Park Hopping Tips Please!

[kayteekt]

We have been to Disney many times, but we've never park hopped. We just decided that for this trip with my sister in law and her family we will. We are going last week in Jan. Group of 7- 4 adults, 3 kids (ages 7, 4 & 3). They've never been before.

I had everything planned out and ADR's made, now I feel like I have so much free reign since we can go whenever, wherever...it's overwhelming!

Any tips, I don't want to drag everyone around in circles and wear them out.

We're staying at the Boardwalk, so I'm thinking with the exception of one MK night for night time shows, we should shoot to end in EPCOT or HS in the evenings since they have the best food and location is so convenient to our resort???

BUT...I know everyone wants the thrill rides at EPCOT and HS so I'll want/need FP for those.....

See I'm getting anxious just typing, someone please point me in the right direction

I just don't want to mess this up especially since my inlaws "think" this is going to be their once in a lifetime trip.

 

[redkel]

Park Hopping is not suited to everyone's touring style -- I'm glad you're willing to give it a try.

Hopping with young kids can be a challenge. We used that time (on boat, monorail, bus) for the kids to rest and recoup -- made it a quiet time (no talking about what's upcoming, etc. to not get them wound up). You would be surprised what a 20-40 minute downtime can do for everyone in your party. My meniscus and ACL thanked me every single time. Staying in tune with the kids' limits is very important also. Strollers for those Pre K littles would help a ton.

Sounds like you have a plan of attack (ending up in the vicinity of your resort in the evenings). That sounds great. Are you going to adjust your ADR's accordingly or did you start out with that in mind?

Are you following a touring plan for the day -- rope drop, etc? That can be hard to coordinate with others who may not have the same views of "get there early."

Hopping can be very beneficial if you have a plan of your must do's and use FP+ efficiently.

We park hop in a different way by going to the park that is most recommended by the best darned Disney blogger ever (Josh at easywdw!) at rope drop and then hop to a park with evening EMH or back to another park where we missed attractions or want to repeat others. We do not do FP+ at Animal Kingdom (it's the easiest of the parks to tour without them) and make our FP+ selections at say -- MK or EP in the late afternoon/early evening.

You're going at a time of year where you will definitely have that flexibility. But -- don't feel that you have to hop multiple times a day or even every day. We plan to hop 4/6 days on our upcoming trip and are leaving wiggle room if we want to do more.

Have a fabulous trip!

 

[GreatLakes]

I always parkhop and my #1 piece of information is don't make ADRs on park days. I like to keep my options open an don't want to be locked into any park, especially when I'm hopping.

The best thing about park hopping is not having to have a schedule. It is really a lot of fun and we never feel like we miss anything because we haven't pre-planned all of our meals or FastPasses.

 

[hakepb]

I generally only hop to EPCOT for a dinner, and possibly a tier 2 ride. (In addition to full EPCOT day(s) with the Tier 1 FP+)
But if you are fine doing an early park standby, then setup the afternoon FP+ in EPCOT.

If you go to evening EMH at DHS, you should be able to do RNR, ToT and TSMM (possibly all 2x).... If you do not spend any of the EMH time in an (early or late) F!

Staying all day at an EMH park is generally a bad idea. Hopping to a park to just use EMH is generally good

My other main hop is going to another park after DAK closes early.

The best hopping is when you planned to go back to your room, anyway. And hopping is even better hopping into EPCOT or DHS from an EPCOT area resort

 

[Lucius Best]

There was another thread in this forum recently discussing the pros and cons of park hopping, there might be some good information in there for you if you can find it.

How/If you should hop depends on what you want to do and what your touring strategy is (rope drop? afternoon breaks?). We've done trips before with free dining plan, on those trips we hopped almost every day, ending up at Epcot for dinner most nights. On our most recent trip, it was the first time we did not get park hoppers. Our strategy with FP+ was to rope drop, use our first 3 FP before lunchtime, and thus start getting additional FP at kiosks as early in the day as possible. Park hopping would have delayed getting additional FPs, and/or doing a morning park without FP. But that strategy also depends on crowd levels, on our trip in late April we had good choices and were able to get additional FPs without too much difficulty. So you can definitely visit WDW without hopping.

