Need Advice to hopper or Not?

K

Kcnolan21

New Member
So, this is our first time going to Disney. We are travelling Sept 16-23rd. We are not staying on Property. My DH, 2DS (23 and 13) and my son's girlfriend. Obviously the adult children will not be hanging with us much, as they have their own agenda. However, for my younger son, husband and myself I was debating on whether to get the park hopper or not? My tentative Plans..

Saturday - Arriving Late no parks
Sunday - HS (ADR for Sci-Fi)
Monday - MK -Rope Drop (ADR - Whispering Canyon) (ADR 8pm - O'hana)
Tuesday - Sleep in/pool day - 4pm MNSSHP
Wednesday - Epcot
Thursday - AK (ADR - Rainforest)
Friday - Sleep in - Pool Day - Disney Springs Later
Saturday - Home

Do you think for the days in HS or AK that we would have time to head to another park? Or do you just take your time through those parks and rest at night?
 
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D

Driver

Well-Known Member
Kcnolan21 said:
So, this is our first time going to Disney. We are travelling Sept 16-23rd. We are not staying on Property. My DH, 2DS (23 and 13) and my son's girlfriend. Obviously the adult children will not be hanging with us much, as they have their own agenda. However, for my younger son, husband and myself I was debating on whether to get the park hopper or not? My tentative Plans..

Saturday - Arriving Late no parks
Sunday - HS (ADR for Sci-Fi)
Monday - MK -Rope Drop (ADR - Whispering Canyon) (ADR 8pm - O'hana)
Tuesday - Sleep in/pool day - 4pm MNSSHP
Wednesday - Epcot
Thursday - AK (ADR - Rainforest)
Friday - Sleep in - Pool Day - Disney Springs Later
Saturday - Home

Do you think for the days in HS or AK that we would have time to head to another park? Or do you just take your time through those parks and rest at night?
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AK is an all day especially with Pandora..... HS you can stretch a day out of it if you look in all the nooks and crannies. And you say it's your first trip, I'd say no park hopper. It's a pricey add on and Sept. is still hot! Take a mid day break go back to the room/pool shower take a nap go back late day when it's a little cooler and your refreshed. my 2 cents!
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
I would say no to park hopping. It can be tiring and time consuming. Just enjoy soaking up the atmosphere in each of the parks, even if you've "done everything". You can always take a boat ride/walk to Boardwalk on your HS day if you feel you want to see something new outside the park.
 
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DisneyPrincess5

DisneyPrincess5

Well-Known Member
Hah what a coincidence..DH and I were just planning for our next trip and we decided that on our HS and AK days, one we will do the pool and resort TS meal that night and the other we will do a monorail crawl to explore around the resorts via the monorail and eat at one of the QS spots there. This saves the money for the hopper and gets us doing other fun and different things. Nice and relaxing!
 
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Monty

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
I always suggest not getting Hopper unless you find you need it while you're there. If you're in a park and your favourite rides go down, it can be worth hopping. The good aspect of Hopper is you can add it at any point in your trip and the add-on costs the same amount as if you bought it in advance.

The parks can each comfortably fill your day. If you have energy left, there's Disney Springs or relaxing at your resort.
 
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D

Driver

Well-Known Member
DisneyPrincess5 said:
Hah what a coincidence..DH and I were just planning for our next trip and we decided that on our HS and AK days, one we will do the pool and resort TS meal that night and the other we will do a monorail crawl to explore around the resorts via the monorail and eat at one of the QS spots there. This saves the money for the hopper and gets us doing other fun and different things. Nice and relaxing!
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Yes monorail crawl and resort exploring is fun for us as well. Toward evenings many of the resorts have some form of entertainment going on. We find relaxing to sit and take it in. AK lodge for example has night vision goggles and typically there is a guide posted out there that will point out the animals for you to look at.
 
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M

Minnie Mum

Well-Known Member
For a first visit there's no need for PHs. There's more than enough to see and do. Especially since you've only allocated one day at each park. If you were there for longer than a week, it might come in handy. DH and I typically stay for 10 days and rarely get PHs.
 
