To hop or not to hop?

[ratfam]

I haven't spent much time on this forum but I'm now prepping for a WDW trip so I apologize if this has come up frequently before. We are going in March/April for 8 nights, planning to buy 7 days passes. Not sure about the extra $$ for park hopper option (I think it would be about $125 for 2 adults, dd10 and ds 7, but every bit counts!). It has been three years since we visited, in the past we have had park hopper passes and have not really park hopped, but this will be the most days that we have ever planned on visiting the parks during a trip. We haven't hopped before because I hate to spend all of that time on transportation. Have others opted not to add the park hopping option, and did you regret it?

 

[MickeyP]

Everytime we go, we get hopper tkts. Everytime I say next time we're not. I'm not sure why they cost extra-think about it, to hop is to LEAVE the park and go to another. Whereas if you stayed in the same park, you'd be taking up precious park space. IF you leave, you are not out of the parks 10 minutes. It's really more like 40 minutes. If you have an ADR, you are waiting extra because they tell you to go 15 minutes early...???????? We went in Sept. and we had to have hoppers because we were on the free dining and wanted to eat at Epcot for most of the nights. So, that was the exception, otherwise I say no. But remember, I've never not had hoppers, so I might change my tune once I tried it.
Also, if you have small kids....you don't need hoppers.

 

[bigcrit]

We don't hop much either. But we buy park hoppers anyway. We like to have options I guess thats why we buy them.

 

[lassiem1127]

Same here...i always get the hopper option but very rarely ever use it....but I want that option available if I do decide to use it....especially for dinner.

 

[riopooh]

We are big hoppers. I think alot depends on where you are staying - if you are on site - it's great to go to one park in the morning, take a break and then go somewhere else that night. I like having the flexibility.

 

[ccw]

Hoppers give you so much flexibility...I have visited three parks in a day on several previous trips. Yes, there is some down-time with travel but when the parks are open very early/very late, it is nice to move around a bit! However, I almost always have short trips (3 or 4 days) so it is more important to me to be able to hop than if, like you, I would be there for a week or more. On our last trip, our group spent most of a day at MGm but decided to zip over to MK for the 4:00 parade. We only stayed a couple of hours but is was definitely worth it!

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

I believe the park hopper option is very good to have. We visisted WDW a few years back during the school year. We went to Epcot on a Friday and it was jammed with school children from the area schools. We decided to just leave and go over to the Disney Studios instead. Worked out great that day. As we left the main entrance of Epcot we saw school buses parked everywhere!!!!
I agree with another poster that if you are staying on-site it's great to visit one park in the morning....get some rest....and go to another park in the late afternoon/evening.

 

[QT Pooh]

I think if you can put together a good touring plan, you don't need park hoppers. I used Tour Guide Mike ($21.95) to plan my mornings and afternoons as he tells you which parks are the best to go to on those specific days in the AM and in the PM. I found after looking at his information we didn't need hoppers. We'll spend the money on something else I'm sure!!

 

[Belle2667]

We always hop. Perhaps if it was our first visit, I wouldn't, but I like the flexibility and not being locked into one park for an entire day. Even though my kids are older, we still like to take a break in the middle of the day and go back later in the afternoon. Like wdwgoofeeee said, you never know when a park might be packed and you don't want to be stuck there.

 

[The Sweetness]

Ive never been a fan of hopping. This next trip, though, I may change my mind. If DD2 will be going back to the room around 5 with either me OR dh, dd15 and me (or DH) can go to another park for the evening (If the parks are open until 9) That may be nice for a change

 

[raven69david]

Without a doubt, get the park hopper passes. It will definetly be worth the extra money you spend. My wife and I could do all of the parks in 1 day before our DD was born. We got a chance to do all the rides in 1 day and then spend the next few days watching the shows and parades.

 

[wwaleye]

We always do two parks in one day. One park in the morning, always using EMH if available, break, then one park in the evening. The break always works out well for us, we get a chance to refresh, maybe take a swim or a nap, eat at one of the resorts or whatever. Many times we plan on getting to a park twice in a visit, that way if we miss something the first time we get a chance to do it. Also, it seems the parks are the most crowded in the middle of the day and by leaving them we miss that but still spend 11-12 hours a day at the parks.

 

[lucincia]

If you have solid park plans, you probably don't need park hop.

But, if you're like me, who plans a lot, but once on site throws most of the plans out the window and go with the flow, having park hop is great. Last week, for kicks, we went to 4 parks in one day. DD7 and DD3 did not mind.

Most of the days we went to 2 parks. Since the DDs like MK the most, we hit MK when it opens so they can get their thrill rides in (if you consider It's a Small World for DD3 thrill ride) Then, in the afternoon/evening we hit another park.

 

[princesstommi]

We always hop, but I totally understand why people don't or don't want to. My only thought is crowd-level. If you get there, and crowds are out of control, say at MK, you may want the flexibility to flee the madness and go to another park. It seems that lately even traditionally *slow* times are much much more active. So, keep that on your radar. But hopping is something you can add while you're there, right?

 

[blessedby3]

We always had the park hopper tickets under the old ticket system and we never hopped. Too much time for travel between the parks. Even this last trip we left EPCOT to go to Chef Mickeys for dinner and it took an 1 1/2 out of our park time just in travel time, not to mention the time we took for dinner. This last trip with the new tickets we opted to not pay extra for the hopper option and can honestly say we would not have used it if we had it.

 

[LuckySadie]

Another hopper family here! We almost always use it. We're a big fan of going to one park then hopping over to MK or Epcot for fireworks at night. Especially when AK closes earlier than the other parks.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

I think the hopper option is definitely worth the money. I don't think I would go without it. We had a plan for what parks we planned to visit each day, but then everyone had their favorite attractions they wanted to revisit or something we didn't have time to do that day. It is nice to have the flexibility to hop around instead of being restricted to only one park.

 

[LoveWDW]

We always get hoppers. This way if a park is crowded we just go to another. We like the freedom of being able to move to whichever park that we want to.

 

[lucincia]

WDW resort guests have EMH option already. I think it would be cool to give WDW resort guests park hopping options on their tickets.

 

[stampinshauna]

I vote for the Park Hopping. I never need an entire day in Animal Kingdom, so it is nice to be able to go somewhere else when I want to. Another benefit is that if you see something you like in a gift shop in a park, you may find that it isn't available in any other park, and it is nice to park hop the last day so you can get what you want.