Should we do park hopper?

I am currently debating the same thing regarding to hop or not. We are staying at BLT as well, and have 2 kids who will be 6 during our trip. In addition, my parents are coming with us who just turned 70. My kids have never been to Disney, but I always hoped on previous trips (my parents were much younger though). Ideally I enjoy going to one park in the morning, going back to the room to rest/swim and then going back to a park for dinner etc. Good luck with your decision!
 
Our trip last year was in September and the first trip where we scheduled down time & didn't go open-close commando style. That being said, we've always had Park Hoppers. This last trip, we did spend a couple hours in the afternoons relaxing/napping/swimming...and it was nice being able to hop over to MK or go see Pandora at night after being refreshed & getting our second wind after our breaks. Also, we never spend a whole day at HS or AK. There are 3 of us & our DD is 9. Another thing... in the evenings it was pretty easy to schedule fast passes at MK.
 
I would wait and add them if you feel you need them once you get there. I believe as long as you have not used the final day of your tickets, you can add the park hopper to your ticket for the same price as you'd pay in advance (I guess if there's a ticket price increase, that may factor in).

That allows you to see whether you'd want them and add them if you need them. We did not use them on our first couple trips, but have used them for shorter trips or when there has been something specific we wanted to fit in. But mostly we do one park per day with some downtime at the hotel or time at Disney Springs to minimize excessive transportation.
 
First, I've never had hoppers, so my opinion may be weighted. Second, I've gone twice since I've becoming a dad. In 2015 when I had a 2.5 yo and a 8 month old. I went again when in 2017 with a 4 yo and a 2 yo. And I should be going again some time this year with a 6/4/1 year old.

Personally I would never do a hopper with kids. Especially young young kids. Strollers, bags, gear, herding kids in and out of the bus. Just a waste of a lot of time in the middle of the day I think. The only thing I could think of is if you would somehow want to do a AK/Epcot/HS during and leave by 2, resort it up and go to MK at night for the fireworks only. That's still a lot.
 
We have never done hoppers. At that point, it’s cheaper to add extra days (ie 6 days’ tickets) than a 4 or 5 day park hopper and then you can still have a “rest day” and go into a park just for that night (or just for morning). I’d figure a day in each park, possibly 1.5 or 2 for MK with those ages.

THIS! for much less than the cost of hoppers, we just added 2 more days onto our vacation so we get almost 2 days in each park.
Mentally, it is harder for kids to adjust to a new park for their first or even second time. In my opinion, hoppers are not worth the extra planning, plus when my kids are planning their rides, they want to plan all the things in one park per day (as do I)

If we went to the parks every year and went for 8+ days, I may look into it because we would have a different type of plan, or when the kids are teens we may add hoppers so we can all be in different parks if we want. But with my 4- naw. I'll spend the extra on snacks haha.

You will end up heading back to your resort for a nap mid-day and not get to everything in one park anyway. Just return to that park since you have your orientation of things to finish off your day. It is much easier and you will miss out on less.

Hubby and I had hoppers for our honeymoon and we basically bounces around randomly with no plan LOL.
 
Our first trip is coming up in two weeks. I had read the advice that if you were new to Disney it would be best to skip the hoppers. You’ll have enough to keep you busy in each park, and if not then head back to the resort to enjoy the pool or activities instead! We purchased one park per day tickets and chose to put that saved money toward extras (like EMM at HS).
 
Our first trip is coming up in two weeks. I had read the advice that if you were new to Disney it would be best to skip the hoppers. You’ll have enough to keep you busy in each park, and if not then head back to the resort to enjoy the pool or activities instead! We purchased one park per day tickets and chose to put that saved money toward extras (like EMM at HS).
This is usually recommended, unless you are staying at an Epcot or MK resort, where you can walk to a park/parks. I can’t imagine not having a hopper.
 


Hubby and I had hoppers for our honeymoon and we basically bounces around randomly with no plan LOL.
HAHA I did the same thing, but I've also never not had hoppers...sure extra days may be pennies on the dollar ticketwise, but not hotel wise.

But there's no wrong way to do Disney. Hopping floats my boat...maybe someday it won't
 
I would not do park hoppers. There is a lot of stimulation going on during a Disney trip, and throwing in multiple parks in one day is a lot. At least it would be with my kids. You can always add on park hoppers if you get to Disney and realize you really do want them.
 
[I would say that at this time of the year you would be fine without the hopper. Crowds are low for when you are going. Being near the MK by staying at BLT is a plus too for days you go to MK. Save the cash on the hopper for sure.
 

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