. I wasn't sure if scheduling a whole day at AK made sense but now we have a dinner ADR at Boma so am not sure if it makes sense to leave since we have to go back that way anyway.

Does that mean that the food at HS is awful? I certainly haven't heard much raving about the options there. We have an early dinner ADR at SciFi but not sure if that'll be a huge disappointment and finding something else be a better option.

But is going between parks really exhausting? How much time would you suggest scheduling to travel between MK and EP, for example.

 

[Klayfish]

We're huge fans of Hopping, I'd say we do it around 40% of all days we spend at WDW. But you don't "have to" have it. If you're a first timer, then you could easily spend an entire day exploring the park, and several days for MK.

One option is you can always add it while you're there if you feel you need it. Just go to guest services and you can add it at any time, so you can make that decision on the fly.

As for travel time between parks, it depends on the park. MK to Epcot is easy because there is a monorail connecting the two. The ride between the two is about 7-10 minutes, plus whatever time it takes you to walk to the monorail station. There is a ferry boat connecting HS to Epcot, but that's a 25-30 minute ride, so plan accordingly. I don't stay on site, so we have our car with us and drive between parks. But my understanding is that if you're using WDW buses, figure 30-40 minutes (depending on if you catch the bus when it comes, or have to wait for the next one).

 

[EdmondD]

One option is you can always add it while you're there if you feel you need it. Just go to guest services and you can add it at any time, so you can make that decision on the fly.

Absolutely...no need to invest the money now because you're not getting it back if you decide you don't want hoppers. By regular tickets and if you decide you want to hop, add them there. (Of course have money set aside for this and understand that even if it's just for the last day they will charge you the amount that you would have paid for hoppers for the full length of ticket).

 

[ownedby3]

My kids are 4 and 6 and we do 1 park per day right now with a nap in the middle of the day. For us, I can't justify the added price. When they get older for sure!

 

[IrishNYC]

We had hoppers on our first family trip, but won't do them again until DD is older. We used them then because we had them, but if we didn't have them, we probably wouldn't have missed them. I just would have planned better/differently. I had grand plans for days in parks and most nights in World Showcase, strolling and sipping drinks. The 5 year old had different plans and needed her sleep.

If it's your first time, you may find yourself wanting a full day in each park (and 2 for MK). I know we can make all the parks a full day or more, even. Sure you can blow through all the rides in AK or DHS in 3 or 4 hours, but there's so much more to see and soak in.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Right! I wish I knew the trick for using them correctly. One dilemma was AK. I wasn't sure if scheduling a whole day at AK made sense but now we have a dinner ADR at Boma so am not sure if it makes sense to leave since we have to go back that way anyway.

Does that mean that the food at HS is awful? I certainly haven't heard much raving about the options there. We have an early dinner ADR at SciFi but not sure if that'll be a huge disappointment and finding something else be a better option.

But is going between parks really exhausting? How much time would you suggest scheduling to travel between MK and EP, for example.

It sounds like you've already created a good touring plan based on the base tickets you have. I wouldn't change it. As you said, if you get there and find you want to hop, change your tickets then. The food at Sci-Fi isn't great, but the atmosphere is pretty cool. If you would rather have your dinner outside of the park, you could always go to one of the EP resorts for dinner (BC/YC, Swan/Dolphin or BWI) and then go right back into DHS (you can walk or boat to the resorts from DHS) without the expense of hopping to another park. For a first time trip, I think your plan of 2 days in MK and 1 in each of the other parks is very good. I wouldn't change it particularly as you don't know how your group is going to react/respond to all of the walking and traveling involved. To answer your question - getting from MK to EP is fairly easy (it's monorail to TTC, switch monorails to EP) and would take about 20 - 30 minutes, but if you have full days planned in each of those parks, again, I see no need to hop.

 

[smiths02]

Absolutely...no need to invest the money now because you're not getting it back if you decide you don't want hoppers. By regular tickets and if you decide you want to hop, add them there. (Of course have money set aside for this and understand that even if it's just for the last day they will charge you the amount that you would have paid for hoppers for the full length of ticket).

Not only can you add it if you need to, but you don't have to add it to every ticket. So if you and your sister can get away from the kids...then you would only have to pay for you and your sister to have park hoppers

 

[ownedby3]

We had hoppers on our first family trip, but won't do them again until DD is older. We used them then because we had them, but if we didn't have them, we probably wouldn't have missed them. I just would have planned better/differently. I had grand plans for days in parks and most nights in World Showcase, strolling and sipping drinks. The 5 year old had different plans and needed her sleep.

If it's your first time, you may find yourself wanting a full day in each park (and 2 for MK). I know we can make all the parks a full day or more, even. Sure you can blow through all the rides in AK or DHS in 3 or 4 hours, but there's so much more to see and soak in.

I agree, our first trip I had high hopes and overplanned. My kids totally couldn't do half the things I wanted to do!! I canceled a lot (of ADRs especially). This trip I planned better! But hoping since they are 2 years older will do better!

 

[ownedby3]

Not only can you add it if you need to, but you don't have to add it to every ticket. So if you and your sister can get away from the kids...then you would only have to pay for you and your sister to have park hoppers

Do you happen to know how much it is to add the hopper option?

 

[DrummerBoy523]

We usually search for ticket deals and this year ended up withi 7-Day Hoppers for the price of 4-Day Hoppers from UCT. We have never been to the world w/o hoppers. I like the flexibility of hoppers although I think it is a rip off price wise.