Question About Park Hopping

[julieryc]

Going to Disney in April and am planning on splitting a day between Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios (4 adults in our party means that we're not as interested in a lot of the Magic Kingdom and should be able to do it in about half a day - my dad was actually a hard sell on convincing to go to the Magic Kingdom at all! - and I have a disability that limits my ability to go on most of the DHS rides, so most of DHS is just going to be the various shows.)

Using the TouringPlans software, it makes more sense to do MK in the morning and HS in the evening (even if it means missing Lights, Motors, Action! - we do have one free day at the end of the trip where we could potentially go back if we really wanted to see it), and I've planned the day that way, ending the day with Mama Melrose's and Fantasmic!

I do have a question regarding the beginning of the day: the day we're splitting between MK and DHS has a morning EMH for DHS. Would it make any kind of sense whatsoever to spend the first hour or two of the day at DHS, then hop over to MK, then back to DHS, or would whatever time we gained by not waiting in line be lost in the commute? (I believe the Fastpasses for MK would be used on Peter Pan's Flight, Enchanted Tales with Belle, and possibly/probably Splash Mountain, since I can't do roller coasters.)

The basic reason would be to do Toy Story Midway Mania! first thing at HS before moving to MK, since the Touring Plans software puts that ride wait at an hour or so without FastPass (and, starting at MK, we'd be using the Fastpasses on MK in the morning, with no guarantee that we'd be able to get Fastpass for Toy Story in the afternoon.) Or should we just start at MK and either hope that Toy Story still has Fastpass by the time we get to the park/accept that it's going to be 1+ hour in line for that ride?

It'll be about exactly 18 years since we last went to Disney, so I have no experience with FastPass and was too little last time to remember if we did park hopping at all (and definitely don't think we ever tried doing it twice in a day.) My gut feeling is that it's not worth starting at DHS for the EMH and then trying to switch parks twice, especially since travel might be complicated by my mom being in an ECV or wheelchair (we'll probably rent her an ECV for the trip), but I wanted to ask people who've actually been there/done this.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

Honestly, I wouldn't park hop back and forth. It does eat up a lot of time and it's frustrating. At the same time, though, you run the risk of spending 2 hours in line for TSMM if you plan to hit it in the late afternoon/early evening. If there isn't much else you really want to do at DHS, then perhaps you won't mourn the time spent in line. There won't be any FP, unless you get extremely lucky. Ultimately, I would risk it and make MK your first stop.

 

[Sarahbelle341]

Hmm I have a differnet perspective. I would make my fastpasses for Hollywood Studios since Toy Story Mania always has a huge line. And do Magic Kingdom after Hollyowood Studios. Getting fastpasses later at MK is usually easier since there are more choices. But if you already have reservations and want to see Fantasmic (which is awesome) then I would either do MK without fastpasses using rope drop to minimize the line for peter pan and make fastpasses for HS or use Fastpasses at MK and plan to get in line for Toy Story Mania just before closing at HS since everyone in line gets to ride. You will have a fairly long wait but that way it won't impact the shows or other plans at HS.

 

[senadler]

Hmm another perspective. I would do rope drop at MK and do what you want to get done there. You need to be realistic and only pick one between SDMT and PP for example, but you should be able to cover quite a bit in a couple of hours. I would then use your FP+ at HS and fill in with shows that probably wont need one. I would definitely not go back and forth. You would be spending the lowest crowd times at either park sitting on a bus.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you do rope drop at MK, you don't need FP+ for the rides/attractions you have chosen. I would go straight to PP, Enchanted Tales and then do Splash. Will your wait times be a little longer? Yes, but certainly not as bad as doing stand-by for TSM later in the day. The chances of any FP+ being left for TSM in the afternoon are slim to none. Use the FP+ for TSM.

There is no way I would do DHS, MK, DHS. To me it would be exhausting and a massive waste of time sitting on buses.

 

[sharonabe]

This is just an FYI since you haven't been to Disney in 18 yrs and don't remember park hopping.

You MUST have the park hopper added to your tickets in order to do two parks in one day. Many people think they can just use two days' worth of tickets to do two parks in one day, but you cannot. If this is the only day you play to hop, you may want to rethink your plan, as the hopper is around $60 per person.

 

[piccolopat]

Since you have an extra day, why not use that to book FP+ for TSMM, etc. at DS even if that's all you do that day. This way if you want more time at MK there's a bit less pressure to hop earlier.

 

[bumbershoot]

4 adults in our party means that we're not as interested in a lot of the Magic Kingdom and should be able to do it in about half a day - my dad was actually a hard sell on convincing to g

Fwiw, I always think there's nothing at MK for me, but generally end up sad to leave and haven't done everything I ended up wanting to do. Even on a grownup trip with my non-Disney-crazed friend we had a great time at MK.

I know dad is reluctant, but he just might be surprised. I'd skip the hoppers, use that extra day you have for DHS, and if you're done with MK early, just take a partial rest day. I bet you'll have fun though.