We always hop so can we not?

[elmjimmlm]

Every year we buy the hopper and this year we are thinking that we might not...I dont know if its a good idea to not have them since we are used to hopping...I like the idea of being able to leave one park and go to another but on past trips there were days that we didnt hop...Opinions please...:thumbsup:

[MickeysBestPal]

Every year we buy the hopper and this year we are thinking that we might not...I dont know if its a good idea to not have them since we are used to hopping...I like the idea of being able to leave one park and go to another but on past trips there were days that we didnt hop...Opinions please...:thumbsup:

We nearly always park-hop... virtually every single day.

But YOU may not NEED to.
How do you know?
What should you do?

Simple:
You don't need to buy the "Hopper Option" UNLESS and UNTIL you need it.

If you are already at one park and decide that you'd like to "hop" to another... right then,
just walk up to a ticket window and pay the $54 (plus tax) per tix (its the same price whenever you choose to do it) and you're ready to hop (that day, and any others, for the rest of your trip.) You must make this and all other upgrade choices within the first 14 day of when the ticket was first used.

If you go and NEVER need to hop, don't buy the upgrade, and you can then spend all those "extra" bucks on more WDW souvenirs! :thumbsup2

One advantage of HOPPER is FLEXIBILITY-

So, on your Animal Kingdom day (AK closes pretty early), you could "close" AK and then HOP over to, say, Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations that evening.

If, say, Fantasmic! got "rained out" on your DHS day, you could HOP to there on the day that you were at another park, and catch the amazing show.

If the "entire population" of Hukalockistan poured into MK on one of the days you were there, and filled all the queues and took all the FP's, you could hop to Epcot and escape the crowd.

If you were at DHS and wanted to eat at, say, Canada in Epcot (like WE love to do) you could ride over on the boat, use your Hopper to get into the International Gateway, dine on CHEESE SOUP, then retrace your path back to DHS for more fun!

Hopping can be a valuable asset, and, again, you don't need to buy it unless or until you NEED it!

If you are already at one park and decide that you'd like to "hop" to another... right then,
just walk up to a ticket window and pay $54 (plus tax) per tix (its the same price whenever you choose to do it) and you're ready to hop (that day, and any others, for the rest of your trip.)

[Auntie B]

We tend to hop - somedays more than just once. Not sure I could function without my hopper pass.

[mydisneygirls]

Years ago, I also would get the hopper but on our past 3 trips I have not because of the cost. I realized that when we go to a park, we pretty much are there all day. I now plan which day we go to which park based on extra magic hours and it has worked out great. Sure it's nice to have the option to hop, but if you really don't then you can save yourself some money. I'd say buy the one park a day ticket and try it out....you can always add the hopper option after (I believe).

[SBETigg]

We always buy the hopper. Yes, there are a few days per trip in which we don't hop, but most days we do and I can't imagine not being able to hop. If I knew I couldn't, that's exactly when I would really really want to, and I would have to upgrade anyway.

[ransam]

i have thought many times about not park hopping, but i always end up getting it. I love the flexablibity. I like that i can plan a dinner at Epcot, but not have to be at epcot all day. i like that i can be at MK and suddenly be in the mood for The Lion King show at AK and just go.
i like that if I'm at MK and for some reason i get stuck on a ride and miss the fireworks, the next day i can be at AK and then leave and go watch the fireworks, and then maybe head to Epcot for late hours...

[elmjimmlm]

We always buy the hopper. Yes, there are a few days per trip in which we don't hop, but most days we do and I can't imagine not being able to hop. If I knew I couldn't, that's exactly when I would really really want to, and I would have to upgrade anyway.

I have thought the same thing...If I dont have them then I would look for every excuse to want to hop...

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We always buy them:)

[Tinkerbella16]

Like others have mentioned, we always get the hopper passes because we always hop during our stay. Just having that option to go where ever, whenever is just worth it. Also, if we choose a park in the morning and then we want to eat somewhere in another park that evening, we can do so because of the hopper. I canont imagine not having hopper passes. :mickey:

[Belle of the Ball 051411]

We always buy the park hopper. There was one day last year when we didn't hop so it was a waste that particular day. But like others have said, you'll probably want to hop even more if you don't have it. I do like the idea of upgrading to the hop after you decide to hop (great advice and I forget you could do that)!

