Didn't Get the Park Hopper Tickets

Professor_Jason

Professor_Jason

Active Member
I decided since this our first trip I opted not to get the Park Hoppers, we're going to dedicate two full at Magic Kingdom and Epcot each and be there from opening to closing and spend a day at Studios and save Animal Kingdom for our next trip so there's a whole new Park to explore when we go back. Has anybody else done an agenda like this for their first trip?
 
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officialtom

officialtom

Well-Known Member
We never get the park hopper. We're able to find enough to do in all the parks to do full days at HK and HS, and 2-3 full days each at MK and Epcot. We're fans of slowing down a bit and taking in all the sights, sounds, smells ... taking a deep breath and watching the world go by. It's a vacation, not a marathon!
 
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Professor_Jason

Professor_Jason

Active Member
Original Poster
officialtom said:
We never get the park hopper. We're able to find enough to do in all the parks to do full days at HK and HS, and 2-3 full days each at MK and Epcot. We're fans of slowing down a bit and taking in all the sights, sounds, smells ... taking a deep breath and watching the world go by. It's a vacation, not a marathon!
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Good to hear! Our goal is to go slow and just enjoy it all without being rushed and really get into the experience
 
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epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
We quit hopping years ago. Slowing down and enjoying the experience, instead of rushing and trying to do as much as possible, makes for a much more enjoyable experience. And Animal Kingdom is a great experience...be sure to give it two days on your return trip.
 
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stevehousse

stevehousse

Well-Known Member
We never get park hoppers anyway, but if it's your first visit I wouldn't recommend it. Also, it's ok that you are skipping AK. As beautiful and awesome of s park it is, it is a massive construction zone every which way throughout the entire park! Wait to see it when it's finished in 2017!
 
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belledream

belledream

Well-Known Member
We never park hop either. We like to fully immerse ourselves in each unique world. I get the appeal of having something brand-new to look forward to on a future trip, but I could never skip any of the four parks even though I've been to all of them so many times. It just completes the experience!
 
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SAV

SAV

Well-Known Member
We had gotten the hopper the first 2 trips and never hopped, so it was wasted money. We've been many times and we still don't get the hoppers. There is plenty to do in each park.

Myself, I would never skip Animal Kingdom on any visit since it is one of my favorite parks. Especially being your first time, you should give it a try. I'd try to do all 4 parks on your first 4 days and then go back to the ones you like. I know that the whole FP+ planning is a bit of a pain this way, but last trip I rearranged my last 3 days on the fly and the only thing I couldn't get was 7DMT(didn't try for A&E).
 
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Horizons '83

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
officialtom said:
We never get the park hopper. We're able to find enough to do in all the parks to do full days at HK and HS, and 2-3 full days each at MK and Epcot. We're fans of slowing down a bit and taking in all the sights, sounds, smells ... taking a deep breath and watching the world go by. It's a vacation, not a marathon!
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I wish I had that mentality but for me and my wife we try to do as much as we can in the time allotted so Park Hopper is a must. We usually only have 2 days max so we really try to get as much bang for our buck when we go to parks. (I guess its up to the individual to decide what is bang for your buck, spending all day checking out one park or seeing most of the 3 or 4 parks)
 
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Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
I usually use the park hopper option once or twice per trip. I use it to catch shows that I might have missed other nights. I don't know how many Fantasmic showings I've been to that have been closed due to weather.
 
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jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
We always get hoppers. Now that my kids are older especially. One of the reasons is we stay up late and usually go to evening extra magic hours even if we did not spend the day at that park. We like to go when MK is open past midnight. Also like to option to leave that park if for some reason it is really busy. But we always stay for at least 8 night and I have been there over 30 times in the last 20 years so our touring is going to be different then someone's first time. I would just check the park schedule to make sure you avoid busier days at the park and plan your days before you go.
 
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draybook

draybook

Well-Known Member
Our first trip consisted of 3 days at the Magic Kingdom, one day each at Studios and Animal Kingdom, and we skipped Epcot. We've never got park hoppers either, but we did upgrade to AP's last year and we're renewing this year.
 
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Tinkerbella16

Tinkerbella16

Well-Known Member
You can definitely go with that plan and be fine. I do agree with the previous poster about AK- it is a stunning park, we wouldn't skip it.. but we also don't dedicate a full day to it.. we usually like to take it slow that day and arrive there in the afternoon, have our FP's set for the afternoo and have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Yak & Yeti and leave after since the park closes early. Park hoppers aren't for everyones style of touring.. For some people like us they are great. We take afternoon breaks, so we like to do one park at opening, take that midday break and have dinner at another park or just do whatever park has evening EMH and stay until closing.. it is just what works for us, having that little bit of freedom to go to any park on any day on a whim is what makes PH's worth it since we don't do one park from opening to closing. MK and Epcot are my two favorite parks, so that is good having more dedicated time for those.. Epcot may not have a ton of rides, but there is so much to see and do there. :)
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Yes, you are smart to avoid park hoppers for the first trip. You will have enough to do, to explore, that you wont have to spend the extra on those. After you have been a time or two then you would be in a better place to start with the hopper option. We now park hop a lot so its worth doing for us at this stage because we do get our moneys worth.
Two days at MK, a day at DHS... good. If I was going for your length of time, I might just do one at EP and go to AK the other, just because I wouldnt want to go without doing all 4 parks once. If you do avoid AK this time, then you have the Avatarland expansion to look forward to on a return trip. Thats the beauty of return trips... theres always something different to look forward to doing next time.
 
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