Trying to decide on a plan without Park Hopper

[DaniH]

Ok this is the first time we are going to Disney without the park hopper option. Based on some reading on other sites we decided to skip it and get tickets for Mickey's Christmas party on our first night instead (no regular ticket that day) then we have a 6 day base for the rest of the trip. I am thinking Epcot Dec 17, HS the 18th, AK the 19th then leave the last 3 days for repeats of MK & HS mostly (they are the most Christmasy to me) and we kind of did AK & Epcot to death our last couple trips. Any non-park hoppers have opinions on this? We have a 4 yr old & an 8 yr old. I guess I am just looking for reassurance

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Ok this is the first time we are going to Disney without the park hopper option. Based on some reading on other sites we decided to skip it and get tickets for Mickey's Christmas party on our first night instead (no regular ticket that day) then we have a 6 day base for the rest of the trip. I am thinking Epcot Dec 17, HS the 18th, AK the 19th then leave the last 3 days for repeats of MK & HS mostly (they are the most Christmasy to me) and we kind of did AK & Epcot to death our last couple trips. Any non-park hoppers have opinions on this? We have a 4 yr old & an 8 yr old. I guess I am just looking for reassurance

The parks will be busy at that time, however without hoppers you should be fine. Hit the parks early, you can always take a midday break and come back to the same park for the evening. The only problem you risk is IF the park closes to capacity or it gets really busy so you couldn't hop to somewhere a little quieter.

That being said, I'm sure you'll be fine. Worst case scenario, you could always add hoppers if you really had to, but I doubt you will. Do you have some ADR's lined up? At least if the parks are really busy, you'll be able to take a break over a nice meal.

 

[laceemouse]

We usually do not pay for hoppers. Pick a park for each day based on crowd predictions. Book a meal at each park of the day. You will be fine.

Adding, I would not skip any of the parks, but I REALLY would not skip Epcot at Christmas. The Candlelight Processionl, holiday storytellers, and Christmas version of Illuminations are "must sees" IMO

 

[ghtx]

The parks will be busy but not too busy at the start of your trip, but by the end it will be extremely busy.

I suggest reading through the crowd calendar for that month from easywdw: http://www.easywdw.com/dec12-u6.jpg

In particular, it looks your your AK day (the 19th) is not recommended for AK because of AM EMH. I would only go to AK on that day if you plan on attending the AM EMH.

I second the idea that you could always add hopping during your trip. But, keep in mind that if you add hopping to get away from one park that is very busy, it will probably be just as busy at all the other parks, especially on the dates closer to Xmas.

 

[DaniH]

Thanks for the ideas! That calender had me laughing. It should really be all reds on Christmas day I didn't even think about hopping to avoid crowds. I usually go in with a basic plan of one park in the morning, one at night depending on EMH. I still haven't dropped the PH so I am going to have to think about this....

 

[ghtx]

Thanks for the ideas! That calender had me laughing. It should really be all reds on Christmas day I didn't even think about hopping to avoid crowds. I usually go in with a basic plan of one park in the morning, one at night depending on EMH. I still haven't dropped the PH so I am going to have to think about this....

Yes, you're right about that.

The easywdw calendar always picks a best park (or two) and a worst park (or two), and gives a number 1-10 on the overall crowd levels WDW-wide. The crowd calendars at touringplans.com will give you a number 1-10 for each theme park. I'm guessing that on Xmas it's all 10s.

 

[1stvisit0909]

Yes, you're right about that.

The easywdw calendar always picks a best park (or two) and a worst park (or two), and gives a number 1-10 on the overall crowd levels WDW-wide. The crowd calendars at touringplans.com will give you a number 1-10 for each theme park. I'm guessing that on Xmas it's all 10s.

Actually, MK is 9.9, Epcot is 10, DHS is 9.9, and AK is 9.6

I know I know, still "10"

Let me have some hope, ok?