To Park Hop or not?

[lb2000]

We are DL regulars and are taking a trip to WDW in February. I am not used to the advance planning with FP+, and am trying to figure out if we should Park Hop or not? We will do either 5 or 6 park days, and my kids want to do the Water Park too. Only Blizzard Beach is open during our trip. We like to hop at DL, but CA is only across the esplanade, so it's very easy to do. We are staying at the Poly. I want to take advantage of some of the EMH, but not necessarily every day. We can be at the park at rope drop, but not every day. That's the main reason I was thinking of hopping, to take advantage of early hours but be able to move to another park later. I would appreciate any and all advice.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

We really like park hopping. We can take a break and go back to the hotel for a little while and then go back to the park of our choice. We enjoy the option of being able to switch parks. Sometimes we have done all we want to do at one park, so we move on to another park. We always get the park hopper (Gives you more options for your day).

 

[Canuck16]

We always get hoppers whether it be DLR or WDW.

We went to WDW last year when FP+ was relatively new. We always hit RD when crowds were low and made our 3 FP selections for later in the day for either the same park or a different one as we would take a mid day break. It was great having our 3 FP in hand when we hit the 2nd park after our break when the lines were longer. This is a strategy we will definetly use again.

 

[loves to dive]

We have had PHs since a second park was added. It makes it easier if the park is crowded to just go to another one or to eat somewhere other than the park you are at. For us, it was always not even an option not to get them.

 

[OhThePain]

If you think that you might hop more than once on your trip, it's worth getting a hopper. It gives you a bit more of the flexibility it seems you are trying to plan for.

We usually get hoppers, but since we are trying to slow things down a bit this time around (plan on spending more time at the resort than usual), hoppers just aren't going to be necessary for us this trip.

 

[mom2rtk]

We always get park hoppers at DL. We never do at WDW. Travel between parks at WDW is a whole other creature from DLR. It just frustrates me to give up so much time for travel. Of course it helps that you will be at a monorail resort. But the one thing I caution new visitors to WDW about is to not overdo the hopping. There is SO much to see and do and it can be so frustrating to use a lot of time traveling between parks.

When we go we are park open to park close people. It gives us ample time to feel like we have really done a park, instead of feeling like we have just sampled it.

There are a lot of people here who love hopping. You might love it too. But you have to keep in mind many of these posters have been to WDW many times and they no longer feel the need to "do it all" like a first time visitor might.

One thing to keep in mind is to really be honest about how many EMH rope drops you will make. If you can't make the EMH, don't go to that park. At DLR, early opens don't drive the crowd so much. Everything is so close together that it's almost like one big park. But at WDW the EMH really draws the crowds. The EMH can be worth it if you actually get there in time or actually stay long enough to experience the last hour. But if you plan that park for the day and end up missing the EMH, all you get out of it is higher crowds.

If you're unsure about hopping, I suggest buying base tickets. You can add the hopper option at any time during the trip.

Have a great trip to the other Disney!

 

[Shellyb84]

We love hopping! We stayed at BC last July and we made rope drop most days, then went back to the resort mid afternoon, then went to Epcot most evenings and wandered around World Showcase.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We park hopped almost everyday of our trip in August/September.

We would hit rope drop in the AM (did AM EMH at MK once), midday break at the pool since it's soooooooooooooo hot that time of year and then another park in the PM. We would do our FP+ at the PM park. The only time we didn't was when we did HS in the AM and hit Epcot WS in the evening. That day we did our FP+ at HS.

 

[DavidNYC]

To me there are a few big advantages of park hopping:

1. Makes it far easier to plan restaurant reservations since you're not stuck in the park where you have a reservation.
2. Gives you a lot more flexibility for the end of evening shows particularly if you're there at a time where, for example, Wishes isn't every night.
3. It just gives more flexibility to avoid crowds - we rarely spend a full day in AK or HS but sometimes want to do a few things in those parks on multiple days (or hit another park after we're done with AK at 3-4pm). With FP+, hitting rope drop in one park and then hopping to another later in the afternoon can be a good strategy. If you're staying onsite - many people will take advantage of the early entry, get lots of things done in those first few hours and then hop to another park which is likely to be less crowded that day. We'll also often do things like save World Showcase for an afternoon where we use FP+ at another park in the morning since you're not concerned with lines at WS.

You really need to look at your proposed schedule, what you want to do while you're there, what your touring style is, and decide.

 

[CandiceF]

We have always had PHs but are considering not getting them next year. I think if your kids are older it is a great idea but not so much for us with little ones. This past Oct/Nov trip we found we wasted so much time traveling between parks. We took the bus on 2 days and ended up driving the rest. With the 3 little kids loading and unloading everyone (kids, strollers etc.) plus waiting in long lines for bag checks at each park was very time consuming. With good planning I think we will be okay without them until the kids get a little older.

