Park Hopper Strategies

[tinabina919]

Was wondering what everyone's strategies are for making plans with park hopper.

This is our first year using it.
Last trip I had a lot of fun with the planning but it was easy because I was limited to one park a day. Now I feel a bit overwhelmed.

 

[Nohal]

We always start with the park that has EMH. We are able to do rides with little wait. Once the parks get crowded we hop to another park and make our FP for the second park. Depending on where our ADR's are we sometimes hop to the third park for dinner. It is DH and me and we have been many times so skip lots of things. Our last day we try to hop to all 4 parks. We consider AK and HS to be 1/2 day parks. We don't go back and make use of the pool so it works for us. It's nice to have the freedom to be able to go to another park if the one you are in is overcrowded. We also go in Sept when the park hours are shorter and MK closes a few times a week at 7. I wouldn't be without park hoppers unless it is for a really short stay, they are worth the price for us.

 

[amcnj]

I guess in the past I mainly used it if I felt I had done what I wanted to at one park, or if the park you were at that day was closing earlier than others, then I would go back to a park I had already visited again to do a few things I had missed or to do some things an additional time. Or to say catch an event at another park, like the fireworks.

 

[pens4821]

we are tentatively planning for a trip next year. What our plans are is to go to a park in the AM, ride a couple rides/walk around then head out. Then go to the resort for a bit to swim/chill before going to another park about 3 where we have our FP. We also didn't have them last time, but wished we did. I do agree it just adds more questions. Mine is, is it silly to go to a park for a couple hours?

We are thinking going to HS early, ride RNRC (maybe tsm) and TOT walk around then head out. Go to Epcot at night. Then later in the week go to Epcot early ride TT and soarin then a walk then break and HS at night.

Our 2 MK days we won't plan to hop, but will if we decide on a show or walk through world showcase at night. The only day that I think will be busy for us is our AK day. We don't usually go so will want to do quite a bit. But we are planning MK that night and we have 2 full days so if we don't get there no biggie.

I dont know if this helps you or not, our thought is while we are hopping don't jam pack the days. We aren't the type to go non stop all day. Even though there is a ton to do, we are on vacation and want to relax a bit too.

 

[Canuck16]

We will usually start the day at the park with the Early Entry so we can get lots done when the crowd levels are low. We then stay in that park until the crowds start building in late morning. We then go back to the resort for a break and enjoy the pool and have lunch. Then in late afternoon head over to a different park where we have our 3 FP+ scheduled and spend the night in the second park.

Have fun and enjoy your trip!

 

[tlmadden73]

I always use AK as a Hopper park. Spend the morning/afternoon there .. and since the park closes early anyway most days .. hop over to another park for the evening festivities.

I often use DHS as a hopper park too. Spend the early day there and later in the day enjoy a nice boat ride over to Epcot World Showcase for dinner and then stay for the light show. The boat ride between the two is one of those "secret" charms that not many people know about (or take advantage of)

I'd never consider hopping FROM MK or Epcot .. unless there was something specific you wanted to do at another park.

 

[kmoore7]

We always do Hoppers. I just like the flexibility it provides. You're not locked in to one park for the whole day. We usually only spend half a day in AK anyway,so the hopper helps.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

We will usually start the day at the park with the Early Entry so we can get lots done when the crowd levels are low. We then stay in that park until the crowds start building in late morning. We then go back to the resort for a break and enjoy the pool and have lunch. Then in late afternoon head over to a different park where we have our 3 FP+ scheduled and spend the night in the second park.

This is also our strategy except we may not go back to our resort until after our second park. Then it's off to EPCOT or the Magic Kingdom for the end of the evening. We love th eflexibility that Park Hoppers give us.[/QUOTE]

 

[ElsaColon]

Hit the park I'm going to do most of my rides at rope drop. Go back to the resort after lunch for a nap and back to another park (like Epcot) to relax and enjoy the evening. I would schedule my fast passes for my second park as well since at rope drop you can typically walk on most things unless you are trying to do mine train. If I'm up to have a more hectic day I don't go back to the resort for a nap. I wouldn't do more than two parks a day , it's just too crazy. Unless I'm purposely trying to do the whole "4 parks in a day" thing which seems to be popular now. It's fun to do once, but not more than that

 

[JZCubed]

Was wondering what everyone's strategies are for making plans with park hopper.

