To Hop or not to Hop...

[bartleby1]

We don't get hoppers and have never missed them. I would rather add an extra day or two onto our vacation than add hopping, which is quite pricey for a family of 5. With the extra days added on, we don't feel the need to hop and the cost to add an extra day or two onto tickets is very, very minimal.

 

[foxlore]

Don't hop - spend the money on other things. The dining plan is well worth it, but IMHO with a young child hopping just isn't. We took our first trip to WDW last November and had the same quandary. Having been basically raised in Disneyland I felt we really wouldn't use the hoppers - that we'd be pressed to do everything at each park in just a day. That instinct was spot on. Our son was 6 at the time and we never even stayed for fireworks. He was tired and cranky by then - no way he'd have tolerated hopping. We also didn't hit the parks at the crack of dawn. We took a leisurely pace. We now live in Orlando and will be doing the passes. Can't wait to get them!

 

[brekin67]

We never hop. That takes too much time out of our vacation.
We plan to be at the park that is open late. We go about 3pm, eat at 4pm then start the day. It is less hot, and we can spend the day swimming or resting.

 

[Disneychix]

I have always hopped in the past as it was only DH and me. This year we brought our 20month old son. I got hoppers and it was a waste. We only hopped 1 day out of 7! There just wasn't enough time to be going from place to place and there was no need really. This was the one thing I got wrong on this vacation. (well maybe one of a few!)

 

[Wendy_in_Wonderland]

We were discussing this last night and we decided against hoppers. We are a five people and it would cost around $250 to add them. Do you know how much shopping I could do for that? Or I could take DD to BBB with any dress she wanted. I just think it's a waste of money for us. Plus I figured we'll get to see more by having less travel time. If we stay at each park for one day we won't be spending most of our time on buses.

It really depends on what your plans are but it sounds to me like you may not need hoppers at all, I think planning to buy them if you need them would be best so you don't spend money you don't have to.

 

[souda]

We did not get the hopper on our first trip because we only had 5 days and we knew that we would not be hopping. For our next trip in June 09 for 2 weeks, we are getting the hopper just to have a little more freedom and be more spontaneous.

 

[seadd67]

We always park hop bare min 3 parks per day, and some time we do all and then some! but me and my DS are exterm we just like the opption of doing one or two rides and the hit another park and try another and so on. My Ds Is 15 so you have to take Into decission making your DD age! I would say tay with one park per day unless you know you want to eat or see a show at some other park that day

 

[Whitaker24]

i agree with our 3 year old in sept we had park hopper but we never hopped. I think the only way we will use hopper in the future is if we have a large group going, and likely if we go with him again soon we wont be doing hopper.

 

[PumpKiNWiTcH]

I always recommend park hopping. It's nice having the option to spread out your time leisurely, and not having to worry about going to see one whole park in a day. Also, it works great for magic hours. You can spend a day at Magic Kingdom, and if EPCOT has magic hours, you spend the rest of the evening there. You can't lose with a park hopper. Also, it's great if there are events going on at the same time in more than one park. You have the flexibility to see them all in one day without missing out!

 

[Candice30]

i often plan my days out ahead of time and when i look at the plans, we are usually not hopping parks so i never plan to get the hopper. however, in all my trips to disney, i have yet to only visit one park a day. i couldn't do disney without the hopper. it is definitely up to what you and your family can afford. if you think you really won't use it and it will strain your budget, then skip it. i like being able to leave the park in the middle of the day when everyone is cranky, hit the pool, and then back to the park in the evening. for us, it is never the same park we were at in the morning. it is kind of like been there done that and we are ready for a different park so the hopper works for us.

 

[4our3kids]

We're just back from WDW and we opted not to hop. Partially for the $250 savings for 5 of us and partially because I had planned to be in only one park each day. We did do EP 1 1/2 days, MK 2 days, AK 1 day and HS 1 day. My only suggestion would be to check the parade, fireworks schedules to make sure you can see all you would like to. I did this and took into consideration when planning our itenerary. I know they don't so Spectrmagic every night during slower times. I think you'll be fine with no hoppers as you will not be there during a busy time. Whatever you decide, you'll have a ball!! Enjoy!

 

[SnowWhite12]

I need some candid advice. We're going to WDW Nov 9th - 15th. I've used TGM and planned our days out pretty well. I've made ADR's for the parks we plan to be in on those specific days. I've got 4 full days -- one for each park and a half day for relaxation/DD, and another half to wrap stuff up with what we missed. Keep in mind, this is our first trip as a family (me, DH and 5 y/o DD). We plan to keep it simple, i.e. no water parks or offsite adventures. SO, what I'm getting at is do I get basic 6 day MYW tickets or do I splurge for the hoppers? Like I've said, I've got each park planned for one day and feel pretty confident in our choices. I just have this hidden fear that something unexpected will arise and we'll want to go to a different park or change our plans because of some unexpected event. On the other hand, our trip is on a budget and I'd really like to stay within the dollar amount I originally allotted (Ha, good luck with that in Disney!)

