Is the "park hopper" option worth the cost?

[Buckeye]

I am in the process of planning my family's 2009 trip to WDW. Originally, I was going to get the Magic Your Way Premium passes. However, the Park Hopping option and the Water Parks and More option both add $50 per person to the package cost. I'm OK with the $50 for the water parks as we will probably go to them twice during the trip. Therefore, it is a bargain. My problem is deciding whether or not the park hopping option is worth $200. I like the flexibility it provides, but maybe that money would be better spent elsewhere.

What are your thoughts on the Park Hopper option?

 

[Buckeye]

Thanks, I really appreciate all of you sharing your thoughts. It is very helpful. How late can you add the option to your tickets? Can you do it when you are at the resort? I couldn't imagine them turning away $$$$....

 

[gettingsmaller]

Well, I've stood on this soapbox before...
For my family of 5 (me, wife, kids--5,7,9), going in a relatively slow time (Sept), being a family that goes to the park from open to close, AND going for 12 days, a park hopper would have been wasted money. We saw enough of the buses as it was. It never seemed necessary or appealing to walk all the way to the front of one park, spend time waiting for buses, unload at another park, and walk all the way to some attraction. That just seemed like wasted time and energy for us.

We DID have the Water Park option, and used that a couple of times to "hop" from a water park to one of the big four. Of course, I did extensive planning to decide what days we would be where, and got ADRs for the right places on those days. You know what? Unless you go there often, you NEED to plan--and you really need your ADRs to be at whatever park you are in (unless you enjoy spending an hour leaving one park, getting to another, and making your way to the restaurant). Sure, if you get to go several times a year, you may not be as "commando" as we are (who have only been 3 times and had 1 to 2 years between each time), but if you really want to make the most of your time, you need to plan, and skipping between parks can really be a waste of time.

I know, with a hopper, you can leave AK when it closes and still have 4 hours at Epcot... or you can leave DHS and still have a couple of hours at MK... But is it worth those $200? For $200, you could be in a value resort for 3 more nights and just go to the other parks on THOSE days.

Well, I guess I've rambled on enough... as people have pointed out (and I have tried), it really depends a lot on your specific situation, time of year you visit, etc.. I personally can find things other than hopping to do with my time and money, but you will hear from people here who swear by it as much as I swear against it...

 

[wannabeBelle]

You can do it at your resort once you actually get your park tickets in hand or you can do it at any Guest Relations locations within the parks. So for example say you are at EPCOT and you want to go to the Studios ( first time for park hopping within the trip) When you get to the Studios, go to the Guest Relations booth and add it on then!!!! Belle

 

[ToTBellHop]

Thanks, I really appreciate all of you sharing your thoughts. It is very helpful. How late can you add the option to your tickets? Can you do it when you are at the resort? I couldn't imagine them turning away $$$$....

you can actually add it at any time, even if you have already used a few days on your ticket. It's a flat rate to get the park hopper, so Disney doesn't care when you give them the money--they'll upgrade you on the spot. If you spend your first day in the parks w/o the park hopper and realize it's not working for you, go to guest relations and upgrade.

 

[TurboCaroline]

It never seemed necessary or appealing to walk all the way to the front of one park, spend time waiting for buses, unload at another park, and walk all the way to some attraction. That just seemed like wasted time and energy for us.

That is a very good point. My feet kill me every day that I am there so why add more walking when you don't have to...

 

[TurboCaroline]

duplicate post....

 

[Master Yoda]

Well, I've stood on this soapbox before...
For my family of 5 (me, wife, kids--5,7,9), going in a relatively slow time (Sept), being a family that goes to the park from open to close, AND going for 12 days, a park hopper would have been wasted money. We saw enough of the buses as it was. It never seemed necessary or appealing to walk all the way to the front of one park, spend time waiting for buses, unload at another park, and walk all the way to some attraction. That just seemed like wasted time and energy for us.

So very true. Most people do not realize that using Disney transportation it can easily take an hour or more to walk out of a park, hop a bus, go through security, and through the turnstiles of another park. I have found it much easier and more efficient to plan a full day at a single park vs. wasting an hour plus for each park hop.

 

[shoppingnut]

I have done it with and without and I can tell you it can be done with a little planning. I also noticed if you have little ones, you definitely can do without hopping, as staying in one park per day is better than dragging them from park to park.

 

[Edisto Pluto]

We always get it as well. if you have reservations for meals in several parks it makes planning a lot easier. It also allows for doing things on the fly.

