Park Hopper or not?

[mymickeyfans]

Hi,
We are traveling in October for our first family trip to WDW..we can't wait!!! We will be traveling with another family as well. Our children, at the time of travel will consist of two 8 year olds, a 4 year old and a 3 1/2 year old. Is it worth it at these ages to get the Park Hopper Pass or should we just pick a park per day and save the extra money to put towards something else? If we don't do the Park Hopper can you enter, leave and re-enter the same park on the same day?

Thank you for your thoughts.

Me - Kirsten
DH- Brad
DS- Will (7 yrs)
DD-Emily (almost 3!)

 

[Grandmatoniko]

We used to do hoppers but we don't anymore. We just pick a park and do 1 a day to save the extra $$. It isn't a huge savings but when you are going on a tighter budget every little bit helps!

 

[mymickeyfans]

Thank you, That's what I'm leaning towards. It looks like it will save us about $200.00. I can put that towards to MNSSHP instead!!!

 

[joshsmom]

You can leave and re-enter a park on the same day. Many people go back to the resort during mid-afternoon to catch a nap or swim and then come back in the evening.

Whether or not to use park hopper depends on what you want to do. We get park hoppers because if we choose a park for the day and it happens to be crowded, we will leave and go to another park. We like the flexibility. This may or may not affect you. My DS is 16, so we have a totally different plan than your family with young children.

I hope that whatever you choose, you trip is magical for everyone!!

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

We love hoppers - the flexibility of going to whichever parks we want. We generally start at one and head to another after supper (and often a 3rd depending on which parks are open latest). For us AK is a half-day park, so we go for breakfast, do some rides, leave mid afternoon and head somewhere else the rest of the day. I don't think we've ever had a day where we haven't used a hopper at least once.

 

[disnut8]

I'm the opposite and always recommend park hoppers. My reasoning is you might not use the hoppers every day but when you want that flexibility, it's great to have it. For example, if you go to Animal Kingdom one day, find it's not to your liking and your kids would rather be at Magic Kingdom, you can easily go to the other park. Or, if you get to a park and it's way too crowded for your tastes, you can switch to something else. Also, it helps if you just have one or two things you need to do in one park on your last day or so. You can do those things, then leave that park and go finish up another one. We just got back from a trip with my son and his family and one day they did nothing but Magic Kingdom so they didn't need to hoppers that day but they sure appreciated them on their last full day when they did Animal Kingdom (for the Safari only since they hadn't done that yet), then went over to Magic Kingdom to do the three or four things left there, then met us over to Epcot for dinner and a Kim Possible mission. They also loved the hopper feature when we did the Studios for about 3/4 of the day, then went to Epcot to watch Illuminations.

 

[AshleeH]

I would definitely recommend MNSSHP over park hoppers, if those are the options! We got the hoppers the first year and didn't use them a single day, so it was such a colossal waste of money. It really depends on your plans though - we didn't get them last year and we probably would've used them a couple of days (but still not worth the money, since you can no longer buy just one or two days). We're looking into doing it this year, but it will really depend on crowd calendars, ADRs, and whether or not my parents decide to go with us. Have fun!

 

[coozieman]

Save the $200 and pass on Hoppers, at least this trip. Considering that this is your 1st trip and your children's ages - hoppers would be a bad investment.

One park a day will allow you to enjoy each park and exlore all that is has to offer!

Have a great trip!

 

[murppa]

I would never buy park hoppers again...in advance. I did that last time, and we did not use them. The good news is that if you decide that you want to add them while you're there, it is easy to add it on!

 

[twokids0204]

I would never buy park hoppers again...in advance. I did that last time, and we did not use them. The good news is that if you decide that you want to add them while you're there, it is easy to add it on!

100%

That's is not to say "Don't buy Park Hoppers"

But if you are even the least bit unsure, add it ONLY when you are ready to use it.

It costs the exact same price to add it when needed, vs. adding it in advance.

 

[snorkelyn]

100%

That's is not to say "Don't buy Park Hoppers"

But if you are even the least bit unsure, add it ONLY when you are ready to use it.

It costs the exact same price to add it when needed, vs. adding it in advance.

I didn't know this....so, if you have 7 day tickets, and decide on day 4 that you want to add hoppers- do you just pay for the remaining days? Are the costs for each day the same, or are they more upfront with each additional day getting cheaper?

 

[twokids0204]

I didn't know this....so, if you have 7 day tickets, and decide on day 4 that you want to add hoppers- do you just pay for the remaining days? Are the costs for each day the same, or are they more upfront with each additional day getting cheaper?

Cost is $55 plus tax, whether you add it on day 1 or day 14.

You can also add an 8th, 9th, or 10th day to the ticket as well (which would also be included in the PH privilege, if you opt'ed in for that)

 

[shannonstar]

I agree about not buying them in advance. Didn't have them the first time I went and didn't know any better. 2nd time, bought them 1/2 way through the 9 days realizing that they would help avoid crowds. 3rd time had them the whole time, but used them pretty much every day.

I think I will always need them, but that's b/c we love to end the day with a meal in the World Showcase.

For everyone else, buy them if you realize you need them. Or if the crowds are making hopping a necessity.

 

[Broncobilly83]

Plus if you do MNSSHP, that is like a park hopper as you can do a different park before the party, i.e. Epcot, AK, etc, and then use the party ticket to go to the MK after 4 PM that day. We did that last time, worked great

 

[Broncobilly83]

Double Post, Sorry!

 

[doconeill]

100%

That's is not to say "Don't buy Park Hoppers"

But if you are even the least bit unsure, add it ONLY when you are ready to use it.

It costs the exact same price to add it when needed, vs. adding it in advance.

This may not be strictly true, if you get a ticket through a discounter. You might be able to save a few extra bucks on a PH ticket, whereas it will be $55+tax to add it later. And that's if the price doesn't change between purchase vs. when you get there.

However, I still advise that if you are unsure you will do any park hopping, do not get it. The potential savings later vs. now is significant.

 

[Toystoryfan32]

We went without Park Hoppers for the first time last year to save some money. It worked out just fine for us. We had a good touring plan and did 7 days in the parks. That said, if I was doing a shorter trip and wanted to fit everything in I would definitely add the park hopper option. But like previous posters have mentioned, I would wait and add it on later if you find you need it.

 

[DisneyWorldPlanner]

That is so fun you posted this question! I am always going back and forth on what to buy! If I can get by without a Park Hopper I like to save my money, but we are staying at Boardwalk this next trip and since the park entrances are so close I think I might upgrade to a Park Hopper

PS I just found this blog and subscribed to it! It looks new but I really like it bc the blogger post video tutorials and I think there is one on Tickets...

http://gatewaytomagic.blogspot.com/

If your interested there is the link

 

[SA53]

We always have to go at busy times with the kids in school, but that is the reason I don't get hoppers. It takes so long to get out of the park, get transportation, get back into the new park that it seems like a waste of the day for us. If things are getting too busy we get something to eat, or find a quiet place to have a Dole whip and then get back into the swing. The only time we had hoppers was when we had free dining because then we were going into different parks to dine. When we are not on the ddp, we just eat quick service here and there between rides.

Have fun planning your first trip!!!!

K in SA

 

[mel&me]

It just depends on the people using the tickets.
We always get hoppers, rarely do we stay in one park all day.