Park Hopper?

[Lisa1982]

We've only used PH when went back for a mid-day break. Going to a different park in the evening made the additional travel time seem a little less frustrating. But it's never seemed worth it to just randomly leave one park and go straight to another. I know a lot of people do, I would just hate the time lost in transit, bag check etc.

I think that is how we would use it as well.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Something to consider is what month you will be traveling. We visit in September and don't find it worth while for us to get a PH due to the earlier closing times. When we went in Aug we would often PH to MK after dinner but now that we travel in September it wouldn't make sense for us to get the PH option. The time we are there the MK closes at 7:00 4 different evenings for MNSSHP.

Just something else to consider.

 

[Meandnevaeh]

We nearly always park-hop... virtually every single day.



But YOU may not NEED to.

How do you know?

What should you do?



Simple:

You don't need to buy the "Hopper Option" UNLESS and UNTIL you need it.



If you are already at one park and decide that you'd like to "hop" to another... right then,

just walk up to a ticket window, add on the Hopper option (costs the same price if you buy it before or DURING your trip) and you're ready to hop (that day, and any others, for the rest of your trip.) You must make this and all other upgrade choices within the first 14 day of when the ticket was first used and no later than on the day that you use the ticket's last asset.



If you go and NEVER need to hop, don't buy the upgrade, and you can then spend all those "extra" bucks on more WDW souvenirs!



The Hopper is a one-time charge that will cover every day on your ticket from the time that you choose to add the option.

The cost of the Hopper option now varies... as of the last price increase (Feb, 2014.)

If you upgrade some tickets by adding "days" you might also have to increase what

you pay for the Hopper option on those tickets.


Adding the Hopper to a one-day ticket costs $40.


Adding the Hopper to a two-day or three-day ticket costs $50.


Adding the Hopper to a four-day thru ten-day ticket costs $60.


SPECIAL NOTE:

If you already have the Water Parks Fun and More option on your tickets,

adding the Hopper is a one-time, one-price fee of just $26 per ticket.



All prices, plus tax.


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This is 100% always my advise, it is exactly the same cost to add ahead of time as it is once you are there, so why would anyone that is unsure if they need it or not pay ahead and not use it, then out that money.

 

[Robo]

This is 100% always my advise, it is exactly the same cost to add ahead of time as it is once you are there, so why would anyone that is unsure if they need it or not pay ahead and not use it, then out that money.

I've been posting this info hundreds of times for over a decade.
Much of the time it just gets ignored in the mixture of YES! and NO! answers.

But I think that it really solves the entire "should we buy the hopper" dilemma...
If you decide you want to hop, then buy the upgrade.
If not, save the money.

 

[rideswithchrist]

Thank you! I assumed it was something we would do when they were much older so that is why I wanted to see what others thought about it.

I did lots of research ahead of time because my husband and I hopped for our honeymoon- but I was SO glad I did not get them when we took the kids, it would have been a waste of money and like so many said, we never would have used them.
Honestly, I don't think we will pay for Hoppers until they are teens and go to the parks separate from my husband and I...(If I ever let them haha)

 

[megster1123]

Yes! I totally agree about HS and honestly maybe the same for Epcot? We go for our kids, so plan according to what they enjoy. We wouldn't mind spending a day at Epcot but they want to go on rides. After Nemo, and Frozen stuff and possibly waiting for Soarin I think we would be finished there. Plus I haven't been able to get a rez at Akershus so I don't see us spending a lot of time there. They seem to enjoy AK b/c of the shows and they LOVE animals but may even use that as a halff day. They obviously prefer the MK so I think we may use PH this time to do half days at a few parks and then spend the other half in the MK.

You've probably heard the advice, but start a reservation finder at TouringPlans for Akershus. Then just be patient - it should be able to find one for you!

But, your plan is my plan. Based on what my kiddos are interested in right now, there's just not enough "fun rides" at Epcot to hold their attention all day. HS...they're not into stage shows and too small for the big rides. AK...animals are great but they're already zoo-ed out. So we start at those parks and then hop back over another park.

 

[nicolej92]

My coworker just came back from Disney with her three kids (2,5,7), and she bought the park hopper but never used it.

When my friend and I went last May, we used it almost everyday, but kids tire much more easily and are occupied for longer periods of time in the park. I vote no on this one!

 

[lady_hlh]

We got PHs when my daughter was 4 and it was a waste of money so I didn't buy them again for awhile. Now that she is a teen the PHs are a must have for our trips.

 

[imthemamahere]

Robo pointed out that you can get them at guest services if you decide you want them. That's what I'd suggest - don't buy it now, but leave a little wiggle room in the budget in case you decide you want to "hop" on the fly.

For us, we always get the Park Hoppers because we know we'll use them. Maybe not every day, but enough times over the course of a trip that it's totally worth it to us. We've taken my son (granted, he doesn't have a twin) at 2 1/2, 3 1/2, and 5 1/2 and we've park hopped with him each trip. But that's us - we like to have dinner at EPCOT when we've started the day at MK, for example... If that sounds more hassle than helpful to your family, save the $$.

 

[stinkpickle]

I've been posting this info hundreds of times for over a decade.
Much of the time it just gets ignored in the mixture of YES! and NO! answers.

But I think that it really solves the entire "should we buy the hopper" dilemma...
If you decide you want to hop, then buy the upgrade.
If not, save the money.

Agreed! We always buy hoppers, and even then, we wait until we arrive at WDW to purchase them...unless they're part of some kinda package or ticket deal.