PArk hopping - is it hard?

[sdteacher]

I am curious how difficult it is to hop from one park to another. If we go to one park and find it is very crowded and want to hop, how hard is this? Is it very time consuming to go on disney transportation from one park to another?

 

[Neesy228]

I am curious how difficult it is to hop from one park to another. If we go to one park and find it is very crowded and want to hop, how hard is this? Is it very time consuming to go on disney transportation from one park to another?

For the most part, it's not too bad. Some moves can be time consuming, others very easy...DHS to Epcot? Easy (they're very close to each other). Epcot to MK? Easy (the monorail runs between them). AK to anywhere? A bit of a pain (buses can be slow). DHS to MK? Also a bit of a pain (again, buses.) Etc etc....

That being said, we could never go without park hoppers. I like to be able to leave if it's crowded or if the kids want to see another attraction at another park. The time we spend hopping is worth it to me and, often, it's a much needed break! This past trip, we had planned to spend a second day at Epcot and about two hours into the day our kids started talking about the playground at AK -- so we went!

 

[saint71]

Rent a car.... is the best option

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

We will not be hopping. We are on a budget and that just didn't seem worth $150 to me. I will be happy with one park per day.

My mom went last year and said that it took up too much park time to change from one park to another, and she wished she had not gotten it. My neighbor also just went for a week and bought the hopper ($200 for her family). She said they never used it once. What a waste of money.

But each person is different and wants different things from their trip. I am very frugal, so I never even considered buying it.

 

[teambraunlovesdisney]

It isn't hard at all. Monday we did AK, EPCOT, and MK with ease. It takes about 20-30 mintues tops if you have your own car.

 

[Poohbear123]

I Park Hop in the REALLY SLOW times, like early Feb, I can do 3 parks in one day! Any other time its not worth it.

 

[Robo]

There is "direct" transportation between all the WDW theme-parks.

Most routes are via Disney Buses.

Here are the "park-to-park" Disney Transportation direct connections:

>Note: The MK buses connections arrive and depart only at TTC.<

MK/TTC> Epcot = Monorail
MK/TTC> DHS = Bus
MK/TTC> AK= Bus

AK> DHS= Direct Bus
AK> Epcot= Direct Bus
AK> TTC/MK= Bus

DHS> TTC/MK= Bus
DHS> AK= Direct Bus
DHS> Epcot= Direct Bus (Epcot Front Gate) or Boat (Epcot Intl. Gateway)
......Boats ("Friendships") make 3 interim stops at the Epcot area resorts.)

Epcot > TTC/MK= Monorail
Epcot > AK= Direct Bus
Epcot> DHS= Direct Bus (Epcot Front Gate) or Boat (Epcot Intl. Gateway)
......Boats ("Friendships") make 3 interim stops at the Epcot area resorts.)

The buses have their destinations shown on them on illuminated signs.
The bus stops are also marked with signage.

As a rule-of-thumb, allow 40-60 minutes to get from the gates of one park to the gates of another park.

Here's a (rather "un-beautiful") satellite view of the actual layout of the locations of the parks, relative to each other.

 

[Mikailova]

On my last trip, I did all four parks on my last day.

I already knew what I wanted to hit one last time or catch before I left, so I kinda had a plan of action in my head.

I also had broken my toe the night before on the bed post, and after hobbling my way around DAK in the first part of the morning, my friends insisted on getting me a wheelchair as opposed to watching the painful grimace on my face for one more minute.

We used Disney buses and the monorail. We even went off property for lunch and to pick up my prescription of pain killers from the local Walgreens.

I found it very doable, and it was in the middle of August, one of the busiest times of the year for Disney. So in my opinion, park hoppers are well worth their cost.

 

[Poohbear123]

Thanks Robo!

 

[labdogs42]

I have easily done three parks in one day. I love to hop! Riding the monorail is part of the Disney experience for me. I also like the boat from DHS to Epcot. The buses, not so much. I don't mind skipping those!

 

[autumnpalm]

Personally, I think the park hopping can tend to get a little complicated. We make TS reservations, so leaving a park because it's too crowded doesn't work for us. Transportation can tend to take up a lot of time that could otherwise be spent on attractions. We bought hoppers for our last tickets in July and never even ended up using them. For us, one park a day is plenty. But they do work into some touring plans quite well. I would say, evaluate what you want to do. If you want to spend the day in MK but go to dinner in Epcot... then get the passes!! If you're just eating CS and don't mind changing plans quickly, it might work out well for you. I think the hopper option really depends on the individual, so it's hard to say.

We buy them some trips and not others. As frustrating as it is to hear, I think it really depends on the situation.

 

[dreamergirl78]

I could not imagine being there without the option to park hop. We hop almost everyday we are there. I like the freedom of coming and going when I want.

I have hopped with Disney transportation and with a rental. I prefer using a rental car. I like having the control. Plus with a AAA parkig pass, it is sooooo easy. But park hopping can easily be done either way.

I believe you can upgrade your tickets anytime during your stay. You could always start without hoppers and upgrade if you want. But I think once you experience the freedom and options you have with the hopping option you will be very happy!!!

 

[Jchance]

I love the park hopper option. I could not imagine doing Disney without it. Our first trip we went for 6 days. We spent the first four days exploring one park a day, basically and the last two days re visiting the rides, shows and stores and resturants we wanted to do again.
Our last trip we park hopped every day. expecially with the EMH. We would spend the morning(with EMH) at one park, afternoon at hotel(nap, pool, etc) late afternoon/evening at another (with EMH) .

 

[dalt01]

with the dining plan it is a godsend for us because we dont have to plan our food around the park we are in that day. we use at least 2 TS at DHS and at least 2 TS at Epcot. so we go wherever those days and just go those parks at dinnertime. even without the dining plan we would get hoppers just to know that we could do what we want. i mean what if you are in MK and it is just total gridlock, you are stuck there and believe me that can ruin your day real quick. where as we can jump on the monorail and go to Epcot where even if it is busy you dont notice is near as much.

 

[JoandWayne]

Definitely do park hopper!

We use it all the time. Better with a car - although moving between MK and Epcot is easy due to monorail.

If you spend a day at AK or DHS, you can pop over to MK for wishes etc.

Also, if you spend morning at a park and pop back to hotel for a rest around the pool in the afternoon, you can go back to a different park on an evening.

Gives you great flexibility and doesn't take too much time.

 

[BigGreen73]

We used to hop all the time, but not anymore. Our last trip that we took in Dec 07, we did not hop and had as awesome time and didn't miss it at all.

We found that hopping can just be a waste of time and the extra $$ spent on the hopper option can be used elsewhere.

 

[kaelarad]

We love the ability to park hop! We are not detailed planners, just make ADR's and know the park hours, so we like to enjoy the parks from a relaxed point of view and really like the option to go to another park if we choose.

 

[tavettava]

We have always gotten it. We always go to one park in the morning leave around 1 and go to the resort, rest, and then head out to another park for the evening.

 

[stlouisdisneyguy]

It is pretty easy for the most part. I have hopped to 3 parks in one day on occasions. I am going in a few weeks, and I couldnt live without the park hopper option. I love hitting a park right at rope drop, staying till lunch, back to the resort to workout and hit the pool and then back out by 4pm to another park. I have always used the park hopper option, and it works great!

 

[photobob]

Park hopping by Disney transportation is not bad at all. I've done three parks in one day. Robo laid out all the options nicely of how to go from one place to another. We are Disney transportation users even though we drive down and have a car available, I just do not want to drive, it is a part of our reality escape.

We like having the hopper options so that we can do whatever we want when we want. Is the hopper option worth the extra money? It is for us.