Will FP+ Discourage Park Hopping?

[Goes4FastPass]

We’ve always paid extra for park hopping but if park #2 is going to have no fastpasses possible we may not ‘Hop’ in the future.

Does the FP+ change anyone else’s attitude toward park hoppers?

[Strmchsr]

Not for us as AP holders, but if I didn't have that I'd definitely think twice (or 3 or 4 times) about getting park hoppers with no FP. It hurts the value of park hoppers considerably. Of course, I'm also seriously thinking of not renewing our AP because we just really don't like the FP+ system. It's killed our enjoyment of the parks in the way that we like to do it. I'm sure it works for a lot of folks, but it's made WDW not very enjoyable for us.

[mickclub1955]

I for one will still get the park hopper. It does change your strategy on how you tackle the parks. I park hopped on our last trip (one was an unplanned park hop) and we scheduled our fp+ ressies for the afternoon park. (not so on the unplanned hop, but didn't need fp) Since we did EMH it allowed us to hit all of the major attractions quite early in the day. I hear a rumor that EMH will go away once all of this is final but then we would just get to the first park when it opens and make it over to our second park to hit our fp times later in the day. It was great getting to DHS after 1 and still get to ride TSMM around 3 o'clock without a wait. There are pros and cons to this whole change, but you have to learn how use it to your advantage. I still can't imagine being chained down to one park if it gets to be unmanageable.

[1DisneyNut]

I have always thought the hopper option was a waste of money.....more so now with FP+ limitations. All it did was increase the probability that I will not buy the hopper option.

[gerald72]

Save your FP+ for park 2, not park 1.
I think it will encourage park hopping.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I agree ... I think it may increase park hopping.

With FP+, you can start in a park, do your favourites, and then hop to another park, and do your favourites with FP+, no waiting.

In the past, you'd be lucky to get FP in the second park, but now you already have them.

[DizneyRox]

Yeah, I don't think it will make a difference. The limitation on one "good" ride kills the appeal of staying in one park IMHO. So, why not "waste" your FP and then hop to a "better" park. You will have to wait in lines anyway.

Or do them in an afternoon park at times that aren't normally available, hit a different park at opening to get their rides in.

Having AP for a number of years has maybe spoiled us, but two of the three parks are only 1/2 day parks in many peoples eyes. If it weren't for the sheer size of Epcot (think travel time between rides), that would be a 1/2 day park for many as well. I'm not sure what the plan might be if we head back. I'm thinking it will be different. Actually, last summer we stayed at AKL and never even hit a park (well Legoland), and it was quite enjoyable. Saving on park tickets altogether was pretty sweet...

[Sylvia]

We rarely used FPs and I'm not sure if we'll use the new FP+ system. We enjoy leisurely exploring each park, and we are fans of park hopping.

We've been AP-holders for many years, and even those rare times when we purchase multi-day tickets, they have had and always wlll have the parking hopping option.

To answer the question - FP+ will have no affect on our preferred touring patterns. We will continue to park hop, or not, depending on what we are in the mood to do on a particular day. We always allow at least 2 days for each park.

I disagree with the belief that some of the parks may be considered as only 1/2-day parks. The so-called "popular rides" are not the only appeal for everyone, since many visitors also enjoy "stopping to smell the roses" , visiting other attractions, and enjoying the sights and sounds, not to mention the great live entertainment in each park.

[joonyer]

Because we are only able to visit WDW once every few years, we like to pack in as much park action as we can on every trip. We don't go to WDW for relaxtion, we go for fun!, fun!, Fun! and are therefore park commandos. It's just our style.

Therefore, we have in the past utilized up to 7 FPs per day, in multiple parks. Yes, I mean 7 in one park and then 7 in another park, using our park hopper passes. That's right 14 FPs in one day is our record. We didn't do that every day of course, but there are plenty of trips where we used FP up to 10 times ina day. We typically ride our favorite attractions multiple times per day if possible, so that accounts for a lot of our FP use.

Now, that type of FP park commando action will no longer be possible, so it appears we'll have to slow down and wait on stand-by lines more often. And that's OK we getting older now and can't go, go, go like we used to anyway. I feel like we'll still use park hoppers though. We still like to maximize our park time, so we usually visit at times when at least one of the parks is open late every night, so we use park hoppers for doing that; one park in the morning and another at night.

Oh well, the old FP system was fun while it lasted.

[goofy-4-disney]

We've always purchased the hopper option with our tickets. We feel that we get more value with it. If the park you go to in the morning gets to crowded, switch to a different park in the afternoon. We like going to MK in the morning and doing some rides there and then head over to Epcot when world showcase opens and eating lunch/dinner over there. I still will purchase the hopper option in the future. The little extra cost to take advantage of this is pretty small when you think about how much the whole trip is costing you.

[Aurora]

I imagine we'll probably continue to use park hoppers while getting our FPs for later in the day at Park #2, which usually winds up being Epcot but could change now.

Of course that means more planning for us, which we haven't ever done much of unless it was a big family trip. But we'd rather do FP+ later in the day because we like to get to a park right at opening and do a bunch of rides with little to no waits, and then use FP. We'll see if we get tired of waiting in standby without midday FPs.

[Gator]

Because we are only able to visit WDW once every few years, we like to pack in as much park action as we can on every trip. We don't go to WDW for relaxtion, we go for fun!, fun!, Fun! and are therefore park commandos. It's just our style.

Therefore, we have in the past utilized up to 7 FPs per day, in multiple parks. Yes, I mean 7 in one park and then 7 in another park, using our park hopper passes. That's right 14 FPs in one day is our record. We didn't do that every day of course, but there are plenty of trips where we used FP up to 10 times ina day. We typically ride our favorite attractions multiple times per day if possible, so that accounts for a lot of our FP use.

Now, that type of FP park commando action will no longer be possible, so it appears we'll have to slow down and wait on stand-by lines more often. And that's OK we getting older now and can't go, go, go like we used to anyway. Oh well, the old FP system was fun while it lasted.

I was agreeing with you until you said "that's ok". For me, it ain't ok. We would go to AK, get a FP for E:E, ride the Safari, go to E:E and get another fastpass, ride it,..... my 5yo son hit E:E 6 times one day because we kept going back. I was hoping that there would be so much hate against FP"Minus" that they'd just go back to Legacy. Now I'm thinking that WDW is just too expensive for me to not enjoy myself to my liking.

[minnie04]

I wasn't a fan of FP (regular) we never really used it (probably because we never got to the parks early enough to get one), but now that I have tried the FP+ option. I would say it was the best thing for us. We are also AP holders and having the option of "booking" a ride we really want to do is really cool. We booked all the rides in the parks we wanted to visit. Then we headed over to that park and rode. When we were finished we jumped back on the bus heading to the resort only to get back on to hit the next park. Taking a little time between FP+ times for bathroom breaks, snacks, change clothes, etc. Then hit the next park and ride those rides and once all the rides were done for the day if the regular lines were too long to go again. We would walk around or go back to one park for the remainder of the night. Usually MK since they are opened the latest to catch the fireworks and parades and maybe have dinner. I have to say it is a little much going back and forth, but if you know you are guaranteed to ride the ride you want then it's worth it to us. I also have to say, it is a little easier now because the kids are older. If we had to do this with strollers. I would have to re-think this idea..


Trust me we walked a lot in between riding just to take in the park and all the action. I just planned our ride times out so we could take our time.