Park Hoppers: Yay or Nay?

[elaine amj]

We have not hopped yet. Next week we will be there for just 2 days on christmas Week and have decided to hop (mostly because it cost so little to add the hoppers to our nonexpiring tickets with WPFun). My Dad is joining us and I spent a fortune on his 2 day hopper tickets - ouch. But we will be maximizing the hoppers as we cram everything into 2 short days.

Our normal trips we rarely have a need to hop. For trip planning I find hoppers can sometimes help with a tricky schedule but overall, I've never had the need to spend $60 x 4 for hoppers. We have plenty of fun without them.

 

[JimmyV]

The only reason I can think of for "needing" hoppers would be to eat dinner at Epcot. I agree the food at MK stinks - I can see the advantage of hopping over to Epcot for dinner on our MK days. The cost does not seem justified to me, so I've never done it. With two full days at Epcot, we usually get in 4 excellent Epcot meals anyway, and just suffer through MK food

That more or less describes us. We are a "foodie family" and fine dining is a major part of all of our vacations. But on MK days, we just take the hit and eat fast food twice a day. To us, the dining at Epcot is definitely not worth the extra cost or time investment. We will dine at Epcot when we are in that park, but would never go our of our way for it. If we feel the need to escape a park to get a nice dinner, we usually head over to the Swan/Dolphin restaurants or to a Deluxe Resort. No added cost involved, and better food.

 

[Robo]

Epcot closes early? It's open a minimum of twelve hours year-round. Every other park's hours fluctuate depending on season or events predicted crowds. Could be as early as 5 (AK in winter)or 6-8-later at DHS, and 7 at MK. But Epcot?

I thought the same thing,

Many times during the certain "slower" weeks that we take our trips, Epcot is the LATEST closing park (at 9PM.)

However, if a guest's visits are limited to times when MK is traditionally open later at night, it could appear to that guest that Epcot was an "early-closing" park (at the same 9PM.)

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Epcot closes early? It's open a minimum of twelve hours year-round. Every other park's hours fluctuate depending on season or events predicted crowds. Could be as early as 5 (AK in winter)or 6-8-later at DHS, and 7 at MK. But Epcot?

Yes, we find the 9 pm closing time in the summer to be very inconvenient. On our Epcot days we always hop to another park to close out the day.

We try to visit during the time of year when at least one park is open nightly until midnight or later.

 

[HatboxHaint]

Got Kids?
Yes = Nay!
No = Yay!

 

[mm1971]

Little background: Myself, DD and my mom will be headed to WDW in September of 2015. Our family was down there this past September and we opted to have park hoppers. Looking back, we park hopped twice.

Now, if I go ahead and opt not to use park hoppers and we choose later on that we do want them (while we are there), can we go to guest services to add them?

I hope we don't feel trapped by not using park hoppers.

We typically use the park hopper option once for parks and several times to eat as we enjoy a lot of the restaurants in Epcot. I would say buy without the option to hop and if you decide to park hop add it while there. You can add it at the parks or the concierge at the resort.

I would kick myself if I paid extra $$ and didn't use it or would tend to hop just so I didn't "waste" the extra $$.

 

[RustManFan]

We only got park hoppers for one trip and used them our last park day so we could do some repeats and things we missed.

Don't feel need to get them again since we generally do a park from opening until closing (if we can make it that long).

And we no longer feel we have to do everything since we will return for another visit another year

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I thought the same thing,

Many times during the certain "slower" weeks that we take our trips, Epcot is the LATEST closing park (at 9PM.)

However, if a guest's visits are limited to times when MK is traditionally open later at night, it could appear to that guest that Epcot was an "early-closing" park (at the same 9PM.)

There was a thread titled "Why does Epcot close so early?" back in April.

You are correct that our visits are limited to times when other parks are open later into the night. We don't do mornings, and prefer to stay out until the last park closes. It would be very disappointing to have that last park close at 9 pm.