 

[WDW 3]

We go for 10 days and always get the hopper and use it almost every day. Spend the AM in one park, take a little break and spend the PM in a different park. We don't have little kids and enjoy the EMHs.

 

[Skipper Dan]

One of the many reasons that I believe a "base ticket" should never be considered, is the fact that if your were to choose to stay for less than four days - which I do not suggest - and you were to miss an attraction due to an unexpected circumstance, you would probably not be able to visit this attraction again, because since there are four theme parks, you would most likely not want to sacrifice another day to that exact park, for one single attraction. Adding the “park hopper” option to your “Magic Your Way Ticket,” will enable you to attend each park, as many times as you desire, per day. So a “Magic Your Way Ticket” with the “park hopper” option - in my opinion - is absolutely crucial to having a wonderful Walt Disney World experience.

 

[hwdelien]

I used to always get the park hopper. Then do things like when Animal Kingdom closes head over to epcot, etc. Two years ago, we had a tight budget and didn't get the option. You know what, I didn't miss it. If you are going to the park for 4 days, 1 park 1 day is enough. If you are going less than 4 days, get the park hopper, at least you can catch the highlights of all of the parks.

 

[marcriss]

Until this year, we've always had AP's. When we purchased the MYW tickets I couldn't imagine not having the hopper option. The funny thing is that when Epcot opened and they still had paper passports, they were automatic hoppers. That's where the hand stamps came in.

We have 2 kids (6 & 2) and we are never in one park for more than a few hours. Between crowds and lines and the kids getting tired we would never last. So we always go one place early and somewhere else later. We spend many nights in Epcot having dinner and watching Illuminations. We go back to the hotel for the pool or just nap time and then head out again in the evening. We find it to be more relaxing then doing an all-day marathon in one park. And then you can plan your meals around evening magic hours.

 

[kasey1988]

I always get the hopper option. I find it nice to spend a morning in one park and have the option to go to another one. For example we dont find the water parks an all day park, so we finish after lunch and are able to head to another park for the evening. Its also nice if your at AK and it is closing at 5, you can goto the park that has EMH (possibly the MK, which was open till 1am my last trip)

 

[Susan Savia]

Although we have APs, having the park hopping option might come in handy. There are only two things we do when we go to AK (for example), ride the Safari and then Dinosaur and then we head out of AK and over to Epcot. Sometimes we like to park at Epcot early, ride the monorail to MK and catch our favorite things and leave before the parade and then spend some more time in Epcot. These are just a couple ideas.

 

[ThinkTink721]

I would suggest that if you are staying at least a week, it's not really worth it.

 

[epcotWSC]

I would suggest that if you are staying at least a week, it's not really worth it.

Not necessarily true.

I usually stay two weeks and get the park hopper. Why? Simple, I can get the parks done in less time. I can go through the parks in 5 days and then spend the rest of my time going to the water parks, hanging out by the pool, shopping, etc.

I'd say out of the 5 days that I go to the park, I use the park hopper at least once or twice.

I usually spend two days at Magic Kingdom, so that's why 5 days.

I personally don't spend too much time at Animal Kingdom. I do Everest, Kali River Rapids, Dinosaur, the Safari, and if we have time Festival of the Lion King. We usually go in when it first opens and leave by lunch time. So I instead go to Epcot at night.

Plus just having the option to leave a park if you want and go to another is great. I just like having that freedom. Also if you want to go to one park during the day, but maybe eat dinner in another park, it's good to have that option without wasting a day.

 

[dvcnut39]

On average, we go to the parks 3-4 days a year. For us, the hopper is essential.

 

[DISMOM]

Another vote for the hopper. The only time that we didn't use it much was on our first trip when the kids were younger [5 and 7]. As they are growing up, their interests are changing and we use the hopper more to see everything...and eat everyplace.

 

[slappy magoo]

This is our first trip without the hopping option. In the past, we'd be good to use it at least a few times a trip. Our next one will be the first one with a baby, and she's still a little fussy, so there's a chance we won't be spending much time the parks at all let alone hopping, so it seemed like an unnecessary option (also seemed unnecessary to get the Water Parks option at this time). However, as has been said, we can add the Hopper option anytime, even after we started using the tickets, so if we need it, we'll do it. And I guess, that would be my advice to you - keep a little cash on reserve just in case. Or maybe only a few of you might want to use it, a little late night energy you want to expend on a different park open for EMH one night, perhaps, while the others want to crash.