Would you rather - park hopper vs. base tickets edition...

[glocon]

I’d go with the 4 day ticket as well.

Hopping is fine, a different kind of trip than not hopping, but both are fun.
Not hopping seems more relaxed to me.

On your AK days maybe schedule a TS lunch in the park then a TS dinner at AKL after park close (since AK park closes on the early side).

 

[Indio]

4-day non-hopper. July is going to be hot. You can still go back to your resort in the middle of the day and cool off then go back to the same park. You won't feel like you're rushing to get everything done in 1 park before you have to leave to go the the next one. You can go at a slower pace and get a lot more done without wearing yourselves out in the heat.
We just did 2-day hoppers the 1st weekend of March and we got a lot done with Genie+ and ILL, but we had to skip some things too. Go with the 4 days.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Effectively, isn't the 4 day ticket just spreading the hopping out to hopping to the 2nd park on the next day? IE, a morning here, an afternoon/evening there - but instead of both in one day, it's two days. Four 6hr days is much nicer than two 10-12hr days.

 

[goofyernmost]

Trying to decide between a 2-Day park hopper ticket or the 4-Day Magic Ticket (base tickets) for our trip in July. We are staying 4 nights. They are comparable in price. What would you rather do?

Up until I couldn't afford either, I always opted for the Park Hopper. If I had been often then I could spend a half day in each park focusing on my favorites for each. If I was just on my first one, it would give me a chance to really get a feel for the differences and then in subsequent visits I might be able to decide where I wanted to spend the bulk of my time. You don't get to go to all the attractions anyway so you might as well just soak in on the individual ambience of each one and start the process of determining your favorite.

 

[Gentry2004]

Trying to decide between a 2-Day park hopper ticket or the 4-Day Magic Ticket (base tickets) for our trip in July. We are staying 4 nights. They are comparable in price. What would you rather do?

If you can swing 4 days I would definitely do that. I know park hoppers are popular on this board but we find them to be overrated. Even the year we had an AP we only park hopped a couple times (out of 28 park days.)

 

[mickeyluv'r]

This was a hard decision for me, but we opted for non-hoppers this trip. It meant we got MORE park time for a cheaper cost - plus we'll spend the afternoon pool side (We're staying at Board Walk Inn) and just feels less chaotic. I'll miss the flexibility, but more time to relax

A small caution for anyone who plans to do this in the summer is that afternoon showers/thunderstorms are fairly common.

A number of times, just as we got ready to swim, the storms arrived. Further, if there is lightning within a certain distance, WDW will close pools, coasters, shuttle boats, water rides/slides, etc. It has often caught us off-guard, because it can be perfectly sunny, but the pool is closed. Other times we waited for a shuttle boat that didn't arrive, because the dock CM was also caught off-guard. Experience has taught us to always be aware this can happen.

Even still, I'd probably choose the 4-day option in this case.

 

[SheSingsAlong]

I think it's interesting a lot of people comment that hopping makes their park days feel more busy or stressed. We are the exact opposite. Base tickets make me feel stressed about enjoying every second in that park because I can't go back after that day. And what if forces beyond my control make it not a great day? Lots of ride down-time, higher crowds than expected, terrible weather? I think of paying for hoppers as insurance against being locked into one park on a sub-optimal day.

All that said, if I had to choose between 2 day hoppers and 4 day base, I would go with the 4 day base, grudgingly LOL!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I think it's interesting a lot of people comment that hopping makes their park days feel more busy or stressed. We are the exact opposite. Base tickets make me feel stressed about enjoying every second in that park because I can't go back after that day. And what if forces beyond my control make it not a great day? Lots of ride down-time, higher crowds than expected, terrible weather? I think of paying for hoppers as insurance against being locked into one park on a sub-optimal day.

Bounceback offer!

As I said above afternoon storms are fairly common in the summer. In AK, that = no outdoor coasters, animal attractions, Kali, or Triceratops Spin.

While it can be mildly disappointing, we just find something else to do. Every visit, there are attractions/activities we prioritize, and some we don't. There are always fun WDW options to do that we don't get to do. We enjoy Disney Springs, but don't always have time to visit. If AK has an afternoon storm, and we leave the early, that gives us a free evening to visit DS, have an unplanned leisurely dinner, etc.

In truth though, it often just = we nap and are better prepared/rested for the following day. The next day we're able to push ourselves a bit harder.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Did hoppers once. Didn't enjoy the going back and forth. 1 park per day now for me

 

[Disneylover99]

If you were staying 5 nights or longer, I’d go with the 4 day tickets, but since you’re only going for 4 nights, I’d choose the 2 day park hoppers, and spend a day or 2 at DS or visiting resorts.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I'd do the 4-day. I like to be able to go at a slower pace, and I like to spend time at the resort pool. Especially in the summer.

 

[kwdw]

Two park days or four park days? FOUR! You can leave and return to the same park if you want a break on a given day.

 

[sadiecatie]

We only do one park per day - I just don't see the appeal of hoppers, even though I know many people love them. For me, I'd rather spend a full day just enjoying one park at a time. We also aren't constantly at WDW (we don't come more than once a year), so I always feel like there's plenty to see and do in each park where they can easily be a full day.

And if it's between 2-day hopper and 4-day single park tickets, that feels like a no-brainer to me - more park days!

 

[tinkerbellmamma]

This is the first trip I am not buying the hopper feature. We purchased the 4 day wish ticket and hopefully will enjoying spending our time at one park a day without rushing to another park. I have such a fear of regretting this decision, but the cost got me this time and it is a shorter trip - usually we are a 7 day minimum trip.

 

[frannn]

DD is coming for a portion of our trip and was originally going to buy a 3 day base ticket, skipping AK. Luckily we found the special 4 day ticket before she bought anything. It will only be a few $ more and she will get to experience a few hours at AK on arrival day without feeling like she overspent. The rest of us have APs and still don't hop all that much.