 

[Baklava]

Hi there! I'm another DL regular making a first trip to WDW in January.

We were *not* going to get hoppers because of the huge travel times people talk about between parks. It seems like a waste of park time. That said, we have them now because when the SPD packages came out we saved $700 by upgrading our room and adding hoppers. (Yeah, really. We're spending less to get more. It's crazy. ) We have found a couple spots in our schedule where they may actually get some use, but they didn't really feel worth paying for. Our non-hopping plans included pre-park ADRs, rope drop and avoiding EMH. We're still doing that for the most part.

 

[Newsies]

If you're staying at the Poly, park hopping might be right for you. I feel like park hopping works very well for monorail resorts, especially if you find that you love Magic Kingdom more than the other parks (which you might!). I've only stayed at MK resorts, so I like park hoppers because if I have a bit of energy left in me in the evening, after I've come home from another park that day, it's easy for me to get to MK and go on a ride/meet Mickey/get a dole whip. If I was staying at say, an All-Star resort, I feel like park hopping may not necessary because my resort is farther than necessary and once I got home from a park, I would probably be done for the day. Park hopping also works well for, as you've noted, taking advantage of EMH and going to other parks.

Enjoy your first trip to WDW!!! The Poly is lovely!

 

[SnipsNSnails]

We always get the park hoppers on multi day trips. I can't think of once that we didn't use them. We have some very specific plans this trip to hop on two days. The early entry days for EP and MK are opposite of what I would have wanted and I didn't think my turning 7 yo son would want to do BOG for his birthday dinner so we will hop from MK to EP for Garden Grill for his birthday dinner and from EP to MK for BOG the day before that. I don't have any other specific plans to hop but we always end up doing it as things go. In the grand scheme of the vacation cost, it's not a lot for the convenience. But, if you are willing to set the money aside and then add the option if you decide to use it, that works too. You can always add it when you decide you want to hop.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We have always had PHs but are considering not getting them next year. I think if your kids are older it is a great idea but not so much for us with little ones. This past Oct/Nov trip we found we wasted so much time traveling between parks. We took the bus on 2 days and ended up driving the rest. With the 3 little kids loading and unloading everyone (kids, strollers etc.) plus waiting in long lines for bag checks at each park was very time consuming. With good planning I think we will be okay without them until the kids get a little older.

I agree. We always got hoppers. Our trips in 2008 and 2009 my kids were 8 and 2 and then 9 and 3. We never even hopped in 2008 and in 2009 I think we hopped twice out of 7 days. We hit MK in the evening two nights after our dinner ADR for probably 1-2 hours. We went in March and park hours were shorter. After a midday break and a dinner ADR there wasn't much time to hop. It wasn't worth it.

We got them again in 2011 when they were older and we went in August. That's when we used it everyday. After our midday pool break we would hit a different park in the PM. The park hours were longer, kids were older, got dressed faster, no strollers, no diaper bags.

 

[loves to dive]

It really depends on your plans and style, like I said earlier we have had them since there were two parks to hop between and my kid was little at the time. We stayed at the MK resorts at the time (they were the only ones that even existed if you wanted to stay on property). We have always used the travel time as sort of rest time, my son would nap. When I was there in Sept. I stayed at ASSp for the first night of my trip and moved over to YC the rest of the trip. Got there around 2:30, went to Epcot and picked up my passport for F&W booths, got it stamped for my AP glass, went over to WS and grabbed something to eat. Hopped on the monorail over to MK, rode a few rides there (maybe 4 or 5) hopped back on the monorail back to Epcot and back to WS for something to eat, walked from there to the boat dock at BC/YC and went over to HS to catch Fantasmic and ride TOT at night (love that) then back on the bus and back to my room. I think I was in bed by 10. So I did 3 parks, Epcot twice between 2:30 and 10, rode rides, ate food and enjoyed a show. No I didn't have to wrangle kids but when mine was little I didn't carry around a bunch of stuff nor did I take a stroller. If he got tired we rented one there but other wise he preferred to walk and I preferred not to be a pack horse. Same trip I got up on resort transfer day and drove to YC, checked in, hopped a bus to AK at rope drop, rode everything I wanted to, hopped the bus to Epcot for lunch at WS, wandered around WS for a while, walked back to my room, rested a bit, walked back to Epcot. Every day that trip no matter where I started I ended up at Epcot for F&W to eat at the booths.

 

[CandiceF]

I agree. We always got hoppers. Our trips in 2008 and 2009 my kids were 8 and 2 and then 9 and 3. We never even hopped in 2008 and in 2009 I think we hopped twice out of 7 days. We hit MK in the evening two nights after our dinner ADR for probably 1-2 hours. We went in March and park hours were shorter. After a midday break and a dinner ADR there wasn't much time to hop. It wasn't worth it.

