To hop....or not to hop...

[Martini Mom]

What would you do?? I would appreciate any and all feedback. My family and I, husband and 16 year old twin boys will be arriving on August 6 for a 8 night stay. We will be meeting up with my 20 year old daughter who is coming to the end of the International College program ( which she is LOVING!!)
She has earned free tickets for us which we will use to visit AK and we are planning to do the behind the scenes safari excursion. She will have also earned at least two more free tickets which she will use to take her brothers to the park one day. I have purchased 4 day park hopper tickets for the whole family that we will use the final four days of our stay. Given the current exchange rate the 'hopping' feature will cost me an extra $500 Canadian. We have been to WDW twice before, 2010 and 2013 ( and 3 times to Disneyland). We have always purchased and utilized the 'hopping' feature. Given that this is a relatively short trip I am wondering if we need to spend the extra money on 'hopping'. We have splurged on staying at the Poly because that is where my daughter has been working this summer. I'm thinking if we go to a park and feel we have seen and done everything we can head back to the resort and enjoy the amenities. The only reason I can see wanting hoppers is that when I booked our fast passes I have us at AK for our last day and we always finish our stay at the MK, our favourite park...so if we can't hop we might be disappointed...but is it worth $500...I do like the flexibilty of hopping, especially if a park is really busy...uggh...what to do...would love to read your thoughts...thanks in advance

 

[gharter]

Many love hopping. Do a park in the morning, come back to the resort for a short time, then a different park for the evening.
We have hopped on occasion when our first park is super crowded. Otherwise, we usually do a park a day.
Nothing wrong with hopping or not hopping.
It really how you want to do the parks.

 

[sjlogghe]

That's a tough one! We usually buy the hopper, because we like that option - but have also talked about not getting it in the past, because there has been a trip or two where we didn't use it. In April we hopped 2-3 days we were there! However, it's never cost us $500 for the option before!!

You can add the park hopper option at anytime during your stay, as long as it's within 14 days of first use and you still have at least 1 day remaining. So my advice would be not to get the option ahead of time. Then if you decide you want to park hop, you can add it ... the only caveat being you'd have to add it to that last day before using it, if you decide you want to end at MK.

 

[ZoZo]

I think that with some good planning, you can do without a hopper and spend the $500 doing something else. That's a lot of money! If the main reason that you're getting a hopper is to end your last day at Magic Kingdom (after going to Animal Kingdom earlier in the day), that's an awful lot of money to spend for just one day of hopping.

I usually get hoppers because I go during food and wine festival, and like to end most of my days at Epcot. But one trip I found I only hopped once, and wished I hadn't spent the extra money on a hopper.

 

[intertile]

I would get the regular tickets. If you arrive and decide that you must hop, you can go to a customer service desk in any park and upgrade the tickets to hoppers.

 

[rentayenta]

We’ve only been to WDW 3x and I am not a huge fan of hopping. We’re local to Disneyland and hop lots but at WDW it feels so time consuming.

 

[intertile]

We’ve only been to WDW 3x and I am not a huge fan of hopping. We’re local to Disneyland and hop lots but at WDW it feels so time consuming.

It is...disney transportation is slow, and the traffic on property is bad. Feels like you need an hour to get anywhere.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We’re Hoppers.

We just like the freedom to come and go wherever, whenever.

I hear you on the cost. That exchange is brutal right now. But I always incorporate Hoppers into our WDW budget because it’s a must for our trip.

I will echo what PPs have said. If you’re undecided wait until you get there and add the Hopper feature if you find you’d like to use it. No point in buying ahead of time if you’re unsure.

 

[glocon]

Just my two cents... AK may end up being your favorite Park now with Pandora and all... So if you don’t think you’ll hop on previous days, I wouldn’t get it for just one day. Maybe start the tradition of ending your stay with something different, like a balloon ride. And you can see the fireworks at MK from the poly beach your last night

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I wouldn't do it. (And we haven't, either, sometimes.) Why? Because it makes for a more relaxing trip. It kind of forces you to slow down a bit, IMO. Plus, it's likely going to be very/horribly hot in August, and probably rainy in the afternoons, PLUS you are staying at the POLY you are going to want to spend some time enjoying the resort! I'd do the parks in the morning, at Rope Drop, then plan to head back to the resort for late morning or noon. Nap, take a swim, hang out a bit, wait out the rain, then you can always head back into the (same) park again later if you want to. Or you might want to do Disney Springs or just go to dinner somewhere fun, etc. I think the Poly at night is one of the most beautiful places to be at WDW. Take advantage of it! The parks will always be there. Enjoy your trip! I imagine once the twins are in college (like ours are now) it will be harder to get to WDW. Savor your family time now on this beautiful vacation.

