Park Hopper Passes - worth it for very first visit?

[Lglchick]

This is our very first trip to Disney. We're bouncing back and forth as to whether or not we want to change our tickets to Park Hoppers. We're thinking that if we leave them as is, essentially, we're forcing (if that's even possible at Disney) ourselves to stay in one park per day and enjoy as much of that park as we can in that day.

However, we also want the flexibility that a Hopper would provide, especially when it comes to the EMH.

Thoughts?

 

[ZoZo]

You can always add the hopper feature after you arrive, if you decide you want it.

Remember, the more days you're there, the more sense it makes to get a hopper since the cost-per-day goes down. $50 divided by 7 days = $7/day, which to me is totally worth it cost-wise. If you're only there a couple of days, it doesn't make sense to me to pay the equivalent of $25/day for a hopper.

I usually get a hopper because I go during Food and Wine Festival time; we usually start out at a different park, then end our days at Epcot. But this last trip, I only ended up hopping twice during a eight-day trip --- could have easily gone without a hopper.

It totally depends on your touring style. Based on your comments, it sounds like you want the added flexibility of a hopper.

 

[kbheap]

I think it depends on your family. If you have small children, sometimes it is harder and takes longer to park hop than it is even worth. We have season passes and we find ourselves, for the most part, staying in one park all day long. The kids seem to like it better. But we usually travel with 5 kids all under the age of 7. You can always upgrade once you get there. If you get there the first day and decide you really want to hop, just go to the ticket counter and upgrade then. Have fun on your first trip!

 

[Muppet_Girl]

You can also just go to the park with EMH all day.


Have a magical trip!

 

[Lglchick]

We're actually going to be there from 03-19 to 03-26. The kids 21, 9 and 6. Our thoughts are that if the kids really want to go to one park in the morning, but decide they'd like to go to another in the afternoon, we can.

As for changing once we get there, my agent told me that if we make any changes in less than 45 days prior to our arrival, it will cost me $50 to make each change. If I make the change now, it costs us nothing.

 

[Sugardimples]

You can add Park Hopping while you're at the park without any additional charges, just the price for the Park Hopper.

 

[ZoZo]

As for changing once we get there, my agent told me that if we make any changes in less than 45 days prior to our arrival, it will cost me $50 to make each change. If I make the change now, it costs us nothing.

I think your travel agent is talking about a fee the travel agency would charge to make changes to your vacation package.

Once you arrive, you'll be able to add a hopper or water parks option to your tickets at the guest services window at any park. You aren't charged anything above and beyond the actual cost of the upgrade (I believe it's about $52 per ticket to upgrade to a hopper right now) at the guest services window.

Ask your travel agency to clarify what they mean.

 

[Alesia]

We're actually going to be there from 03-19 to 03-26. The kids 21, 9 and 6. Our thoughts are that if the kids really want to go to one park in the morning, but decide they'd like to go to another in the afternoon, we can.

As for changing once we get there, my agent told me that if we make any changes in less than 45 days prior to our arrival, it will cost me $50 to make each change. If I make the change now, it costs us nothing.

You can add hopping (Or upgrade your ticket any other way) anytime within 14 days of the first use.

Disney does charge you if you downgrade your package less than 45 days before your trip.

Adding park hopping costs $52, plus tax, regardless of when you add it.

 

[AnthonyJPreston]

.....

 

[xipetotec]

This is our very first trip to Disney. We're bouncing back and forth as to whether or not we want to change our tickets to Park Hoppers. We're thinking that if we leave them as is, essentially, we're forcing (if that's even possible at Disney) ourselves to stay in one park per day and enjoy as much of that park as we can in that day.

However, we also want the flexibility that a Hopper would provide, especially when it comes to the EMH.

Thoughts?

Well I can only tell you from our experience. Our first time with our gang, we had the park hopper and we were SO glad we didn't skimp! The one-park one-day thing can work out well, but once you've done a day in each park, it's nice to "mix and match" with the remainder of your days. For us, now that we stay with my DVC member mother, we like to go to a park, but often come back to eat at Epcot ( since it's next door to Beach Club Villas where we stay ). Also, because we travel in a big group, we tend to have a place we meet for dinner and everyone can do whatever they want during the day. Including go to different parks.

It just seems to ME that not taking it is taking away a certain level of flexibility. But then again, as pointed out above, you can always add it on later. Most important is that you relax and enjoy your magical trip!

 

[disneylovin24]

We used to put the park hopper option onto our tickets, but then we realized that we weren't using them I think if it's your first trip then you really won't need them unless you plan on going from one park to another. If you really don't plan on it then it probably won't happen.

