Park Hopping

[ZoZo]

I figured with FP+ you would benefit more from park hopping now than in the past. Does this sound like a reasonable statement?

Yes, I think that't true. The most common strategy with FP+ is to go to a park at rope drop and take advantage of short lines in the morning. Then hop to a different park in the afternoon, using your FPs at the second park. We did this for our trip in February and it worked great.

 

[JeremysDisney]

This will be our first time using Park Hopper + Water Park Option. We have always stayed at one park all day in the past. Because we will be visiting Disney World for only 4 days in Easter, we are using the Park Hopper + Water Park Option because it is a short trip, to combat the Easter crowds, to go to the Water Parks everyday, and to visit MK after the other parks close.

The transportation time between parks may be problematic, but I think the time in the car is much better than the time in a long line. I think the transportation time would also be a good time to have a quick snack or nap.

I like the previous posts about visiting Epcot for dinner. We are not into Disney World Park Dinning, but we might try it at Epcot World Showcase since we have the Park Hopper Option.

 

[XtraEdGe]

We're definitely going to park hop in August. AK in the morning, MK in the evening one day. Epcot in the morning, DHS in the evening in another. Between those days, hang out at the resort. With teens, it's going to be alot easier.

 

[linskypens]

We have ALWAYS hopped. Might be the fact that we like to watch WiSHES every night.
We have found our must do's in all 3 non MK parks only take us through the first part of a day.
Rope drop, afternoon rest , then hop to MK at night.
Except on MK days, then its ROPE DROP, rest Back to MK

 

[MegMac]

We always hop...I am 30 and am going back for my 25th + visit. We do love the rides, but we go for the food now probably more (always in the fall for F&W). There aren't many restaurants we like at Hollywood or AK, so we usually go to them in the mornings then hop over to EPCOT for lunch. It just gives a lot more flexibility. Hope this helps! Enjoy your upcoming trip!

 

[Moonwolf]

There are three situations that I would plan on park hopping.

1. Limited number of days. Last trip I my friend and I had 5 parks we wanted to hit (all four Disney plus IOA) but only 4 days to do it in. Park hopping was the only way we'd be able to do AK and EPCOT justice. IOA and AK in the mornings and EPCOT both afternoons. AK closed to early to be able to do IOA and AK in the same day.

2. One park closes earlier so we can hit another for a few hours. On the same trip after EPCOT closed for the night we did a spur of the moment jump to MK to see MSEP, which saved us a lot of time on our actual MK day. On my next trip I'm planning on doing the AK to MK hop after AK closes.

3. Have a free day and just want to hit favorites and skipped rides. On my next trip I have one day for every park planned and one extra day. I'm planning on splitting this day between MK and EPCOT since I can see us needing more time at each park but I don't want to chose between them.

 

[srauseo]

I would agree with much of the above. When I've been in the parks with a small group or just my mom, we've loved the flexibility of bouncing around and hitting up EPCOT most nights after doing rides in the morning. That said, I think park hopping works best when you're easily mobile, at least on a shorter trip when you are trying to fit in a lot. I think it would be hard schlepping a large group or very young children (and all their equipment) around from park to park. On a longer trip if you are taking a midday break, this wouldn't be an issue I don't think. On our upcoming trip, with my niece and nephew who are 5 and 3, we aren't planning to park hop, even though we are taking a midday break. We'll go back to the same park for the evening or do DTD or another hotel.

 

[emilyyvic]

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but we don't generally park hop.

We have APs and definitely have the ability to, but our touring plans start later in the day (as we are not morning people). Being on vacation while at Disney, we generally wake up around 8am and head for breakfast around 9am. We usually sit outside while we eat and soak in the sun and head back to our rooms for 10am. Sometimes we leave from breakfast for the parks, but generally don't arrive to the parks before 11am any given day.

I love the idea of getting to the parks for RD and experiencing more than I would be able to arriving at 11am, but the trade off of waking up early is just not worth it.

We typically stay at the park until our evening ADR and then make our way back to our resort shortly after dinner. I doubt that we would have the energy for park hopping in the evening if another park was open later.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

We've been four times and planning another trip for this August. My boys were 5 and 7 on their first trip, will be 12 and 14 this year. We've never hopped and don't plan on it now!

Honestly, the first year we bought hoppers because we kept reading about them and people seemed so insistent that you needed them. We never even used them. HUGE waste of money!

Since then, I've not bought them ahead of time and just said if we change our minds and want them, we'll upgrade while there. Never done it. We plan out which days for which parks, make ADRs, and stick to that park. If we take a break, we go back to the same park that evening. If we finish a park early, there's DTD, hanging out at the pool, mini golf, riding the monorail, exploring other resorts, etc., etc. We also plan resort TS dinners on nights we think we'll be finishing up early at a park.

I think the biggest problem for me is that it's an all or nothing thing. I can think of maybe one or two nights I might like to hop into another park just for a ride or two. But if you upgrade, it's for the whole length of ticket. So that's, what? About $60 now? Since we're all "adults", that's over $200 just to ride a couple rides on one night! If we could pay a smaller fee just for a day or two of hopping, we might do it. But that $200+ can be used for so many other things!

