Park Hopper or base ticket?

[KTMEMOMMY]

We're planning a 7 night trip...kids involved are going to 2 6 year olds, 2 4 year olds and a 2 year old.

Is park hopper ticket worth our while? Helpful to have or will it not be much use to us? What would really be our advantages or disadvantages?

Thanks!

 

[squirrlygirl]

Cons to base ticket: If you don't have the parkhopper, you must stay in whatever park you start at. Even if you find out it's unbearably crowded. You also need to make sure dinner ressies are at the same park you're at. Also means you're stuck at Animal Kingdom all day even if you're done by 11 (my kids didn't care for it so it was a quick day for us)
Pros: It's cheaper. You won't feel like you wasted money if you didn't hop much.

We hopped a ton last trip. DH loved Epcot, so we ended up there several times. We went back to MK to get some rides we never fit in our first time around, etc. We'll have parkhoppers our next trip, too. We found the flexibility worth the extra $$.

 

[firstfamilytrip]

We went for the first time in March with 1,6, and and 8 year old. We did not buy the hoppers because of the additional cost. I just planned where we were going each day and we spent the entire day at the park. If we got done early we went back to the hotel and did some swimming and relaxing. There was so much stuff to see that we didn't miss being able to go somewhere else. Honestly I don't think I could have brought myself to try and tackle another park once we got out of the madness of the first one. Some people really love them, though. If you think about your family's expectations of the trip that should help you get your answer.

 

[kileybeth]

5 kids! a family I can totally relate with! we have 6! altho a few are older now.

couple of questions?

when are you going? makes a big difference crowd wise which would make a big difference touring wise.

have you been before? will you go again anytime soon? makes a big difference in what you are trying to fit in and see.

you have mostly "little ones" are you anticipating needing an afternoon break? are you staying on site? are you strict on vacation with schedules or more flexible? taking an afternoon break and then staying out later in the evening is a great way to see more/do more and still get enough rest. also are you swimmers?

do you like to catch the shows/parades/ and other special events? (ie. little ones extra magic hour, extra evening hour, character meet and greets) It is nearly impossible when only staying one week (we are staying 8 nights this upcoming trip) to see it all but if there are things you want to not miss you will need to schedule around those.

are you on the DDP? ADR's make a huge difference in what you can fit in, where you need to be. . .

will you have a car? or using on site transportation? travel time with or without a car has to be planned for when your daily trying to transverse 43+ acres!


I am a huge fan of the hopper for a more relaxed vacation and the freedom to move around as my family likes to do what they want to do and sometimes that entails 2 parks/one day to fit it in on a 7 day schedule.

so, more info pretty please?

 

[KTMEMOMMY]

5 kids! a family I can totally relate with! we have 6! altho a few are older now.
Confession time- 2 are mine, 3 are my niece
s/ nephew!!
couple of questions?

when are you going? makes a big difference crowd wise which would make a big difference touring wise.

November '08...approximately a week before Thanksgiving (will Xmas decorations be up (fingers crossed)

have you been before? will you go again anytime soon? makes a big difference in what you are trying to fit in and see.

DH and I have...nieces/nephew/bro/sil/grandma and grandpa no. They are not likely to go again anytime soon; my kids were there when they were tiny but will be again every couple of years.

you have mostly "little ones" are you anticipating needing an afternoon break? are you staying on site? are you strict on vacation with schedules or more flexible? taking an afternoon break and then staying out later in the evening is a great way to see more/do more and still get enough rest. also are you swimmers?

Yes...planning on doing early park visits then breaking early afternoon for rest/ swim and regrouping before dinner.

do you like to catch the shows/parades/ and other special events? (ie. little ones extra magic hour, extra evening hour, character meet and greets) It is nearly impossible when only staying one week (we are staying 8 nights this upcoming trip) to see it all but if there are things you want to not miss you will need to schedule around those.

I'd like to see as much as we can see without totally overwhelming everyone!

are you on the DDP? ADR's make a huge difference in what you can fit in, where you need to be. . .

Yes! Doing DDP and will be doing character meals (maybe 3) and some TS ressies

will you have a car? or using on site transportation? travel time with or without a car has to be planned for when your daily trying to transverse 43+ acres!

No car....staying at POP and using bus transport

I am a huge fan of the hopper for a more relaxed vacation and the freedom to move around as my family likes to do what they want to do and sometimes that entails 2 parks/one day to fit it in on a 7 day schedule.

I like the idea...dh really wants to...just trying to figure out if it's worth the extra cost for 11 people!

so, more info pretty please?

Thanks! Maybe I should turn my planning over to you...!!

 

[KTMEMOMMY]

Ooops...did that quote thing wrong to include my responses..hope you can read it and see what I meant...!!

 

[princess lovers mom]

some of it depends on where you are staying, if it is on the monorail route or along the boardwalk I would get the hopper because it is easy to get to a park. Example - you are on the boardwalk and spend the day at AK...in the evening you could walk over to EPCOT for dinner or fireworks....if you are on the monorail hop over to MK for late rides, parades, etc...

we usually plan out where we are going to eat to help decide if we need hoppers that trip or not also...