[BrerSchultzy]

My wife and I stopped getting the hopper option a couple of trips ago (when we had our son), and it's kind of liberating. Knowing that we'll be in one park all day kinda forces us to take things a little more slowly. And the monetary savings is fairly significant to families traveling on our budget.

[zipadeedoodah]

I always get the park hopper option. You can't beat the flexibility. It's actually one of the first bits of advice I give newbies when asking about how to tour WDW. I say to ALWAYS get the park hopper. For dining purposes, for leaving when one park gets too busy, for deciding on a whim that you really want to ride Jungle Cruise while you're at Epcot....it just makes your trip that much easier, with no limitations. For me, when I'm on vacation at WDW, I want to have as few limitations as possible. :mickey:

[wdwfansince75]

Depends on family touring styles...most of our family likes to finish most evenings at the MK, and we like the flexibility of allowing family members to spend more time in individual favorite parks, while getting together daily for meals and special attractions (family favorites). Also, most are late risers, so usually I and a few others are there at opening, and rendezvous later. I take advantage of morning EMH's, then hop to another park, meeting up with DW and the rest of the late risers. And sometimes, we just hop to avoid groups.
Part of the family did a trip without hopping, and assured the rest of us that it is doable....but they stayed for 8 days, so they were able to do MK 4 days, and split the others for the remaining 4 non-hopping days.

[skibunny75]

We have thought about not purchasing the hopper option, however, we always get the option and always end up park hopping. We like the flexibility.

[goofy-4-disney]

I, like most other responders always buy the hopper tickets. Out of all of my trips to WDW, I would say there were maybe 2 or 3 days where I didn't hop to different parks. It allows me to really enjoy my vacation that much more. I can do things on my time, in my own way. Like others have stated I could start my day off in MK, go to Epcot to have lunch in the world showcase and then go to hollywood studios to ride ToT or RnRc. Its great to have that flexibility in my opinion.

[MushuGrl]

Some unknown force (and I hate to blame the villains since I'm a fan but I'm just saying) always pulls us back to MK at the end of the day so we can't go without Park Hoppers.

BUT...I like Mickey'sBestPal's idea and might try it myself next trip. Try it, and if you feel the pull (I'm not pointing fingers but I bet it's Maleficent) to head to another park, throw in the towel and upgrade.

(Though I can't live without it, it's always the thing I hate purchasing the most....)

[Aurora]

If you are buying a 4-day or more pass, the park hopper is really a great value -- amounting to only about $13 additional per day. On a 7-day pass it's only about $8 more per day.

Yes, if you look at the cost overall, that dollar amount could pay for a nice dinner or some good souvenirs. But the freedom that comes with a hopper gives you a lot more vacation for your money, IMHO.

[AXOAlum]

I could not NOT hop - If forced to choose, I would go with staying off property before I chose to not hop :secret: But - we are veterans, and hopping is something we are used to doing so we would really miss not having the option. If it is a first-timer, I always recommend not hopping - it takes time, even for those of us who are vets, and a lot of valuable time, energy, and effort could be lost on the first-timer if a hop goes bad (such as our hop for less than 30 min to DAK only to find out that it was obscenely crowded and our venture back to another park.)

But, I like the idea, if the OP is concerned about the $$$ to not purchase it up front, and only deciding to use it if you want to later. Great advice, Mickey's Best Pal :mickey:

[j2k]

I'm so glad I read this. I was going to buy the Hopper because I wanted the flexibility, but now I know that I don't HAVE to buy it upfront. THANKS!!

[Alaska Disney Fan]

We are about half and half, some times we hop, other times we don't, all it takes is a little better planning and your set. Figure out what days are EMH and which parks you want to go too and where you plan on eating if your on the DDP. I like the flexibilty of hopping, but sometimes is nice to have everything planned out in advance. I'm the one in the family that usually does 90% of the planning, so it's up to me if I wnat to wing it, or plan everything out.

[Fastpasssteve]

I have done it both ways.

When I am with friends my own age, we enjoy the flexibility to move with speed and flexibility based on crowds, weather, food craving, and lack of planning/reservations. We liked the sponteneity, but we didn't get into all the restaurants we would have liked. :pout:

However, two years ago, I went to WDW with my East Coast mom. She does not walk that quickly, so she rented one of those scooters. Getting on and off of the buses was difficult, so we tried to limit the frequency. We also were on the DDDP, so we made sure we had dining reservations for every meal. I organized our trip based on which park we wanted to visit on any given day so that, during the course of a week, we could see Illuminations, Wishes, the Electrical Parade, Fantasmic...all of it. I also coordinated meal in AND outside the parks (resorts) based on where we were going to be. The planning was intense, but when all the reservations were made and the schedule solidified, it was a breeze! :mickey:

In other words, you can make it work either way.