This is our first year using it.
Last trip I had a lot of fun with the planning but it was easy because I was limited to one park a day. Now I feel a bit overwhelmed.

Rope drop a Park in the morning and do as much as possible while there are few crowds. But once the crowds.....

Relax.

You decide if that means staying or leaving.

ADR's - up to you.

Use FP+ for the second Park.

The more that you never feel pressured to do it all, the more fun you will have accomplishing all that you can.

 

[rwdavis2]

We always start with the park that has EMH. We are able to do rides with little wait. Once the parks get crowded we hop to another park and make our FP for the second park. Depending on where our ADR's are we sometimes hop to the third park for dinner. .....

This is exactly how we plan to use it. Assuming we hit rope drop for the EMH. Even for a park with no EMH we do rope drop so I would still make the FPs for the second park or just later in the day for the first park.

 

[GillianP1301]

Our usual day is an early ADR and then first park right around opening or shortly after. We FP rides in the first park for late morning/early afternoon. Then we hop mid afternoon to second park. Or, if we feel like a pool break, we do that and then hop to the second park. Then we pick up some 4th FP and beyond at the 2nd park, based on availability.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Sounds like most folks have the same approach as we do. We'll hit a park that has early EMH (Animal Kingdom is a great one to visit for morning EMH), hang out until around 11 and then go grab lunch somewhere. We do this regardless of which park we start at. So for example, we might go to MK for morning EMH and stay until around 11 (about the time the crowds build at all the parks) and then head somewhere for lunch. We have stayed at Yacht Club the last few trips so we might grab a bus from Animal Kingdom to Epcot, take the boat from DHS to Epcot or monorail from MK to Epcot and grab lunch at one of the Epcot restaurants then walk back to resort after to relax, hit the pool, etc. and then go to another park in the evening. I found this to be a MUCH more enjoyable approach than spending 12-14 hours at a park.

On edit - forgot to mention that if we go to a morning EMH we'll save our FP+ reservations for the afternoon/evening park. Never needed them for a morning EMH park.

 

[mac3mpc]

We will be going during the Food & Wine Festival in October. Our plan is to hit Epcot and snack around the world early in the day over multiple days and leave for another park as it begins to get crowded. We'll be able to enjoy the festival without feeling pressured to stay when the lines get too long knowing we have the option to go to another park and come back to Epcot the next day to pick up where we left off.

 

[kaceyo]

We had a great time watching both Fantasmic and Wishes on the same night

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Hit the park I'm going to do most of my rides at rope drop. Go back to the resort after lunch for a nap and back to another park (like Epcot) to relax and enjoy the evening. I would schedule my fast passes for my second park as well since at rope drop you can typically walk on most things unless you are trying to do mine train. If I'm up to have a more hectic day I don't go back to the resort for a nap. I wouldn't do more than two parks a day , it's just too crazy. Unless I'm purposely trying to do the whole "4 parks in a day" thing which seems to be popular now. It's fun to do once, but not more than that

We use our similarly, but we usually use our FP's for the first park. We usually have busy mornings and relaxed evenings, unless we're attending evening EMH. I use our PH to see night time shows/ entertainment in other parks or eat dinner in Epcot. We don't usually plan on doing any headliners so we usually use our FP at the first park, unless our second park is MK. If we will be going to MK at all that day, we will use our FP there.

 

[Jeannie in NJ]

on our last trip, we stayed at GF. Sil would get up earlier than the rest of us. She would take the monorail to MK, hang around Main St, then dd and I would meet her there and then after dh got up we would meet him at Ak or DHS. We would end up most evenings going to Epcot (our favorite park).

 

[kldmom2000]

We always stay at the Beach Club, next to Epcot. Generally we go to MK, AK, and DHS in the AM and then spend evenings in Epcot. DHS has become not even a half-day park for us, but more of a couple of hours' park... ToT, Rock-n-Roller Coaster, and Toy Story Mania are the only attractions we go there for.