Which would you choose??

[CouponGirl]

If you’re budget only allowed one of these things, which would you choose?

Assume each cost roughly the same amount (while probably not true of all groups, it works out that way for ours).

Background Info:

We normally aren’t park hoppers, but we’ll be going during the time of the extra extra magic hours so now I am wondering if it might be worth it given the extra hours in parks and the unknown of what the Star Wars opening may do to park levels. But we also aren’t trying to ride a lot of headliners so it may not really matter anyway...

We’ve never done MNSSHP, so that would be a new experience, but probably only part of our group would go because I don’t think the youngest members would be able to last through the evening.

 

[tvguy]

Never not had a Parkhopper, so that would be my choice.

 

[holden]

The parties (we've done MVMCP) are way too crowded for me, so I wouldn't do that.

I could take or leave character meals...not a priority for my family.

We love hopping! Sometimes we will hit a park early in the morning, go back to the resort to swim/nap and head out again at dinner til the latest park closes. It's also nice to spend a day in one park and eat dinner in another.

 

[Daniela Rose]

We’re always hopping!

 

[PollyannaMom]

I voted character meals, because you mentioned little ones.

But I think it depends on the size of your group, too. - We rarely hop, but the more people you go with, the more likely you'll want to split up some, and then hoppers might come in handy.

 

[MEM]

We've always been Annual Passholders so park hopping is a must!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I voted Park Hopper - then realized I really want to eat at Garden Grill . I've done all three (not GG, but character meals) and would choose Park Hopper if I could only manage. Every time..

 

[kandb]

We never get park hoppers but we are not commando park goers. We spend time at the resort and always go for a nice sit down dinner every night at a lot of different resorts, so we are not in the parks day/night all the time. With small children, if you are in the parks all the time, the children usually get tired and cranky and then it's not fun for anyone.

 

[saraheliz]

With younger kids, I'd probably vote character meals, but I could do park hopping, too. We haven't hopped our last 3 trips and it's been fine but now that two of mine are a bit older we probably will next time. Probably not the party for us.

 

[tzeitel]

We never get hoppers at WDW (well we did once) and DD does not care for character meals anymore. We do love going to the Halloween party at DLR (have gone 4 times in the last 5 years) and if we plan a trip to WDW in Oct we would definitely go to the party.

How little are the littles? On party nights we sleep in (as much as DD will let us) and take it easy until we go to the party. It also helps if the party is more towards the beginning of your trip, towards the end of our trip we are all tired

Hoppers are nice to have (and we get them at DLR every time) but WDW transportation is so frustrating sometimes. The one time we did get hoppers we used them once, and it felt like we wasted so much time going from one park to another. I did not worry about not using them more because the resort comped them after a huge snafu at the front desk. If we had paid for them I would have made us use them more even if the transportation aggravated me.

If you are planning on meeting characters the meals are a nice way to save time.

 

[la79al]

We haven't done hoppers since we started taking a stroller. We have done character meals and while they were fun, the kids would have rather spent the time riding rides. The time spent versus character interaction is nothing exciting. We have done MNSSHP and the kids all loved it. Even the 2 year old made it til closing.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Our best day at Disney ever was at MVMCP.. We walked right on rides no waiting, kids thought it was so cool being up late, The weather was awesome... We would do it again in a second. Kids still talk about it today including that they though the free cookies were gross.
Character meals were fun but honestly we were not that impressed there were a lot of people there, the kids didnt eat much being so excited... it was fun just expensive for what it was. We have had hoppers the first trip. They are really useful if you are trying to fit in more parks in less days, we went to Epcot for a few hours for a few rides and to see Elsa then left to go Hollywood studios. Its not my kids fave park so the only way we were going to go was with hoppers.

 

[barkley]

depends on kid's ages.

i think the character meals are an awful value but kids LOVE THEM and will talk about them for years so when they are young i think it's a nice addition to the trip.

we've always had park hoppers and i love them. we will go to one park and if it's too crowded go to another, we also like doing one in the morning/take a break/go to another at night.

 

[CouponGirl]

We never get hoppers at WDW (well we did once) and DD does not care for character meals anymore. We do love going to the Halloween party at DLR (have gone 4 times in the last 5 years) and if we plan a trip to WDW in Oct we would definitely go to the party.

How little are the littles? On party nights we sleep in (as much as DD will let us) and take it easy until we go to the party. It also helps if the party is more towards the beginning of your trip, towards the end of our trip we are all tired

Hoppers are nice to have (and we get them at DLR every time) but WDW transportation is so frustrating sometimes. The one time we did get hoppers we used them once, and it felt like we wasted so much time going from one park to another. I did not worry about not using them more because the resort comped them after a huge snafu at the front desk. If we had paid for them I would have made us use them more even if the transportation aggravated me.

If you are planning on meeting characters the meals are a nice way to save time.

They will be (just turned) 2 and almost 4.

 

[brownjars]

Sounds like you will get more use out of Park Hopper. 2 and 4 is really young to expect to stay out late for MNSSHP. Otherwise, that’s what I would have voted for. Hopefully, you will have another chance to take them to MNSSHP though. Good luck.

Park hoppers are great for kids your age, because you can go to the parks in the morning, go back to the room for an afternoon nap, and then go to a different park at night. It is also especially important when visiting MK. It is noticeably less busy on the mornings that have a MNSSHP, because no one wants to use a park ticket at MK when the park closes at 6pm for the party. Consequently, MK is packed on days that don’t have a party (4 days a week with parties/3 days a week without a party).

 

[Hikergirl]

I voted park hoppers- they can benefit every age in a group, and can be utilized over the course of the entire vacation.

 

[TwoMisfits]

With the kids at those ages, I chose character meals. You have to eat anyway...and you may find your kids don't want more than a couple hours in a park per day, so you can relax and enjoy a really nice, slow meal that brings characters to you (notice I didn't say rush - I know most folks rush these experiences, but if I were you, I'd do the opposite...

I'd pick their favorite characters and do the hotels for the meals (not the parks, b/c you'll be too tempted to rush), and really enjoy the whole experience...it will only get way more expensive as your youngest turns 3, so might as well enjoy it while you can.

 

[hsmamato2]

I voted parkhopper so you can move parks if one gets too crowded.

 

[Antaniasmom]

We have gone to WDW 4 times..we have done hoppers twice..gone without to save money and still have a good time! We only went to MK and HS last trip and had a blast. We've done character meals, it's fun but the food is meh..we have never been to MNSSHP so that's where my vote is! Good Luck and have a wonderful time!!