[RBrooksC]

Last trip we often used the Park Hopper. While, yes, we would spend a full day in the MK and Epcot, during our seven day stay, we would have a day where we would go to one park in the morning, leave to go swim at the hotel and then go to another park in the evening.

One day we went to AK park during the day, met for a nice dinner with friends, and then I took my son to the MK for EMH.

It also allowed us to do a certain park in the morning and go back to MK for the MSEP or back to Epcot for Illuminations.

It just allows us the flexibility to be able to visit what we want without having to plan a single park for the day.

[joonyer]

I suppose we could try to visit WDW and only visit one park per day, but it would be a radical change in our WDW touring style. I would really miss being able to hop, since we have always used that advantage to do as much Disney as possible during our trips.

We started our family WDW vacations with the old "ultimate" length-of-stay passes that were part of our package (before the days of MYW pricing). The ultimate passes included hopping (& Waterparks & DQ) so we got addicted to hopping from our first trip. Since then, we have always hopped, and found that we never had to plan or force ourselves to utilize the hoppers. It was the other way around for us, the hoppers fit our park touring style. We are park "commandos" hitting one park at opening every day, and staying at another park until closing (whichever one is open latest).

There are four of us so the hopping option costs us $216 extra now, which is no small chunk. But we always stay for at least 7 days, and hop every day; so that breaks out to about $30 per day for our whole family ($7.50 per person) to be able to visit more than one park each day.

[LVT]

We split the day with mid day break. I feel like I am doing more if I go to a different park for the evening. Or It could be shear laziness. It is hard enough to plan dining without a park limit.

[disneynarula]

I am a penny pincher but I do think it is worth it to get the park hoppers.

IMHO if you buy a 7 or more day park ticket the hopper option should be free but if so many people (including myself) are willing to pay for it I guess that will never happen.

[LandFan]

I've done it both ways and have been completely happy both ways.

This year we are not hopping but to help counter that, we are using that money to do MNSSHP instead and doing that on a day where we are at EPCOT all day until it is time for the party - that gives us the availability to FEEL like we are hopping from EPCOT to MK (the hard ticket events don't require park admission).

Also, when we don't we are very careful with our planning (skipping weekends for MK, skipping Sunday's for DHS or Monday's for MK...etc or make sure to get to places right at park opening and then take breaks in the afternoon and come back for evenings) and our meal choices - as a matter of fact I just finished up our plans this morning.:D I have the perfect plan that always makes me feel :cloud9:

[KatrinaJ91]

We bought the hoppers once and have never again. We like going to one park and being there the entire day to experience it all. When we did buy the hoppers, we felt like we had to leave in the middle of enjoying our day, waste time getting from one place to another, just to go to another park that we were planning on visiting another day anyway. It made us very anxious about when we should leave, what we should do, etc. instead of just being in a park and enjoying ourselves! For my family, it is a huge waste of money.

[PeterPan]

We are confirmed HOPPERS because, back in the day. hopping was always an option - you did not have to purchase the hopping. Every "multi-day passport" was a Hopper. BUT, one time when our budget was tighter, (again, this was when any multi-day passport was a hopper) I bought single-day tickets to each park (there were 3 parks at this time). My girls were pretty small - oldest probably 10 - but THEY NEVER KNEW WE DIDN'T HAVE THE HOPPER OPTION. We would go back to the resort (Fort Wilderness at the time) in the afternoon, swim or rest, then return to the same park that evening. They never even asked to go to another park. They were small enough not to care - just so long as we were together having fun. So, if your kids are small enough - it might not be an issue. Just a thought.

[MrPeetrie]

If the "entire population" of Hukalockistan poured into MK on one of the days you were there, and filled all the queues and took all the FP's, you could hop to Epcot and escape the crowd.

My mother is Hukalockistanian, third generation removed. Just kidding.

MickeysBestPal, great explanation. We usually have APs so we have the hopper option, but on this upcoming trip, we plan to do less hopping. I'm not sure why.