Any advice from anyone who's been there/done that? Can I do MYW tix and still have a great time?

Thanks!

We are going at the exact same time and have been struggling with this decision. We have always had hoppers in the past, but we have decided to do without them this time. When we have gone this time frame in the past, the parks were dead; so we got lots done everyday. It will be me, DH, and daughter age 3 1/2. We arrive mid-day on the 9th, and will go to Magic Kingdom that afternoon/night. 10th at Animal Kingdom, 11th at Hollywood,
12th at Magic Kingdom, 13th at Epcot, and 14th back at Magic Kingdom. We are also on the dining plan. The only day I wish we would have a hopper is the 14th, but I couldn't justify paying the extra $140 for just that this time. We leave too early on the 15th to go to a park.

 

[korg]

My wife and I are going to DW on November 15 through the 21st. We've both been there several times together and several times seperately before we were married. (My wife actually lived in FLA. during a prior marriage for about 5 years.) She doesn't really care much about hopping ... but she admittedly is not as much of a Disney nut as I am. (Then again ... she DID live there!!) Last time we went (2 or 3 years ago) we only toured 4 days ... no hopping. The problem with that was once we left a park and the day was over we couldn't return to that park until the next trip. I didn't like this fact one bit! This trip we're getting 5 day park hopper passes. (We'll buy them at a local Disney Store soon) Since we will only really have 5 full touring days (and two LONG travel days) it will feel like the "old days" of staying on the property and having "length of stay passes." (remember those?) We'll come and go as we please and we can start the trip at the Magic Kingdom (the HEART of Disney) if we like and it can STILL be the last place we visit on our last day of touring. As a matter of fact I'm thinking we'll visit all 4 major parks on that last day. The hopper option CAN be expensive but I think it makes all the difference in the world! Personally I MISS the Length of Stay passes. Since they don't offer them anymore I stay off property and save money. Actually I save quite a bit of money and stay in a nice full condo, not simply a room. But I DO miss the 24/7 Disney magic you get staying on the property. BUT then again ... the money I saved staying off site payed for the park hopper option! (See how i tied that all together?;-)

 

[4our3kids]

[ The problem with that was once we left a park and the day was over we couldn't return to that park until the next trip. I didn't like this fact one bit!


We are just back with no hopping. We were able to leave a park re-enter that same park later in the day, no problems. We left a couple parks more than once a day for meals. No stamps required, just enter through the main ticket area inserting your ticket and finger id as you normally do.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[korg]

[ The problem with that was once we left a park and the day was over we couldn't return to that park until the next trip. I didn't like this fact one bit!


We are just back with no hopping. We were able to leave a park re-enter that same park later in the day, no problems. We left a couple parks more than once a day for meals. No stamps required, just enter through the main ticket area inserting your ticket and finger id as you normally do.

Enjoy your trip!

No what I meant was once the day was over we weren't able to go back to the same part without using another day's ticket. You are able to leave a park and reenter the same park on the same day.

 

[MommyBryn]

We always get the PH, whether it's just adults going or the whole family with 3 babies and lots of little kiddos in tow. Of course, we don't go more than once every few years, IF that, so maybe that makes a difference. But for us it's totally worth it, even if it doesn't get used daily. We really like to do MK in the evenings after we've done another park during the day. Or we like to do something during the day then get back to Epcot at night or something. But we really wouldn't go w/out the hopper.

 

[beckyjovi]

My husband and I took our kids for the 1st time to Disney in Feb. this year (08). They are 6 and 11. I did the same thing you did planning what days we were at what park, etc. We were told by everyone to get the hopper and we thought about it for a while. We talked with the reservations people when we checked into our onsite hotel. We were also on a budget so we really did not want to spend the extra money for the hoppers not really knowing if we were even going to use them. It turns out that we did not need them at all. We pretty much spent from opening to closing at each park since we wanted to get our monies worth. And with kids it sometimes takes longer to see and do everything in one park. We did purchase a 7 day pass and only used 4 days for the 4 parks. We did the parks back-to-back which was a bit much for the kids and us. But I am glad we did it the way we did. We are goiing back Dec 21-27th for Christmas and the kids only want to visit MK, Epcot, MGM. None of us really enjoyed AK. This time though we are not going to do back-to-back days, rather take it a little easy. Either way you choose, you will know better for the next trip. Hope this helps you some.

 

[nursears]

Thanks for all the feedback. I think we are NOT going to hop for this trip. I didn't realize the add on feature, which gives me peace of mind knowing I can change it if something comes up I love hearing all the opinions -- so many pros and cons to consider -- definitely an situational thing!

 

[The Hendies]

A good decision. This thread really made me think. We have never been without hopping, but I think with careful research and planning, it can easily be done without hopping. You will have a wonderful time!

 

[Harters2WDW]

This is an interesting thread. It really has me rethinking the Park Hopper with my DD3 in March.