To Hop or Not

[lazer]

I've found park hopping to be even more "right for our family" with FP+. It's just the way we tour. Especially, if we rest for a bit in the afternoon (rarely), I just like switching parks after a break.

 

[ToyStory3]

I always feel like I have to have them but don't use them as much as I think I will. But, I still can't bring myself to not get them....just in case. Especially if we are staying at an Epcot resort. My brother's family didn't get them last June just to save money and they said they had no trouble at all planning for one park a day.

One reason I want to get them next trip is because now that my kids are a little older I'm hoping we can take advantage of some of the evening EMH. I love the thought of hopping over to MK in the evening and having lower crowds for a couple hours. We've never used any EMH in the past because my kids go to bed pretty early. We will see.

 

[biondagirl]

We always hop. I can't imagine not hopping. Especially when some of the parks close early.

 

[MichelleVW]

We didn't used to hop....but when they stopped accepting late FP's and went with Fast Pass Plus only...we went back to hopping!! So easy to use FP Plus when hopping!

 

[MonorailCentral]

It's up to the individual. We hop fairly regularly, but we are AP holders, so we don't have to spend extra for that upgrade. We really don't spend that much time hopping, so we don't see it as wasted time. We are pretty efficient about it.

As others have said, you can upgrade on the spot. So feel free to wait, and upgrade later if you feel like you want to do it then.

 

[W.E.D.]

We always hop. It's more than worth it to us. But I think it depends on your style/method of visiting WDW. We almost always do RD at one park and then in the evening we head over to WS at EPCOT. It's just our favorite place to be and we enjoy all the dining/drinking options. With FP+, we'll catch the rides/attractions we want on the RD park before crowds get crazy, then hit the busy EPCOT attractions in the PM with our FPs. If that doesn't sound like your kind of touring, then you might be wasting money.

 

[bluezy]

I think it really depends on when you're going and how you like to visit the parks. There are plenty of people who are happy and content to spend a full day in one park regardless of crowd or weather circumstances...and that's perfectly fine. Our family just likes to have the flexibility that parkhoppers give us. We usually spend 7 days at Disney World and typically go in late June. We plan one full day for each park and then the other days we "wing it"...usually hitting one park in the morning, heading back to the hotel for a rest/swim, and then head to another park in the evening. This allows us to either do things we didn't get accomplished on the full day in the park or catch the things we missed the first time around. A lot of times if we spend a full day in a park, we're too tired/hot/sweaty to hang out for fireworks, so we'll just hop back to that park another day after spending a few hours at another park during the day or even after our AK full day. There have also been times where we get to a park in the morning on what is supposed to be our full day in that park and despite all of my research and planning, the park is just unbearably crowded. Because we have parkhoppers, we can just hop on a bus, monorail, or boat and head to a different park and still have a good day at a different park (as opposed to dealing with the crowds). We don't necessarily *plan* to park hop, but we love having the option to do that if we want to.

 

[KimK2006]

I can't image NOT hopping! For us, AK and DHS are not full day parks. We usually end up at EP most evenings for dinner because the QS food is better.

 

[cleophus12]

If you are staying at an Epcot resort it is really nice to be able to hop into that park in the evenings for dinner and/or fireworks and then walk home without fighting the crowds.

 

[wareagle57]

I honestly can't imagine NOT park hopping.

I want to be at a park at rope drop and be at a park when it closes. Those are the lightest crowd times and when you get the most "bang for your buck." But staying in the same park for 12 or more hours every day is exhausting. Yes, you could always leave and come back to the same park. But I just find it so much more enjoyable to mix it up every day. Especially since I can normally knock out 90% of my favorites in half a day at any given park.

I also would hate to spend an entire day's worth of a ticket on Animal Kingdom. Don't get me wrong, It's a fun park and I love it. There just isn't enough there to take up a full day. I would get bored. Now I might come back later in the trip and re-do everything again, but it wouldn't be as much fun doing it twice in the same day.

It also lets you make your days longer if you want. you can go to a park with EMH in the morning, and then finish at a park that has them at night.

 

[fairy8i8]

Disney gives you all sorts of add on options. Unless you plan to maximize the option, you are spending extra money. Think about how many times you plan to hop, and then divide that my the cost of hopping. Honestly, because I would only hop 1-2 days, and hoppers would cost me $180 extra, it's just not worth it. I could add another night at the hotel and have a whole extra day of vacation for the price of using the hopper only one day. Remember that extra days to tickets are only about $10pp after about the 4th day. That's 6 extra days added to your ticket for the price of hopping.

Now, if you plan on doing the waterparks/Disneyquest for 2 or more days and are getting that add on, then it's less than $20 to add the hopper. At that point, it might be worth it if you plan to use it a couple of times. However, hopping doesn't get you much unless you are taking advantage of EMH.

 

[texasroni75]

We love having the park hoppers. Do we use them every day of our trips? No, but close to it. Especially on AK days, since they close early - we can head over to another park for dinner and a few rides. DH is especially fond of Epcot dinners, and not so fond of the end-of-night fireworks crowds and mass exodus at park closing at MK, so MK days we usually hop to Epcot for dinner and Illuminations instead (way less crowded and less of a logjam when you leave). Plus, if you arrive to a park, decide they are just too crowded, you can leave and check out another park. I guess we enjoy just knowing that's an option.