Wondering if PH is really worth it? Its all adding up fast

[Scarlett81]

Looking at the thread on 'what your vaca is going to cost' got me thinking. I went back and crunched all the #'s again.
We surprised all my sister's and nieces with a girl's only trip in the spring. We have 6 adults, 3 paying kids aged 4, 8, 10 and a 9 mo. We'll are booked for 3 nights at the Poly. We wanted a monorail resort bc this being such a short trip, it will help with the transportation issue, strollers, etc. If the older ones want to stay out and moms want to go back, it makes it easier.
We got the spring discount, so that's helpful. Room only breaks down to approx $980. Tickets for 4 days (for 2 adults, 10 yr old and 8 yr old) without ph are 1,014 or 1,249 with ph. The difference is almost another night at the hotel!
I don't know what to do. We've never really gone without ph, so I'd like to hear from those of you that have done it-did it work out good, or bad? I'd like to hear both sides.
One more day at the hotel would be nice...wondering if I should put my money there instead? And skip ph? can't afford to do both

 

[Brian Noble]

It just depends on what you personally want. I tend to cut back on hotel costs---and stay offsite or use a timeshare exchange to DVC---in favor of more flexibility about what I do in the parks. But, I don't have strollers to deal with and don't mind driving.

 

[nolanboys]

Personally I would go for the longer stay. We've never stayed at a monorail resort, so maybe I don't know what we're missing! We've stayed at AS sports, POFQ, and OKW twice with a stroller and didn't think it was bad. I would go with the longer time together since who knows when you will be able to do this again.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We've done both with and without the Park Hoppers, but are going with Park Hoppers for our July trip...reason being...usually, we are pretty commando type and will stay in one park from open to close, but we usually go in non-summer months, so that is not a difficult task. In those situations, we do not get the park hopper. For our July trip, I am thinking that we will likely be taking mid-day breaks, simply due to the heat. I figure it will be nice after spending the afternoon in the pool to just decide where to go for the nighttime, even if it's a different park than the morning...plus, hoppers make it easier for ADR's all over the world!

 

[bowbat]

We always do short stays, and never did PHs until this last trip, when we got FL resident seasonal passes. I think it's totally doable, as long as you plan your days in advance. Also, park-hopping can eat up a lot of time, so on a short trip I think you can actually get more in by not hopping. Check out the crowd calendars, pick your park for each day, and be done with it.

 

[mom58]

We're a family of 6 (all "paying" adults), and we've rented points to stay in a 2 BR AKV. I'm not getting PH, because it is soooo much more, and we're already breaking the bank with the stay at AKV ($4000 for 5 nights) during the 1st week in April. Instead of park hopper, we're going to get 7 day tickets. I think we will move to a cheaper place for the last 2 nights. With 7 days in the parks, I think we won't need to hop, and I want to spend some time at AKV as well, since we're paying so much for that! Just regular tickets will set us back around $1500; I just can't justify spending so much more to add the park hopper feature.

I've already planned our schedule out regarding which days for which parks, and I'm leaving the remaining days open for people to re-visit their favorite parks.

I'd love to have park hopper, just in case, but that's just too much extra for me to justify for "just in case!"

 

[hannahdrewmom]

We don't get ph's. (We always did pre-kids though.) We have young kids and have found that it's not worth our time to hop back and forth and deal with transportation issues and strollers. We plan for 1 park and we stick to it. I can psych myself up for the bus on this day... knowing I don't have to do it another day sort of thing. (Yeah I'm mental... I know! ) In the long run we looked at the PH as our flexibility but it wasn't worth it for us when we figured out whatelse we could do with that money. With 9 paying people in your group you are looking at over $450 just in case I want to hop... and it seems like with good planning that can be eliminated. To me it's easier to stay put, add a day, and go back to the park we want.

 

[kerplop]

We got PHs because there's only 3 of us and we're all adults, so if we want to hop to another park it's not a big deal. We also plan on driving to every park but MK so again it's not a big deal if we want to run back to the car and head to another park. If I had a bunch of kids and had to take the buses? No way I'd get PH. I'd save myself the money and stay another night or just have a nice dinner somewhere.

