Park hopper or extra day?

[MarBee]

i am planning on going for 6 days to the parks, and I am contemplating doing a day with Epcot in the morning and HS in the afternoon/evening. All of the other days I would just be at one park per day. It is cheaper for me to buy 7 day tickets than it is to buy 6 day tickets with park hopper.

My question is, can I use all 7 days of tickets in 6 days? Meaning, on my day that I plan on doing two parks, could I use 2 days worth of tickets? I wouldn’t mind spending a little extra to do that but it is over $300 to add park hopper when we are only going to park hop once.

 

[bigbabyblues]

One of the most often asked ticket questions, but no, you can't do that. Non-hopper tickets are only good for one park per day. If you try to enter a second park the same day, your ticket will be rejected.

 

[MarBee]

Thank you! Not the answer I wanted to hear but still thankful for finding out now!

 

[Marionnette]

Thank you! Not the answer I wanted to hear but still thankful for finding out now!

So, will you be changing your plans or will you spend the extra money for just that one day? I'm always curious as to what people decide to do when they learn that this clever hack isn't possible.

 

[MarBee]

So, will you be changing your plans or will you spend the extra money for just that one day? I'm always curious as to what people decide to do when they learn that this clever hack isn't possible.

I haven’t decided yet but will most likely just spring for the Park Hopper. I’m a little apprehensive though because I don’t love Epcot. In essence I would be paying almost $350 to do Soarin and eat at Garden Grill. Now that I’ve typed that. It REALLY doesn’t seem worth it.

 

[kymom99]

I haven’t decided yet but will most likely just spring for the Park Hopper. I’m a little apprehensive though because I don’t love Epcot. In essence I would be paying almost $350 to do Soarin and eat at Garden Grill. Now that I’ve typed that. It REALLY doesn’t seem worth it.

But you will have flexibility all the other days. I highly recommend park hoppers. It opens up so many options. I've never tried going without them, even when I had a 4 year old. We always hit up a different park in the evenings most days.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I haven’t decided yet but will most likely just spring for the Park Hopper. I’m a little apprehensive though because I don’t love Epcot. In essence I would be paying almost $350 to do Soarin and eat at Garden Grill. Now that I’ve typed that. It REALLY doesn’t seem worth it.

Epcot is my very favorite park, so seeing someone say they don't love it bogles my mind. But to each their own. I have never not gotten Park Hoppers. We almost always go to one of the parks during the day and then hop over to Epcot for dinner, since there are so many good dinner choices there. I really like the flexibility.

I would say though, if you don't want to spend the money and don't see value in it for yourself, then don't do it.

 

[MarBee]

But you will have flexibility all the other days. I highly recommend park hoppers. It opens up so many options. I've never tried going without them, even when I had a 4 year old. We always hit up a different park in the evenings most days.

We’ve never actually gone without hoppers before, but of the 50+ days we’ve spent in Disney in the past 3 years, I’ve maybe park hopped on 3 days. We were trying to save some money since this trip we are going to try Universal for the first time, and that is a little pricey. In the end, though, I will probably go with the hoppers “just in case.”

 

[Lvsdisney]

We’ve never actually gone without hoppers before, but of the 50+ days we’ve spent in Disney in the past 3 years, I’ve maybe park hopped on 3 days. We were trying to save some money since this trip we are going to try Universal for the first time, and that is a little pricey. In the end, though, I will probably go with the hoppers “just in case.”

Don't forget you can always upgrade to hoppers when you are there. So maybe start with the basic 6 day and then upgrade of you guys feel like it.

 

[MarBee]

Epcot is my very favorite park, so seeing someone say they don't love it bogles my mind. But to each their own. I have never not gotten Park Hoppers. We almost always go to one of the parks during the day and then hop over to Epcot for dinner, since there are so many good dinner choices there. I really like the flexibility.

I would say though, if you don't want to spend the money and don't see value in it for yourself, then don't do it.

I definitely misspoke about Epcot. I actually really like it because I love the international showcase. My young kids, however, are not into it yet. So in the half of the park that we do go to, the only rides/experiences that I look forward to doing again is Soarin. In a few years, though, I hope things will change...

 

[Cirlonde]

I've only used park hopper tickets once, on a short trip where we only had one day and wanted to hit the highlights. This is a topic that always makes me doubt myself, because SO many people are adamant that it's park hoppers or bust! But for us, the additional cost of park hoppers is just exorbitant and I know I would end up feeling like I had to visit multiple parks per day even if I didn't really want to...just so that I would feel like I was getting the full value out of our tickets.

Depending on the resort, you could very nearly stay an extra day and upgrade to 7 day tickets for less than or close to the additional cost of park hoppers. I would have a hard time with that choice!

I don't think either option is wrong, but just had to offer my two cents.

p.s. I might feel differently if we'd ever stayed at a resort within walking or boating distance of a park...in that case, the ease of dropping by for a quick visit to Epcot or Magic Kingdom might win me over!

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Funny, in the 2 times I've been to WDW as an adult we haven't purchased PH's nor do we intend to when we go again next fall. I'm a DLR local and while I've never had a multi day ticket (just AP) I can't imagine not having it in that case with the parks being within a couple hundred feet of each other. With WDW being so spread out I just have ZERO desire to hop from park to hotel to park. I just plan for the places I'd like to eat on the days we go to that park. No restaurant is that important to spend an extra $200 on my family? But that's my opinion. If it meant getting free dining or a killer room discount by purchasing PH's I might consider it but otherwise I'm good without.

 

[starry_solo]

I had a premiere pass the first time I went (a WDW and DLR pass combined) and hopped once in the 14 days we were there....and that was only to get the F&G merchandise that was being sold for up to 50% off that year on the last day of F&G festival. Next times it was just a regular park ticket, no hopper.

 

[MKCP5]

I love the option to hop but just won't pay for it. If it were a $20 upgrade that would be one thing... I long for the old days when you could buy a ticket and hop without an upgrade and buy a multi day ticket and use it at your discretion instead of it expiring whether you have used all the days or not :/

 

[Judique]

I hop all the time. I've actually done something in all 4 parks on more than one occasion.
A couple of years ago I had a 4 day special ticket that was 1 park per day. I felt extremely restricted and probably would never buy one like that again.

 

[MarBee]

I’m still debating the PH but will prob wait till I get closer to drop. Does anyone know if the PH is included in the cancelling 30 days in advance policy? Like if the week before our trip, I decide to keep everything I have EXCEPT for the PH, will Disney allow that change without penalty?

 

[dreamer17555]

Why not just skip the hassle and upgrade there if you need it? No need to worry if Disney will allow you to cancel it.

 

[MarBee]

Why not just skip the hassle and upgrade there if you need it? No need to worry if Disney will allow you to cancel it.

Good point! Why didn’t I think of that?

 

[chalee94]

I’m still debating the PH but will prob wait till I get closer to drop. Does anyone know if the PH is included in the cancelling 30 days in advance policy? Like if the week before our trip, I decide to keep everything I have EXCEPT for the PH, will Disney allow that change without penalty?

I don't think they will refund you - I agree that you should wait to add it later if you decide you want it.