General consensus for park hopping is to have FP reserved at second park. But it depends when you are hopping, if you are planning on taking breaks, how long your breaks are, what park you're hopping to, what rides you want to do, etc. You could do a park in the morning, back to resort at lunchtime, and have FP reserved at second park something like 3pm/4pm/5pm. Other option would be park in morning with FP reserved 10am/11am/12pm, then a later break around 3pm, then hopping to different park later for dinner/fireworks. There's tons of options.

 

[Arden01]

When we stayed at the BC last summer, we only hopped to Epcot or HS in the evening. Good plan!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

I love park hopping, but that's because we do RD or EMH, then resort break, then a park with either later regular hours or EMH. I never felt like we were moving inefficiently and we did everything we wanted to do. The nap or pool time at the resort was really refreshing and we would always plan a leisurely TS somewhere for dinner. The MDE really allowed us to assess our future wants/needs as we finished each day at the park and were able to tweak things if needed. Yes, we got thwarted by Splash Mountain being closed every time we tried to go on (it was unseasonably rainy), but that's the only major want we missed the whole time.

 

[Lucius Best]

We are going last week in Jan. Group of 7- 4 adults, 3 kids (ages 7, 4 & 3). They've never been before.

Just realized you're going end of January. Crowd-wise that is a great time to go, lines won't be bad. But January also has shorter hours, and cooler temperatures. You've got young kids with you, so you probably don't mind the shorter hours. Cooler temperatures also mean it's less important to take that midday pool break to cool off.

 

[kayteekt]

Just realized you're going end of January. Crowd-wise that is a great time to go, lines won't be bad. But January also has shorter hours, and cooler temperatures. You've got young kids with you, so you probably don't mind the shorter hours. Cooler temperatures also mean it's less important to take that midday pool break to cool off.

Yes We've been in January several times, weather is fabulous...but yea, sometimes we can do a pool for a few hours one afternoon, but it's nothing we plan. Just take it by the day. And yeah, shorter hours for kiddos is just fine. I'm always torn on the mid-day break thing. We like to try and go non-stop but usually by the middle to end, we'll end up with some afternoon break days

 

[Lucius Best]

I always parkhop and my #1 piece of information is don't make ADRs on park days. I like to keep my options open an don't want to be locked into any park, especially when I'm hopping.

The best thing about park hopping is not having to have a schedule. It is really a lot of fun and we never feel like we miss anything because we haven't pre-planned all of our meals or FastPasses.

Pretty sure OP has a plan, and now wants to make a new plan utilizing park hoppers. You can plan or not plan with or without park hoppers. And by not pre-planning ADRs and FPs, you are missing out on eating at the more popular restaurants, and missing out on the opportunity to wait in shorter lines for the popular rides.

It's also definitely possible to make ADRs and not be locked into a park. On some past trips, we did lots of dinners at Epcot. Days were wide open for whatever park we wanted to visit before hopping to Epcot. Then we went through a phase where we booked lots of lunch ADRs. We knew what park we were going to in the morning, had lunch there, and then the afternoon was wide open to park hop wherever we wanted to. On more recent trips, we've been leaning more towards having dinners at resorts. If your dinner ADR is outside the parks, you can go to whatever park you want to during the day.

 

[kayteekt]

There was another thread in this forum recently discussing the pros and cons of park hopping, there might be some good information in there for you if you can find it.

How/If you should hop depends on what you want to do and what your touring strategy is (rope drop? afternoon breaks?). We've done trips before with free dining plan, on those trips we hopped almost every day, ending up at Epcot for dinner most nights. On our most recent trip, it was the first time we did not get park hoppers. Our strategy with FP+ was to rope drop, use our first 3 FP before lunchtime, and thus start getting additional FP at kiosks as early in the day as possible. Park hopping would have delayed getting additional FPs, and/or doing a morning park without FP. But that strategy also depends on crowd levels, on our trip in late April we had good choices and were able to get additional FPs without too much difficulty. So you can definitely visit WDW without hopping.