 

[Scarlett81]

Just looked at my invoice-
3 nights at the Poly with 4 day ph tix is $2339
4 nights at the Poly with 4 day reg tix is $2376

-We stayed at the GF this year for 8 nights, had 9 day ph tix, hubby, me, and our 2 kids aged 4 and 6 mo. For the whole trip we ph'd twice.

 

[Scarlett81]

Lets add to the confusion even more!

ok, so I was really sold on the Poly! (Still am), but...But in pricing BWI, 4 nights with PH 5 day tix I am at $2333. Same price as Poly for 3 nights, with 4 day ph.
sigh. I really wanted everyone to experience a MK/monorail resort. But now I don't know if thats really worth it, when we could have an entire extra day. I'm really confused now.

 

[bowbat]

Lets add to the confusion even more!

ok, so I was really sold on the Poly! (Still am), but...But in pricing BWI, 4 nights with PH 5 day tix I am at $2333. Same price as Poly for 3 nights, with 4 day ph.
sigh. I really wanted everyone to experience a MK/monorail resort. But now I don't know if thats really worth it, when we could have an entire extra day. I'm really confused now.

This would be tough for me, also, because we've stayed at the Poly and BWI, and I loved BWI much, much more. BUT...the park we spend the most time at is MK followed by Epcot, and Poly is absolutely the most convenient for those two. (Though I found the bus to MK from BWI to be quick and painless when we were there.) We always think it's worth it to spend more money in order to gain convenience.

Here's another thing: while I far preferred BWI to Poly, I don't think I'd care for BWI if we were planning on a lot of pool time. The pool is a pretty far hike (IMO) from the rooms at the Inn, whereas at the Poly, we literally had a pool on either side of our room (we stayed CL).

 

[Scarlett81]

This would be tough for me, also, because we've stayed at the Poly and BWI, and I loved BWI much, much more. BUT...the park we spend the most time at is MK followed by Epcot, and Poly is absolutely the most convenient for those two. (Though I found the bus to MK from BWI to be quick and painless when we were there.) We always think it's worth it to spend more money in order to gain convenience.

Here's another thing: while I far preferred BWI to Poly, I don't think I'd care for BWI if we were planning on a lot of pool time. The pool is a pretty far hike (IMO) from the rooms at the Inn, whereas at the Poly, we literally had a pool on either side of our room (we stayed CL).

I can see the poly/mk convenience, but why would you say the poly is more convenient to epcot? Just wondering, I thought you could walk to epcot from the BWI...we did from the BC.
We aren't planning on spending alot of time at the pool since its a short trip. Probably one afternoon and thats it.
I'm curious-why would you say you preferred the BWI to the Poly?

 

[chimo2u]

This would be tough for me, also, because we've stayed at the Poly and BWI, and I loved BWI much, much more. BUT...the park we spend the most time at is MK followed by Epcot, and Poly is absolutely the most convenient for those two. (Though I found the bus to MK from BWI to be quick and painless when we were there.) We always think it's worth it to spend more money in order to gain convenience.

Here's another thing: while I far preferred BWI to Poly, I don't think I'd care for BWI if we were planning on a lot of pool time. The pool is a pretty far hike (IMO) from the rooms at the Inn, whereas at the Poly, we literally had a pool on either side of our room (we stayed CL).

Argh, sad to hear the pool at BWI is a hike from the room! Staying there in Oct, hoping for daily pool time at least! Oh well, I guess I can deal with one negative

Scarlett, if your group has the time to stay an extra day, I think in your situation,with young kids, I'd just do the 4 day regular ticket stay at the Poly
I always have PH's and love them, but my kids are teens and we love to hop to the evening EMH park, or do dinner in Epcot, or hop somewhere else if we get bored/ too crowded.....my kids can be done with MK in half day,as well as AK.....DHS and Epcot seem to be their favourite places!

