Park Hopper vs. no Park Hopper?

[KelseyLaPerle]

I didn't realize how much more it was for a PH ticket than a base ticket. Can I get basic tickets and if we NEEd to park hop, get the PH added on for the remainder of the days? Last time (1st trip for kids) we needed the PH, but I'm thinking with our 2nd trip we could plan according and save that $$.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

You can add the PH option at any time. The price is still the same though. I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to do on our next trip. DH thinks we NEED PH but I think we could do without it. So I'll probably wait and add it only when we definitely need it.

 

[DisneySJB]

We no longer upgrade to the park hopper. Once we found out you can still leave and come back (only to the same park) we stopped ungrading and spend our $$ elsewhere in the World

 

[WizardLarz]

The price will be the same ($52+tax) no matter when you add it. So if you have any plans of hopping go ahead and get the Hopper. If you are wanting to save some money just plan your trip so you don't Hop.

You might consider a "Meal Hop". Leave the Park your in and go to on of the near by Resorts for lunch or dinner. At Mk you have easy Monorail or Boat transportation to 5 Resorts, each with 3 or more restaurants. At DHS a Boat over to the BoardWalk Resorts also offers a wide choice for the Foodies out there.

 

[clanmcculloch]

My DH always seems to think we'll need the hopper but we never hop. I finally convinced him to not include hoppers in the beginning and if we decide we want to hop that we can always add the option for the same price later. It just takes so long to hop if you use Disney transportation. I plan my dining around my park itinerary so we won't need to go into a second park on a given day. I suppose if we stayed at an Epcot area resort I'd likely get hoppers just so we could walk over the the World Showcase to eat after an afternoon break.

 

[disneydad78]

In my findings, if you park hop your wasting more time running around. If you truly want to enjoy all ,,ALL that disney parks have to offer,SLOW down. We never park hop. Take a break in the afternoon,enjoy ur self. To many people rush there vacation trying to see and do everything, WDW is more than just rides. Me I never have and never will buy park hoppers,,just not worth the extra money. We take a break in the mid afternoon,,cool off, pool,,come back in evening in some nicer cloths, refreshed and go to a nice Dinner. Take my advice ,,slow down and enjoy it.

 

[Razorback]

We always hop. It seems to change up our day and give us more options. We are at rope drop each day and stay until 2:00 or so and then leave. We go back to the hotel or Downtown Disney or resort hop and play. We try to have a dinner reservation somewhere at a different park than we were in that morning.

We see a lot of the "world" when we are there.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

We have done both. If there are going to be parties like halloween or Christmas or some other kind of event (marathons etc.) I for sure like the hopper. Otherwise it isn't really necessary.

 

[ctodd498]

We always park hop. I don't feel like we rush around the park. There are still things that are on our "next time" list after four visits. I just like having the ability to change it up throughout the day.

We're also way more into Extra Magic hours at night, though, than we are mornings. So we may see a park opening at the Animal Kingdom. Break away to enjoy a late lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern @ the Magic Kingdom and then enjoy late evening hours there. My husband has worked overnight for years so we really love late nights!

 

[TiggerFamily]

We always get and use the PH. We go some place in the AM and go some place different at night. We don't bother with the water park tickets.

 

[ajjollie23]

We always do the park hopper as well. We really like being able to go to one park in the morning, and then somewhere else later on. We never feel rushed we walk around and do what we want and then change. There have also been times when we went to a park and found it too crowded so decided to try somewhere else. we tend to not get the water park option because of the time of the year we go. Anyway, we have never really considered not having the park hopper b/c we really like the flexibility it gives us.

 

[RMulieri]

We are a family of hoppers..We stay at the BCV and we like the option of walking to Epcot or DHS for the evening after spending the earlier part of the day elsewhere..We love to end our days in Epcot alot and simply stroll thru the IG back to the villas at the end of the day

 

[WillieBearsMom]

We always add the park hopper option because we always seem to want to go somewhere different at night after we rest at the resort. We take off the water park and more option because our kids are still young and we don't need it, so in the end that saves us some money. When the kids are older, we'll start keeping the water park option though!

 

[DonnaBelle2005]

I have only had PH once...and haven't had it the past 2 trips to Disney, and will probably never pay the extra $$ to get it.

For my family of 4 - we know we can spend the day "the whole day" in the park without feeling the need to PH. Plus for the park that closes early - it gives us an opportinity to head back to the resort for some time at the pool to relax, etc.

So I'd say "no" to PH.

 

[doggydoc]

I have always done PH previously but I am seriously considering dropping it this year. Last year we added the WPF&M and I found we only hopped one maybe two days from park to park. This was without even going to DTD. I think without WPF&M hopper is kinda a must but DD thinks everyday is a great day for a waterpark and by the time you spend a day there, get cleaned up and rested your lucky to make to EMH at one of the regular parks. She wants to hit DisneyQuest at least once this year, and one night we'll be at MNSSHP so I think that leaves us with little or no time to hop. I think I'll get DD a giftcard with the money saved and let her run wild at DTD.

 

[crzy4my2]

I am trying to plan another trip and I was going to get rid of the water park option but I want to take the kids to Disney Quest...so if I read it correctly, if you have the water park/other option you can get in without an extra fee?? We didn't make it to Down town Disney last time, do I need a park pass to walk around there(sorry for the stupid question)

 

[kstinw19]

I think that PH is a must have. We don't run around from park to park but we find that if we go to MK in the morning, for example, we will go back to the hotel for a swim and relax. Then in the evening we want to go back to the parks but not necessarily to MK. We might want to go see Illuminations, perhaps. Or go ride Toy Story Mania at night when it's less crowded...those types of things.

But everyone has their different touring styles and you should do what is best for your family.

Have fun!

 

[3boys4me]

We like to PH. We go during Thanksgiving and the parks are open late most nights. We usually do a park during the day go to the room and then go to dinner and then either some or all of us go to another park. MK is the kids' favorite so we usually get there everyday.

 

[oregondaddyof2]

In 2008, our family of 4 had PH, and out of a 10 day trip, we only used it 2 times... In 2009, we left it off and it seemed to work out well... This year, the wife and I are leaving the kids at home and enjoying 9 days by ourselves... I think I want to add it, and the DW wants to not add it... After thinking about it, I may just leave it off and save the money... I am hoping to slow down this trip and enjoy the xmas decorations... I figure we can always go resort hop and go to DTD for a midday break... We are going to have a car this trip, so that was a plus to having the PH since we won't be fighting with Disney Transit, but I am thinking the pros to not having it out weigh the cons...

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

We always do the Park Hopper.

We will hit a park early in the morning and then head back to the room for a nap. Evening is usually at another park, maybe ending up somewhere else entirely for fireworks or something. I like that little bit of down time that the traveling affords us. Recharges batteries.

We'll also hop parks if where we are is too crowded. I love being able to hop on the Monorail and go over to Epcot if things are too crazy at MK (I kinda hate super dense crowds.) Plus it lets us take advantage of EMH at one park and then move right over to another park. EXAMPLE: We can get TSM taken care of first thing in the morning during EMH at DHS, but then head over to Epcot for mid-morning and lunch (better food, avoid the bigger crowds at DHS). After nap, we'll head to MK for some rides and fireworks since they're often open so much later...

I think Park Hoppers work best for:
Early risers and/or Nappers
Go with the flow-ers
Frequent park goers
Greatest Hits tourers
Flibbertygibbits


Park Hoppers aren't a great deal for:
Commando Planners
Late risers
People who need to do everything in a park in order to have "done" the park
Check-listers
Anyone who would rather spend the money elsewhere