Park Hopper or not?

[disney crazy family]

We have ressies for September and I am debating on if I should do the Park Hopper option or not? We will be visiting the Parks for 6 days, and so far my plans are for basically a park a day. If you do use the Park Hopper, do you find yourself using alot?:rocks::pirate:

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

We always hop. Especially if one park closes early we go to another. Or if one is crowded we leave and go to another.

[TinkiTime1989]

We always get park hoppers too. It's just a lot easier to be bale to switch parks if you want to. We usually start at one park in the morning, take a break at the hotel in the afternoon, and then end the day in another park.

[katzctkpt]

We always get park hoppers too. It's just a lot easier to be bale to switch parks if you want to. We usually start at one park in the morning, take a break at the hotel in the afternoon, and then end the day in another park.

We do the same thing and if the park your at is busy jump to another. Couldn't think of not park hopping.

[Nekochan]

You can upgrade to a park hopper anytime. I would buy the base ticket, and if you decide to park hop, upgrade it then by going to a ticket window.

[comicguy]

I highly recommend getting Park Hopper. Like the PP said if a park is busy you can switch. Also if on the dining plan having a park hopper makes life easier when planning where you want to eat.

[mrsgaribaldi]

We have APs but we never just go to one park a day. We start in one and end up at the one that stays open the latest. :thumbsup:

[Jared]

I could not imagine visiting Walt Disney World without park hopping, especially during a six-day vacation. We tour at least two parks every day.

Usually, my family goes to one park when it opens early in the morning. After lunch we head back to our resort for swimming and resting. Finally, we have dinner and experience a second park for nighttime fun.

I strongly suggest splurging for the park hopping option.

[T-Belle]

I agree with all the other's. Even best laid plans sometimes need to be modified at the last minute. That's where park hopper comes in very handy.

[caryrae]

Myself I have never felt the need to park hop. I have been to WDW 11 times and have never park hopped once. For us it's money we don't need to waste cause we can do what we need to at each park in a day. Mostly I think because we go in Sept alot when crowds are low and lines short and we like to make the most out of wach park we visit. Then if we get done at park early we go to DTD, mini golf, water park, walk around the Boardwalk resort, ect.

but everyone does things differently and this is what works for us.

[DisneyFreak23]

My family always gets park hopper for our trips, and we end up using it every day except the days when we stay at MK all day long.:mickey:

[Marker]

I won't say we ALWAYS use the hopper feature a lot, but we do use it quite frequently.

It definitely helps free up your plans when you have ADRs made for dinner. You don't have to spend the day at the park where you are eating. You can spend your day at on park, and then hop over to another for supper. After supper, you can stay where you are, or hop to another park for their fire works show.

As an example, on one recent trip, we started our day at AK, hopped to Epcot for dinner at Le Cellier, then hopped on the monorail to catch the parade and Wishes.

Then there was the day a few years ago, when I watched Illuminations at 9, Fantasy In The Sky at 10, and Fantasmic at 11... that was amazing.

So yeah, we definitely get hoppers. Even if we don't use it every day, I can't imagine not having it. I would feel so restricted without it.

[mrsHerbie53]

Our family too always hops. It was most convenient when we had the dining plan. We could go to any park we wished in the morning and then go to our eating park (usually EPCOT) in the late afternoon.

We definitely liked the extra magic we felt by being able to go wherever we wanted when we wanted. It was also a nice little break on Disney transportation going from park to park.

Some trips we spend more partial days at a particular park that we didn't intend. I was surprised that DS7 wanted to spend so much time at MGM last time. The hoppers helped out so that we could go there a few hours for him and then go to MK or Epcot.

[Mikey Piano 23]

I think u should totally park hop! It gives your freedom and flexibility to get up and pick a park to go to...and then go to a different one at night.

What I like to do is go to a park in the morning then go back to the hotel relax for like an hour and then go back to another park for more fun and get something to eat. Anything you do will be fun.

[dinahvixen]

we went in September two years ago and did not park hop, but wish we had. We are going this September and already purchased the park hoppers. With the crowds being so low, we had finished what we wanted to do at one park so early, but couldn't go to the next. Also, with September hours, when one park closes early, I can schedule in a later closing park after a swim break.

[garymacd]

Get the park Hopper option. Most of us agree on this. You might want to go to a water park during the day and then go to MK for night rides, parade and fireworks.
We don't always park hop, but it is nice to have the option, especially on the last day to say goodbye to favourite attractions.

[sleepingbooty]

We haven't yet purchased hoppers - and it hasn't been a problem at all. Just required some advanced planning since we are on the dining plan. Now, when my hubby and I go by ourselves in August, we are hopping - so I'll see how that works out. I may decide we need to upgrade our passes in September when the whole family goes.

[mttafire]

We used to ALWAYS parkhop....Now however, We dont. We've found that we just do one park a day and that DOES save money. Just do what you think is best. We used to do the park hopper thing...now we dont.