With small kids and strollers, though, I think I'd pick a park,and pick my dining for that park, Or a resort TS restaurant....and just stay at one place....it might be a hassle to ph with so many ppl.

Other Plus side = one more day of fun at Disney

Have Fun!

 

[mirage0306]

Last summer we did not do PH, which was generally fine. However, for this upcoming trip we will be doing PH, and for a few reasons. The biggest reason is because we will be staying at an Epcot resort for the second half of the trip. We want to be able to eat dinner in Epcot or pop in to see Illuminations or what have you regardless of which park we were at earlier in the day.

The other main reason is because I want the flexibility this time. I was planning our ADRs (we make them Friday, woo!) and as I was looking at everything, realized how much I did not want to be tied to a park on a certain day just because we have an ADR somewhere. I don't want to worry about having to visit a park w/EMH (or not visiting because of that). I have a feeling the flexibility will be really good for our family's touring style, and I am okay paying a couple hundred bucks extra for that.

 

[bowbat]

I can see the poly/mk convenience, but why would you say the poly is more convenient to epcot? Just wondering, I thought you could walk to epcot from the BWI...we did from the BC.
We aren't planning on spending alot of time at the pool since its a short trip. Probably one afternoon and thats it.
I'm curious-why would you say you preferred the BWI to the Poly?

Oh, sorry, to clarify: Poly isn't more convenient to Epcot; it's that it has the convenience to *both* MK and Epcot. BWI has the convenience to Epcot and DHS, but with MK being our favorite part, that makes Poly more convenient (for us) in general. Does that make sense?

As to why I preferred BWI, first is just a matter of personal taste. The Poly rooms, while spacious, are very much in keeping with the theming and therefore quite dark. The BWI rooms are bright and also a more elegant design. Some people find it "old lady" or "stuffy," but IMO it was lovely and felt "deluxe." Also, we were on the 2nd floor of the Poly, which meant no balcony...but even if we did have a balcony, there were too many trees in front of the room to see anything (which added to the dark feeling). At the BWI, we had a small balcony overlooking a quiet greenspace & could see the Eiffel Tower & Illumations from there. It rained most of the time we were at the Poly, which made the fact that all the buildings are separate from the main lobby a drag (though, in fairness, BWI wouldn't really be ideal in rainy conditions, either, since all the dining & shops are out on the boardwalk). And the staff at BWI was so, so, so friendly. We stayed CL at both, and in our experience, there was just no comparison. YMMV.

In the right conditions -- no rain, room with a balcony & better view, etc. -- we probably would've enjoyed our stay at Poly much more. In fact, my husband wants to stay there again.

chimo2u -- don't be discouraged that I said the pool is a "hike." First off, I didn't go to the pool, just saw it when we went by on the ferry and thought, "Geez, that's nowhere near our room." So maybe the actual walk is less than it seems. Also, we have a little kid who is the sort who wants to be at the pool, no at the room, no at the pool, no at the room. Teens tend to want to go to the pool and plant it. Fret not, you're gonna LOVE the BWI.

 

[Scarlett81]

Oh, sorry, to clarify: Poly isn't more convenient to Epcot; it's that it has the convenience to *both* MK and Epcot. BWI has the convenience to Epcot and DHS, but with MK being our favorite part, that makes Poly more convenient (for us) in general. Does that make sense?

As to why I preferred BWI, first is just a matter of personal taste. The Poly rooms, while spacious, are very much in keeping with the theming and therefore quite dark. The BWI rooms are bright and also a more elegant design. Some people find it "old lady" or "stuffy," but IMO it was lovely and felt "deluxe." Also, we were on the 2nd floor of the Poly, which meant no balcony...but even if we did have a balcony, there were too many trees in front of the room to see anything (which added to the dark feeling). At the BWI, we had a small balcony overlooking a quiet greenspace & could see the Eiffel Tower & Illumations from there. It rained most of the time we were at the Poly, which made the fact that all the buildings are separate from the main lobby a drag (though, in fairness, BWI wouldn't really be ideal in rainy conditions, either, since all the dining & shops are out on the boardwalk). And the staff at BWI was so, so, so friendly. We stayed CL at both, and in our experience, there was just no comparison. YMMV.

