Park Hopper Question

[Frogglet]

I'm getting nervous about planning one park per day tickets and would like some advice from people that have done it before. Our trip is planned for April 4th-10th with our family of 4, parents and 2 girls (Almost 3 & 7). My husband and I have only been once before and that was 17 years ago. We had Park Hopper tickets then and enjoyed the freedom but that was before all of the advance fast pass business and I know things have really changed.
I have heard people say that it is hard to switch parks with kids and we will have a stroller but I have also heard people say to take a mid day break back at your resort, so why is that easier than changing parks? I guess the worry comes from really wanting to make this trip something that my daughters enjoy and what if I have an Epcot day planned with an early lunch ADR but we really want another afternoon at MK? Do many people ever regret not getting the Park Hopper option or feel pressure to use it if the get it?
Thanks in advance.

 

[rob0519]

We've never traveled with small children, but our son is in a wheelchair, which is sort of like a stroller in that it has wheels and needs to be taken along. We've never used anything but park hoppers for the very reason that we may want to split the parks up based on crowds, what we want to do, ADRs, etc. Also, MK usually stays open later than the other parks, but with small children that may not be something you would be interested in. I'm not sure how more park hoppers cost, but if its not terribly much, they may be worth it.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

We (DH and I, no kids) have done park touring both with and without the hopper option.
We've done trips where we decided to simply spend the whole day at each park, eat there, do everything we want/can, and enjoy the settling that comes from knowing we aren't leaving til we're ready to pack it in. That's peaceful for us. With the hopper on trips, we planned to split some days mostly for dining purposes or we wanted to only do a half day at one and spend the night at another.
It all depends on what you decide is best for your kids and family and how long you want to spend at each park each day. There's pros and cons to both choices.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you can always go to Guest Relations and add the hopper options onto your tickets at any point in time. So say for example you don't want to spend the money to have it on all your tickets for all your trip days from the start because you're looking to only hop towards the end of your trip, you can wait to add it.

 

[Minnie Mum]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you can always go to Guest Relations and add the hopper options onto your tickets at any point in time. So say for example you don't want to spend the money to have it on all your tickets for all your trip days from the start because you're looking to only hop towards the end of your trip, you can wait to add it.

With most regular tickets you CAN add the hopper at any point in your stay, provided you still have a day left on your ticket. But the price to add the PH option will be the same, whether you add it at the beginning or end of the trip.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

With most regular tickets you CAN add the hopper at any point in your stay, provided you still have a day left on your ticket. But the price to add the PH option will be the same, whether you add it at the beginning or end of the trip.

That would make sense...I was hopeful it would be cheaper! Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Frogglet]

Thanks, now just to decided if we should get it in advance or just wait and decide if we need it.

 

[Rsj88]

As a Mom of two boys (1 and 7), we always buy hoppers. Granted, it was much easier to hop before we had kids and this year will be the first time with 2 (6 days!!! Yay!) but we really enjoy the flexibility. And it is very worth it to us! I like to be able to hop to whichever park is having late magic hours. The kids will often fall asleep in the stroller and we can take turns riding the roller coasters or go shopping. We also don't usually go back to the hotel mid day either. We usually only go for five days so we try to fit as much in as possible. So, that means some trips we only do half days in HS or AK. We find it's just as relaxing to ride the monoral loop a few times or catch a long show while the kids nap in the stroller. It's a whole new experience going with kids. Go slow and enjoy seeing the park through your kids eyes! Oh and make sure you take lots of snacks! Food every two hours or so did wonders for preventing meltdowns (also helpful for tired adults) !

 

[Lisa Boisjoli]

I think that it really depends on what your plans are. How many days are you going to be at the parks? If you are buying a 7 day ticket with no park hopper then you will have no problems revisiting your favourite parks. When my family goes to WDW, we usually do 1 day at each park, with an additional day at MK because it is our favourite. Our last trip, we also did an additional night at MK just to see the parade and fireworks.

 

[JIMINYCR]

We always get the PH because we like the freedom it gives us , not being locked into a park on any day. Like has been mentioned above, if we find a park is overly crowded we can move on or if we finish doing what we want in one park and decide to go to another for other thrills we have the option to do so. There have been times we planned on going to one park for the day but dine in another later that evening. So its all about being free to alter plans or change things up. Going during weeks that crowd numbers are unknown or higher can makes PH more valuable to you. The value comes as long as you get the benefit of using them. Weve never had any issue using them other than having to wait for Disney transportation and going through security bag checks a second time.

