To hop or not to hop?

[Jen D]

With the park hoppers, I always took hopping for granted-- we always stayed at least 4 days so we were able to hop. We used it... most days I think. Not every day. We would often start the day at one park, take a break after lunch, and go somewhere else at night. We did it because we could and it cost us nothing.

But now that adding the hopping option tacks another, I don't know, 90 bucks on the base price of the tickets, I'm questioning the value. So I'm limited to one park a day, what's the big deal? I suppose the worst is the early entry park-- you want to take advantage of ee but skip the crowds later... so fine, I wouldn't do early entry. While I do enjoy the freedom hopping affords me in creating my itinerary (including dining) I'm not convinced it's worth the extra dough or that it would be any particular hardship to be confined to one park for the whole day. We're getting 8 day tickets this time so we should be able to enjoy all the parks.

It perhaps means a stricter itinerary. No spending the day at MK, eating at the hotel and then deciding Fantasmic sounds fun tonight. Fantasmic must be on an MGM night.

Luckily we have unused options from previous PHPs so we can skip the water park option

What value do you folks place on hopping?

 

[DisneyMom5]

This is a tough one. We may only use our hopper option on one of our 5 days. But last time we ended up doing 3 parks in one day (whew) in a situation that was totally unplanned. That's why I got the hopper added on. Probably could have saved the money, but oh well, I guess I like the option of being able to travel. I think we were spoiled by the uph also.

 

[LoveWDW]

Since we are two adults, a half day at MK is enough for us. The last time we went to WDW a half day at AK was enough. This time it could be different. But for us, with 4 days there, we wouldn't want to spend a day at MK. We like Epcot a lot and want to spend most of our time there. DS may be a half day or maybe two trips, not sure.

If you feel that you like spending a whole day at each of the parks, I'd say save your money and don't hop. It depends on how long your vacation is and if there is enough at each park for a day's visit for you.

 

[Jen D]

Yeah, I like the freedom to be spontaneous... just not sure if it is worth the money.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

For us, we will always hop no matter what the added cost. Part of our trips to WDW include going to two different activities each day whether it be MK, midday break and then Epcot or AK, midday break and then DtD. We wouldnt enjoy being in the same park all day, even with an afternoon break.
We enjoy going to all the parks at different times of day so imho, the hopping option is well worth it for us. If you can stay in the same park for the day, then dont spend the extra $$ on hopping.

 

[loriandmatt]

i posed this same question to DH when we were first planning our upcoming trip. We could have saved some bucks by doing base MYW tics. We rarely visit anyplace that would qualify for the Pluses and if we just got 5 or 7 day tics, they would be just enough for our visit and we would not have to worry about not using them before they expire.

DH was dead set against giving up the option to hop though. that flexability was a must for him. We went with AP's instead. We expanded out trip this fall to 10 days (the AP's will more than pay for themselves over that time period) and are considering a March '06 trip also - kind of like getting into the parks for free with those AP's that have already paid for themselves!)

God i love that man! He truely shares my WDW illness.

- lori

 

[kizmac]

We have several days on old hoppers for this trip, but I've been contemplating the same thing about future trips. It's nice to have the option, but for us, I don't think it is going to be worth the extra money. When the kids are older maybe, but we usually stay at one park till close and very rarely we may head to Epcot since it's open later, but most times the kids are usually tired anyhow. If I were planning on taking advantage of EMH then I would definitely go for the hopper, but I don't think we'll be adding it next time.

 

[Steffy]

The hopper option is an additional $35.00, no matter how many days of your ticket. I have an AP, but my "twin" who is going with me this September, already has the hopper option budgeted in.

To me, I like having the option of catching the safari in the morning, having lunch at the Tusker House, taking the bus to MGM to watch Beauty and the Beast, taking the boat to EPCOT and having dinner at WS.

I love the ability to hop.

 

[BunsenH]

Gotta hop!

When stayng at an EPCOT hotel, a day might be:
EPCOT (EE) - monorail to MK - lunch at MGM - walk back to hotel - dinner at BW - EPCOT at night. (WHEW, we do all that?)

 

[BluOrchid2]

We are used to being able to hop, too...but this time we won't be able to except on one day. We have a PHP day left from a previous trip. So of our 5 days at WDW, 4 of them we'll not be hopping. The final day is our hop day; we are planning a day at AK, and then back home to the MK for Wishes on our final night.

 

[LovesHauntedMansion]

If someone is going to WDW for only a few days then they almost need to hop in order to do everything, but if you have an 8 day ticket I wouldn't hop. I don't think you'll need to. We always buy the hoppers, but we hardly ever use them. I think that the coming & going uses up a lot of time.

 

[jmclester]

With the park hoppers, I always took hopping for granted-- we always stayed at least 4 days so we were able to hop. We used it... most days I think. Not every day. We would often start the day at one park, take a break after lunch, and go somewhere else at night. We did it because we could and it cost us nothing.

But now that adding the hopping option tacks another, I don't know, 90 bucks on the base price of the tickets, I'm questioning the value. So I'm limited to one park a day, what's the big deal? I suppose the worst is the early entry park-- you want to take advantage of ee but skip the crowds later... so fine, I wouldn't do early entry. While I do enjoy the freedom hopping affords me in creating my itinerary (including dining) I'm not convinced it's worth the extra dough or that it would be any particular hardship to be confined to one park for the whole day. We're getting 8 day tickets this time so we should be able to enjoy all the parks.

