Park hoppers, should we, or shouldn't we?

[AllieMallie]

My dbf (27) and I (28) are going on our first WDW trip as a couple for our 6th anniversary/engagement celebration. We're both still in college so money is a little tight and this is very much a trip-on-a-shoestring kind of deal (<$1400 for the two of us WITH trip insurance AND upgraded free dining ). We will be driving from Virginia and staying at ASMo. I bought 5 day MYW tickets with no park hopper because I figured that since there were no kids to appease, we should be ok with just staying at 1 park/day. Do you think this is wise? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy the park hopper options? If so, how much will this cost to add it to my package?

 

[Robo]

My dbf (27) and I (28) are going on our first WDW trip as a couple for our 6th anniversary/engagement celebration. We're both still in college so money is a little tight and this is very much a trip-on-a-shoestring kind of deal (<$1400 for the two of us WITH trip insurance AND upgraded free dining ). We will be driving from Virginia and staying at ASMo. I bought 5 day MYW tickets with no park hopper because I figured that since there were no kids to appease, we should be ok with just staying at 1 park/day. Do you think this is wise? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy the park hopper options? If so, how much will this cost to add it to my package?

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 and pay the $55 (plus tax) per tix (its the same price whenever you choose to do it) 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.

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!

BTW, if you want to add hopping to a ONE-DAY MYW ticket, the price for that is just $35, plus tax.

 

[AllieMallie]

So you're saying that for $54 ($108 total) we can park hop during ALL of our five park days and $34 (or $68 total) we can hop for 1 day? Did I get this right?

Hmmm...stuff to think about...

 

[Robo]

So you're saying that for $54 ($108 total) we can park hop during ALL of our five park days and $34 (or $68 total) we can hop for 1 day? Did I get this right?

Hmmm...stuff to think about...

It's $55, plus tax (that's $58.58) per ticket for hopping on any or all 5 days, yes.

You can't buy the $35 hopper upgrade for a 5-day ticket.
That is only a possibility if you only buy a ONE-DAY ticket.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

My dbf (27) and I (28) are going on our first WDW trip as a couple for our 6th anniversary/engagement celebration. We're both still in college so money is a little tight and this is very much a trip-on-a-shoestring kind of deal (<$1400 for the two of us WITH trip insurance AND upgraded free dining ). We will be driving from Virginia and staying at ASMo. I bought 5 day MYW tickets with no park hopper because I figured that since there were no kids to appease, we should be ok with just staying at 1 park/day. Do you think this is wise? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy the park hopper options? If so, how much will this cost to add it to my package?

5 days is not enough to see and do everything anyways. Make a plan to stay in 1 park per day.

The only reason I would consider a Hopper is if we wanted to eat a meal at another park - but as we have always made plans to and eat in the same park that we visit, we've never wanted or needed a hopper.

Opinions will vary though - do what is best for your situation

 

[trishwal]

We've never park-hopped before ourselves, and honestly, there's so much to do that you'll probably want to spend more of your time IN the park instead of hopping. The last time we were there with the kids we had a 7 day pass and saw it all. We did 2 days at MK, 2 days at Epcot, 1 day at Hollywood Studios, 1 and 1/2 day at Animal Kingdom (were ready to go home by then).


This time around we're getting a Park Hopper but that's because we're only spending 2 days in the parks and want to try and hit the highlights of all 4 in those two days. We're driving this time, going to New Orleans, Clearwater, and Universal for two days so Disney is pretty much secondary to us at this point.

So my opinion is that you probably should save $100 and just commit to one park per day, and maybe visit Magic Kingdom or Epcot twice.

 

[OldGrizzly57]

Just to be clear. It is about $10 per day on a five day pass to be able to park hop. Not much if you have an interest in moving around the parks during your stay. Too much if you never plan to hop.

We buy annual passes and typically hit multiple parks most days of our stay.

Griz

 

[tinkerbesh]

Robo always has good advice-- stick with him.

A side note- be sure to get Anniversary/engagement buttons to wear when you check in. You can wear them for your whole trip, and CMs & guests will make you feel special your whole trip when they see what you're celebrating. Also, not a guarantee, but every time we wore our buttons to a table service dinner, they brought us a small (FREE) dessert & sang Happy Birthday/Anniversary/whatever we were celebrating.

Congrats & enjoy!!!

 

[preschoolmom]

My dbf (27) and I (28) are going on our first WDW trip as a couple for our 6th anniversary/engagement celebration. We're both still in college so money is a little tight and this is very much a trip-on-a-shoestring kind of deal (<$1400 for the two of us WITH trip insurance AND upgraded free dining ). We will be driving from Virginia and staying at ASMo. I bought 5 day MYW tickets with no park hopper because I figured that since there were no kids to appease, we should be ok with just staying at 1 park/day. Do you think this is wise? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy the park hopper options? If so, how much will this cost to add it to my package?