We got them again in 2011 when they were older and we went in August. That's when we used it everyday. After our midday pool break we would hit a different park in the PM. The park hours were longer, kids were older, got dressed faster, no strollers, no diaper bags.

Glad to know it's easier to hop when they get older! Our kids were 8, 5 and 2 and we only ended up hopping twice and that was to see the Osborne lights at HS. We did a split stay between CBR and POR and the 2 days we took buses at CBR we waited a really long time. By the time we used our FP+ and went to our ADR's we had to rush to get to HS to see the lights. I completely agree, little ones are slower to get dressed and trying to haul diaper bags and the double stroller on and off transportation more than once a day was so time consuming. I think if you have a good plan one park a day with little one's is easier. There is always Disney Springs if you are done at one park and still have the energy!

 

[tlmadden73]

For me Park Hopping depends on the "audience".

If it was just my wife, son and I .. Park Hop for sure. We all have no-expiration tickets with hoppers (just because the cost wasn't much more).
On my son's first trip we park hopped (he was 2). We went to AK .. and since that park closes at 5 .. we hopped over to DHS . just to see the Frozen show and go on Star Tours (rider swap) ...

The bigger the group, the less I would park hop.
If there is any "first timers" (or non-frequent visitors) .. I would not park hop. (On my last trip I went with the in-laws (Sister-in-law's family and my wife's parents). .. with that slow moving group park hopping was not an option (or needed).

I think it also depends where I would be staying ... if I am staying at a hotel with easy access to the parks (on the monorail, in the Boardwalk area, etc.) .. I would park hop since it is much quicker to go back and forth to your hotel (and then maybe hop somewhere else).

 

[caracarn]

We are DL regulars and are taking a trip to WDW in February. I am not used to the advance planning with FP+, and am trying to figure out if we should Park Hop or not? We will do either 5 or 6 park days, and my kids want to do the Water Park too. Only Blizzard Beach is open during our trip. We like to hop at DL, but CA is only across the esplanade, so it's very easy to do. We are staying at the Poly. I want to take advantage of some of the EMH, but not necessarily every day. We can be at the park at rope drop, but not every day. That's the main reason I was thinking of hopping, to take advantage of early hours but be able to move to another park later. I would appreciate any and all advice.

I would never do Disney without a hopper once I have tried it without it. The couple times we did that was terrible as it really removes any flexibility. We ended up at a park that we anticipated would be a little quieter on two of our seven days when we did not the hopper option. Others who did were telling us that once they got out of the ride line we were in they are going over to another park because they had friends over there who had just told them how empty it was and no waiting. We had already committed to this park and were now "stuck". I know some of it was physiological, i.e. feeling this trapped sensation when we were still in a super fun amusement park that was just super busy when we thought it might not be, but for the slight cost especially for a longer stay (our next trip is planed for 10 days right now so $6 per day) it has just become a no-brainer for us. Unless this is a "can't eat anything other than PB&J on the trip if we splurge for the hopper" I say get it.

 

[Shanti]

I'm leaning towards single-day tickets for your family because the process of park hopping (even between MK & Epcot via monorail) at WDW will likely take up one or two extra hours of your day (unless you'd already planned a mid-day break at your resort). WDW is huge, and the free transportation, while convenient, is slow. When we're at the World, we find ourselves thinking in "Disney time", in which it feels normal for a 5-mile road trip to take up to an hour.

Also keep in mind that the parks are large and each has a unique style and good places to eat. With the possible exception of Hollywood Studios, you'll likely find that your days are quite full exploring each park, so you may have no urge to hop. It can be great to settle into the mood of just one particular park each day- enjoy its rides, decor, shows & restaurants, then focus on another park the next day, rather than rushing from one park to another, not taking the full experience in.

You do have a point about the magic hours- if that's the deciding factor I'd check park hours for each park for each day you plan to visit, & ask yourself if, honestly, your family will actually use them (because they're always late-night or early-morning- don't forget your kids will need to eat something for breakfast first, then transport to the park all before the early-morning hour begins). I like evening magic hours but that's because my son is 10 & very flexible with his sleep schedule- many children are not.

If you don't think your family will be able to make much use of EMH, I recommend sticking to single-day tickets. You can always upgrade them to hoppers if you change your mind at the parks. You can only get FastPasses for one park per day in advance, anyway, so why pay extra upfront for something you're not sure about?

(Sorry for the large font- it's a computer glitch.)

 

[senadler]

Since you are staying at the Poly and I believe coming from the west coast, I think that park hoppers give you a great opportunity to take advantage of evening EMH. Our children have always been night owls, so even when they were young we took advantage of the shorter waits at the end of EMH.