Do You Think Park Hopper Is Necessary Or Just A Way To Spend More Money?

[xipetotec]

I'm trying to decide wether or not to pay the extra money for the Park Hopper option on the park tickets. I don't imagine we'll go to more than one park in one day. It will be dh, and our 2 daughters, 6 & 2. We are staying at Disney hotel.
Thanks

Well let me start by saying that if a non park hopper pass were given to me, I'd happily make do cause just being at WDW makes me happy.

But if I'm planning, I absolutely NEED Park Hopper. Not because I hop constantly. i do find one can lose a lot of time hopping between parks. BUT once you've invested a good day in each park, it's nice to be able to do two half days in two different parks. ADD TO THAT the fact that for us, dining at Epcot is a real joy, we often end up there for dinner no matter what park we've spent the day at.

All in all, we love Park Hopper and would not go without it.

[Bri]

the park hopper is a definate for us. like other people have said, it's nice to go to a less crowded park for the day and then maybe go somewhere else for dinner or for another parks fireworks. it's definatly worth the extra money. i have family members who didn't get the park hopper and were really stuck and it made things very difficult for them.

[Marker]

Reasons to NOT need a park hopper

• It's your first visit ( or first in a long time) visit to Walt Disney World. Being a "first timer" you can EASILY spend an entire day at any particular park as you explore places, shows, rides, attractions, etc that you've never seen before.
  
• With younger children, you might be less inclined to hop from one park to another. You can still take the mid day break and go back to your resort to sleep, swim, relax. But you'll be limited to returning to the same park.
  
• It's just not your style. Different families tour the parks in different ways. I would never assume one way was better/worse than another.

Possible reasons to want a park hopper

• You are a veteran WDW visitor. You know the thinks in the parks you like, as well as the things you're willing to skip. Park Hopping add tremendous flexibility.
  
• Your dining preferences do not coincide with your touring preferences. Quite often we'll spend the bulk of a day in one park, then hop over to Epcot to eat.
  
• Additional Freedom. The ability to spend half a day at one park, and half a day at another. The ability to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours, but not be tied to that park for the entire day. The ability to hop into a park for a quick visit to a favorite ride or attraction, then pop out again.

Personally, I always get a hopper. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing for everyone. Consider where or not you'll actually use it, and choose accordingly. Getting a hopper just because everyone else says to, then never using it is indeed wasting money.

[McGoofy]

I love hopping parks, but I have an annual pass, so it's nothing that we have to pay extra for. I think if I didn't have AP's, I would be happy to save the money and just plan my day around the one park that has the events that I want to go to that day. It requires planning, but you can manage to do the parks with the EMH's as well as pick the ADR that corresponds to the park that you will be in without having park hopper tickets. If you do this for every day of your trip, you can see all 4 parks. Now if you are going for less than 4 days, park hoppers are a good idea if you want to do all 4 parks.

[CU Tiger]

For us, the park hopper is useful only if we plan on going to AK or MGM. Those parks have become ½ day parks for us. It is rare that we spend the extra cash for this option.

[irish1967]

For us, they are a necessity. We hit WDW for a short time and the flexibility is worth the extra money.

If were were staying a week or longer, maybe not.

[wdwfansince75]

No good plan goes un-changed....Actual scenario...Staying at CR....Spent AM and early PM at MK....back to rooms so DGK's could swim or nap....DS#2 comes running back to announce early opening of Mission Space.....He said it was awesome, and would be open only for an hour or so....And it was awesome....I made it by about 15 minutes, for my first pre-opening ride...
Another trip....Test Track was not running more that it was running....In the Studios when I overheard a CM say it was finally working.....got my first TT ride, and only one that trip because I could park hop.....
DW is a late owl....I wake up the roosters....I can do MK at opening, get in several hours, and meet her for breakfast....
If your family stays together the whole trip, and you do early or late EMH, but not both, perhaps park hopping is not for you....We can't imagine just one park per day.....If we didn't get the hopper the first day, we would need to add it by noon time on day two. Oh, did I mention wanting to avoid the large, rude flock of un-chaperoned crowd of kids in blue (or green, or orange....) shirts, pushing each other in front of other guests?.....They never have park hoppers, and having one yourself allows you to avoid them. We plan on PH's, and budget for it...it's worth the cost to us.

[Polynesian Dweller]

An absolute necessity for us and we couldn't imagine doing WDW without it. As others have said its the flexibility it gives you. If you show up to say MK, and find it filled, you can go to another park and spend time there and go back to MK when its less busy.

Also, we love the flexibility of doing one park during the day and then heading over to a nice restauraunt in Epcot for dinner.

Its only $45 for the entire length of stay and is a great bargain.

[disneydad153]

I also have 2 kids 6 and 2. Pre kids, we alwaysa got park hoppers. In 2006, we had them with both kids and never used them. I found that 1 park a day is about all they can handle. Parks like AK which close early allow down time at DTD or at pool. We also go to parks that are open late, later in the day. I personally would rather save the difference and use it for a nice dinner or gifts. Hence, we only get basic tix now.

