WDW Vet park hopper questions

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

We never buy park hopper tickets at WDW because it takes too long to hop. I understand from reading different threads that it is very much worth it to hop at DL. My question is when you are hopping because one park is closing, isn't everyone else doing the same thing? So it doesn't make it any less crowded? It looks like from the hours last October, they both close within an hour of each other except on party nights so you wouldn't have that much extra time in the park. Help me to see the point in buying the park hopper

 

[mom2rtk]

We're ones who never hop at WDW but always hop at DLR.

One of the big reasons for us is trying to fit in all the shows, parades and fireworks. Sometimes we start the day in DCA because we have early entry, and it's just the best day to see a certain show. For example, Fantasmic only runs on the weekends when we are there, and I prefer to have my DL days during the week when it's slower. So we hop.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I couldn't imagine not park hopping at DLR. I often find myself in one park and wanting to do or eat something in the other park. No problem, just walk across the esplanade. We park hop two or three times a day. The extra cost is well worth it.

 

[limace]

Yeah, I've never hopped because a park was closing; we hop to juggle fast passes (since the two parks aren't connected), to catch a parade or show or eat somewhere we are craving, or to take advantage of early entry (start off early in DL and spend an hour there then hop to DCA to be there at park opening). Definitely a must in DLR!

 

[PinkBudgie]

I went to WDW for the first time last summer. The biggest difference I noticed is that at DLR, all of the rides, shows, attractions, and restaurants are available to you at any given moment. You could do Fantasyland at DL, then decide you want to go on ToT at DCA, and then go eat at DTD. And then, you could go back to Star Tours at DL. At WDW, we would often want to go on a certain ride, but we couldn't because it was at a different park. One day we did hop to three different parks, but we had to make sure we were done with the first one before we went on to the next. No going back. At DLR, get park hoppers and the whole resort opens up to you.

 

[AngiTN]

Yeah, I've never hopped because a park was closing; we hop to juggle fast passes (since the two parks aren't connected), to catch a parade or show or eat somewhere we are craving, or to take advantage of early entry (start off early in DL and spend an hour there then hop to DCA to be there at park opening). Definitely a must in DLR!

Or in our case, to grab a beer at DCA

You want PH at DL/DCA, no doubt about it. Even if I was just there 1 day in the future I'd get a hopper ticket. In my view, DCA/DL are one big park with an open space between them just so happens to need a ticket to get through. There isn't even a bag check to deal with, so you can go back and forth 10 times a day if you wanted. Think of it like going to Epcot and the difference between going to FW and WS. You'd never buy a ticket to enter just 1 of those 2 areas, you'd want to be able to move freely between them. Same goes in DLR

 

[John93]

Definitely get the hoppers for DL/DCA. It is a two minute walk from gate to gate - and quite honestly DL never feels as crowded as WDW no matter what. Even if you hop because of closing, not many people will be doing the same, and people will be leaving DL anyway. Do it!

 

[figment_jii]

The two parks are only 110 yards apart, so it makes hopping a lot easy. Think of DL as Epcot's FW, DCA as Epcot's WS and the Esplanade as the bridge that connects the two.

In terms of closing...yes and no. There is an increase in the number of guests at the gates right when DCA closes (because DL usually stays open later than DCA, except on MHP when DL "closes" to day guests earlier), but they're pretty efficient about getting everyone through the gates. It's not as if a huge number of guests hop to DL. A good number either remain in DCA to shop, to watch WoC, or head back to their hotels/cars.

 

[ktlm]

Or in our case, to grab a beer at DCA

That is totally my husband! He loves that Karl Strauss brewery beer truck on the pier at CA. If we are at DL, he has been known to say, you guys go ride that ride and I am going to run across to CA for a minute and I will be right back! You don't even have to go through bag check to hop between parks at DL/CA. They are only separated by a plaza and bag check for both parks is on the outer edge before you enter the plaza. It is 5 minutes to be out of one park and in the other. (We have gone from the very back corner of DL, to the back of CA in 10 minutes.) DH can hop over grab and drink a beer, and be back to us in a short amount of time. We typically hop back and forth quite a bit during the day depending on what we want to do, lines and crowds, food, park hours, etc.