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Minnesota disney fan

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
I guess I am going to be the one dissenting voice for PH's :)
We always get PH's but it fits the way we tour.
I think the important thing to consider is how do you like to tour? I know even the best plans: ie: sleep in one am, pool, etc, don't always work out. So, for us, we love the flexibility of park hopping. We like to have a plan for the AM at one park, go back and rest, and Then pick where we want to go. Can't imagine not being able to go where we want when we want. Plans change all the time and the planned park, activity might not work out for you. I just like the option. It costs $159 for the 2 of us (adults), and we feel it is well worth it for our 9 day trips.
But like I said, it all depends on your touring style. You can add them on any time during your trip. It will be wonderful whatever you choose to do:)
 
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NeedMoreMickey

NeedMoreMickey

Well-Known Member
We have AP so we park hop sometimes just to see the nightly fireworks show. Wondering about you Monday plans. With only one day per park taking time for two ADR and both are out of the MK you will be spending extra time traveling and you will miss the HEA at MK with the 8:00 ADR. Fine if that's what you want to do just thought I'd throw it out there in case you want to make any changes.
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
With this being your very first trip... I'd say NO. Youll have plenty of things to experience and try out your first time around. On future trips once youve been back several times and have had more experience, then it would be worth having. This first time you should all take it slow, take in all the details, get to know whats available and what you enjoy on property.
 
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Worldlover71

Worldlover71

Well-Known Member
I agree that you should skip the hoppers on your first trip. You will find plenty to do without them. I also agree with NeedMoreMickey that you should drop at least one of the ADRs on your MK day. MK has more attractions and entertainment than the other parks and will more than fill your day. My suggestion is to have a late lunch at Whispering Canyon on Tuesday before going to MNSSHP. That way you don't have to use precious party time in a restaurant.
 
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Marianm

Marianm

Well-Known Member
I'm for the hopper. But I think it depends where you're staying. If you're at a magic kingdom resort or an Epcot resort in walking distance I say yes. We stay at CR and always walk to the MK daily
 
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S

Souvenir

Well-Known Member
Since OP is staying off property, I vote no to park hopper. We always get it (or have annual passes) because we generally stay at either Boardwalk, Beach, or Yacht and therefore walk into Epcot every day for some reason or another such as grabbing breakfast from Les Halles or walking to the front to take the monorail to MK. If we weren't staying on property I can't see hopping as something we'd do. Long ago we got it for an offsite stay and we only used it once. That was because we went to Typhoon Lagoon and the day ended up too cold to stay long. Like others have mentioned, if you do end up wanting it, it's easy and no more costly to add it at the gate on the day the need arises.
 
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K

Kcnolan21

New Member
Original Poster
NeedMoreMickey said:
We have AP so we park hop sometimes just to see the nightly fireworks show. Wondering about you Monday plans. With only one day per park taking time for two ADR and both are out of the MK you will be spending extra time traveling and you will miss the HEA at MK with the 8:00 ADR. Fine if that's what you want to do just thought I'd throw it out there in case you want to make any changes.
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I wondered about Monday also however I thought we could use a break midday and head out of the park for lunch and downtime and then head back after lunch continue on the day until our late night Ohanna ADR where I thought we are able to see HEA. My son is fearful of fireworks so I thought it would be a good comprise for the rest of the family? Again, new at this, so maybe I should reconsider leaving the park to eat? ...again on the other hand my kids and hubby are hunters and fishing guys so I thought they would enjoy the wilderness lodge? What to do, what to do?
 
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S

Souvenir

Well-Known Member
Kcnolan21 said:
I wondered about Monday also however I thought we could use a break midday and head out of the park for lunch and downtime and then head back after lunch continue on the day until our late night Ohanna ADR where I thought we are able to see HEA. My son is fearful of fireworks so I thought it would be a good comprise for the rest of the family? Again, new at this, so maybe I should reconsider leaving the park to eat? ...again on the other hand my kids and hubby are hunters and fishing guys so I thought they would enjoy the wilderness lodge? What to do, what to do?
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It's going to take time to travel back and forth to the Wilderness Lodge, plus you'll have to go through bag check and security a second time. That said, since you're planning to arrive at rope drop, you'll cover a lot of ground in the morning. I don't necessarily see your current plan as a bad one. Park Commandos will disagree because they tend to see anything other than going from one park attraction to the next as a waste of time. I like table service meals and I like visiting the resorts so to me your plan sounds like fun. Also- since you're going to MNSSHP the following day you'll have another chance to spend time at Magic Kingdom.

For the fireworks, while it is true that they can be seen from the beach at the Polynesian, not many of the tables in 'Ohana have a view of them. I agree with you though that if your child is scared of fireworks, you do not want to be in the park.
 
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H

hanwill

Well-Known Member
I would also say no to the park hopper, but not for the reason others have stated.... They are expensive, and I personally think it is strange to enter a park for the first time later in the day. It's a weird vibe and I feel like there's been a party going on for hours and I have missed out on it... I know it's weird, but that's my sentiment...

Plan for some rest- that may be the hardest thing to do because there is so much to do! Have fun!
 
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