[DisneyKim22]

I am another fan of the hopper pass. While I may not use it every day, during a typical one-week vacation, I will probably use it 4 or 5 days. Not having kids, it is very easy for DH and I to switch parks on a whim. This year my entire family is going, so we'll have my DB's three kids (10yo & 4yo boys and 2yo girl). I doubt that he and my SIL will want to hop too much. They are going with the base ticket and will upgrade there if they decide to hop.

[dolphinmickey9170]

We always parkhop. I can't imagine WDW without it. I agree with most everyone here about it being so convenient. Especially when AK closes so early and another park stays open later, just go from one to the other.

[KAJUNKING]

We haven't yet purchased hoppers - and it hasn't been a problem at all. Just required some advanced planning since we are on the dining plan. Now, when my hubby and I go by ourselves in August, we are hopping - so I'll see how that works out. I may decide we need to upgrade our passes in September when the whole family goes.

we always get hoppers, what if you decide to go to mk and when you get there its mad busy, without the hopper your stuck there, or like when we went last sept allmost all of our adr were in epcot because a lot of the good ts places are there, w/o hoppers we couldnt have done this, HOPPERS ARE A MUST FOR US!!!!!

[Donald Duck 224]

We always get the park hopper. It makes the trip more fun. We usually start off at one park early, then go to DTD or the resort, then to the park open late.

[elmjimmlm]

I assume that Sept. is still rather warm and if you are like us we plan on early day at a park and EMH for the night and we try to do 2 parks a day...That way you can leave, rest and be ready for that evening somewhere else.

[pixiegoose]

My family has always gotten the park hopper and it is very worth it, in my opinion. Like others have said, it give so much flexibility so you can change your plans based on crowds and whatnot. My husband's brother and his wife will be at the World with us in September and they haven't gotten hoppers, as her family never got them, so we'll see if they end up changing their minds when they get there.

[larandtra]

Disney without a park hopper, whether on or off property, makes planning and doing things much more difficult. ALWAYS go with a hopper.

[AnnieBananie]

ALWAYS park hop!! It's wonderful to be able to ride from MK to Epcot on the monorail and vice vs. One day we spent the am in MK, rode the monorail to Epcot, then took the boat to MGM. That was fun!! It just gives you the freedom to come and go as you please:mickey::mickey:.

[mainemajor]

We always get park hoppers too. It's just a lot easier to be bale to switch parks if you want to. We usually start at one park in the morning, take a break at the hotel in the afternoon, and then end the day in another park.

I agree totally.:thumbsup:
While we do not hop every day, simply having the option is a relief. I think that if i did not have the hopper option there would be more preasure to see it all - do it all in one day . Having the option to go to another park just gives you so much more freedom. If you decide to see Wishes or Illuminations and had visited the AK you can. What a great option:mickey:

[Mickey91]

We haven't always bought a park hopper. But, the one year that changed that, we were unaware of a party event at MK and had to leave that park at 6. Since we had not bought park Hoppers, our park time was over prematurely.

Now, we buy park hoppers. We don't use them much, but they are nice to have in case AK doesn't take long and we want to do another park or they have another party event and we still want to play. And, on the last couple days of our trip, we can hit different parks to ride or see our favorites one last time.:mickey:

[SallyfromDE]

I think it depends of if your going with small children. I personally think it's almost impossible to hop with small children. Dealing with strollers or tired children. It's easier to just stick to the one park per day. So I never get the PH. But when I go with out young ones, I do get the hopper. And we do use it. We decide what we want to do and just go hop a bus, boat or monorail.

[A Big Kid]

Yes to the park hopper. Many times our nights are capped by a visit to the World Showcase for a pastry or a drink. Can't do that w/o a park hopper.

[DNS]

Another vote for hopping. We use the hoppers almost every day. Especially if it is very hot. We go to one in the morning, then go back and cool off for a bit in the afternoon, then change to a different park.

[kakn7294]

We always purchase the hopper option, but in December, we could have gone without it. We only used it once on that trip. We did purchase it again for August but plan on being much more flexible (except for ADR's) on that trip. We may hop almost every day! It just depends on your plans as to whether you will need it. You can always purchase a base ticket and add the hopper later at any ticket window, but you will pay for the full number of days on your original ticket regardless of how many days are left. For example, if you have a 7 day ticket but want to hop only on your last 2 days, you will still pay for 7 days worth of hopping.

[kaerbear178]

We park hop a lot as well. We just like to have the freedom to do whatever we decide. If we don't like the crowds at one park we can move onto the next. I'm also not restricted to being in the park where my ADR's are.

[scooterca42]

This will be our last trip for about 5 years :( so we are using up four days on an old non expiring hopper, and bought one day base no hoppers so we got the dining plan in September.

So I was sitting down to plan, given that we now have ADRs to consider and we're doing Divequest on different days (so we can film each other ;) )and realizing that there was really only one day we could decide NOT to hop - the Monday we get there, we'll go to MK as soon as we can - likely about 1 pm - and stay there. The rest of the time we're doing two parks a day, and on the last unscheduled day we may end up doing three!