Yes, I think not hopping does require a bit more planning as far as ADRs and now FP+ and such. But it's worth it to us. I feel like we get to really enjoy that one park for that one day instead of spending time traveling here, there, and everywhere!

But this is soooo much one of those "whatever works for your family" things! Just, one piece of advice, DO NOT buy it ahead of time if you're not 100% sure! Wait and upgrade at the park when you actually want to hop to another. I think, too, if you have to spend that extra money there, you might rethink it and decide it's not necessary!

 

[puffkin]

We hop and always have. It just suits the way we like to tour. We are DVC adn AP holders and I just like the freedom. We usually hit a park at rope drop, long afternoon break (nap for little one, pool for older one) and then early dinner and back into a different park for evening stuff. I couldn't imagine staying in a park all day with no break and we don't typically return to the same park at night.

 

[dancermommy1]

We used hoppers one trip just DH and myself because we did all four parks in 2 days (!) but since we've had our son we've not had park hopper passes.... until this year. I chose to go with it this year because we'll be staying at BC during food & wine festival which we love, and I want to be able to walk over for dinner on days we aren't at MK all day.

My son is 4 so basically all he can think about is MK, but he's never even been to the other 3 parks. This will be the first time he'll go to the others. I really got the park hoppers as "insurance", so if we get to Epcot or AK and he really really wishes we had gone to MK, then BOOM we can just get on the bus/monorail and head right back over to MK. Plus, I want him to ride the Toy Story Mania ride at HS, but there's not a whole lot else at HS he is tall enough for yet - he's a shorty at just 38" - so I can't fathom spending a whole day there. Same with Epcot... I love it, and there are a few things there he will love, but I can't see us hanging there all day. But, we can go over when MNSSHP starts up and we're booted out of MK, lol, and he can at least see what it's all about.

We have zoo passes at our hometown, so AK really doesn't excite him (sad, because I LOVE AK), but I figure he will love the dinosaur dig and maybe we'll catch a show if it's hot one afternoon. I don't see us staying the whole day, though. The downside is it takes FOREVER to ride the bus to/from AK. Wish they were all monorail connected!!!

 

[Lori77]

When I was younger and before kids, park hopping was a must! We would switch it up going to a different park in the morning and evening, which at that time, we didn't nap or anything in the afternoon.

Now that I am older and married with kids, I think buying them needs to be justified, which is dependent on the time of year you go, length of trip, who is going, and if there are any special events happening.

For us, too much bouncing around was too much for my kids. It was nice to be able to say "today is our Magic Kingdom day" and they knew what to expect and all the things we were going to do. It is also nice because you don't have to waste time leaving and switching.

With that being said, when we go it is usually a slow time, like in September, so we can walk on most things. We didn't have to feel like we needed to maximize our trip. Also, when the AK and DHS hours are short, I chose to purchase tickets to MNSSHP so we had sometime to do later on a short day at that park. Even though the MNSSHP tickets were extra and cost the same as PH, it was a totally different and special experience.

Now, I am considering buying hoppers for our trip in 2 weeks as it is just my husband and I. One day, the EMH at MK is open til 1am. We could benefit from going to a different park in the AM, then hoping over there. We are only at the parks for three days, and because it is just the two of us, we really don't have to see everything at each park, which makes the flexibility nice!

However, my husband doesn't feel that PH is worth it. He is content staying at the same park the whole day. I am hoping to sway his decision

 

[mm1971]

My family has never felt the need to Park Hop, we have always been totally content to take our time in whichever park we chose to visit that particular day. We have a trip upcoming in two weeks and I would especially like to hear from people that have not previously park hopped on whether or not they intend to in the future.

We usually park hop for a couple of reasons:

1) We like to dine t the WS in Epcot so will hop over for dinner even if we are a different park. It is just a preference since we like to try different foods while there.

2) We only do AK for a half day. My kids will only do a few of the attractions there so we will hit it in the morning and then head someplace else in the evening.

3) We will leave a park that is really busy and head elsewhere to avoid the crowds.

There are some days we do not hop, but we find it a good option to have. I know I am not your target audience, but thought I would add to the conversation. Have a fun trip.

 

[Lyncha]

We usually park hop for a couple of reasons:

1) We like to dine t the WS in Epcot so will hop over for dinner even if we are a different park. It is just a preference since we like to try different foods while there.

2) We only do AK for a half day. My kids will only do a few of the attractions there so we will hit it in the morning and then head someplace else in the evening.

3) We will leave a park that is really busy and head elsewhere to avoid the crowds.

There are some days we do not hop, but we find it a good option to have. I know I am not your target audience, but thought I would add to the conversation. Have a fun trip.

Thanks. That about sums it up for my family as well. Every point you made are reasons why we will be park hopping this year. The peace of mind knowing that if we picked the wrong park that we have the ability to move is priceless.