To hop or not to hop

[michelle1]

We have always purchased park hopper tickets but in my planning for our next trip it looks like we will only be doing 1 park/day. The hopper option is $150...is it a bad move if I don't get it...?

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I was thinking the same thing. We ahve done it both ways: hopping and non-hopping. For us NOT hopping works out great. Here is why:
1) We seldom/never make TS ADRs at multiple sites
2) We like having the extra $160 to spend
3) We like getting mentally "into" one park for each day
4) We like having the extra $160 to spend
5) We did not hop much back when hopper tix were the standard
6) We like having the extra $160 to spend
7) We don't get thrown off by crowds too much. Although, we do not visit at most crowded times of year. I might consider hoppers in that scenario just so we could stay ahead of the crowds
8) Did I mention... We like having the extra $160 to spend. Depending on length of stay, that could go a long way toward paying for the difference in a value or a mod resort!

 

[kj2mom]

We have purchased hopper passes for the fall but so far have no plans to hop at all. Guess time will tell if it was worth it .

 

[pkp]

If you are staying at the park, I've always thought park hopper is a must have. Especially with EMH. You can go to the morning hours at one park and then go the evening hours at another park (they alternate). For example, I'm going the 19-26 of this month. On the 20th and 25th, MK opens early in the morning. But their evening extra hours are on the 21 and 23. So if you don't have park hopper, you get miss out on this (I guess). Plus, if you are staying a six or 7 days, its difficult for me to commit to one park each day when you really want to do your favorites over and over again.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Hop Hop Hop! LOL!!!

The hopper option is almost a "must have" for us. Nothing worse than heading into a park only to find out it's jammed packed and you can't opt to go to another park.

This has saved us a few times!

WDWO

 

[The Sweetness]

I am typically not a hopper, but with a 2y old this time around, here's what we'll do... Spend the day at whichever park we will be eating dinner at (other than the AK days) after dinner, either me or DH will take her back to the room for bath and bed. Whoever didnt have the early curfew that day gets to go to the park w the emh that evening, or wherever they want (such as EPCOT to see illuminations) So I imagine there'll be *some* hopping involved

 

[debbi801]

We love to hop. For us, we love eating in the WS at EPCOT. We spent at least a little time in EPCOT every day, we love it there. Hopping allows us to hit one park in the morning, go back to the hotel to swim and rest, and then hit EPCOT for exploring the WS and eating new foods. Plus, it allows us to take advantage of EMH if we wanted too.

 

[Harvest02]

I like the flexibility of the hopper option. We have always gotten it and don't like spending the extra, but we always end up hopping. Especially this past trip in June since we stayed on-site. I like being able to go to EMH in the AM at one park, and then going to a different park in the PM. I think if we were to stay off-site(which we won't ever do again since we like the resorts too much now), we might not do the hopper option. I think the hopper option will always be on our ticket. I know you can always add the hopper option after you get to Disney also, so that is an option.

 

[OKWMom]

You can still have a great vacation without the hopper option, but it takes more planning. In our pre AP days, we had the hopper option, but I realized that 2 of the 3 years we didn't use it. We would hit a park first thing in the morning and go back to the resort for a break and would be too tired to return. We only used the hopper option that 3rd year to dine in the Epcot WS.

It really depends on your touring style, how much time you have total in WDW, your children's ages/stamina (and yours), and your dining plans. I would consider whether or not you need to utilize the option before purchasing it.

 

[ms.ojo]

We have always loved the freedom it gave us to hop "if need be". But looking back at my diaries, I see we typically only hop on our last day. Here we usually did 2 parks to hit our favorite rides/attractions one more time. Is that worth $150??? I don't think so.

This trip, we're using that money for our MNSSHP evening. This means no hopping at the end of our trip...so we'll probably just do MK...though ds wants to do MGM again for 1 last Fantasmic. We'll see. Whichever park...I'm sure we'll have a happy day.

Good luck w/ your dec'n...it's a tough one!

 

[kaabost]

I love hopping! I always start the day in one park and end it in another one. It makes your vacation feel longer. I just love having two totally different settings in one day. Also, we can only go for 4 or 5 days so hopping helps to aleviate the feeling of "oh man, I won't be back here for another 2 years" each time I leave a park.

 

[pkp]

I love hopping! I always start the day in one park and end it in another one. It makes your vacation feel longer. I just love having two totally different settings in one day. Also, we can only go for 4 or 5 days so hopping helps to aleviate the feeling of "oh man, I won't be back here for another 2 years" each time I leave a park.

I agree - hopping allows you to get your fill of your favorite rides and attractions. I for one, can do 3 or 4 things at Animal Kingdom and be done with it. But, if I don't do Tower of Terror at least 20 times, I feel like I've missed out on something. Hopping allows you to really use your time like you want to instead of being trapped out one park all day.

 

[lexmelinda]

If you plan your days right, you don't need to hop. We aren't super early risers so we don't take advantage of morning EMH and just go to the non-EMH parks and plan ADRs at those same parks. I like flexibility of hoppers but in the end I like my $175 a lot more. This year we canceled the park hoppers in favor of MNSSHP tickets. Here are a few recent threads on the same topic that may interest you:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1149498
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1152954