To hop or not to hop?

[OTRGal]

Hello All!

I'm new here and am happy to have found these boards. Please forgive me if this is a frequently asked question:

Our family is planning a Disney vacation for the end of Jan 2007. We will have 5 days at the parks, and we are having trouble deciding if it is worth our while (and wallet) to add the park hopping option. We are a family of 4 with our 2 children aged 3.5 and 4 months. Does anyone have advice for us?

Thanks in advance!

 

[mamamary]

Welcome

We came back last week and paid extra for the parkhopper. We were there for 6 days (me, DH, 7 & 9 year old). We didn't hop once. But if I had to do it again I still would get the hopper because I liked the idea that if we wanted to we could. I thought for sure MGM would be a half day and that we'd go somewhere else but all my kids wanted to do was the RNR coaster and TOT so we stayed till closing. That's just my opinion.

 

[Desnik]

We always hop. Our kids are 8 and 3 but have been going to WDW since they were 8 months. We have always bought hoppers and almost always used the option to hop. We like that we were able to do the early morning at the MK. Then head back to the resort and take a swim break or nap and then go to Epcot in the evening. We hardly ever stay in one park for the entire day, especially when the kids were younger. I would say to add the hopping option. What if you get to a park and then after an hour it gets really crowded? We like that with hoppers you can just go to another park instead.(it could happen even in Jan ) Sometimes we like to just go to one park for a few of our favorite rides then hop to Epcot for Illuminations, or MK for WISHES.

Oh and welcome to the DIS!!!!

 

[wecroozin]

Always add the Hopper option. You just never know where you'd rather be at any given time of the day. Makes it more adventurous and if one park is too crowded to your liking you can always try another. It is definately worth it for so many reasons. We don't go without it. Especially with a five day trip. Shorter trips with the hopper allow you to see more than you would with single day tickets.

MK during the day, Epcot at night for the Illuminatios show, etc for other parks. So many options for fun and entertainment with the hopper add on.

 

[Smileybug]

Hey Welcome to the Dis! I know sometimes you just wish someone could make the very best decisions for you when it comes to a Disney trip. My family is like mamamary and enjoy having the option to really do what we want to. The best thing to do is to consider your budget and what you feel you can handle with your children being so young. But most of all have a magical time!!

 

[LBelle]

Welcome to the DIS!!!!


I would always advise anybody to add the Hopper option!!! No matter how many days, how old the kids are or even if it's folks who've been many times before! It's just a great option to have should you need it!!!

 

[Taratink]

We always hop. It is a great to have as many option as possible when traveling with children.
Tara

 

[GGOOFY1]

We always like to hop. We never stay in one park all day and on our last day we power hop!! The kids want to hit their favorite rides one more time!!

 

[OTRGal]

Thanks everyone. It looks like the overwhelming majority of you recommend hopping. I believe that's what we'll do too! Thanks for the welcomes!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

Defintiely hopping with young kids...it's great to be able to take a break and then go some place different later in the day. You'll be onthese boards for a few month before your trip -- you'll get great ideas about which parks are best on which days, etc. so you'll know where to start out each am and what to avoid each pm!

Have fun planning!

 

[mommeeluvsdisney]

If you are going in January and using a package, don't forget to use the code. It is FREE hopping. Have a great trip. we are going the beginning of Feb. and the free hopping will be great for us.!!!

 

[Kim1964]

When we went in August we had hopper tickets and never actually hopped. Our days were split between a park in the morning and the resort pool in the afternoon. When I booked our trip for next year, I wasn't going to add the hopper option. It wasn't until I was on the phone with my travel agent that I changed my mind. I thought about how this one week of the year is a time when we have no obligations beyond having fun with each other, and I wanted the flexibility to do what we wanted, when we wanted. In the scope of how much the trip costs, $35/person more wasn't such a big deal to me.

 

[LUVMICKEY]

Hello All!

I'm new here and am happy to have found these boards. Please forgive me if this is a frequently asked question:

Our family is planning a Disney vacation for the end of Jan 2007. We will have 5 days at the parks, and we are having trouble deciding if it is worth our while (and wallet) to add the park hopping option. We are a family of 4 with our 2 children aged 3.5 and 4 months. Does anyone have advice for us?

Thanks in advance!

Hi there, and to the best boards on the net. We always park hop. And we do park hop alot. Even if we didn't, I would always want that option because you never know what any given day will hold or what you may feel like doing.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Welcome to the DIS, OTRGal.

I have always enjoyed the hopper benefit, it really adds flex to your time there. As said, you will have a few months here to kind of feel what might be best for your family. Again, welcome.

 

[ppiew]

I guess I will take a contrary view. If $$$ is a consideration, I would NOT buy hopping. Frankly, you spend a lot of time (not to mention energy) hopping from park to park. Plus the long walks into and outof the parks. One time I did use hopping from the MK to EPCOT - we spent 1 1/2 hours via monorail to get out of the MK, take the monorail to EPCOT and then walk into EPCOT. Too much time and too much walking for me!!
With 5 days, you would certainly have adequate time to properly visit all the parks. Other than hopping for fireworks displays, I frankly think it is a waste of time (and I have an annual pass that includes hopping). Actually, we rarely use the park hopping feature.

 

[GlennI]

Welcome to the DIS boards...

Check out the latest codes, currently for Jan to March 2007 park hopping option is FREE.!!!!!!! '

sent you a pm also.

 

[kj2mom]

We had park hopping on our 8 day trip last month and never hopped. My children are 4/turned 5 on the trip, we didn't take afternoon breaks outside the park and didn't leave the park once we got there until after the night entertainment (except AK which closed at 5 while we were there). I don't regret buying the hoppers but not sure if I will again if we get the opportunity in the future.

 

[Mouse511]

We always get the park hopper option. We start the day at a park, go back to the hotel after lunch and hang out at the pool. Then, later in the day we go back to a different park for dinner. I think it's a nice option to have, you are not restricted to only one park for that day. I would recommend it

 

[susykt4]

If you're not staying at a monorail resort, it's really fun to hop from MK to Epcot on the monorail. My kids (5 & 3 last trip) LOVED this and we did it many, many times. We are big hoppers, even during a slow time like January. We don't spend a lot of time at MGM- mainly go to see the characters, so hopping there after a morning of rides elsewhere is always fun. We also like to hit MK at opening for a morning of rides and hop to World Showcase in the afternoon. Love the Hoppers!!!