staying offsite...park hopping a good idea?

[mld413]

Any opinions/experiences on if the park hopping option is worth it if staying offsite? My kids will be 3 and 6 at the time of our 6 day trip. Is it easy to go from park to park? TIA !!

 

[isla bonita]

Is it your first trip? I ask because if it is I always tell first timers not to bother with park hoppers. It takes some time to get your bearings. I had a friend go down in Oct. for 10 days. She wanted the park hoppers and decided that she would take my advice. She saved $210.00 and was so glad she followed my advice. She did not feel she would ever have used them while she was there. Sha said there was enough all day to do things in the parks they were in. That is just my opinion. See what others say they may feel different and have better advice. Have a wonderful time.

 

[surfgirl]

I think some of the answer depends on your family's style: will you go all-day or will you take breaks ? Do your kids go to bed early or are they night owls ? Will you be going when there are long days of daylight or more in the winter when the days are shorter? Will this be a 'once-in-a-lifetime' trip or will you go every few years ?

What has worked well for our family: (me, DH, DD5, DD3, DS 1). We get up and go in the morning - eating breakfast in the car or while waiting for the opening. (We are typically there at rope drop so we can ride our favorites without lines.) We snack throughout the morning and then aim to depart the parks about 1ish. Head back to our villa, have a 'real' lunch, quiet time, and then swim in the pools before eating dinner in (typically takeout). Our kids are exhausted, so we have them in bed about 30 mins. before their regularly scheduled bedtime (8ish). We also don't go to the parks every day - we go 2 or 3 days and then take a day off. Our days off consist of DTD, or a meal at AKL and some animal watching, or just playing at our villa.

So, clearly, for us, park-hopping is not a good idea. But figure out what works best for your family and schedule.

Btw, my kids have yet to see an afternoon parade or fireworks (we have family in the area every February, so we plan our visit to coincide with theirs and this will be our 3rd year). This year, we are planning on attempting it. But, in general, I've found that less is more - too much at the over-stimulating parks is meltdown city, but doing less leaves us remembering what fun we had. They never know what they've 'missed' and I know what we've 'missed' ... stress and crowds!!!

Good luck!

 

[chris7]

We are just back from our trip, 12/17-12/26. We did park hoppers and I'm glad we did. Our girls are 3 1/2 and 6 (she had her 6th B-day there). We stayed off site at Cypress Point resort and had a rental car. We were at the parks bright and early every morning except X-mas morning and the day we did gatorland. Our routine was get there before opening, walk on all the rides we wanted until about 11, take in the atmosphere and then leave as the crowds were getting insane. We would go back to the condo to let the kids nap or swim and then would go back out again in the late afternoon. Sometimes when we went back out we'd go to a park, or sometimes to "tour" one of the deluxe hotels on site. It was so nice to do a park early and then be able to go to a different park that evening. The evenings were much lower key. We did Osbourne lights at MGM, we walked around the World Showcase at Epcot (which I think you absolutely have to do at night, it's so beautiful). So, for us, the park hoppers were worth it. I think it depends on how you envision your days looking. If you think you'll spend the bulk of the day in the park and then won't get out again in the evening, then I'd probably skip it.

 

[kellyg403]

It was our first trip and we did the park hoppers too. Primarily for the dining plan since some of our TS ended up in parks where we didn't go first. It was nice to be able to make decisions to where to go to and then leave if it got too insanely crowded.

Kelly

 

[kimbac3]

We just got back a few weeks ago. It was our first trip and we stayed offsite too. The hoppers were really great. We parked where we planned to end the day then used Disney transportation to hop. We loved it. It was worth it to us. It was nice to break up some of our days. Plus it's always nice to have flexibility.
Have fun!!
Kimba