Hop or Not

[gigi]

We leave for Disney one week from today:party:My teenagers are finally getting excited. Looking on opinions on adding park hoppers to our tickets when we arrive. This is our 5th trip to Disney and we have never hopped before but my kids are now 16,17 so I am leaning toward spending the extra money. Any advice?

[Auntie B]

I can't imagine NOT hopping. I love to start my day in one park, then hop to another one later. Last visit we hopped 3 times in 1 day. :mickey:

[faline]

We tend to hop as well. We MIGHT spend the whole day in one park but we MIGHT return to a different park in the afternoon or evening so we certainly like to have the ability to do that. You'll have to determine how likely you are to hop and whether or not it is worth the extra money to you to do so.

[retiredfigment]

Love hopping. AK is never an all day park for us. Will go there in AM and then another in afternoon. We often go to one park and then hit Epcot for meals since they have such yummy food.

[Tigger's Mom]

I can't imagine not having that hopper option. I find it's definitely worth the money; there's not pressure if you change your mind after arriving at one park. Gives you a choice if one park is crowded too! It also helps with different closing times at the parks. Enjoy!!

[Itchy]

The other advantage to hopping is if you have a dining reservation in a different park you are ready to go.

We love Epcot and a lot of times we will be in one park and always end up at Epcot later in the day. Its a great way to maximize your favorite park.

For us its a no brainer...:mickey:

[disneymom15]

We always have the hopper option. Some days we stay at one park all day, other days we hop to multiple parks.

[dyin tago]

will you have a car gigi?

I find it a bit more hassle hopping with the buses but If we can`t have a hopper we would not go at all.

remember that is just our opinion but if cost is a factor you may do fine without the hopper.

[gigi]

Yes we will have a car. We just booked with my husbands American Airlines points. The car is only costing us $70 (out of pocket) for 9 days:mickey:This would make hopping so much easier.

[RedSoxFan]

I always get the hopper passes. I love the flexibility. Some days we hop and other days we don't.

[mgmnut]

We always hop. We like to spend most of the day at 1 park, but like to hop to other parks in the evening or for Meals.

When ordering tickets for our upcoming trip I asked DW if we want to do Park Hoppers. I got a non verbal answer, just that look of "Why are you even asking me that question" :shake:

[#1donaldfan]

We have always hopped !! We will do one park early, hit the room for a swim or nap, clean up and head to another park that evening...we've never had a problem hopping using Disney transportation either....the car makes it a bit faster, but for me, after arriving, I don't want to drive for at least a week.......have fun !!:mickey:

[TinkerbellT421]

We always hop! I cannot even imagine not having the option! There have been many times we arrive at a park, for example Magic Kingdom on a Monday and just get bombarded with how crazy busy it is, and then we will leave and go to EPCOT instead. We like having the flexibility and option of being able to bounce around if we find it is better or if we need to because of crowding. The flexibility cannot be beat in our opinion. :thumbsup:

[CzepielCrew]

Hop!

We usually go to one park in the morning and have dinner at another in the evening.

[SandmanGStefani24]

I am probably one of the few out there that never hops. I always do one park all day. Epcot especially is a park I could never imagine having to do before or after being at another one due to size and number of things I like to see and do. The only real way that not hopping could be bad is if one of my favorite rides was not working that day. Still, in all of my trips this has not happened yet. I pocket the savings and then spend it on food or gifts. :D

My trips are a little shorter than most intercotees' so I hit each park one day, all day unless it's HS or AK. Hopping doesn't make sense to me, but by the looks of the responses here you should probably consider it! Have fun!

[JWBurns]

Gigi we will be there at the same time :)

In fact, my vacation planner for American Express was named GiGi, and she was more than knowledgeable about WDW!

Anyway, I purchased my tickets already. I wonder if I could upgrade upon arrival, to hop? Maybe I can call AmEx and see if they will do it for me?

[MargaretMessler]

I have never regretted adding the hopper option. (The water park & more I can do without.) If for nothing else, it gives you the luxury to just "hop" on over to EPCOT for dinner. Or to spend the day in MK and then go see Fantasmic at MGM. VERY RARELY do I ever not use it in some form every day.

Money well spent.

[TinkerbellT421]

Gigi we will be there at the same time :)

In fact, my vacation planner for American Express was named GiGi, and she was more than knowledgeable about WDW!

Anyway, I purchased my tickets already. I wonder if I could upgrade upon arrival, to hop? Maybe I can call AmEx and see if they will do it for me?

You can add park hopping at any guest services locations upon arrival :)

[Belle of the Ball 051411]

We're hoppers! :mickey:

[MyDisneyworld]

We have been on trips with and without the hopper and much prefer the hopper. This works really well if you want to hit say epcot all day and switch to magic kingdom in the evening because it has the extra magic hours. The crowd level at magic kingdom that day would be higher because of the people that don't have the park hopper ticket are stuck there. Have a magical trip..... 67 days and I will be there.

