To add Parkhopper or not add parkhopper...

[WorldWalker18]

We like Park Hoppers mainly for rope drop/EMH with a second park per day. Also, Epcot for meals. I would be very happy to be at WDW with or without Hoppers, though.

 

[bumbershoot]

we keep hearing that with kids our age, basically HS and AK are basically half day parks.

Not sure about HS, but I can't see AK being a half day park for little kids. At our local zoo my son could spend the entire day there as a little guy. I generally had to drag him home. And with all the extra stuff beyond animals at AK? Fun fun for kids. You just have to make sure to feed and water them appropriately, and have proper clothing depending on the weather. AK can be both broiling or freezing depending on the weather (I'm sorry, I already forgot when the trip is).

So I would keep it as base tickets for now, but have a budget to add hopping to anyone's ticket who needs it as you go.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We don’t go without Hoppers. We like the flexibility of coming/going wherever whenever.

Since you are going during party season you might find the Hoppers beneficial by hitting the MK on a party day for low crowds and hopping somewhere else for the evening. HS was decked out last year for Christmas and we found we hopped over there a lot at night for the ambience.

That said, my advice is to wait until you find you actually want to hop and add them then.

 

[Pmlocke]

Park hopper is for those who regularly go to more than one park a day, like my wife and I. We always do two parks every day. It looks like your schedule has you in one park every day so, no, you shouldn't get a park hopper. Like previous responders, park hopper gives you the opportunituy to play in one park, dine in another. For the adventurous ones, it gives you a chance to test your stanima like I did on my 60th birthday. We did all 4 parks in one day.