Should we purchase the Hopper for first timer?

[maryrm]

Hi,

We will be going to Disney late Nov/early dec for the first time. Its me, dh, and dd who will be 4 1/2 when we go. We will be there from Tues - Sun (4 full days in the parks). Who thinks we SHOULD get the park hopper? I've heard arguments from both sides but would like to ask the pros! Also, someone said you can "add on" when you get there but wouldn't that be more expensive?

thanks for your help.

mary

 

[MonkeyPants]

well I can see where many would say no, since if it is your first time then everything is brand new and you'll have no problem spending an entire day exploring a park (many of the parks take more than a day if you take a nice easy pace) Each park, except for AK, has an evening show to see. And thats the one draw back. The day you go to the AK will be an early night, since they close at 5 so for that night I can understand wanting the hopper. Of course there is more to do at Disney then just the parks so you'll still be able to keep yourself occupied.


I helped a lot right

 

[ajleone]

Whether you add on there or before hand essentialy costs the same. As for my opinion I like having the freedom the hoppers give. Theres nothing like being there and decideing you want to go back to a park, but now your "stuck".

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

Everytime I see this question asked, I always feel obligated to answer because I am a BIG supporter of the Hopper option. It basically boils down to flexability to me. I like having the authority to go where I want to go and see what I want to see. Having to stay in only one park a day is sufficating to me .

 

[ajleone]

Everytime I see this question asked, I always feel obligated to answer because I am a BIG supporter of the Hopper option. It basically boils down to flexability to me. I like having the authority to go where I want to go and see what I want to see. Having to stay in only one park a day is sufficating to me .

As usuall someone said it much better than I did! lol

 

[autumnbaby9]

I would say since your only going to be there for 4 days the hopper would come in handy, especially on the day you go to AK. For longer trips I don't bother with it because I can go to each park more than once anyway.

 

[MariDisney]

I would always say get the hopper. For me, I just don't know when I'm going to want to do one thing in the morning and then something totally different later in the day...maybe breakfast in Magic Kingdom, but an EMH at Epcot. For me, I can't think of a scenario when it wouldn't be worth it to have the hopper. Of course, different strokes for different folks.

 

[BTown]

The hopper is the only way to go. You will, most certainly, fall in love with one or more particular rides at WDW. Without the Park Hopper, once you leave that park, you leave that ride for the rest of your trip. Though, if you have the park hopper, you can always make a little time to hop over to that park and ride your favorite "one last time" before you leave. Also, the park hopper gives you more park time. For instance, Animal Kingdom closes around 6:00 every day. Many of the other parks stay open much later. Without the park hopper, the day you spend at AK, you go back to the room when it closes, and that's it for the day. With the park hopper, you can leave AK at six, hope over to Epcot, and enjoy the last three hours of the park and catch the nighttime fireworks there before going back to your room.

Also, it is true that you can add the hopper option to your ticket, but it is best to do this before you go. They dont pro-rate the hopper add-on. Whether you add it on before you go, or on the last day, you'll pay the same amount. So, you might as well get your full money's worth out of it by purchasing the hopper from the start (if that is what you intend to do).

 

[pepe of ohio]

Everytime I see this question asked, I always feel obligated to answer because I am a BIG supporter of the Hopper option. It basically boils down to flexability to me. I like having the authority to go where I want to go and see what I want to see. Having to stay in only one park a day is sufficating to me .

Well said, we are hoppers. We break up our days with half days in 2 separate parks. Doing this to us is like seeing 8 parks in one stay. Sometimes a whole day in one park overpowers the senses. We rotate each second half of a day to catch the night shows ate the 3 parks and AK is really only a half day park for us. Plus if we arrive to any park and the crowds are huge, we just hop to another park. For our time in Disney, we like the flexibility of choosing where we want to be and go, we have favorite eating and doing things places all over the World and we need to hop, worth the extra money for us.

 

[maryrm]

You guys convinced me!!!!!!!!!! I DO like the flexibility and don't want to feel obliged having to stay at one park all day. Also, while MGM is "too old" for my 4.5 yo, there are 2 great shows I know she would love and it would be nice to breakup the day to see them.

Thanks again. This board is so helpful!

Mary

 

[Boncho]

We have always park hopped and would never consider buying our park tickets without the hopper. We like to go to one park in the morning and go back to the resort for a swim after lunch for a couple of hours. With the park hoppers, we can go wherever we want when we go back to the parks in the late afternoon. Like it has been said before, it all boils down to flexibility so that you can go wherever you want, whenever you want.

 

[blessedby3]

I believe that anyone going for the first time should definately get the hopper pass. You might get into a park and say "this one is not for us- there's not much for a particular child, etc" and then you would be stuck. I always recommend hoppers for newbies. Next trip you can judge if you need them or not.

 

[marciemi]

Plus, unless you're an obsessive planner, you never really know what the crowds are going to be like. We got to Epcot once with a HUGE group of folks from one company. I know the park probably would have absorbed them, but it was just easier to look at each other when the parking lot was crammed (very early) and just decide to go somewhere else that day. I know these days you can check theoretical crowd levels many places, but it just seems like there are surges anyway. Especially between MK and Epcot, with the monorail, if you get to one park and just feel crowded or bored or whatever, you can play up the monorail as yet another ride and get to the other park quickly.

 

[Scraper]

We are hoppers

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Go with the hoppers.

If a show or parade gets cancelled due to weather, with the hopper you can just hop over and see it another night. To me, spectro, wishes, and fantasmic are worth the cost of the hopper.

 

[Kelley Family]

We are esentialy first timers because last summer we went for just a few days before heading to the Wonder. We did hop that time and got an idea of each park. Our November trip will be longer and we are not hopping. There is so much to see at each park and will take at least a full day to do so. We are planning on being at a park at oppening (using TGM suggestions to choose the park with the least crowds) then taking an afternoon break. We have ADRs for dinner at the park we chose for the day and are going back for the evening fun and shows. On our AK day we are visiting a resort for dinner. I think for WDW veterans hopping is esential but for us newbies, one park in a day is overwhelming enough. Just a different way of looking at it and saving some cash at the same time. Either way we are all going to have a blast!