 

[Sherry E]

Aside from all of the aforementioned reasons to hop (all of which I agree with and have used at some point or another), sometimes plans just don't go the way you think they will and hopping can save the day. For example, you may plan to spend your full day in California Adventure. Once you get to that park, you find that you have done mostly everything you want to do by mid-afternoon... or a ride that you had your heart set on riding suddenly goes down... or big crowds suddenly appear and make lines very long... or, you remembered that you saw a special souvenir in a shop in Disneyland that you can't seem to find in California Adventure.

Having the option to hop over to the other park can save the day in case a sudden wrench gets thrown into a plan, or in case your mood just changes and you feel like being in the other park. It allows more freedom and adds flexibility to your plan. I know that there have been times when I planned to spend a whole day in one park, and when I got there I changed my mind or my mood a couple of hours in and wanted to go to the other park. Or, my friends and I may have thought about eating in one restaurant, but then decided to go to a different one in the other park.

Now, of course, if money is an issue and having one-park-per-day tickets is better, you can certainly work with that set-up too and it would be fine. I would certainly do one park per day and make it work for me if I had to, but I prefer having the option to hop.

 

[calilou]

The only time I wouldn't hop is if going for just two days and so everything has to be pretty planned out anyway. So quick trips you can get away with not hopping if you know you need to follow a schedule I think. If I'm going to be there longer and really make a vacation out if it I'm going to want the flexibility of the hoppers though.

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

Thanks everyone. Going to try hopping in between parks

 

[HydroGuy]

The only time I wouldn't hop is if going for just two days and so everything has to be pretty planned out anyway. So quick trips you can get away with not hopping if you know you need to follow a schedule I think. If I'm going to be there longer and really make a vacation out if it I'm going to want the flexibility of the hoppers though.

I agree completely. Since DCA has emerged as a more complete park over the last five years I think it is easier to dedicate a day to DCA. That means if I had two days I would just do one day at each park. When I am there for 3-4 days parkhopping is what I typically do for all the reasons everyone has listed.

I never hop at WDW. At DLR I often get the hopper and then we only do it a couple times. But it is worth it.

 

[GoBears 1980]

It is a two minute walk from gate to gate....

Two minutes? Are you crawling??

Seriously, I think of DCA and DL as one big park. We have passes so park hopping is just so easy. As others said, you can hop back and forth to eat, drink, get Fast Passes, etc.

 

[Canuck16]

We always always hop at DLR. We think of DL and DCA as one park with the bonus that their FP systems are not connected. So we may start at DCA and pull our WoC FP and ride ride the headliners before hopping over to DL.

Hopping just gives so much more flexibility while we are in the parks that we would never consider not getting them especially when the added cost is so minimal.

Have a great trip!

 

[::danielle::]

I thought I'd give an alternate perspective. We just spent 4 days at the parks and did not have park hoppers. I figured I would add it on once we got there if we decided we wanted to hop. We never did.

If DLR had an app that posted the actual wait times (similar to MDE) then it would have been much more tempting to hop. I used Mousewait and Touring Plans but the times were not always the most current.

 

[MickeyMinnieMelanie]

So there's no app for wait times? Or that has the correct wait times? I guess I'm thinking why go over to the other park for rides if you don't know what the wait times are. They may be longer than the park you're in. Just saying....

 

[emily94]

So there's no app for wait times? Or that has the correct wait times? I guess I'm thinking why go over to the other park for rides if you don't know what the wait times are. They may be longer than the park you're in. Just saying....

I found Mousewait to be very accurate!

 

[emily94]

I haven't done DL without Park Hoppers in a very long time! I think its very well worth it, especially if you want to spend all day as it provides more flexibility. For example, you are unable to get a RSR FP on Day 1 and are unwilling to wait 75 minutes. If you can go in the morning of another day to ride! It could also allow to see DL nighttime parade after a day at DCA or vice versa for WoC. Do you have any interest in Frozen/Ana & Elsa stuff? Getting that FP could take a chunk out of your DCA day(s)

I hope this helps

 

[LisaT91403]

I found Mousewait to be very accurate!

Recently, it seems like Mousewait is hit or miss for me. Remember, it's only as accurate (and up to date) as whomever is entering the wait time.

Lately, I've been calling Otto instead. It's especially helpful if I know a ride is closed, and I want to see if it's opened up again. I also like hearing what the FP return time is.