It perhaps means a stricter itinerary. No spending the day at MK, eating at the hotel and then deciding Fantasmic sounds fun tonight. Fantasmic must be on an MGM night.

Luckily we have unused options from previous PHPs so we can skip the water park option

What value do you folks place on hopping?

Hopping option is a flat rate of $35.00. Definitely worth the extra on a 4 day or longer pass. Think of it this way:

Let's say the MK closes at 6:00 pm (ok it's September). If someone offered you a "ticket" for $9.00 to transfer over to Epcot for the rest of the day and see Illuminations.....how would that sound? I'd do it in a flash!

 

[MattIL]

I think there are a number of factors you need to consider when choosing to hop.

1) Where are you staying. If you are staying at the Hotels near the Boardwalk you might start your day at AK or MK but then end the day in Epcot or MGM. This really comes into play if you like to eat dinner at Epcot.

If I was staying at a resort that wasn't real close to a park then I might be more likely to only visit one park a day.

2) What are the hours that the parks will be operating? When the MK is open late, it is great to end a day there even if you started somewhere else. We like to go to Animal Kingdom early and often times are done there by early to mid-afternoon. With a late closing at the MK you can return to your hotel, rest and then spend the evening at the MK.

3) How tight is your budget? Most of the Hotels are great places to just hang out. If you want to save money, a trip to one park and an evening or morning relaxing around the hotel can be a relaxing day.

Just some ideas about factors to consider. Its fun to think about these ideas, it makes our next trip seem that much closer.

 

[umbluegray]

HOP!

I love park hopping and wouldn't consider not doing it. I like the flexibility it gives me when I'm planning each day.

I like to spend an entire day at MK and skip Spectromagic and Wishes. We catch extra rides while everybody else is checking out the events. Then, since AK closes early, we catch dinner somewhere and head to MK specifically to catch Spectro and Wishes.

That's just one example.

Of course, I plan for the $35 hopper cost per ticket in our budget so it doesn't hit too hard.

 

[Nite0wl71]

We have always park hopped, Especially after going to AK. i would say for a 7 day trip we usually hop 4 or 5 days.

 

[Jen D]

Thanks for all the input. I knew it was $35 per ticket, I was talking about the increase for all three tickets.

You guys have given me some things to consider. I'm tempted to choose the "hop" option but I know I'll be annoyed if I end up not using it.

I don't mind not having an evening park to go to on say, Animal Kingdom day. Off nites are great to... take the night off! Dinner out, evening swim, or Downtown Disney. We aren't really commandos. I might be up for commando but the rest of my family is way too lazy!

I'll poll the family and make the decision as the trip gets closer. Thanks!

 

[LovePug]

You guys have given me some things to consider. I'm tempted to choose the "hop" option but I know I'll be annoyed if I end up not using it.

Do not buy the hopping option yet. You can add it to the ticket when you are there if you see you need it. That way you're not in danger of buying it and wasting the money if you don't really need it. If you do find you need it, then add it on. It's a win-win situation if you wait until you're there.

We found we did not need it on our June trip and were happy staying with one park per day, but that tended to be our touring style when we had our APs last year anyway.

 

[tekmom]

We hopped last week and my husband just kept saying how great it was to do that. We did each park in spurts and got everything we wanted done...I would have killed myself if I were restricted to only one park per day.

 

[Mainebound]

With the park hoppers, I always took hopping for granted-- we always stayed at least 4 days so we were able to hop. We used it... most days I think. Not every day. We would often start the day at one park, take a break after lunch, and go somewhere else at night. We did it because we could and it cost us nothing.

But now that adding the hopping option tacks another, I don't know, 90 bucks on the base price of the tickets, I'm questioning the value. So I'm limited to one park a day, what's the big deal? I suppose the worst is the early entry park-- you want to take advantage of ee but skip the crowds later... so fine, I wouldn't do early entry. While I do enjoy the freedom hopping affords me in creating my itinerary (including dining) I'm not convinced it's worth the extra dough or that it would be any particular hardship to be confined to one park for the whole day. We're getting 8 day tickets this time so we should be able to enjoy all the parks.

It perhaps means a stricter itinerary. No spending the day at MK, eating at the hotel and then deciding Fantasmic sounds fun tonight. Fantasmic must be on an MGM night.

Luckily we have unused options from previous PHPs so we can skip the water park option

What value do you folks place on hopping?

For our March 05 trip, we bought the MYW tix and found it was cheaper to have more days with no hopping. We looked at our previous trips and found that we at most hopped 25% of the days. So we bought the base tix.

Yes, I fretted over this, but we just planned for it and I can honestly say there wasn't a day we regretted it. Would it be nice to purchase the hoppers if money were no object? Sure. But we discovered -- for our family -- that the REAL value of the hoppers was in the POSSIBILITY of hopping, rather than the ACTUALITY of it.

 

[Troy08]

I debated weather to get the hopper option or base tickets for recent trip. I had never seen Fantasmic and wanted to make sure I got it in. We hopped from Epcot in a.m. and early afternnon to MGM after six to do ToT , Great Movie Ride and Fantasmic. Thank God I hopped becasue the next day which was MGM and it was rainy in the evening. We has perfect weather for evening before for Fantasmic. Always hop, you never know what the weather or circumstances might be.