Anyway, I was just offering a suggestion as to why park hoppers are viewed as a must have item by some guests.

 

[mickeysmith]

We have always used PHs but have decided to try it without them on our next visit. I think we usually hit the highlights, same rides/shops, etc. So next trip, we are staying put in one park to dig in and find other things we've missed or not had time for. I'm excited to see how it goes!! The good thing is, we can add it on if we change our minds.

 

[Farps]

Hop hophophophop!!!

 

[SuperTink]

We drop and hop. Forever.

 

[Hopefully]

We always hop - most every day.
If we go to an AM EMH park we will leave by lunch when it is getting too busy and head to a less busy park.
We eat dinner in WS in Epcot several nights a week.
We go to one park in the morning and take a mid day break and head to a different park in the evening.
I do not think it is a waste of either time or money, but rather it enhances our experience.

 

[JimmyV]

We always hop - most every day.

So your Screen Name should have been Hop-fully.

 

[hops&dreams]

We hop just about every day- even to pick up a snack on the way back to our resort!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes, we find the 9 pm closing time in the summer to be very inconvenient. On our Epcot days we always hop to another park to close out the day.

We try to visit during the time of year when at least one park is open nightly until midnight or later.

Ah, okay. I get it now. For about four months' worth of nights total over the last year, DHS stayed open 30-60 minutes later than Epcot. It's also closed regularly up to three hours later than DHS, which closed at 6 PM at least once recently. So it's perception.

 

[lllGurulll]

We purchased them on our first trip and only used them once. the time lost going from one place to another didn't seem worth the expense. Haven't purchased them since and have not missed them at all.

 

[btk2333]

We get annual passes- love the flexibility to hop and get meals in different parks- I wouldn't do Disney without an annual pass/ park hopper

 

[MsMagical]

We always get hoppers (or annual passes if we are planning more than one trip in a 12 month period). We hop almost every day of our trip - with small children (last trip they were 4 and 1). We love to pop into Epcot during our day at Hollywood studios to eat at France mid-day and then hop the boat back to Hollywood Studios for a couple more rides. Animal Kingdom is a place I particularly enjoy but the rest of my family has a low tolerance for it so we always hop to another park before lunch. I have most definitely been in park that was just too crowded and decided to try out another park.

I really don't mind the travel between parks. One of our favorite things to do is monorail it from a morning at Magic Kingdom to Epcot, walk across Epcot, stopping to eat or do a ride and then hopping on the boat to Hollywood studios.

And, for us, sometimes a switch of a park is a mood changer. With 5 people's moods to contend with, sometimes what makes us crabby in one park is fixed by switching to a different environment. And the moods of a 3, 6 or 36 year old are not always predictable.

It's a personal preference, I think. In general I like the freedom to change my mind at any given moment. But I can see how it would be more enjoyable to dig your heels in at a park if that isn't your style. I say that if you aren't sure you'll use them, hold off and only buy them if you start to feel boxed into a park that isn't working for you.

 

[pigletgirl]

I think we'll keep them for now. It would be nice to be able to catch Wishes on a day we visited another park or if we choose to attend MNSSHP, we can. I like the flexibility.

 

[emldrl]

I think we'll keep them for now. It would be nice to be able to catch Wishes on a day we visited another park or if we choose to attend MNSSHP, we can. I like the flexibility.

We are definitely getting hoppers. I was already stressing about matching ADR and FP times with the correct park, EMH days, recommended park, etc. Wow, that gets tricky! Now, I'll make the ADRs, and then FP for each day, and if we need to change parks, that's ok. We are also planning breaks and half days for health reasons, so travel time won't be a big deal. Plus, if we miss something, we can go back to it later. And one day, my DD and I will hop around to all the coasters, since my DS and stepmom won't ride them. So for us, the flexibility is SO worth the cost!

Good luck OP, and have a great time!!