We had park hoppers on our first trip, and we used them exactly once. We did not buy them for our following trips. We find each park has plenty to offer. We take an afternoon break, and then head back to the same park in the evening. It works really well for us.

The only exception would be if you plan to have a lot of your evening meals in Epcot requiring you to hop to that park... We always just made our dining plans around our park plans.

 

[Love Tink]

I think whether or not to use park hoppers is totally individual, and some people love them and some people never buy them, and it is hard for anyone to tell you what to do.

But I'll give you one thing to think about. Are you guys what we call "commando" tourers? Do you plan to wrest every moment you can out of the parks (get there early, stay late, use EMH)? Or are you more relaxed?

Because, personally, I think you would get more out of the park hoppers if you tour commando style. Then you can hit morning and evening EMH, or visit less busy parks during the day and hop to the evening EMH every possible night, and you can maximize your hours in the parks.

If you aren't people who want every single hour in the parks, I think you'd be fine just doing a park each day and hitting your favorite again on day five. We've done this many times and never missed the hopper.

 

[MinnieTink]

We have done hopping trips and nonhopping trips . You can definitely have a great trip without them. Each park has more than enough for a full day. And keep in mind without hoppers you can leave and return to the same park if you want a break.

That being said, I see you have upgraded to the regular dining plan. When we have the DDP we tend to want multiple Epcot restaurants so the hoppers come in handy then. Spend the am at the park of your choice and dinner elsewhere.

Either way it will be a great trip! Have fun!

 

[DebbieB]

You don't have to decide now. Leave it off and if you decide you would like to do it once you are there, you can upgrade the ticket.

 

[AllieMallie]

Thank you all for the insightful input. I think I'll just wait and see how we feel closer to time. For now, I guess we'll just stick with not getting the park hoppers. My dbf wants to do the commando tour but I think I might have to use my magical convincing powers to get him back to the resort mid-afternoon for a nap or to get away from the crazy Florida heat or something.

Now as for our ADRs, the only in-park restaurants we chose were Les Chefs de France and 50's PTC and those are set for those particular park days. The other three are at the Poly (Kona and 'Ohana) and Sanaa at Wilderness Lodge so I think we're ok there.

Now, here's another (highly subjective) question but I just want to get some sort of consensus: should we spend two days at MK or Epcot? dbf has never been to Epcot and the last time I was at WDW was in 2000 when I was 15(!) so I don't really remember which park I liked best.

 

[kohlby]

Now, here's another (highly subjective) question but I just want to get some sort of consensus: should we spend two days at MK or Epcot? dbf has never been to Epcot and the last time I was at WDW was in 2000 when I was 15(!) so I don't really remember which park I liked best.

For us, definately Epcot.

 

[trishwal]

No matter what we do, we like to always end our trip with the fireworks show at MK the last night.


Such a hard choice for the second day!!!! I would have to say as adults to spend two days at Epcot instead of MK if you really want to enjoy the countries.

 

[Snoozan]

I would spend a second day in Epcot - I can spend a whole afternoon just going from British Invasion to Off Kilter to catch multiple shows. Both are bands that are so much fun to watch - especially Off Kilter. They are a group that includes a bagpipe and are in the Canada pavilion area.

 

[plutolovr]

Now as for our ADRs, the only in-park restaurants we chose were Les Chefs de France and 50's PTC and those are set for those particular park days. The other three are at the Poly (Kona and 'Ohana) and Sanaa at Wilderness Lodge so I think we're ok there.

Just so you don't get lost, Sanaa is at Animal Kingdom Lodge, not Wilderness Lodge.

 

[AllieMallie]

Just so you don't get lost, Sanaa is at Animal Kingdom Lodge, not Wilderness Lodge.

Ooopsss. Hahah. Thank you for that. Although with me planning this trip, dbf is already counting on being lost most of the time.

 

[Joy Lammers]

Just making sure I understand correctly also. If you don't have a hopper ticket
you leave a park and return to the SAME park in the same day, is that correct?

 

[TiggerTrigger]

To the PP- yes, you may leave that one park and return. We do it all the time as we're currently non-hoppers. i.e. we start our day in MK, return to the hotel for nap time and then come back to MK for dinner and night time touring, parade, fireworks, etc.

To OP- we never hop. I try to leave a little in the budget in case I decide to add it on, but we always wind up finding it's easier to get more done when we focus on a single park per day. If we finish up at DHS or AK early and we want fireworks, etc. - the beach at the Poly pipes in the music and offers a great view + there's the water pageant.

So, I agree w/everyone telling you to wait.