No Park Hopper..

[toystoryma]

So we've been quite a few time to WDW as you can see in my sig..
This time around we are trying to do it cheaper and decided not to do the park hopper. That being said, we scheduled all our adrs by what park we will be at each day.

We're so used to bouncing around and being so busy I think no hoppers this time will allow us to slow down a bit and enjoy our time better at the parks..

So question is.. if you had all day at each park what would you do? plan to see everything? not follow a schedule? take more time to see the park? go on rides more than once?

just wanna see what others do

 

[wolf359]

I think the best thing to do would be to slow down, and really enjoy being in the park, instead of letting your mind wander towards other rides you like in other parks.

Make time for an attraction or two that you've never made time for in the past. Or ride your favorite ride over and over.

When you're not park hopping it can be refreshing to try touring the parks differently. Now that you aren't trying to get in all the "must do" things before moving on, it can make the visit feel less like just marking things off on a checklist and more like an actual vacation.

 

[Iceviper123]

This is how we do it.

Ask everyone their favorite things to do in each park and make a list.
Then prioritize all the favorites.

Then when you hit the parks hit the high points sometime during the day.
So at least everyone can do their favorites.

Also list some of the dining place you like to eat at and shows you like to see.

This all helps you decide on how you want to distribute your time at the park.

Enjoy the park and take it slow.
Don't feel like you have to jump from attraction to attraction.



Have fun!

 

[ChrisQ]

I don't know if I have any advice, but I would be interested to hear how it works for your family.

 

[blackthidot]

The first thing I did this year was reserve a spot during my trip for Le Celier, and plan my days around that, and MNSSHP.

I use allears.net to look at dining menus and see where I want to eat and plan accordingly.

I still do park hopper, and waterparks though!

 

[MouseearsDeb]

We're doing this as well this year. However, we are also visiting other parks besides WDW. Even though our time will actually be less at WDW, we have been going over old park schedules/maps and marking what we have never seen. Then we will pick one or two to make sure we do this time just to have something different.

Usually, we're running, running, running. This year will be DS7's first year that we don't take the stroller. So, he will be doing A LOT of walking. I've already told the other's to be prepared for a lot of breaks.

 

[BRER DAD]

We stopped getting the hopper years ago. Now we just take our time and do each park the whole day and MK and Epcot twice. Makes for a much more relaxing time. Have fun and good luck.

 

[WickedQueen22]

I have heard people swear by the touring plans in the unofficial guide. I have never used them but since you have a park a day it might be worth looking into.

Either way have a great time!

 

[Disneykidder]

When i'd go to Disney with friends, we'd always get the hopper. We will be in WDW in less than 2 weeks and this will be our third time with our young son and each time we have never done the hopper...just too much with a youngin'. This year we have the water feature so we will be going there twice.

With that said, we are always at the parks from 11 until 11 and have a grand ole time. We do rides, shows, eat, shop and do it all over again. If you are staying on property, you can hop back to your resort for a swim or go strolling around DTD. Take a boat ride to a resort and stop to smell the roses. I think not having the hopper allows more freedom to relax a bit and not feel rushed to get to somewhere else.

You will get both sides of the spect with die hard hoppers and some that aren't. It just isn't right for our family right now.

Enjoy your trip, don't rush it and relax.

 

[imamouse]

Without the park hopper add-on, we take time to explore each land before moving on. It saves time on back-tracking and your FP return times will ususally be ready before you move on. We start in Tomorrowland and tour counter clockwise (sometimes skipping Toontown). We've always managed to get everything done and have time to enjoy unexpected live entertainment (Toon Town Tuners, Dapper Dans, etc). Enjoy!

 

[Texas84]

We never do the hopper. We plan all our must-sees and run like heck in the AM, then relax and enjoy the parks in the PM.

 

[smk]

We always get the hopper but rarely hop :shrug:, it doesn't make any sense to continue with that so this trip we will not get the hopper and just go to a park or two. I will be "working" so we will not have the time we really want in the parks but we are going to MNSSHP one night and then two other days, one day for MK again (my fav) and one day for Epcot. The rest of the time will be spent relaxing, going to meetings and DTD to shop and play. I am looking forward to it!

 

[blackthidot]

I do the hopper cause I usually go for a little while. At least 7 days. So many times we would hit up MK and kinda breeze through what I wanna do, and just go to another park. In Sept the free dining is popular but it seems like the only things you wait to ride are the rides in Fantasy Land at MK.

Other times Ive been at MK and just wanted to hop the monorail and spend the evening in Epcot. Im kinda the person if whom Im standing I cant stand still so I like being on the go. Ill have a dinner reservation at Liberty Tree in MK and litterally leave MK in the daytime to go to Epcot for a counter service or snack.

Now that I typed that all out it seems pretty stupid the way I do things but it seems like I get a little rest riding the monorail. Plus alot of times MK has been busy and we rode to Epcot and it was slow, and likewise.

Now that Ive probably confused everyone Ill stop...

P.S. 36 days!!!! :king:

 

[ClemsonTigger]

You will do just fine.
Even though I don't have to worry about it, I find myself staying in one park about half of the time.
Along with the easier pace, I like the idea of taking a break mid afternoon, taking a swim or a nap, shower before heading out for dinner then the evening.

 

[HinunterZuNich]

Everything you said my family agrees with! We just returned from Orlando (Aug. 4-10) and we did our usual park hopping at Disney. But when we really looked at our days and how much time we spent at the parks/traveling/etc... We noticed that so much time was lost going between places that we lost a lot of value.

If we are to return anytime soon, I would say we will not only go without parking hopping for the savings $$$$ but also for the idea of slowing down like you said!

Enjoy your trip, have a great time!!

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

We stopped getting the hopper years ago. Now we just take our time and do each park the whole day and MK and Epcot twice. Makes for a much more relaxing time. Have fun and good luck.

We also do this and it works great. We plan 2 days at MK and 1 at each other then have 2 open days to pick which park we need to return to or the kids want to return to. I like the slower pace... I mean this is a vacation. We also hit both waterparks and never do the 4 main parks on back to back days.... pool relax day/watersports/or waterparks happen on these in-between park days. No late night followed by early wake up.... again, it is a vacation for us!!!!!

 

[toystoryma]

well that is my plan, to relax and take it easy. One year we hopped so much that between going to parks and using the transportation, buses, monorail and boats we spent a good 3-4hrs on buses alone just going back and forth. It really wasn't cost effective for us. And with the 3 young kids, its hard to drag them all over all the time. So for this time, I think it'll be much nicer to go at our own pace and be able to relax.

 

[cblodg]

That's a hard one. You see, what may be an all day park for one, is not one for another. For instance, we are almost certain not to spend a full day in DHS. So we go to Epcot to finish out the night.

 

[gettingsmaller]

We were at WDW 11 or 12 days last Sept with 10 day tix, no hopping. We had no problem going from open to close at the parks (of course, we don't go several times a year--or even every year). Of course, this was with free dining, so we had 1-2 hours every day that were spent dining.

Anyway, it was no problem for us to spend that time. Why NOT ride things that you like more than once? Or take the time to wait in line for characters? Or whatever...

I personally feel like hopping steals a lot of time away from you. Maybe two exceptions:
1) if you are someone who goes back to your resort in the middle of the day, you're spending that time traveling, anyway.
2) if one park closes early (or you just can't find things to do there--is that possible?), and the choice is go back to your room or go to another park.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

My husband insists on hopper. I think we could make it without it except for AK and MGM. We never spend a whole day at either one of those.