 

[ginnymack]

I like the park hopper! It is especially nice if you want to have dinner in a different park from where you spent your morning - (Hello, World Showcase!) It is also nice if the park you visited during the day closes early - such as Animal Kingdom. One situation we ran into is that we wanted to take a day and a half to do a park - the hopper allowed us to move on in the afternoon. If you are going to only be there for a few days it may not be worth it, but if you are going to be there a bit longer it is great flexibility!

 

[mousetravel]

For your first time, enjoying 1 park a day and trying to get as much out of that park I would think is a good idea, ..

I agree with this! We never get park hoppers. We just spend the whole day at whichever park we go to.

 

[rskbh00]

We are going on our 1st trip in Sept. and I asked the same thing yesterday and after all the info I got we are passing on park hoppers this time.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Another vote to skip the hoppers and save that money for other things. Since this is your first visit, you should stick to one park per day. It takes a good bit of knowledge and some time to hop from one park to another.

 

[BelleTinkMom]

I have been twice and once with hopper and once without. Our first trip, we didn't have the hopper, and it was fine. Our second trip, we had the hopper and we liked the flexibility of being able to go to more than one park each day if we choose to do so.

 

[kimis]

I always say go with the park hopper. At least for us it works out to be the best. We like to eat at different resturants around the park and the park hoppers allow that to happen. However it does depend on your length of stay also. It does take a little bit to learn your way from park to park but it isn't hard to do. There are always cast members standing around waiting to answer questions. Enjoy!

 

[WizardLarz]

I Vote wait untill you get there and have spent time in your first park! After you've been in the parks you'll have a better idea of you're needs. Also since this is a first trip, as well as only 4 days, I think you'll find more than enough to keep you busy in each park for the entire day!

Oh yea, be aware that you're bound to miss things during your short trip! In fact don't try to fit in everything! Just start planning the next one!

 

[Wishes91]

The hopper and the regular ticket would work out just fine for you guys. Since your trip is a short one, you should probably decide now if you want to go from park to park everyday (you may want to go back to different attractions that you REALLY enjoyed... ) or go to one park for each day.

Honestly...upgrade to the hopper. Sure, you may have a short trip, but with the hopper you can go from park to park to ride your favorite rides again and again WITHOUT losing a park/day with the original ticket plan. If you stick with the original ticket plan...you wont be able to go back to the other parks to go back to certain things that you enjoyed.

MK: HUGE PARK... YOU DEFINITELY NEED A FULL DAY FOR THIS if you want to see everything.
AK: Small park, not much in it... they close early... If you go from opening (9am) to about 1pm you can finish the park in no time. the only time that i would take you longer would be the lines..FASTPASS IS THE WAY TO GO FOR ALLLLL LINES
HWS: hollywood studios is about the same size as animal kingdom with more attractions, entertainment, and food. We always go more than once to HWS because we love the rides... Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster are our favorites to do over again.
E: if you care about world showcase, you will definitely need one whole day to visit all of the countries. if not, you can finish the park off in a couple hours depending on the lines

in all honestly...go with the hopper...

1) you can go back to certain parks and head towards certain attractions that you really enjoyed
2) you get a better sense of the park for first timers
3) have a magical vacation! =D

 

[ZoZo]

MK: HUGE PARK... YOU DEFINITELY NEED A FULL DAY FOR THIS if you want to see everything.
AK: Small park, not much in it... they close early... If you go from opening (9am) to about 1pm you can finish the park in no time. the only time that i would take you longer would be the lines..FASTPASS IS THE WAY TO GO FOR ALLLLL LINES
HWS: hollywood studios is about the same size as animal kingdom with more attractions, entertainment, and food. We always go more than once to HWS because we love the rides... Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster are our favorites to do over again.
E: if you care about world showcase, you will definitely need one whole day to visit all of the countries. if not, you can finish the park off in a couple hours depending on the lines

Remember that everyone has different opinions on things (which parks to skip, which parks are their favorites) so be flexible. I would respectfully disagree with this poster, who said "AK is a small park with not much in it." It's by far the largest park, square-footage-wise, and there's tons to do if you like animals and zoo-type exhibits. I spent at least two-and-a-half days there in October.

On the other hand, I spent only about three hours at the Studios during my whole 11-day trip in October, because I'm not fond of many of the rides and attractions at the Studios. I did ToT, RnR, and the Muppet Adventure, then I was done. But I've been at that park many times, and don't feel I need to do too many "repeats."