General consensus for park hopping is to have FP reserved at second park. But it depends when you are hopping, if you are planning on taking breaks, how long your breaks are, what park you're hopping to, what rides you want to do, etc. You could do a park in the morning, back to resort at lunchtime, and have FP reserved at second park something like 3pm/4pm/5pm. Other option would be park in morning with FP reserved 10am/11am/12pm, then a later break around 3pm, then hopping to different park later for dinner/fireworks. There's tons of options.

Thanks, I will have to see if I can find that thread. All the options are rolling around in my head, haha. I think that's why it seems so overwhelming

 

[wdwjeffc37]

Go at rope drop to a park, plan a break between midday and early afternoon, then go to your second park where you have your FP+ for the headliners at that park. At that time of year, at rope drop you will be able to get all of the headliners done in the morning with little to no wait except for A&E M&G and 7DMT. If you really must do A&E M&G get a FP+ for it. It doesn't matter when as you have park hoppers and can run back to the MK for it. Your FP+ window is one hour so it should be pretty easy to get over there for that. 7DMT should have manageable lines in the first few hours at rope drop. The PP poster is correct about AK. If you are there at opening all of the headliners are easy to get done. Save your FP+ for another park. Good idea to end at EPCOT because of the restaurant choices and it is close to your resort. We always park hop. We love the freedom it gives us to go and do whatever whenever. We use the Disney Transportation System and don't mind the transit time. Cheers!!!!!

 

[Disnsyncey]

One thing I like to do is go to the EMH morning (if there is none, then I go to the most recommended park) and then hop to the one later with the PM EMH (usually MK) or the most recommended (if I was at the least recommended for AM EMH). I just don't like staying in the same park all day, I like the FREEDOM!

 

[Lucius Best]

Yes We've been in January several times, weather is fabulous...but yea, sometimes we can do a pool for a few hours one afternoon, but it's nothing we plan. Just take it by the day. And yeah, shorter hours for kiddos is just fine. I'm always torn on the mid-day break thing. We like to try and go non-stop but usually by the middle to end, we'll end up with some afternoon break days

We had two recent trips with young niece (5yo and then 7yo). On our MK days we stayed at MK all day, because there's so much to do, don't spend time traveling back and forth to resort, and more options for additional FP at kiosks after using the first 3. The days we went to AK/HS/Epcot were afternoon pool break days, then either back to the park for dinner/few more rides, or dinner at a resort somewhere. That plan can be done with/without park hopping. But if you're at an Epcot resort, it's certainly convenient to end a lot of days at Epcot.

 

[kayteekt]

Park Hopping is not suited to everyone's touring style -- I'm glad you're willing to give it a try.

Hopping with young kids can be a challenge. We used that time (on boat, monorail, bus) for the kids to rest and recoup -- made it a quiet time (no talking about what's upcoming, etc. to not get them wound up). You would be surprised what a 20-40 minute downtime can do for everyone in your party. My meniscus and ACL thanked me every single time. Staying in tune with the kids' limits is very important also. Strollers for those Pre K littles would help a ton.

Sounds like you have a plan of attack (ending up in the vicinity of your resort in the evenings). That sounds great. Are you going to adjust your ADR's accordingly or did you start out with that in mind?

Are you following a touring plan for the day -- rope drop, etc? That can be hard to coordinate with others who may not have the same views of "get there early."

Hopping can be very beneficial if you have a plan of your must do's and use FP+ efficiently.

We park hop in a different way by going to the park that is most recommended by the best darned Disney blogger ever (Josh at easywdw!) at rope drop and then hop to a park with evening EMH or back to another park where we missed attractions or want to repeat others. We do not do FP+ at Animal Kingdom (it's the easiest of the parks to tour without them) and make our FP+ selections at say -- MK or EP in the late afternoon/early evening.