In the right conditions -- no rain, room with a balcony & better view, etc. -- we probably would've enjoyed our stay at Poly much more. In fact, my husband wants to stay there again.

chimo2u -- don't be discouraged that I said the pool is a "hike." First off, I didn't go to the pool, just saw it when we went by on the ferry and thought, "Geez, that's nowhere near our room." So maybe the actual walk is less than it seems. Also, we have a little kid who is the sort who wants to be at the pool, no at the room, no at the pool, no at the room. Teens tend to want to go to the pool and plant it. Fret not, you're gonna LOVE the BWI.

Gotcha.
The balcony issue is annoying to me, bc having a balcony is really important to us mama's-its the only place we can quietly sit after the kids go to bed, and before they wake up! The CM that I booked with said most Poly rooms have a balcony and that it 'shouldn't' be a problem. But this isn't the first time I've heard of someone saying they didn't have a balcony room at the Poly. I guess technically they can't guarantee and room at the BWI with a balcony either.
I wonder which resort has the better chance of getting one.
Hmm...that would be an interesting thread.

 

[Diegosmom]

We decided against PArk Hoppers because of the money...plus this will be our first family trip (I went about 25 years ago, hubby and DS never). But I know that we can find enough to do in the park to stay there all day and if we go back to the room for a break we can just go back to the same park...But we are planning 7 park days (2 at EP, MK and DHS and 1 at AK).

If you have 4 day tix will you spend 1 day in each park? I have read on here that some people dont like a particular park or only like 1 or 2 rides...so they go to that particular park for the morning then hop somewhere else. For us we ahve never been so we will be trying all the rides and shows.

Also seems like all the best eating places are at Epcot...are you going to want to be there most days to eat?...Again for us we havent been so we havent tried all the places so we can make do in the park that we are in...

I think for me I would rather another day then to be able to switch parks...

 

[Scarlett81]

We decided against PArk Hoppers because of the money...plus this will be our first family trip (I went about 25 years ago, hubby and DS never). But I know that we can find enough to do in the park to stay there all day and if we go back to the room for a break we can just go back to the same park...But we are planning 7 park days (2 at EP, MK and DHS and 1 at AK).

If you have 4 day tix will you spend 1 day in each park? I have read on here that some people dont like a particular park or only like 1 or 2 rides...so they go to that particular park for the morning then hop somewhere else. For us we ahve never been so we will be trying all the rides and shows.

Also seems like all the best eating places are at Epcot...are you going to want to be there most days to eat?...Again for us we havent been so we havent tried all the places so we can make do in the park that we are in...

I think for me I would rather another day then to be able to switch parks...

When we've been with our LO's, there's some rides, especially at Epcot and HS that they just can't go on, but its still worth going to that park. For us, with a 4 yr old and a 6 mo, AK and HS are half days, and Epcot is mainly for the food.
With this group though, there will be tons of rides everyone will want to do, so we'll all take turns watching the little ones. So there will probably be alot more time spent at each park, as opposed to breaking it up.
We won't be at Epcot most days to eat...once or twice is all with such a short trip.

I've pretty much decided that 3 nights is not enough. Talked with the other moms, park hopper or not, our kids will be exhausted from squeezing too much in. We've done that insane rushing before and all it leads to is meltdowns which makes for unhappy moms.

 

[nkereina]

If you do stay another night, what would you do with that extra day? Would you then upgrade to a 5 day ticket? Just another thing to think about.

We purchased park hoppers with our package but ended up not hopping. We found what worked best for us was getting to the parks around opening, riding stuff and collecting fast passes, head back to the hotel around lunch for a nap/swim and shower, and then head back out to the same park that night to use our fast passes.

 

[rentayenta]

With midday breaks a must for us, I can't imagine not being able to hop. EMH until noon at one park, some pool time, dinner and then another park. Love the ability to hop!