 

[Raegansmommy]

We took our daughter when she was 18 months and 2 1/2, and had the park hopper both times. I didn't really find that we ever used it, except maybe to hit Wishes when we went to a different park during the day. This time, I didn't get the park hopper, we just did the 5 day park tickets. It saved us close to $300 and this will be the first time we have gone back and my daughter's are 8 and 5 now. Last time we were there we were limited to what we could ride together, so this time we will be able to do a lot more rides. I didn't want to feel rushed to have to hurry up to leave one park to make it to another. We only plan to do Wishes, so for us the park hopper really isn't needed, at least I think We won't have a stroller this trip, but have the option to take a break during the day and go back to the park later.

 

[LeighM]

My husband and I don't have any children and we always get the park hopper because it gives us more flexibility on dining reservations. Also, we like to start the day in one park but then hop over to the ones that have evening extra magic hours. My friend recently went with her two children, one in a wheelchair, and they did not have park hoppers. It was their first time there so they spent all day in one park to explore everything. She said next time she would like to try the hoppers so they could go to another park to eat.

 

[Ted Daggett]

When my children were younger (13, 10 and 7 now), they liked MK better than the other 3 parks. So we would get a park hopper and go to EPCOT, DHS and DAK, until the kids got bored there, and then go back to MK for late afternoon / evening. We typically stay at the POLY, so the convenience to MK made it easier to benefit from the Park Hopper. What resort are you staying in?

Now that my kids are older, they seem to enjoy the other parks as much as MK, and the park hopper is not as much of a necessity. We are going in December and staying at OKW. I did not get the hopper for this trip, since OKW is not on the MK loop, and I thought it would be too much of a hassle to get from OKW to DAK, then DAK to MK, and then MK to OKW... seems like a lot of traveling and wasted time that could be spent at the parks.

The only benefit of park hopper for us now would be to go to a restaurant in a different park. You could go to MK during the day, and then park hop over to Epcot for dinner... If you are staying at an EPCOT resort, then this would be a good reason to get the hopper.

 

[Mickey5150]

Park Hopper is really important right now with the condition of DHS. With so much construction DHS is just a half day park. To me, Epcot and DHS are 1 park with a boat ride in between. Also even going for a full day AK may not be open past 6 or 7pm and if you aren't ready to end your day then you will want a park hopper. One of my favorite uses for park hopping is when MK and DHS have extra magic hours. I get fastpasses for Epcot midday and then do morning extra magic, then head to epcot, then head to the other park for night time extra magic.

 

[MickeyMomV]

We always do the park hopper. We typically hit rope drop at one park and will be there till about lunch time then we head back to the hotel for a few hours. The period between lunch and dinner seems to be the time the parks are at their busiest and is a good time to go relax for a bit. Keep it mind that it is good for the kids to have some down time but the parents also need a break from some of the other park guests(there are only so many times I can get hit by a stroller or wheel chair or motorized scooter before I hit a breaking point). Once we are refreshed we will go back to a different park at night and close it down. We typically will end at MK most days as they typically stay open later than all the other parks.

On a side note your 3 and 7 year olds will have different touring capabilities. It may be pretty cool to have a late night trip with Mommy/daughter or Daddy/daughter to MK. She will always remember the one on one time.

 

[Frogglet]

Thanks All I went ahead and added the park hopper.

On a side note your 3 and 7 year olds will have different touring capabilities. It may be pretty cool to have a late night trip with Mommy/daughter or Daddy/daughter to MK. She will always remember the one on one time.

Great suggestion! She would love that.

 

[jaklgreen]

We have been travelling yearly to WDW with our girls since they were 1&2 years old(now are 14&15). We always get park hoppers. Never regretted it We like the freedom to move around and go eat at different parks, etc. The last thing you want to do is be "stuck" at a super busy park or just feel like you are done there and want to move on. Especially at HS or AK.

 

[s&k'smom]

With a small child park hopper might be the way to go and I say that because we are huge fans of the mid afternoon break. Even though my babies are now a teen and young adult they look forward to spending time at the pool. I assume you are staying at a WDW so they can add the park hopper I believe at the front desk. We added a day at typhoon lagoon ourselves last year.