Planning for Park Hopper

[jmh1106]

We are going to Disney in August and we have park hopper. It’s been a few years since we’ve been and I’m feeling rusty on planning, and this is our first time using park hopper. How much time will we use to move from one park to another? Are there certain parks that are easier/quicker to hop to from another?

 

[Robo]

We are going to Disney in August and we have park hopper. It’s been a few years since we’ve been and I’m feeling rusty on planning, and this is our first time using park hopper. 1. How much time will we use to move from one park to another?
2. Are there certain parks that are easier/quicker to hop to from another?

1. 30-60 min., depending.
2. Yes. Any combination of two parks will be different.

The farthest park from the other three will be Magic Kingdom.
The closest two parks are Epcot and DHS.
(See map below.)
Plus, WHERE you are in the first park vs. where to want to GO in the second park will affect the time it takes to make the entire journey.

It is better to allow 30 min. or more "extra" to your planned travel time, if getting to your final destination has a specific arrival time associated with it (like a dining reservation, show time, or FP window.)

There is a special section in my Maps sticky post
regarding "Going Place to Place" found HERE.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We had it on our last trip, with specific plans of how to use it - which we ditched on the first day.

(We did use it later in the trip, and I was glad I had it, but in reality, it’s probably not a good value for my family.)

What we had planned to do was hit the park with EMH first thing in the morning, leave for a rest, and then return to a less crowded park.

If you are going straight from one to the other, I think the quickest to hop between would be MK and Epcot or Epcot and DHS.

 

[bwang123]

We usually take a break in the middle of the day and go to another park after. If we are at Hollywood Studios, we usually take a boat or walk to Epcot at some point so the travel time is a lot quicker than bus transportation to other parks.

 

[DisneyOma]

We've always had parkhopper and use it every day of our trips. Sometimes we take a break in the middle of the day, cool off in the quiet and AC, change out of the sweaty clothes, have a cheaper snack in our room. Other times we have FP+ planned for the afternoon in one park, and rope drop another. Sometimes it rains at MK and we know its not raining at AK. We always use Disney transportation when we are down there, even though we have our car, and it never takes more than an hour to get to another park - usually much, much less.

 

[NJ Goofy]

As PP's have said, we usually go to one park at opening, stay there until about 2:00 PM, then head back to our resort. We take a break, a shower, get something to eat or head to the pool. We then head to the second park @ dinner and stay there until closing. Although, recently we've had to adjust those plans around the times for the new tougher to get FP's (FPO, SDD, etc.).

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Longest hops are AK/MK and MK/DHS.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Just asking out of curiosity....isn't MK/EPCOT and DHS/EPCOT some of the closest hops? I no longer hop as I don't want to spend the extra money even with the resident discount.

 

[Farro]

Actually I think the best thing about having a hopper is the NOT planning part.
Plan your day as usual, but then you are free to go wherever you choose whenever it strikes your fancy! Love it!

We often plan a morning to mid-afternoon park, end up leaving earlier, hang at pool and go wherever we want at night.

 

[Dansr731]

Since you are going in August, I would suggest an afternoon break to cool off and the head to whichever park you want. We live in south Louisiana and use this strategy. We usually rope drop or almost rope drop and head back to the hotel around 2 pm for swimming, some AC or maybe a nap. Then head back to the parks.

 

[Robo]

Just asking out of curiosity....isn't MK/EPCOT and DHS/EPCOT some of the closest hops?

DHS<>Epcot, are close, but not necessarily a "fast" trip between.
MK<>Epcot, not necessarily "fast."
It requires two monorail rides with an interim stop to transfer trains at TTC.
(Plus, if you are coming to Epcot from MK, the train takes an extra 2 min. loop around Future World before pulling into the Epcot station to unload.)

BTW, DAK<>Epcot and DAK<>DHS are not a very long trips.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

DHS<>Epcot, are close, but not necessarily a "fast" trip between.
MK<>Epcot, not necessarily "fast."
It requires two monorail rides with an interim stop to transfer trains at TTC.
(Plus, if you are coming to Epcot from MK, the train takes an extra 2 min. loop around Future World before pulling into the Epcot station to unload.)

BTW, DAK<>Epcot and DAK<>DHS are not a very long trips.

Ah...I always forget it's not "immediate" to EPCOT from MK, or vice versa. Still...as far as proximity, the parks I listed are the closest to each other, yes? I always thought AK was the oddball out. But from reading what you posted...it's close to EPCOT and DHS. Isn't MK and AK the longest travel time?

 

[Robo]

Ah...I always forget it's not "immediate" to EPCOT from MK, or vice versa. Still...
1. as far as proximity, the parks I listed are the closest to each other, yes?
2. I always thought AK was the oddball out. But from reading what you posted...it's close to EPCOT and DHS.
3. Isn't MK and AK the longest travel time?

1. MK and Epcot are physically far apart.
MK is the most distant from the other three theme parks.
(See map below. MK=Red, Epcot=Yellow, DHS=Violet, DAK=Green)

2. DAK is "by itself" when compared to the distance between DHS and Epcot, but DAK is not actually very far from DHS and Epcot.
(See map below.)

3. That would normally be the case, but traffic conditions can affect bus travel times between all locations.

 

[Robo]

AND, don't forget...
The brand new Gondola travel system will affect how guests can make the journey between selected parks and certain resorts.
(Rumors point to a possible July 4th opening.)