 

[Nancyg56]

I book hoppers when my DD and her family are with us, but I honestly do not think they are necessary. If you make a plan you can avoid them easily, IMO.

 

[PRomano]

We enjoy hopping, but that is a lot of money. Check the park hours and think about how late you would stay out.
Would you let your kids go out on their own to the park open latest? Or maybe the one open earlier and then meet up? We have always hopped, sometimes we just want to do or see one or 2 things at a park.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We love the Poly and if there was a time we wouldn't hop if would be if we are staying there. So many things to do and just to relax. You can always watch the fireworks show on the Poly beach and pretend that you are at MK. I understand about ending at MK - we do that also - but to spend $500 to do it - I don't think I would since we love the Poly so much. We enjoy AK - but not that much to do 2 full days there. If you are going already in the beginning of your trip why not change the last day to MK? If you can't change that then wait until you get there to upgrade.

Another option is maybe your DD has friends that will not be using there free tickets and can take you to MK at night on your last day. When our DD was in the DCP - we had APs so we couldn't use her tickets but at the end she did that for friends. Enjoy!

 

[monorailsilver]

We like to hop. Primarily Epcot in the am and MK at night or the other way around.

We are not huge fans of AK so we only spend a morning there and the same for DHS although we may go back late at night.

So we enjoy hopping. I think if we didn’t have it, we’d be wandering around the other 2 parks with nothing to do.

FYI, we are checking into thr Poly on August 6 after 5 nights at the BC.

 

[loves to dive]

You will get a different answer from every single person. We have always had Park Hoppers even for short 3 day trips and long 7 day trips. It just works for us because we are not planners. We don't book FPs in advance, we book them day of usually while on the bus. Sometimes I will book them the night before if we can decide where we want to go the next day but that is rare. We don't like being tied down to a schedule and don't even book 3 at a time because we might not want to hang around that park for 3 hours. We also don't book ADRs in advance, just day of while walking around. PHs make it easier to go that way, we can eat in any park we want and if a park is too crowded we just move on to another one. We almost always take a break in the afternoon and go back to the resort for a soak in the hot tub and usually go to a different park at night. The extra cost is worth it for us to have the freedom to just do as want.

 

[suse66]

I love hopping and never do a trip without it. I'm Canadian as well so totally get the exchange rate. It is not pleasant to say the least. That being said, I love the flexibility of having hoppers and I always plan one 4parks/1 day challenge per trip. For my trip this summer I have a 5 day hopper plus but am there for 8 days. So I will have time to enjoy the resort, parks and water parks too. I am staying at the Poly as well.

 

[NH-to-FL]

When DW and I stayed on site we would always get hoppers (or APs). We stayed at the Boardwalk and would wander over to Epcot almost every evening. Since you are staying at the Poly it is relatively easy to get to the MK. Would you find yourselves drawn to evening visits to the MK? Since you have been to both WDW and DL perhaps the MK has less of a draw for you. Only you can weigh the flexibility and cost question.

 

[deedeezee]

I love the flexibility that hoppers provide, but when I am really trying to scrimp/save, it is an easy thing for me to cut. It just takes more planning and commitment to what you have already said you would do that day.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We aways hop and can't imagine not having that flexibility. We stay at an MK resort and usually end the evening at Magic Kingdom. We also enjoy table service dining and the hopper allows the flexibility to plan ADRs and park days independently. No need to worry about making ADRs that are in or near your park!

We will use EMH and then hop to another park. We sometimes find ourselves in 3 parks in a day.

A typical day might be rope drop HS, leave around 1:00 and head to resort. Go to Epcot for a dining ADR at 5:00 or 6:00, hop monorail for MK evening EMH. Some days we will fast pass the 2nd park.

I don't understand the argument about hopping being too time consuming either. It usually takes no more than 45 minutes (less time than many stand by lines) plus it's a good way to get a little down time while riding the monorail or buses.

If only the express bus service still existed!!!

I will say we usually stay 8-10 days and are not commando style visitors. We will use rolling fast passes and avoid lines of more than 20 minutes. Our planning involves ADRs and first 3 fast passes, after that we kinda roll with the flow looking for extra fast passes.

 

[Monykalyn]

Use the earned passes later in trip? Will your DD still be a cm on your last day? The tickets she earns are hoppers. Just make sure her leaders don't take her out of system early though!
We will be there 8/2-8/9 to get our DD from the DCP too-her last day is 8/9.

ETA: I reread- so you are planning on staying after her program. Did she get the tickets for whole family at the cm discount? And ouch on exchange rate!! Personally I'd probably splurge for the hoppers though