[MizMissy]

Personally, I can't imagine going to WDW without park hoppers. I feel like the park hopper is necessary when we went in September because the shorter park hours, we needed to hop around to be able to get full days in.
However, from my understanding and the explanation of EMH on intercot info page, EMH are available to you as a Disney Resort Guest with your Keys to the Kingdom card. Having the park hopper option is not necessary to take advantage of EMH.
http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/park/extramagic.asp

[kakn7294]

you dont need hoppers for EMH if youre staying on property

Unless it's just been changed, this is wrong. Please don't make that mistake.

Actually, if you go to the EMH (either am or pm) park in the am and stay there all day, you really don't need park hoppers. I think this might have been what the OP meant. You can even leave and come back for the EMH's as long as it's the same park you were at all day.

[Ladyvader]

As a former member of Guest Relations I will just tell you my personal opinion having dealt with this issue many times with our guests. Many times our guests come in and think the same as you one park in one day is plenty! But if now limits your options completely. There is nothing I enjoy more than a morning at one park and the evening at another. If one park is too crowded I can head off to one that maybe is not so crazy.
Once you have purchased the tickets and used your 1D/1P ticket if you should change your mind the cost is now more pricey to adjust. So its really important to know exactly what you want to do when you buy your tickets.
And if you do decide to get a park hopper ticket then use it to get your money's worth. It really is all about planning now when it comes to Disney vacations!
I have seen it from both sides now, those that bought the park hopper and did not use it, and those that had to upgrade to the PH. Only you know what you want from your trip. And if you are happy going to just one park a day, then go for it. The most important thing is you having a good time.
My personal opinion is that I would always get a park hopper. Is it necessary? probably not, but convenient? most definately!

[KineGirl]

Actually, if you go to the EMH (either am or pm) park in the am and stay there all day, you really don't need park hoppers. I think this might have been what the OP meant. You can even leave and come back for the EMH's as long as it's the same park you were at all day.

Thanks for clarifying! That IS what I meant I just went back and updated my OP as it did sound rather misleading.

[pook@wdw]

For us, the park hopper is a definite necessity, as we are, and always have been a 2-park-a-day family. We do all we want @ one park in the AM, head back to our resort for a little "down-time", then do another park in the late afternoon/early evening and catch the end-of-the-day fireworks. If we miss something the first time, we know we'll be coming around again. That way, we're not so rushed, and can truly enjoy all the "World" has to offer!

[pdrlkr]

We have always park hopped!

[Dsnygirl]

We've done it both ways, and we like getting the Park Hoppers, as it gives us more flexibility. Like one of the other posters said, with children as young as yours, you may find yourselves "done" by dinner and ready to crash... but you may also find that your 2yr old wants a nap mid-day and maybe afterwards the park you were at is about to close... or it's raining, so you'd prefer to go to a different park than you were at b/c maybe the one you were at had no indoor buildings but now you could go to Epcot... I'm a "contingency" kind-of person, so I like knowing I can bounce around, regardless of what my kids need or the weather throws my way. But that's just me - I'm sure you'll find what works for you!

[Mousemates]

We like the hoppers for end of day flexability...our kids are teens and like to do all the late night EMH. Furthermore, my wife is fireworks hound and wants to see either the MK or Epcot fireworks multiple times during our visits. So on our AK days we always park hop to finish the day off at one of those two venues. (Thou if you are creative you can find ways to view the MK fireworks without being in the parks, since there are multiple places to view them from at the various monorail resorts.)

[SBETigg]

We park hop, because for us it is the way to make the most out of our park experience. We stay for many days and we enjoy spending the morning at one park and the evening at another, with breaks in between. We enjoy repeating our favorite attractions. Staying in one park all day makes it possible to finish off the park and do all the attractions, but it isn't as conducive to redoing favorites.

Also, different parks have different tempos- For example, MK has a lot of active big attractions in a row while Epcot offers a lot of walking and discovering new things between attractions. By mixing them up, you get more out of different parks instead of spending all day in one park that offers only one kind of experience.

[MatterhornMiss]

My personal opinion is that I would always get a park hopper. Is it necessary? probably not, but convenient? most definately!

I have to agree. While not having a hopper pass would not be the end of the world for me (sorry for the double negative), I really enjoy the ability to come and go among the parks as I please. The past couple of trips, We have planned out most days in the parks, but leave the last day to hit up as many of our favorites as we can. While Epcot and MK usually consume a full day (at least the first day we visit each), I like being able to split HS, AK, the water parks, and this year, Disney Quest.

[LoriMistress]

DH and I found park hopper extremely useful to us. We would go to one park during the morning, go back to the resort to relax during the afternoon, and the evening we would hit another park.