Is Park Hopper Worth the Extra Cost?

[disneyfireman]

Imho. Not at all. One park per day and you will do more and that’s just a fact. We open and close whatever park we choose that day.

 

[Ted Daggett]

In the past we have had the park hopper, but mostly due to the requirement for free dining. When we stay at POLY, the park hopper is great, because we would go to the AK, DHS or EPCOT in the morning and afternoon, and then always find ourselves at MK in the evening prior to heading back to POLY. Especially with little kids, that loved MK much more than the other 3. Also, if you are at Beach or Yacht Club or Boardwalk, it would be nice to go to any park, and then always eat dinner in EPCOT.

Now, the price is so high for the hopper, I don't think it is worth it, especially with the time and effort needed to switch from one park to another (and MK closing early many nights in Fall and December due to Halloween and Christmas parties).

Although it requires more planning if you are trying to get an ADR in a park, you will need to be in that park all day.
Like others have said, it depends on your situation. If you have tons of $, then definitely get the hopper, because it gives you more options, otherwise, plan out your trip and see if the price is worth the benefit.

 

[homerdance]

We used to always get the hopper, the last few trips though, we did not get it and didn't miss it. I think there was maybe 2 times for the entire trips we missed having it.

And with the security like it is now, hopping isn't as easy as it used to be, in my view. If they still had the behind the scenes bus then 100% yes, but likely you are asking, no, it isn't worth it.

 

[JustAFan]

Imho. Not at all. One park per day and you will do more and that’s just a fact. We open and close whatever park we choose that day.

Interesting opinion. No disrespect, but I would argue that this is absolutely not a fact. I guess it depends on what you set out to do though. I can't imagine getting to all of MK in one day.

 

[disneyfireman]

Interesting opinion. No disrespect, but I would argue that this is absolutely not a fact. I guess it depends on what you set out to do though. I can't imagine getting to all of MK in one day.

Oh you can’t do all of MK in one day. Really it takes what 3 days to really do MK. I meant we only do one park per day. But we will do MK 3 times on any given vacation. It just saves time to not waste it going from park to park. Etc. We plan everything knowing exactly what park we are visiting each day of vacation. IE. Sunday is always animal kingdom day. Etc. However. Doing only one park per day and not hopping is more efficient than going from one to another.

 

[danyoung56]

I'm an old duffer who just about HAS to go back to my hotel mid-day for a nap. So it makes sense to visit one park in the morning and then another one in the evening. I usually buy an AP, and then try to get 3 visits out of it, making it very much worth it.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Let me add this; do park hours make a difference in your judgment? If they're only open for 12 hours, I feel like i'd be able to power through a whole day at one park. But if it was longer than you might do one park in the morning afternoon, head to the hotel for a nap, then spend the rest of the night at a different park. I can see that working on a 11 - 12 hour day too BUT it does use up time.

 

[me_stitch]

if you've been numerous times I'd say Park Hoppers are a must, I might just go to HS to hit 3 rides and then spend the rest of the day at Epcot or MK. I also avoid the parks with EMH during the day and then hit them at night because their open late so Park Hoppers come in handy.

 

[JustAFan]

Oh you can’t do all of MK in one day. Really it takes what 3 days to really do MK. I meant we only do one park per day. But we will do MK 3 times on any given vacation. It just saves time to not waste it going from park to park. Etc. We plan everything knowing exactly what park we are visiting each day of vacation. IE. Sunday is always animal kingdom day. Etc. However. Doing only one park per day and not hopping is more efficient than going from one to another.

Ah ... gotcha. Yes, hopping is not efficient. Not only travel time, but just getting out of one park and through security and scanning in to enter the next.

 

[Chef Mickey]

There are a lot of points to debate, but at the end of the day, it's a resounding YES in pretty much every scenario.

 

[FettFan]

Short and simple; seeing that the parks are open for only 11 - 12 hours a day, if you're trying to maximize your time is it worth the extra cost to buy a park hopper ticket(s)? What do you normally do when you visit?

I like it, because I like the feeling of freedom it gives me. I'm not "Locked In" to visiting just one park one day.

 

[chrisbarry]

I can't imagine not having a Park Hopper. Always have and always will. Completely worth the $$

 

[danyoung56]

...... you might do one park in the morning afternoon, head to the hotel for a nap, then spend the rest of the night at a different park. I can see that working on a 11 - 12 hour day too BUT it does use up time.

Back when I was a kid about a hundred years ago I could go from rope drop to park close, couldn't see it any other way. Now, around noon or 1pm, it's time to head back to the room for a rest. I'd hate to be in the MK when it closes at 5 or 6 and NOT be able to jump to another park for the rest of the evening.

 

[Durfish]

For Military it's a no-brainer. Armed Forces Salute 4- or 5-day passes for 2019 are $313 and $334 each (respectively) and include park-hopper. Limit of six tickets per year per service member/spouse, and the military ID holder must be there when tickets are first used.

 

[LaughingGravy]

Time per dollar wise, IMO park hoppers are not worth the extra cost if you are using Disney transportation. If you have tour own car, though it's better. It also depends on how many in your party. If 1 or 2 of you, yeah, but for a family of 4, that's a big wallet hit. We asso always go opening to closing (time per dollar, you know )

 

[aliceismad]

Back when I was a kid about a hundred years ago I could go from rope drop to park close, couldn't see it any other way. Now, around noon or 1pm, it's time to head back to the room for a rest. I'd hate to be in the MK when it closes at 5 or 6 and NOT be able to jump to another park for the rest of the evening.

Agreed. I could pretty easily do open to close if I wanted, but it'd only be fun for about 2 days. It's just so much on the feet. And the getting up early. (I hate East Coast time.) I enjoy it more if we take a more leisurely pace.

 

[JillC LI]

I should add that we've sometimes "had" to get parkhoppers even when we didn't plan on doing so otherwise, in order to eligible for things like "free" dining, etc. -- so long as the added benefit compensated for the increased cost. In those cases, it's been a nice plus -- but not so nice that we've ever said to ourselves, "this is a must-have from now on."

We did this on our last trip to get free dining. We like having the dining plan, and by adding parkhoppers, we saved $700 and had both the dining plan and park hopper passes. We only used them one day but it was worth it regardless because we would have bought the dining plan anyway. (Yes, for the benefit of any other posters, I know all the arguments about the dining plan not being worth it, but it works for our family, so this was a cost-saver.) For our earliest trips we always insisted on (and appreciated) having parkhopper tickets, but nowadays, we're fine with one park per day.

 

[righttrack]

Another reason the park hopper seems to be popular with us is that we do go longer than most people. Sometimes only one park is an option for later in the evening, usually Magic Kingdom. Without the park hopper we would have a lot of early nights.

 

[rwdavis2]

The long - and short - answer is "it depends."

Personally, I love the freedom to come and go as I want. Though on shorter trips, it's perhaps not worth it (where you have say, one day/park).

I agree with this. On our last 5 day trip we ended up not using it. For 8 days we used it almost every day. Fro breaks during the day, lunch outside of a park. We stayed at BWI and visiting a park most of day, having dinner somewhere, and then finishing at Epcot worked very well.

 

[Andrew M]

The long - and short - answer is "it depends."

Personally, I love the freedom to come and go as I want. Though on shorter trips, it's perhaps not worth it (where you have say, one day/park).

Completely agree. For longer trips knowing you can go back to a park for a few hours to do something you missed is worth it. Or for spending a day in one park and eating dinner in Epcot.