Park hopper or not?

[MarBee]

Hello! Looking at possibly booking my first DL trip at the end of June. I’m debating which is better- getting 2 days with park hopper or 3 days with only one park per day. They’re pretty much the same price, this is my family of 4’s first trip. What would you veterans do in my shoes?

ETA: kids are 9 and 11. One big Marvel fan, but all of us are big Disney fans. We’ve been to WDW many times but never to DL. Because we’ve gone so often to WDW, we haven’t had to hustle around, but I don’t think we’d mind doing it in this instance.

 

[Nonin]

It depends on how old your kids are and how much running around you feel comfortable with. I really like having the park hopper that comes as part of my magic key but we don't always use it.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I would do three days with park hoppers!

 

[Pluto468]

I would do park hoppers. You have so much more flexibility that way.

 

[brightlined]

As a WDW regular - I'd vote for the park-hoppers, too. DL and DCA combined are about the same size as Epcot - albeit with a lot more rides - so it's way more reasonable to park-hop. You can almost pretend it's one park.

 

[808blessing]

no park hoppers! pay for ILL$

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

I would recommend PH option for your family. You know, if you have one kid that is a Marvel fan, maybe you want to split your family up for a couple hours and then meet up. And, if you have the PH option you could have a parent and child head to DL for a few hours and then your Marvel fan child and another adult could stay in the Marvel Campus and play there for a couple hours. Food for thought.

Lots of times we think of trips and figure it has to be a total unit all day long. But, I am of the sincere belief that its a good for parents to divide a little time (not all day) to separate the kids and from each other. I cannot speak for other families but my kids tended to get on each other's nerves after spending the day together all day. If we break them up for an hour or two, well the attitudes tend to change and there is peace and harmony throughout the kingdom.

 

[tdhickey]

I'd choose 3 days over 2 days any day. 2 day park hopper is a bit of a waste vs 3 whole days in the parks. 3 days non park hopper with Genie+ is better $ spent IMHO. 4 days, 5 days you need park hoppers.

 

[tink89]

We always choose hoppers. Whether we go with just DD or 5 other people having that flexibility is great. Even with the 1pm restriction we still hopped quite a few times on our last trip. On our last day we started at DCA we did a few rides, ate, shopped, and went back to the hotel came back to DL did a few rides then hopped to DCA because DD wanted an angry dog. We then hopped back to DL after DCA closed and did one more ride. DD is a teen so that does make it easier to walk back and forth.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Since you are a WDW person and brand new to DL I think it’s worth mentioning how easy park hopping is here. You don’t have to go through security again to park hop and the parks are right across the esplanade from each other (you can walk from one gate to the other in less than a minute).

The other nice reason for park hoppers is evening entertainment. You can choose to watch fireworks or Fantasmic in DL even if you started in DCA, or go over to watch World of Color at DCA even if you started in DL.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We always chose park hoppers in the past. With 1 pm as the first time we’re allowed to hop it no longer makes sense for our family. We have 5 day one park tickets.

 

[jviking]

One more vote for 3 one day tix as the 1pm park hop time often makes it inconvenient.

 

[duckboyone]

I seem to be in the minority, but I would go with 3 one-park-per-day tickets over 2-day park hoppers. To me with the park hoppers it's one full day in each park (assuming you hop over and spend half of each day in each park) vs. that PLUS another full day in a park of your choice.

If you plan well enough, you can do most of the things that you want in each park, then maybe on your third day spend it watching shows (either Fantasmic and fireworks in DL, or World of Color in DCA) and checking out things you missed.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I prefer having park hoppers, but if it boils down to # of days in the parks, I'd go with 3 days. It does make it a little riskier for the nighttime entertainment, as you are locked in to your park for the day, but an entire extra day vs park hopping seems worth it. If you can find the budget for 3-day hoppers, that is a great way to go. Will you be doing G+ or ILL$? That is another consideration - if you are skipping on the hoppers, it might make the ILL$ even more attractive.

 

[DLgal]

You need the park hopper.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

In general if I had to choose between 2 days with park hoppers or 3 full days one park per day, I would choose the 3 days. 2 days at DL and 1 at CA. Since it is your first time, this will give you more time in the parks which to me would be the priority.

 

[Chemist]

We never get the park hopper.

 

[scrappinginontario]

LOL! DL folks are just like WDW folks. Some are passionate that park hoppers are needed and others are just as passionate that they're not.

We're starting to plan our first DL trip so are newbies and looking to learn as much as we can between now and August.

I'd choose 3 days over 2 days any day. 2 day park hopper is a bit of a waste vs 3 whole days in the parks. 3 days non park hopper with Genie+ is better $ spent IMHO. 4 days, 5 days you need park hoppers.

This is an interesting thought. May I ask why you'd recommend 3 days without park hoppers but when you get 4 or 5 day tickets you add the PH? We're looking at getting 4 (or maybe 5 day) tickets so curious. Is it because when you're in the parks for longer amounts of time you may just want to re-do your favourites and they're probably found scattered around both parks?

TIA!

 

[duckboyone]

LOL! DL folks are just like WDW folks. Some are passionate that park hoppers are needed and others are just as passionate that they're not.

We're starting to plan our first DL trip so are newbies and looking to learn as much as we can between now and August.

This is an interesting thought. May I ask why you'd recommend 3 days without park hoppers but when you get 4 or 5 day tickets you add the PH? We're looking at getting 4 (or maybe 5 day) tickets so curious. Is it because when you're in the parks for longer amounts of time you may just want to re-do your favourites and they're probably found scattered around both parks?

TIA!

True, there does seem to be some passion about it!

Personally, I'm not passionate either way, I just don't see the value in the extra $60 per ticket, per day. I feel like I can do more if I stay in one park then hopping back and forth. I can see how there might be a few situations when it would be handy, but it's such a huge cost.

Edit: or am I wrong, and it's just $60 per ticket, but not per day?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

True, there does seem to be some passion about it!

Personally, I'm not passionate either way, I just don't see the value in the extra $60 per ticket, per day. I feel like I can do more if I stay in one park then hopping back and forth. I can see how there might be a few situations when it would be handy, but it's such a huge cost.

Edit: or am I wrong, and it's just $60 per ticket, but not per day?

It’s $60 total, whether you add it to a one-day ticket or a five-day ticket. So a pretty good value to add to a five-day ticket ($12/day).