I do like the freedom of knowing I can leave one park if it becomes too crowded and go to another. I

[gottaluvtink]

We have done both and honestly I am not a fan of hopping. We don't bother anymore. There is more than enough to do at one park in an entire day. I find hopping a big waste of time. All that waiting for transportation, and all that walking into and out of parks is very time consuming, not to mention exhausting. I find hopping a big waste of money. We go to the parks from open to close. One park each day is fine by me!

[olivegirl]

We do not hop. For us its a waste of money! We vaca in Disney every year and its usually between 7/10 days. We plan our park days with our dining ressies and all works out for us without the extra money! We are at the park at opening, stay to eat lunch and then back to resort for some pool time! Then after being refreshed back to that same park till closing!! Works for us!!!:thumbsup:

[MrPeetrie]

...We vaca in Disney every year and its usually between 7/10 days. We plan our park days with our dining ressies and all works out for us without the extra money! We are at the park at opening, stay to eat lunch and then back to resort for some pool time! Then after being refreshed back to that same park till closing!! Works for us!!!:thumbsup:

Olivegirl, if you go to WDW each year and stay approx 7 - 10 days, have you ever considered purchasing an AP. That's what we do. We go once a year and schedule two trips on one AP, the second one being just before the APs expire. In the long run, it's cheaper. It will then give you great flexibility. Plus, they come with many discounts. It's an option you may want to consider.

[shadowden]

We always view each day in Disney in half-day increments so we tend to hop quite often. We feel it optimizes the attractions / shows / parades with the EMHs. It also allows for some mid-day nappage so we are always refreshed for evening fun!

So for us, hopping is the only way to travel!

[Eric87]

My wife and I stopped getting the hopper option a couple of trips ago (when we had our son), and it's kind of liberating. Knowing that we'll be in one park all day kinda forces us to take things a little more slowly. And the monetary savings is fairly significant to families traveling on our budget.

My wife and I have always added the park hopper option. However, this past trip we were on a budget and decided to pass. I have to say this may be the way to go for us. Sometimes "hopping" can lose a nice chunk of your time traveling between parks. Also, knowing that you'll be in the same park you get to see the park during the day and night, except AK of course. I felt like we were able to experience more attractions, shows, and had more time for just sitting on a bench and just taking in the atmosphere. We've been lucky enough to go yearly and that helps with the decision as well.

[kemps@wdw]

we ALWAYS hop! :joy: Have always hopped! :joy: And will always hop!:joy: Can't imagine not having that option when we go to WDW.

[AJ Springfield]

Wow-- I am in the minority here. I have never had Park Hoppers...and I don't think I ever will (unless they are free which is highly unlikely). There are five in our family and the cost is prohibitive. Period. We can do other things with the $250+ it would cost us. Secondly, and more importantly, I don't want to waste time hopping. Yes, it sounds nice to go here for a ride and then pop over there for a meal and end up at a third park for fireworks.... but that is a lot of time I would rather be in a park, enjoying it, and seeing what is there for us. I love WDW transportation... but even THEY advise (on our dining reservations) to give yourself at least an hour to go from one park to another. We typically go to MK on the first and last days of our trips (our favorite) and then hit the other parks on the days between. IMHO, giving yourself a park a day allows you to enjoy the day without deciding where else to go/ what else to do.

[CuteAsMinnie]

We would never enjoy the Magic without a Park Hopper. It just makes the day flow much easier with no worries at all as to whether you'll see all you would like to see.

:mickey:

[disneynarula]

We always get the hoppers. We eat at Epcot almost every night and like to be able to spend the day at another park.

[caryrae]

The only time we hopped was when it was on every ticket but since they made it an option we have never bought the hopper option, don't want to spend the extra money. We have done just fine not hopping, works well for use. We like just staying at one park for the day.

[elmjimmlm]

After going back and forth on this I think the best thing for us is to get the hopper...If we are only doing 6 days then that means a couple of parks we will only visit once...I like to at least go to each park 2 or more times per visit...Thanks for all of your input!!!:mickey:

[Dopey's Girl]

I love my AP because I don't have to make this choice. I have done trips without the hopper option, and it just doesn't work for me. We like to have the freedom to get out of a park once we have seen what we need too, or if it gets too busy (we have escaped large tour groups more than once). It's just easier for us that way, and well worth the expense

[TikiLounger]

We're Hoppers Extraordinaire! Really, we've always hopped. I can't imagine not hopping. We like to just wing it and run back and forth to whichever park...or ride...we feel like visiting at any given moment.

[i'm grumpy]

We have stopped buying hoppers due to it taking so long to get from park to park. I wish we had one the last full park day last year, but the extra $ was just too much. Especially since one of our party had already returned to the hotel.