 

[kileybeth]

nooooooo!!!! pull up my other post and see how much hair I've pulled out trying to make my schedule work

I am trying to go without hoppers this time as DH does not want to spend any more money on tickets! $240+/- more to add them for us. so it's a diffence of keeping tickets under $800 as oppossed to over a $1000. . . and maybe doing MNSSHP!

so many choices, so little time. . .

so have you been before? If not, you probably could get away without them but still if you want to fit as much in as easily as possible get the hopper.

staying at allstars, offsite or on monarail all figures in. . .

let us know! everyone on the Dis loves to comment even if we can't figure it all out!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Granted right now we only have one kiddo so the decision is easier for us but even so for the flexibility I would go for the hoppers. Our DS is almost 4 and still needs downtime and leaving the parks if we have to allows us a lot of flexibility. And if we just don't feel like spending the whole day at a specific park and want to do something else in the late afternoon it allows us to go somewhere else.

 

[stavidt]

Hi--

This totally depends on where you are staying and what kind of person you are. If you are staying near Epcot I would say...probably hopper....if not...no hopper. If this is your one big trip...don't plan on going back...gotta get it all in...hopper...if not...no hopper.

We went with a 1 and 2 yr old and got the hopper...what a a waste! We didn't hop a single night in seven nights except one. It was too hectic to do so. Between the crankiness in the late afternoon or the naps we needed in the middle of the day we were finished most days and ready to eat and crash.

Next month we are going again...they will be 3 and 2....we have decided on no hopper. Since we are doing the dining plan I made most of my ressies at the deluxe resorts for dinner: Ohana's, California Grill, Kona, Chef Mickey etc..... this way I can do whatever we want during the day and then eat a nice dinner regardless..it will be a bit inconvient to trek all the way to the resorts but this way I don't have to commit to a major park everyday and stick to it...I want to have some a loose plans during the day. The only problem I have encountered is having reservations in the parks...but I made them a minimum: having young kids I know we will probably only go to Epcot one day...so I made two ts ressies that day!

Gook luck

 

[emh1129]

We bought the hoppers last time and never used them. We just aren't hopping people With little ones, it just seemed easier to plan carefully and stick to one park a day.
I know a lot of people love to hop, though, but this worked out well for us.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

I was told that if you don't have the park hoppers, you can't use the fast pass. Does anyone know if this is true or not?
TIA,
Lesley

 

[MidgeD79]

You can use fast passes without a park hopper. We (7 of us) stayed at Pop Century in June of '07. We have been to WDW several times. We did not have park hoppers, we drove down and had a car but used Pop's transportation. If money was not an issue, I would go with park hoppers. This trip was much more relaxing because after we were done with MGM and AK in half days each, we went back to PC and swam instead of going to another park and exhausting ourselves.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

You can use fast passes without a park hopper. We (7 of us) stayed at Pop Century in June of '07. We have been to WDW several times. We did not have park hoppers, we drove down and had a car but used Pop's transportation. If money was not an issue, I would go with park hoppers. This trip was much more relaxing because after we were done with MGM and AK in half days each, we went back to PC and swam instead of going to another park and exhausting ourselves.

That is exactly why I don't want the park hoppers...if I have them, I will try to do everything when I know I can't, but if I don't have them, I have no choice but to relax!!!
Also, if you don't have park hoppers, can you choose the park you want to be in for the day, or are you assigned a certain park per day?
Thanks,
Lesley

 

[karliebug]

I think that park hoppers give you the most flexibility to beat crowds and see all that there is to see. We typically go early to whichever park has the early entrance and stay until about lunchtime. We then go back to the resort to swim and rest and then off to a different park around 4 pm for dinner and the evening. This works the best for my family of 5.

 

[tweedlemom]

Same here. We hop! We go to morning EMH, early lunch, more of the same park, then back to the room/pool, go to whatever park we choose for the rest of the night. I like having the choice to do whatever and not be locked into a certain place.

 

[kileybeth]

I always find it interesting when people say they don't need hoppers because they just plan and choose more carefully what they want to do and then just stay in one park and do it??!!

It is my planning that is assuring me I will not/ can not do what I want to do and stay in only one park each day. this plan (1park each day) eliminates the ability to take full advantage of EMH, extra parades, and events that occur only 2 or 3 times a week. If your stay is longer than 9 days, you may be able to do it, but on our 8 day trip, we will not be able to do so.

We are planning an afternoon break (somewhere around 11-noon ish) as we will hit early magic hours and rope drop each day. This way we can recharge/enjoy the resort as well as the parks. By around 3-4pmish , we should be rested and ready to make our ADR's for that evening or go back into park for parades or few more rides/ etc. With hoppers we would normally take it easy through dinner than hit the park with Evening extra magic hours and feel like we have missed nothing (except crowds and heat!) by taking a nice break. Without hoppers, we are going to still need a break, still need dinner, and then go back to same park which probably closes earlier since they opened earlier. . .kwim?

perhaps, as I've said before, it is having children on both ends of the age spectum (2 teens, 2 toddlers, Dh and I)that makes it difficult to decide which things to include and which to let go.

sorry for the rant!

 

[05MM08MM]

We are planning not to purchase the park-hopper option to save some money. We know with a 5-night only stay we may not see everything there is to see, but that's ok with us. We plan to pick the main/most important things to see and do and anything else will just be a bonus.

As far as I know you can do to a park in the morning, leave to go back to hotel for a while and come back to that same park with a base ticket???