Parkhopper for preschoolers?

[chip2]

Hi. This site is so helpful, I can't stop thinking up questions. We are planning a first trip in Feb '08. I purchased a Birnbaum's adult and child version- thanks to some good advice from this website. I have also been reading every post that might pertain to our situation. Yet, I am still confused about whether we will need a park hopper with a 2 and 5 year old. What have other people experienced with little ones? Any helpful theme park planning tactics for preschoolers would be much appreciated!

[chrisandmattsmom]

We went to WDW in October 2006 with our two sons ages 4 and 7. I thought that the parkhopper option worked very well for us. We would go to one of the parks that opened early and then come back to our hotel to rest or swim for the afternoon. Then in the evening we went to one of the parks that had something going on. For example, the one morning we went to AK and then came back to the WL in the afternoon to rest. Then in the evening we went to MGM to watch Fantasmic. I just think that parkhopping gives you a lot more freedom, especially with little kids. Another example I have is that the one day we were all planning to go to Epcot. Well, our 4 year old got sick during the night and my husband just took our other son to Epcot. That evening our 4 year old was feeling better and we decided to go to MK since it was close. I would say go with the parkhopper option.

[lilmattie13]

When I went last my son was 2.5 and our youngest was 2 mos. We did 7nights 8 days. What worked really well for us was to only get a three day base pass. Now this worked for us only because we have been to the parks in the past. If you have never been before or really want to see all the parks then I would consider getting more days.

We did not opt on the hopper part of the ticket and here is why: We felt with ours being so little it would be a little too over stimulating to do different parks in one day.

We did one park in one day, taking a break back at the hotel about mid day for a nap or a swim. This provided some calm.

We also didnt go to parks every day of our trip. We went on the free dining plan and on the non park days we really enjoyed swimming at the resort, visiting other resorts for lunch or dinner.

For us it worked doing things at a more gentle pace rather than try to cram in a park or more daily.

We are going again in Sept, again with the free dining and this time my children will be 4 and 2. This time we decided to do the 7 day base tickets, which were only like $70 more money total for three adults and my two children. We again have scheduled days really to do 3 parks with travel to other resorts for dinner and shows. We may decide to go to another park now that we have the option for other days but again, we found taking it slow paced was not only good for our kids but also relaxing for the adults.

Many people borked at us going with such young children telling us it would be so much more work that worth, but the way we did it, slow and really not with the highest of expectations, and a great deal of flexibility, it was the most relaxing trip I had taken in a long time.

Whatever you choose, good luck and just remember to be flexible and go easy on the little ones as it is a big change in surroundings, schedule, meals and stimuli.

Hope that helps :mickey:

[illini]

I think that getting park hoppers will actually make it more relaxing. We've always gotten them and always will.

Say you go to Animal Kingdom one day. Kids konk out around 2, and you leave ((or worse, stay around until you "finish" the park, at which time the kids are beyond beat and you're rapidly losing hair). You can't go back there that evening-- it closes pretty early. You also didn't get to see everything that you wanted to (even though there's not that many attractions, you move more slowly with little ones) or the kids want to repeat something. Do you want to blow another day's admission and only get to do AK, or go for just a morning, then rest, and then on to a different park in the evening? Having a park hopper will make those decisions sooo much easier. You won't feel like you have to "finish" a park that you were only planning on spending one day at, and you won't have to say no if the kids really liked something and want to do it again.
For us, it's worth the extra $200 or so just to have the peace of mind and extra flexibility. Flexibility is always a good thing with little ones!

[lilmattie13]

Even if you do have a base ticket which only allows one park per day, you can re enter the park if you leave.

We only had base tickets and we would go in the morning and leave around two or three, go to the hotel, kids would take a nap, then head back to the park for dinner.

You usually have to have your hand stamped for re entry and then need to reshow your room card to get in again.

We did this for MK, AK and Epcot.

The park hopper is a great option for flexibility but if you want to save some money and you are planning to take it slow by perhaps just focusing on say a park per day, then you can save some money.

It worked for us and we are planning to do this kind of schedule again when we go again in Sept.

Cant wait,,,:party:

[wjrhw]

We always use the parkhopper option. Sometimes you just need to get away from a crowded park. When DD was 2 we were at MK and it got so chaotic and crowded that we jumped on the monorail and went to Epcot. With the large open areas here it felt like a weight lifted from our shoulders and DD could actually get out of the stroller and play.

[wire0monkey]

We use the parkhopper with our kids, who are now 4 and 2. I think it's critical to get the most out of the parks, when you have small kids. ell. We do one park until about 2 or 3 pm, go back to the hotel and get a nap and a swim and a snack, then get dinner, and do another park after dinner.

A typical day looks like this:
Animal Kingdom
lunch at Tusker House
nap/swim/snack
dinner
Magic Kingdom until 8:00 pm

For the two smaller parks, Animal Kingdom and Disney Studioes, the park hopper is great because it means you don't "waste" a whole day of your ticket on the small park if you don't spend a whole day in that park. We usually spend a whole day at Animal Kingdom, but it closes early. We never spend a whole day at Disney Studios.

We also like to eat dinner at Epcot World Showcase. The Park Hopper also lets us eat as many meals as we want at Epcot.

[PracticallyPerfectMollie]

I always got the hopper before I had a child. She is four now. We went when she was 2 and did not hop. We are going in November and will not hop. I used to be a bit of a vacation commando type (which my husband discovered on our honeymoon :mickey: ) but i have now slowed down. I also discovered how much we enjoy downtown disney and the resort. So we don't hop, we just go to the park, take a break, go back and then relax. The magic is everywhere for me so this works for us and saves a little money.

[TBY2225]

We did not have hopper passes with DD4 last September. We are doing the same this year. Our DD4 would see something in what ever park we were in that morning and want to do it. We promised if she took a good nap we would come back and do it. It worked like a charm! It is hard to get them to move around when there is so much to do in the park you started the day in!

[Jared]

Hopping can lead to a relaxed vacation. Having the flexibility to visit more than one park each day makes touring simple.

My family structures days around two parks. We hit one in the morning, leave after lunch and eventually head to a second one for dinner.

Good luck!

[4myprincesses]

We've done both.
The hopper offers a bit more flexibility and the option to go back to that one thing that they REALLY want to do again.
However, is the money worth it? We found that we got to where we weren't using the hopper but maybe once for a trip. If you could use the money otherwise I say don't worry about hopping. If you have the money to spend it is a nice option.
Also, remember it takes time to go from park to park. If you aren't planning on napping (I had a two year old who was beyond naps and did well this way!) I'd say it's not worth the hopper option. We would go until supper and then head to the hotel for an early evening swim and early bedtime (7:30 or 8) It worked well for us.
You know your kids, think it through and figure what is best for them.

[Nekochan]

Why make a decision now? Buy the regular pass, and if you decide to park hop, upgrade to a park hopper. I'm pretty sure if you're staying at a disney hotel you can upgrade your tickets at the hotel.

[xwdpuzzler]

We went in 12/2005 and the parkhopper pass is the way to go. We are going to Disney today and I got PH passes for only 4 days of the 6 days we will be at the parks. This way there is a little downtime and if there are other things that the children want to do or some activity you don't have to buy more days than you might need. This time my children (age 5 3/4 twins) are taking a 2 hour cruise and this will be our down day before we leave.

1982 - Honeymoon (offsite)
1992 - (offsite)
1993 - (offsite)
1995 - Wildernese Lodge
2005 - Animal Kingdom Lodge
2007 - Saratoga Springs (DVC Member since '06)