[goofy89]

I couldn't imagine not having the freedom to hop. We are huge users of the park hopper and usually use it every day. I honestly do not think I would enjoy my trips the same without it!

[LudwigVonDrake]

Every year we buy the hopper and this year we are thinking that we might not...I dont know if its a good idea to not have them since we are used to hopping...I like the idea of being able to leave one park and go to another but on past trips there were days that we didnt hop...Opinions please...:thumbsup:

I couldn't possibly not consider park hopping. I usually visit, at least, two parks a day and can't/won't consider not be able to do it :mickey:

[j2k]

We go once a year and schedule two trips on one AP, the second one being just before the APs expire. In the long run, it's cheaper. It will then give you great flexibility. Plus, they come with many discounts. It's an option you may want to consider.

Smart thinking!! I will have to consider this in the future.

[Katzateer]

We always park hop. Like mentioned that way we can go to another park if one gets too crowded.

If you get the park tickets on the Intercot sponsored site the 10 day non expiring park hopper tickets end up being about $50 a day. We use the tickets for 2 or 3 trips it is a lot of money for the initial ticket but cheaper in the long run

[elmjimmlm]

46 days and we will be there...with our hoppers!!!:thumbsup:

[indytraveler]

Even though this is an older thread it still has relevance. If you plan on staying more than 4 consecutive days then get the park hopper. If not then you can do the parks all day that you want. MK, Epcot and DHS are all full day parks so you can stay there all day. AK is a half day park so unless you plan on going there then you don't need a park hopper.

[mommy2maddi]

If you are buying a 4-day or more pass, the park hopper is really a great value -- amounting to only about $13 additional per day. On a 7-day pass it's only about $8 more per day.

I have to agree with this post. At just a few dollars a day, the freedom to switch parks is invaluable in my opinion. :mickey:

[casey@bat]

We used to hop but we don't anymore. The last few times we bought hoppers, we didn't hop, or maybe hopped one day. We don't miss it, but we are great planners.

[finaldynasty]

We have hopped on all of our previous trips on property, however we are strongly considering not hopping on our next trip. Thanks for the thread because the information has been valuable.

[mermaidmarian]

I can't imagine staying on property and not hopping. If you are staying somewhere off site and the logistics of hopping make it difficult or unlikely, then I can see adhering to the one park - one day. But we are so completely accustomed to going out in the morning, come back midafternoon for a rest and a swim and then bopping back out again - it wouldn't be a Disney vacation for us if we couldn't hop.

[phillydan]

The last few times we bought hoppers, we didn't hop, or maybe hopped one day.

Ditto - we just booked our next trip for the last week of July and for the first time, we skipped the hopper. When I reviewed our last 2 trips, I realized that we only hopped 1 day each trip (the AK day). While I like the flexibility of hopping, we usually plan full days at each park, so that it is not a really a necessary expense.

One thing I did differently this time is that I booked a late evening return flight on the day we check out and added the extra day of park tickets. It was only $40 added to our package and it will give us one last chance to go back to any park where we may have missed something.

[MouseHouser]

I'm with Katzateer. We buy the 10 day, non-expiring hoppers and use them over several trips. At day's end, we invariably want IllumiNations or Wishes, so the hoppers are handy.

Also, if someone in our crew is a newbie and we have less than 4 days at Disney, we always manage to get to all 4 parks. Even if it's just 2 days, you can hit plenty of the important attractions without rushing, so long as you get an early start, and have hoppers!

[DisneyGiant]

We've never not hopped. :mickey:

We most always swim during the day - so its very common to go the MK in the morning and Epcot at night for dinner.

In fact we eat at Epcot 3-4 times a trip. Have to hop for that! :mickey:

[Minnie97]

For the past few trip we have had them so we can hop to another park for dinner. Thats all we really use them for, unless we go to the AK.:mickey:

[goofygonewild]

Never have and never will use the hopper option. Being on a budget, it just seems like a waste of money & time. I understand the attraction of it and would certainly consider if it were substantially less expensive, but for our situation, it just makes no sense.

[Lovewildernesslodge]

We always hop. It gives you so much more freedom.

[Mousemates]

I'm with Katzateer. We buy the 10 day, non-expiring hoppers and use them over several trips. At day's end, we invariably want IllumiNations or Wishes, so the hoppers are handy.

We use the same strategy.