I didn't realize how much we count on being able to use the hoppers till I found one day we couldn't! If we could, we'd be off to MGM when MK closed! Ah, well, I suppose we'll need to sleep sometime...:cool:

[Jasper]

I would like to add my voice to the chorus that says YES, GO WITH THE PARK HOPPER OPTION!!!

While it is true that you can see the biggest part of the parks in 6 days, not having hoppers makes it difficult to do any single attraction more than once. By having the hoppers we maximize the full time from when the first park opens in the morning until the last one closes at night. Yes, we are kamikaze Disney World goers, but even if you are not as gung ho, the flexibility is just wonderful.

Of course, you still have to watch yourself and not over do the hopping because on average it will take you about one hour to get from inside of one park to the inside of the next park. This time is pretty typical regardless of whether you are using your own vehicle or Disney Transportation. Of course, the actual time does vary somewhat based on crowd sizes. This is valuable time that you won't want to lose if you can help it.

[Donald A]

There have been very few days that we have not used the park hopper.

[mic_keyfan]

Definately a good option...Nice for when it rains the day/night that you plan to watch Fantasmic at DS and it gets cancelled...then you can "hop over there another evening after visiting AK for the day. (This has happened to us!) also good for those last minute " get your favorite rides and items purchased" time in on those extra days not spent in a park!!

[Polynesian Dweller]

Agree with what others have said about park hopping being the way to go. We also use it along with fast pass.

Last year, when EE opened, we got an EE fast pass firs thing in the morning (return was about 3:30pm). We went to MGM (after doing a couple of things at AK) and did TOT and RNR, had lunch, and returned to AK for EE. Perfect day!

That kind of thing is even easier to do with Epcot and MK being on the monorails. Get Soarn' for a return several hours later (always seems to be 3 hours) hit
MK for a couple of things and then come back to EPCOT.

Its all about flexibilty making things easier.

[eLPack]

I have never not used a park hopper! I couldn't imagine not having the freedom of just going where I felt like. Especially when the parks aren't open very late - it pays to be able to go to more than one place per day.

[rnin02]

One more vote for the Park Hoppers. We love them! We probably don't hop every day, but alot of days we do. And our last day (at least last year, and I'm hoping it will be a tradition!) we try to hit all our favorite rides at all the parks...or at least MK, Epcot, and MGM, since they are "connected". That's so much fun, a good way to say "goodbye" to Disney! The park hoppers will give you so much flexibility, you will be happy you added them! We also add the "water park fun and more" option, and try to work in the water parks, disney quest and pleasure island.

[Brer Mickey]

Here is another vote for hopping for all of the reasons everyone else has already stated. However, since you didn't post this as a poll, I will summerize the responses so far for you.;)

37 posted in favor of park hopping.

3 said that they didn't think hopping is neccesary.

So there you have it. An official Intercot poll on park hopping.

Disclaimer: This poll was not conducted by a nationally recognized or certified polling agency. The opinions expressed in this poll do not represent the views of Intercot or its subsidiary companies. Polling range: 40 intercotees. Polling accuracy +/- 20,000. No CMs were harmed while conducting this poll.:D

[johnO]

Get the Park Hopper.

[rookie]

I think you have look at why people need/don't need the hopper.

#1 Ability to see everything you want to in less than a day at a park. - This is for those that have been to DW often or find MGM or AK half-day parks, etc. if so, you'll want the hopper.

#2 Flexibility for dealing with crowds - if going during a crowded time you may want the ability to change plans with the hopper.

#3 Flexibility in deciding on ADRs - If dining is a major treat for you and you spend countless hours going over menus and what not trying to decide the perfect place to dine, you will want the hopper option. Also flexibility in seeing night time shows.

#4 You can tour the parks from opening bell to closing whistle - easier without small ones. If so, you can start EMH in the morning at one park and close out EMH in the evening at another. You can maximize park time with the hopper.

So you can measure your $45 per person against the value that the above flexibility brings to decide if it is worth it to you:mickey:

[HallandNash]

I've only hopped once and I found it more trouble than it was worth. I suppose hopping from MK to Epot or vice versa could be ok with the ease of the monorails, but waiting for and taking the buses burns a lot of precious park time IMHO. :down: Next trip we may go hopper-less. :twocents:

[disneycouple2004]

Hop-Hop its the only way to go :thumbsup:

[like2workout]

i always get the park hopper and love it. one reason it's good is that i've gone with friends before, and sometimes (maybe 1 day of the trip), we split up part of the time. we can each go to whatever park we want to go to for that day, then meet back up later. without the parkhopper, we couldn't do that, so it has worked out well for us.

[pook@wdw]

ABSOLUTELY!!! :thumbsup: We have always been a 2-park-a-day family. So, parkhopper option is a must for us!:thumbsup: