Park hopping

[RLGNC]

We are heading to WDW in August and we received a pin code that basically upgraded us to park hoppers for free. We've never had park hoppers before, and as I'm planning our schedule, I'm finding that I almost have to "force" myself to schedule 2 parks in one day. On my daughter's b'day we will do MK in the a.m. and Epcot in the p.m. because we have an ADR there, but on the other days it just feels more natural/easier to go back to the same park in the evening that we did in the morning. We don't have any other ADRs that would necessitate different parks in one day (I know that's what a lot of people use hoppers for). Anyway, I'm just curious for others' thoughts on this and what other reasons people have for hopping. I guess it will be good to have it in case we make any spontaneous changes in plans while we're there.

Thank you!

 

[MichiganScott]

I think your last sentence there hit's the nail on the head. Park Hoppers are perfect for spontaneity, and give you an overall feeling of freedom knowing you can go anywhere you want as you like.

 

[GillianP1301]

We get hoppers, but we don't use them every day. This next trip we have 9 park days and 5 are planned hopping days. I like doing one park in the morning and another park in the afternoon/evening. It somehow feels like I'm doing and seeing more, which I realize is technically not correct, but it's the perception.

Since you'll have them for free anyway, might as well just see how it goes. You never know, you might want to make a last minute change and hop to a different park or book a last minute ADR in a park you aren't currently in. But I wouldn't force a change to a plan you aren't comfortable with ahead of time, just because you got the hopper for free.

 

[tobikaye]

Some people do not find that they use hoppers, your family may be those that it does not work.

About 6 years ago, I took my parents and sister for a week and we split our MK/Epcot days so one morning we started at MK and then took an afternoon break before going to Epcot. Then we reversed that the other day. Then on our last park day, we did not plan and just went where we wanted.

When I go solo or with my cousin or sister, we usually only plan either where we are starting or where we are ending and then decide what to do around that usually the night before or that day. I actually did 4 parks in 1 day once without realizing it until I was only my way to the last park.

 

[gmboy95]

It all depends on how you do Disney....for us, we are up at the crack of dawn rope drop people. We hit it hard through lunch and then head back to the resort for pool and naps....we then have an early-ish dinner and will often split up the team to whatever park folks want to to the nighttime activities....now that the kids are older, we could actually split in four and be in four different places if it suits folks. So park hopping is a real advantage to us....It is also fun to jump on the next bus that comes by wherever it is going ad hit a couple of rides or walk around....This past December, I was walking back from the pool at OKW and just jumped on the bus to MK, went in and rode Pirates, had an ice cream and came home, it took 1 hour and 45 minutes!!

 

[rlbates13]

In March we park hopped for the first time and found it to be AWESOME!

 

[rlbates13]

Sorry......dang ENTER button....anyway, we rope dropped most mornings (6 park days) and were out of the parks before noon. Going back to the parks at 4-6 and having freedom every day to choose what we wanted to do on the spur of the moment, was very well worth it. In the past, we went to the parks first thing and stayed all day and night......no way we'll ever do that again.

 

[nllarson]

We use the park hopper mostly for ADR purposes, but like others have said, being spontaneous a few of the days is really nice. We have been strolling through the UK pavilion before and just decided to take the boat over to HWS. We ended up staying there the rest of the evening! When staying on property we feel it really makes a lot of sense at times, especially since we don't have to trek back to where our car is parked. Just jump a bus back to our resort from anywhere!

 

[Delirium]

For us, hopping has little to do with ADR's (though that does add some flexibility). It's more about taking advantage of evening magic hours in a park without having to fight the larger crowd all day in order to enjoy it. And, the break in the middle of a day is a bonus, as well as it just adds a little variety to each day.

 

[JimmyV]

When "hopping" was included in the basic price and was not an add-on, we used the feature, but not often. Since the time it became a pricey add-on, we only bought into it once and found that we did not get our money's worth. For us, the MK is always a full day's experience, as is Epcot. So once we enter those parks, we don't leave. DHS used to be a full day park for us, and someday, it will be again. AK has always been a Rope Drop until 4:00 park. So now, with DHS and AK being less than "full day parks" (assuming that "full day" means that you want to be in a park until the bitter end), we could hop. But hopping once or twice over the course of a week has never seemed to be worth the expense. That said, FP+ has made hopping much more feasible. Go to one park early, and use your FPs later in the day at your second park. One of the reasons that we didn't enjoy hopping was that by the time you got to park #2, you were so far behind the curve in terms of crowds that it wasn't worth the effort. Get to Epcot at 3:00 p.m. and what do you find? No FPs for Soarin' or Test Track, and hour+ long lines at each. So what was the point? Same was true at DHS. FPs gone for the big rides, and lines were over an hour. But now, much of that can be avoided by pre-booking FPs. Bottom line...I still don't think I will pay for the option. But if somebody upgraded me for free, I'd take it and probably use it once or twice over the course of a week.

 

[Accident]

Park hoppers is more of a mind set for how it works best.. It's really helpful when there is situations like weather impacting fireworks or parades and those are important to you. It opens up seeing them another night even if that park isn't your park for the day. It's insanely crowded and your not enjoying yourself, get out of that park and head to another one. You realized your family just isn't in the mood for a specific park? leave and go to one that is on your mind. The park your in closed but your not doing enjoying the park? head to one still opened for an extra hour or three.

The only place where planning to use a hopper really works is if you wanted to fit in ADRs. Do you favorite breakfast in MK, but spend the rest of the day in another park. Or maybe you do consider AK and HS half days, park hope and do both! (I also suspect this is why park hopper is free for many). I thikn people started to skip some parks (which means spending extra money in them for merch and food) and this is disney's way to actually have you spend more money.

 

[CAS239]

As AP's, we hop EVERY SINGLE PARK DAY. We go to a morning park, leave and take a break, then have fast passes set up in afternoon park. We couldn't do the parks without hopping.

 

[rg35]

We used to be big park hoppers, mostly for ADRs - we generally liked to eat dinner at Epcot. Last year we bought hoppers but things worked out in a way that we didn't hop at all. This year we didn't buy hoppers and planned everything around not hopping. When the kids are older we may return to hopping. For right now the extra cost wasn't worth it since none of or plans involve hopping.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I agree - don't force it. Just do what feels natural to you. You'll know that it's there if you get an urge to go ride something special or get a special treat or something like that. Otherwise to force yourself would just make you unhappy and potentially tired from hopping around.

I personally don't like to spend the time hopping but I go during the year when the park hours are shorter.

 

[richmo]

Especially since your hopping option is free, don't feel the need to "force" park hopping. I'd just enjoy knowing that I can, whether I use it or not. To be honest, if I'm on a 8 day or so trip, I'd probably park hop only one or two of them. A few reasons on the plus side for park hopping:
- Dinners at another park, especially Epcot
- Going to a nighttime show at another park - not quite as big a deal since AK is opening up at night
- When shutdowns tie up one of the parks - I've been in MK on a day where two of the three mountains went down -- the rest of the park wound up with some impressive lines -- we finally changed plans and went elsewhere

 

[EdmondD]

A few reasons on the plus side for park hopping:
- Dinners at another park, especially Epcot
- Going to a nighttime show at another park - not quite as big a deal since AK is opening up at night
- When shutdowns tie up one of the parks - I've been in MK on a day where two of the three mountains went down -- the rest of the park wound up with some impressive lines -- we finally changed plans and went elsewhere

Agreed with this....and it's especially true if you're staying near a particular park. Where are you staying, OP? We often are at the Beach Club, and so obviously walk over to Epcot in the evenings even if just for a little bit after spending the day in another park. If If I stayed on the monorail, I'd be in the MK every evening.

 

[BusyP76]

We have always bought park hoppers. Our last two trips, we used them a lot. Our first trip, we didn't use them at all...or maybe once. I just don't like the idea of spending that much money on a vacation and then being locked into only one park per day. I like the freedom to go wherever we choose and I love the idea of leaving a crowded park for another less crowded park if needed. On our upcoming trip, our current plans have us park hopping 5 out of 7 days but the other 2 days are up in the air right now. I know we want resort time on this trip so I can easily imagine rope drop at one, pool break, nighttime at a different park. We also love TS meals so we like being able to plan our favorite meals without too much consideration for what park we are currently in. But for every person that likes to tour the way I do, there is someone else that has completely different vacation likes and priorities. Really you just have to decide what's best for your style (and even that can change from trip to trip). Since you are getting them for free, I just do whatever comes naturally.

 

[celina14]

On our last trip, we bought hoppers and used them 1 time so it was a waste of money for us. We were travelling with a 2 year old so it just wasn't logical to think we'd be hopping around to different parks every day. I didn't plan on getting them this time for that reason but to get FD we had to upgrade to them so we have them again. And it's just what you said, just gives you the freedom to be more spontaneous. This trip I think we'll use them maybe for some evenings when MK closes early, we'll do mornings at MK and then head to a different park at night. Also, with all the unknowns of Frozen, I'm glad to have them now since I may need to do several days of Fast Passes at Epcot in order to ride everything we want there but I don't want to spend several full days there so this gives us some more flexibility.

 

[PSUGuy]

As adults attending during Food&Wine we hop every day except Sat. We hit a park at rope drop, get our fill then hop to WS around noon every day. We skip WS on Sat because it's crazy crowded that day, instead we hop to the pool then on to Raglan Road for dinner. As previously mentioned we like the option to catch MSEP or Fantasmic on a whim.

Bill From PA

 

[Hootch]

We have pretty much always had park hoppers. We visit every park for a day or two but we often end up back at the MK in the evening. With DAK closing early (up until the next month or two) and the limited selections at DHS, popping over to the MK can be worthwhile. We have, in general, had good luck getting additional FPs there in the evening.