Park hopper questions

[mom2connorandcaleb]

Hi! We are debating on doing park hopper but DH wants to spend the $ to go to Universal one day instead. I have a few questions:

1. Can I book now with no park hopper and add it later? When do I have to add it by?

2. Is it really worth the money? Do you really think it is necessary? We have 3 kids (6, 5, and 1) and plan on going to MK two days, Hollywood studios one day, AK one day, and Universal one day.

ETA: DH REALLY wants to go to universal! He is dying to see the Harry Potter stuff! Is there really nothing there for small kids?

Thanks!

 

[tzolkin]

You can add it at any time (It costs the same amount regardless of how many days you have left)

This is one of those topics that people feel strongly both ways about. Half the posters will say they're a waste of money and they never use them. The other half will tell you they're absolutely necessary and they wouldn't do a Disney trip without them. Really it's about your family's personal preferences.


I would think for just the 4 days you have planned that you wouldn't need them, but we always buy the park hoppers and hop at least once every day of our 10 day trips.

 

[addiln]

when we went in 09 we had the park hopper and never used it so i thought it was a waste of money. my dw always gets the ph just in case. so when we went back last year for 5 days we got the ph once again. this time around we hopped everyday we went to the parks. we would start in one park and end up somewhere else for dinner. after using it last year i don't think i would get tickets without the ph option. i am sold on the idea now and it gave us so many more choices for what to do and where to eat.

 

[angierae]

We didn't get Park Hoppers for our first trip to Disney because we thought "We've never been there, of course we can spend the whole day in one park!"

And then on our Epcot day we got bogged down with DD doing the Kim Possible missions, and I didn't see most of World Showcase (we only got as far as Germany) and we only had one day of our trip left, and I wanted to go back to MK one last time. I seriously almost spent the $52 or whatever it was just to be able to park hop on our last day, but I decided against it.

For our 2012 trip we're definitely getting hoppers and since we're going to try to take advantage of evening EMH more (we had my 70 y/o MIL with us last time, so not a lot of late nights) I definitely plan on hopping.

 

[mill4023]

I'd personally skip Universal with the the ages of your kids.

I took a long weekend trip to Universal with my two oldest kids (11 and 13 at the time) and we had an absolute blast. But at 1, 5, and 6, I think that extra day would be better spent at Disney parks.

 

[Kidanifan08]

You are going in October. It is going to be warm. If you are staying at a Disney resort, you may want to go back to the room and nap, swim, etc. and then go out later. With the park hopper, you would be able to go to a different park later.

If you use the morning EMH (which is great with young children), you can get quite a bit accomplished at any of the parks before noon, and you may want to go to another park later in the day. If you plan to do some nice meals, you will get sick of the food at MK. We often plan MK in the morning and go to EPCOT in the mid-afternoon to eat better food and take in some of the live entertainment.

We have always used the park hopper option and have generally change parks most of the days of our trip -- and we have a 4 year old and large stroller. It is a sizable expense (probably about $200 or more for your family), and you could probably do without it, but it does provide some added flexibility, and the last thing you want on a Disney trip is to feel restricted or held back.

BTW - take your own stroller(s). The rentals are quite expensive and they are not very comfy. Even the older ones may want to take a break in a stroller -- Disney days are long days with alot of walking!

Addendum: I agree with mill4023 -- skip Universal this time. Your kids will have much more fun at Disney Parks!

 

[minushka72]

I'd personally skip Universal with the the ages of your kids.

I took a long weekend trip to Universal with my two oldest kids (11 and 13 at the time) and we had an absolute blast. But at 1, 5, and 6, I think that extra day would be better spent at Disney parks.

DH and I went to Universal in 2005 before we had kids. Now mu oldest is 4 and I will not go back until he is probably 8 or 9. I just felt it was more of an older kids/tenn/adult park (s). You do not list Epcot in your plans. I would choose to go to Epcot at least once in your stay and probably get the PH so you can hop there after AK or split a day between MK and Epcot. My 4year old loves Epcot!

 

[Cherinva]

I usually always get park hoppers...for our family, we find that it is worth it...if for nothing else, the flexability....you can plan your trip to the best case, but something always happens to change plans.

 

[rie'smom]

On a first trip, I'd save the money and not get park hoppers unless you get to WDW and find out that you really need them. We never bought them and would not park hop.

As for Universal, we love it even more than we love Disney World but I do think your children are a little young for most of the attractions except for Seussland which is fabulous but smallish.