[JWBurns]

Planning on adding hooper once we arrive in WDW.

As a hopper rookie, is it easy to get from park to park?

I'll be in my own car, and pick a park to start the day, but if we choose to leave and try a different park, is it fairly easy to get around?

[sainter]

Planning on adding hooper once we arrive in WDW.

As a hopper rookie, is it easy to get from park to park?

I'll be in my own car, and pick a park to start the day, but if we choose to leave and try a different park, is it fairly easy to get around?

Road signage in Disney World is very good! I don't think you will have a problem.

[JWBurns]

I guess what I mean to ask is - is travel between parks mainly via monorail or bus or boat?

I'd like to keep my car at our initial park, and go from there, then return to our car at the end of the day.

[sainter]

OOH! That is more complicated. You can monorail between Epcot and MK (with a monorail switch at the Ticket and Transportation Center). If you drive to MK you have to either monorail or boat from the parking lot to MK. The resort bus or resort monorail will take you to right to the gate.
You can boat or bus between Epcot and HS. Bus only between HS and MK. Bus only between AK and the other parks. However, AK closes earlier than the other parks. And the monorails only run for an hour after park closing, ie: if MK closes at 7, the monorail only runs til 8, but Epcot closes at 9.

It may be easier to simply drive to all parks. Or if you are staying on grounds, not to use the car at all if you are park hopping, just use Disney transportation.

We generally don't have a car anymore, so I am sure someone who can explain this more clearly will be along soon...:blush:

[faline]

I'd like to keep my car at our initial park, and go from there, then return to our car at the end of the day.

This might, or might not work for you.

For example, you start your day at Animal Kingdom. From there, you bus to Epcot and stay until closing which is typically around 9 p.m. However, Animal Kingdom probably closed somewhere between 5 and 6 p.m. depending on time of year so buses are no longer running to Animal Kingdom.

Over the last year, Disney has also curtailed the operating hours of the monorail system. Monorail transportation is now set to end one hour after the regular closing time of park served. If Epcot closes and 9 and the Magic Kingdom at 11, the Epcot line will shut down by 10.

Here's information on how to get from one location to another using Disney transportation (http://intercot.com/infocentral/transportation/gettingaround.asp).

If you're going to drive to a park, I'd suggest also driving to the next park you visit on the same day. If you're staying on-site, there's no charge to park at the parks. If you're staying off-site, you need only pay once. Just show your receipt from the first park at the second and you'll be able to park there without additional cost.

Personally, I typically stay on-site and use Disney transportation only.

[darthmacho]

I'm not a hopper. One day, one park is fine with me. However, in the future, I may give it a try, especially when my kids are older and we can take advantage of evening extra magic hours.

[gigi]

Thank you all for your help. Hop it will be:mickey:My kids have just found out that friends from home with be in Disney while we are there. :D The excitement is building.

[AgentC]

I guess what I mean to ask is - is travel between parks mainly via monorail or bus or boat?

I'd like to keep my car at our initial park, and go from there, then return to our car at the end of the day.



If you're going to drive to a park, I'd suggest also driving to the next park you visit on the same day. If you're staying on-site, there's no charge to park at the parks. If you're staying off-site, you need only pay once. Just show your receipt from the first park at the second and you'll be able to park there without additional cost.


We generally always drive our car to the park. I prefer it to Disney transportation because I am in control of my timing. I agree with Linda that it is much easier to drive from park to park and sometimes faster.

The only time leaving my car at one park and then taking the Disney transportation worked for me it between Magic Kingdom and Epcot. But as others have mentioned you need to watch the park hours so you don't get stuck after the monorail has stopped running.

One time Disney transportation can be better is going to MK since you then don't have to worry about needing to take the ferry or monorail over to MK.

AK, DHS and Epcot are all very easy to get in and out of with your car.

[phillydan]

I previously commented on a thread similar to this and I said that we would not be doing the hopper this time.

We just retuned last week and I can report that we did fine without the hopper. The days were so packed and draining, that we would not have been able to hop even if we wanted to. On days when we had some free time, we just relaxed at the hotel pool or went to DDD. My only regret is that I wanted another day in Epcot and could have squeezed that in if I had the hopper.

All in all, it was a good strategy for this trip, as we were on a tighter budget and saw/did everything we wanted.

[Mom on a Mission]

We didn't hop when the kids were little, but once they got old enough to have opinions about what they wanted to do we started. Now with teenagers I can't imagine not hopping.

[disneymom2000]

Looks like the hopper wins. I have always hopped until my last trip. It was only four days but I found myself spending more time than I wanted at my resort so I will never go without the hop addition again.