Is Park hopping exhausting?

[JChoma]

I'm planning a trip 11/27-12/3. This is our first trip with park hopper tickets (which we bought to get FD). On our first day, Monday 11/27, crowds are looking high (although it's early to know for sure). I'm thinking of going to MK in the a.m. and Epcot around 4, for dinner/ Illuminations/ whatever rides to fit in.

Tuesday is MK all day, Wednesday is AK all day, and Thursday is Epcot first then either MK or AK afternoon/evening. Friday is a.m. rest day, HS in afternoon, and Saturday (last day) is MK all day.

I can't decide if 2 days of park hopping (Day 1 Monday and Day 4 Thursday) will exhaust my family and is worth the transit time from park to park. Kids are 6 & 10.

Pros of 2 parks on day 1- if MK is crowded, we can escape plus check out Illuminations
Cons: Transit time, we're limited to day-of FP availability at Epcot
Pros of 2 parks on Day 4: We can FP Frozen that morning, and since we'll already have seen Illuminations on Day 1, go to MK or AK that evening for something different.
Cons: Transit, does it make FP kind of a nightmare

Only reason I'm trying to figure this out now is because it impacts ADRs which I can make in May. Any input?

 

[JChoma]

Thanks so much for the advice. I think we'll plan to hop at least 2 days, maybe more!

 

[Plowboy]

Thanks so much for the advice. I think we'll plan to hop at least 2 days, maybe more!

A day without hopping is like a day without sunshine!

 

[networkpro]

A Day without hopping is limiting you possibilities and underestimating the fickle nature of crowds in different parts.

 

[GVentola]

Although park hopping between two parks is quite reasonable, if you try to hit three or four parks, you might get heat exhaustion if you don't pace yourselves. The first time I tried to hit all the parks in one day, I ended up with a severe headache and nausea. But I need to explain, I only park hop as a fun challenge, since I'm a passholder and have no pressing need to, as a vacationing guest might have. Just make sure to take breaks and above all, stay hydrated!

 

[Marianm]

I think it depends how close you're staying to the parks. If you're staying at one of the monorail hotels or an Epcot area hotel in walking distance to the parks, than it's worth it IMO. We stay at Contemporary and get the hoppers because we always end up at MK in the mornings or night since we're in walking distance.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We hop pretty much every day of our trip there, splitting between 2 parks daily, it's no more exhausting than all day in one park. We also take a midday break back at our resort.

We do exactly the same thing, and it works beautifully (especially since, for us, MK is a 2.5 day park, HS is a .5 day park, and Epcot is a 1.5 day park, and a mid-day nap is a must, so we tend to plan our entire itinerary not in full days, but in half-days)!

 

[19FW72]

I did 4 Parks in 1 day My feet Hurt.

 

[MickeyMomV]

We tend to hop every trip. We will start the day at one park and finish at another. We tend to hit the hotel during the afternoon heat when the park attendance is at their heaviest. We always hit EMH's so even with a 3-4 hour break we still get to spend 12-13 hours in the parks.

 

[NormC]

We hop every trip. We have hit every park in a day before although it was just to do something specific in each park or buy something the kids wanted.

 

[bub72ck]

My wife and I went without our son last year and I opted for the hopper passes on that trip. The only reason it was more exhausting than normal was that we stayed out later. When the little one gets a little bigger, we will probably get hopper passes for every trip but right now one park per day works well for us. I really did enjoy the ability to be spontaneous and go a different park at different times of the day but I am fine going to one park per day right now.

 

[virgo7598]

We did Magic Kingdom/Animal Kingdom one day and Epcot/Hollywood Studios the next. It ended up being perfect for us. Transportation between the parks was smooth and took less than an hour.

 

[iluvMainStMagic]

If you use the express transport option, you still need to have park hoppers.

Oh sorry, I meant if they don't take a mid-day break. I didn't realize it read like they could use the express transport without a park hopper, I do know that they would have to have that in order to enter a second park that day. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Stevek]

We did it first trip, have chosen not to utilize it in any of the following 3 trips. I'm not sure if exhausting is the right word for us but it was just more convenient for us to stick to one park per day.

 

[John C. Shepherd]

I dont think it is anymore then all day one park. We use it to go to one park in the morning and come back to get another one in in the afternoon/evening.

 

[JillC LI]

Hopping just gives you flexibility. It is no more or less exhausting than not hopping, depending on your touring style. if you are concerned about getting FPs in the second park, then go early to the first park and do it all standby reserving your FPs for the second park.

 

[KappleB2]

I actually find I get some rest while hopping to the next place! I try to hop between Epcot and HS and ride the boat in between. Good people watching and a nice relaxing ride. Not the fastest, but fun! And the monorail between MK and EP is fun too!

 

[DisneyDaver]

I'm planning a trip 11/27-12/3. This is our first trip with park hopper tickets (which we bought to get FD). On our first day, Monday 11/27, crowds are looking high (although it's early to know for sure). I'm thinking of going to MK in the a.m. and Epcot around 4, for dinner/ Illuminations/ whatever rides to fit in.

Tuesday is MK all day, Wednesday is AK all day, and Thursday is Epcot first then either MK or AK afternoon/evening. Friday is a.m. rest day, HS in afternoon, and Saturday (last day) is MK all day.

I can't decide if 2 days of park hopping (Day 1 Monday and Day 4 Thursday) will exhaust my family and is worth the transit time from park to park. Kids are 6 & 10.

Pros of 2 parks on day 1- if MK is crowded, we can escape plus check out Illuminations
Cons: Transit time, we're limited to day-of FP availability at Epcot
Pros of 2 parks on Day 4: We can FP Frozen that morning, and since we'll already have seen Illuminations on Day 1, go to MK or AK that evening for something different.
Cons: Transit, does it make FP kind of a nightmare

Only reason I'm trying to figure this out now is because it impacts ADRs which I can make in May. Any input?

I park hopped a few years ago with my 3 nieces and nephews (ages 5, 7 and 10 at the time). We did a bit of park hopping. One day we went to MK in the morning, back to the resort for a break in the afternoon, and then dinner and Illuminations at Epcot in the evening. It was a full day and tiring, but lots of fun. I think 2 days of park hopping during your trip will be fine. I wouldn't suggest doing it every day though.

 

[Jeff456]

I don't usually hop at the start of a trip spending full days in each park in turn, hop more towards the end when I can be more selective about rides, I don't personally find it exhausting as others have pointed out bag checks are a little frustrating. On the last day we are going to try and hit all 4 parks, not something I've done before!

 

[zero creativity]

I think it depends how close you're staying to the parks. If you're staying at one of the monorail hotels or an Epcot area hotel in walking distance to the parks, than it's worth it IMO. We stay at Contemporary and get the hoppers because we always end up at MK in the mornings or night since we're in walking distance.

This is definitely important. We stayed at the Contemporary and on a couple of nights doing the other parks we were able to go back to MK really easily for a little bit without having to worry about transportation time. It also depends on your ADRs, doing Chef Mickeys or Ohana on a day you plan to be in MK.
But we hop all the time. Just gives options

 

[biggsworth]

Park hopping is essential to our enjoyment. We usually start in one par take a lunch break end up at another park in the evening. I tire of staying in one park all day. Also sometimes you get to a prk and it feels mre crowded than it should be and we often will go somewhere else as well.