Maybe if your husband is adventurous, he could have a get away day and go to Uni by himself. My husband used to do this but he'd go fishing.

 

[newdeal]

you can add it any time, I don't think its worth the money unless you have the dining plan and need to hop to make reservations at hard to reserve places that may not be in the park you want to be in that day

 

[cemeb4dk]

Like everyone above said, it can be added at any time.

We used to always get it or have a season pass. This past trip last Oct, we were there 11 nights, and I believe we got an 8 day pass non hopper. This was the first time with out a hopper and I was thinking oh man what are we going to do not be able to hope. We have a small child like yourself and it was much easier and laid back not having one. Basically the only time we would use it was for dining or at Hollywood studios or AK, as we can usually only spend a half day there. But we now use those other half days to hang at resort pool and relax a bit. So for us no more hopping we save some cash and we got more resort time.

On the other hand if your only going for a few days, it may be worth it if you want to commando thru everything.

 

[sls_ontario]

Just back from a trip with "just turned 8 & 6 year olds". We did not have ParkHoppers and NO WAY would we have used them! We spent a whole day in each park (we went back to MK for an evening to see the night stuff). We did not go back to our hotel to rest, although we did rest on site ... going to shows, eating lunch, just taking "rest breaks".

Just do the parks as thoroughly as you can .... and then end for the day.

To me, for a first trip, it seems you only need PH if you are doing meals at different parks (we did not).

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The cost to add hopping (or WPF&M) is $54 ($57.51 including tax) per ticket. It does not matter if it is adult or child, one day or ten day, first day of use or last day of use, the price is the same. (For a Florida Resident it is $27 plus tax.)

So if you are not sure, don't order them. If you find you do need them, then upgrade your tickets at any ticket window or Guest Relations Office. It only takes a minute or so.

 

[RMulieri]

For us we always get park hoppers. We like the flexibility of being able to leave and go to another park if we choose, plus we stay in the Epcot resort area and do enjoy walking over to Epcot or DHS at night

 

[tlh0726]

A 6 and almost (he asks everyday)5 yr old here.

I agree with the previous posters about skipping Universal until your kids are older. Maybe take an evening with your DH and sit down and take a look at what your kids will really be able to do there.

As for the park hopper option. Do not add it until you know that you are definitely going to use it.
Our family loves to hop. We have gone to a park to catch just one show or to see the fireworks. We actually did all 4 parks in one day during our October trip. Kids had a blast just doing thier favorites.
We love the freedom of being able to get out if the park becomes to crowded.

Have a great trip!!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

1. Can I book now with no park hopper and add it later? When do I have to add it by?
Yes. You can add it on the first, middle or last day of your trip. However, the cost will be the same, regardless of when you add it.

2. Is it really worth the money? Do you really think it is necessary? We have 3 kids (6, 5, and 1) and plan on going to MK two days, Hollywood studios one day, AK one day, and Universal one day.
We used it when the kids were 6 mo and 2.5. We did half days at DHS and AK and hopped the remaining partial days to MK. DHS doesn't hold much for us, so we spend very little time there. AK closes earlier than the other parks, so we usually go somewhere else in the evening.

 

[mjp12831]

- can adjust touring plans mid day to adapt for crowds/weather
- can hit a park just for a few hours to re-do favorites or hit things you missed (especially valuable later in the week when you've been to all the parks)
- are not tied to going to the park where your adrs are
- can take advantage of amemh without being concerned about the effects on crowd levels
- can do both am and pm emh in the same day

Whether it's worth $57 pp is an individual question like many of the other questions that are asked here. Personal opinion - we love them.

 

[LisaTC]

I'm so glad to see this post. Our T/A encouraged us to do Park Hoppers and I was wondering if it was worth the extra $170 bucks +/-, but with AK having shorter hours and fully expecting DHS not to hold my DD's attention for a full, complete day, I looked at it as a mini-insurance policy. I'd hate to have to go back to the hotel and wait for the next day if we didn't have it. Glad to read this proPH posts.

 

[NMAmy]

We're in the "wouldn't go without the park hoppers" group. Somedays, we'll hit three parks in a day but we've yet to go to all four in one day.

For instance, we stayed at the Boardwalk. DH and I went to EMH at Epcot to ride Soarin', left the park immediately after that and took the monorail to the MK. Spent the morning and part of the afternoon at the MK. Back to the hotel for a rest and then on to DHS for dinner. Three parks in one day is easy peasy for us. I think my family would revolt if they couldn't leave a park when it got busy or hop to an EMH park.