Will we regret not Hopping?

[disneymom3]

I have never gone to WDW without a hopper ticket but we are thinking of saving the approx $150 on the ticket upgrade and just not doing a hopper. We will be there for a week and are staying offsite and planning some days to do other things like go to the beach and stay a day at the resort going to the pool and such. Personally, I would really prefer to do the 10 day plus everything under the sun, spend the extra $ now and then have tickets for the next trip whenever that may be, but DH feels that we should keep the $600 or $700 and put it toward other things. So, if I am going to go less expensively, should I go all the way and drop the hopper portion too? We are looking at 5 day tickets.

Have you done it both ways and what were the ups and downs?

I am posting here because to me, this is a budget oriented question, but Beth if you feel it should be moved, I can understand that.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We had the non-Hoppers last January and it made for a more relaxing trip for us, but the parks were kind of slow then. In other discussions about this topic that I've seen here this year, most people like the Hoppers, especially if they visit at a busy time. Good luck!

 

[alabamagirl]

I just bought our tickets for next year and I was torn over the same thing. In the end I just bought the MYW without hopping but with the plus pack. Of course my situation is different because it is just DH and I. I didn't really feel that we would take advantage of the hopper passes and it wouldn't be beneficial to us to pay that much extra to have it.

I would try to plan where you will be eating and the days that you will be offsite doing other things and try to decide from there. After looking you may realize you don't need it.

 

[txgirl]

We had the hopper option in August and we did use it, but I had originally planned the whole trip without the hopper as a possibility and I don't think we would have been too disappointed. Instead of going back at night to a different park we just would have gone back to the same one we had been to earlier (that's if we even went back ) We loved hanging out and relaxing at the pool or going for dinner at one of the resorts. We had the meal plan and THAT I would definitely do again! Have a great time

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Can't you just add the hopper option if you suddenly have a killer urge to hop?

 

[java]

We are hoppers. Every trip we do one park in the AM take a break and then head over to another for the PM. That is just the way we do it. Is it a make or break for our trip- for us probably yes. Well worth the money because it lets you run to see a show you want to and then head someplace else to ride some rides. But like a previous poster said you can upgrade once you are there if you decide you need to do the hopping at guest services. Have a great trip. I just talked my mom into changing her tickets to park hoppers from non-park hoppers.

 

[janette]

I'd buy them without it and upgrade if I decided that we weren't able to do what we wanted without it.

 

[disneymom3]

That's a darn good idea, thanks!

The main reason I think we would use it is because we will not spend a whole day in MGM and then we could go to Epcot that night if we want and not feel like we used a whole day of entrance on half a day.

 

[geetey]

Like Java, we are park hoppers. We have been known to do 3 different parks in one day. We feel 'more refreshed' if we do one park in the morning, go back to the resort for a rest/swim, go to a different park for the evening. For my family, if we didn't have hopping ability, I doubt we would go back to the parks after our break which means we would try to stretch our daytime visit longer - making it less relaxing for us.

I personally think it really depends on the time of year you are visiting, as well as your group. My DH needs to go back and rest his back @ 1-2 pm. Staying longer in 1 block is not an option. We then head back to a different park. We also visit in the summer (busier) months so that makes a big difference, IMO!

Good luck with your decision. That's a nice chunk of $$ to be able to save if it works out for you.

 

[rie'smom]

We've done both ways .The last two years we didn't hop and didn't miss it. This year, (200, DD will be 12 and we all know exactly what we like at each park so we decided we might want to hop on certain days. My dilemma at first was the $$$$ too. We have sort of decided to go somewhere else on vacation next year(2007) as this will mark our 8th year in a row and we're afraid we'll lose the "magic" if we don't take a break.

 

[staci]

We did our first trip without the hoppers in October (6 day trip). The ONLY time we missed it was our night in MK it rained during the parade, and that was the only day we were in MK at night (we were there the day we left but that wasnt nighttime). DS really enjoyed the parade and I would have liked for him to see the whole thing.

I would save your money if I were you, you can always add it as an option later.

 

[blessedby3]

We are not hoppers. Even when they had the old tickets that included that, we didnt hop. Too much time used up in Disney transportation to travel between parks. We bought 10 day non expiring tickets this last time and used 5 and saved 5 for next year. Didnt pay for hopping and were happy with our decision. I figured we might only use it once and it wasnt worth the extra money. I knew we could add it later if needed. We also go in the off times with lower crowds so that helps.

 

[bettyann29]

Ive always had them in past and to be honest by the end of the day Im worn out.. I decided for our upcoming trip that we are just doing the base without the hopper option and then we are doing the water park, DQ, so we'll see how it goes.. I figure we can always upgrade if we decide to..

 

[shades]

We always get the hoppers because we like to do 2 parks in one day. Our trips are typically 10-14 days in length and we get bored (if you can imagine that;o) when we stay at the same park all day.

Really the only reason it is a good idea to get hoppers during the busy seasons is because you plan to take a midday break from the park - and, what if that park gets closed because they are filled to capacity?? You will not be able to go to a park that evening.

 

[CheapMom]

I am a big fan of NOT hopping. Every time we hop I feel so exhausted at the end of the day. I think that just making a decision that you will not hop makes for a more relaxing trip...- That said- I don't like WDW when school is out of session because of the crowds - so now that the kids are school-aged- we are taking shorter trips based around 3 or 4 day weekends. If we want to see all the parks hopping is a must for our new travel style.

 

[jgates]

I'm afraid I am a hopper. Even with the tickets I will be buying this coming week it's the same deal - 2 day w/hopping for son & his gf and a 10 day w/hopping for DD & myself (we'll be going back again probably summer 2007). So even on those 2 day tickets we'll be doing a hop. Figure we will probably go to MGM during the day and then MK evening and maybe AK early & Epcot evening for the 2 day ones for son & gf. But I am trying to prepay by buying the 10 day for DD & myself & saving the other 8 days for the next trip. Just wish we could go this summer - I'd just buy an AP.

 

[HaleyB]

That's a darn good idea, thanks!

The main reason I think we would use it is because we will not spend a whole day in MGM and then we could go to Epcot that night if we want and not feel like we used a whole day of entrance on half a day.

It would be cheaper to add a 6th day to your ticket. Use that day for your MGM half day then go back to your resort or DTD for the other half of the day.

We found hoppers to be a waste of money on our last trip... in part it depends on park hours. If they are shortish hopping takes too much time.

 

[mjbaby]

I had never thought of not hopping! Duh! We're going in February with a 2 year old and a five year old - knowing us and our limits we probably wouldn't hop at all, given the park hours and the kids' schedules.

Can you still use transportation if you don't hop? My son has never ridden the monorail with his father and it's pretty much the main reason we're going (well, not really, but it's number one on *his* list!).

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, you can still use transportation if you don't hop.

 

[swilshire]

The hardest thing for us always seems to be catching the evening shows and parades. Without the hoppers, it would probably take more planning than we're up to. I added the hopper feature mostly for this.

As others have mentioned, we usually wind up in one park in the morning, taking a midday break and returning to a different one in the evening.

Sheila