You're going at a time of year where you will definitely have that flexibility. But -- don't feel that you have to hop multiple times a day or even every day. We plan to hop 4/6 days on our upcoming trip and are leaving wiggle room if we want to do more.

Have a fabulous trip!

Thanks for the reply. We always try to go non-stop, but still be sensitive to the kids needs and honestly sometimes going all of the way back to resort can be even more stressful then continuing in the parks. We take breaks in the park, on a bus ride, boat, long TS meal, etc...

We have Deluxe Dining and like to do the Character Meals and some Signature Restaurants. I had everything all planned out, so I need to re-plan and figure out what goes and what stays...and I know ADRs will be harder to come by than at our 180 day mark, plus a party of 7 being harder to work with. But it is a slower season, so I know it won't be impossible.

When I'm envisioning this in my mind, it's similar to what you described...go to the park recommended at easywdw (which I had already planned to do). Then hop to the park with the EMH that eve, with preference towards EPCOT or HS since we're staying close. I know this will give us more options, just seems more stressful to plan, for me anyway...until I get the hang of it.

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[kayteekt]

Pretty sure OP has a plan, and now wants to make a new plan utilizing park hoppers. You can plan or not plan with or without park hoppers. And by not pre-planning ADRs and FPs, you are missing out on eating at the more popular restaurants, and missing out on the opportunity to wait in shorter lines for the popular rides.

It's also definitely possible to make ADRs and not be locked into a park. On some past trips, we did lots of dinners at Epcot. Days were wide open for whatever park we wanted to visit before hopping to Epcot. Then we went through a phase where we booked lots of lunch ADRs. We knew what park we were going to in the morning, had lunch there, and then the afternoon was wide open to park hop wherever we wanted to. On more recent trips, we've been leaning more towards having dinners at resorts. If your dinner ADR is outside the parks, you can go to whatever park you want to during the day.

ADR's are a must for my family. DH and my brother in law's main motivation for coming is food...good food!

 

[GreatLakes]

Pretty sure OP has a plan, and now wants to make a new plan utilizing park hoppers. You can plan or not plan with or without park hoppers. And by not pre-planning ADRs and FPs, you are missing out on eating at the more popular restaurants, and missing out on the opportunity to wait in shorter lines for the popular rides.

It's also definitely possible to make ADRs and not be locked into a park. On some past trips, we did lots of dinners at Epcot. Days were wide open for whatever park we wanted to visit before hopping to Epcot. Then we went through a phase where we booked lots of lunch ADRs. We knew what park we were going to in the morning, had lunch there, and then the afternoon was wide open to park hop wherever we wanted to. On more recent trips, we've been leaning more towards having dinners at resorts. If your dinner ADR is outside the parks, you can go to whatever park you want to during the day.

Personally, I don't like tying myself into any park at all. Many days I decide when I wake up where I'll go and decide where I'll hop when we are done at the first park. I think over my last three trips I had a total of 2 ADRs on park days and one of those was the Luau at the Poly because we wanted to try it. I don't really care about having to eat at any particular restaurant inside the parks and almost always just do walk up. Sometimes that means going with a second or third choice but I don't care. I don't have any "must do" restaurants inside a park.

I may or may not make FP+ reservations in advance but still have no problem changing my planned park that day and letting them go.

It might not work for everyone but it is how I like to tour the parks.

 

[disnut8]

Thanks, I will have to see if I can find that thread. All the options are rolling around in my head, haha. I think that's why it seems so overwhelming

So, take a step back. Clear your head. Think about YOUR family and no one else. What would THEY like to do? Don't listen to anyone here - listen to YOUR family.

After that, get a plan of action for just the attractions and the food you ALL want to do.

Remember that you can only set up (currently but no new rumors) three advanced FastPasses at one park per day. So, when you do park hop, you will either need to do standby or go to kiosks for extra FastPasses. So, choose wisely for those three advanced ones.

After you get that done, come back here and ask questions but I think you need to take a step back for a bit.