Park Hopper Opinion

[disneymomof3]

I need some opinions please.....

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I am not going till next dec. 08.....
but a friend of mine told me that getting the park hopper passes is not worth it in Dec. because of the hours the parks close.....
I was looking at this years hours for dec. and it looks like they close at 7pm during the week and on the weekends later, then if you have the tickets for the merry xmas show its open after 7pm that night (but you need a special ticket for that so the hopper wouldn't work for that)....

What do you think?
Worth it to get the hopper with 4 kids in tow, or not?

TIA for your opinions!!

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[Nemo14]

I need some opinions please.....

​

I am not going till next dec. 08.....
but a friend of mine told me that getting the park hopper passes is not worth it in Dec. because of the hours the parks close.....
I was looking at this years hours for dec. and it looks like they close at 7pm during the week and on the weekends later, then if you have the tickets for the merry xmas show its open after 7pm that night (but you need a special ticket for that so the hopper wouldn't work for that)....

What do you think?
Worth it to get the hopper with 4 kids in tow, or not?

TIA for your opinions!!

​

Personally we like having the hopper option so we're not confined to one particular park all day. If we find a park too crowded in the morning, we just go to another park, and come back later. For us, some parks (notably Studios) are no longer an all-day experience, so having the hopper option allows us to visit more than one park in a day, or at least dine in a different park.

 

[happymom52003]

Depends on your budget. If you can afford it, I think it is worth it. Actually, I think the opposite of what your friend said....since the MK closes early for MVMCP, a parkhopper would come in handy because you could go to another park for the evening if you had been at MK in the morning. We always get the parkhopper becauase we like having the flexibility if offers, but we only have 2 kids, one of which is still under three, so we do not have to pay for her. Since you have a large family, it would obviously be alot more money. If I were you, I would look at all of the park hours for your trip and make out an iteneray. If you find you can work it out going to one park each day, then skip the park hopper. But if you feel like you would be sacrificing time in your favorite parks without one, then get the parkhopper if you can afford it. Also, you can always add the parkhopper during your trip if you change your mind (although the price would be the same whether you added it now or in the middle of your trip).

 

[Purple413]

I can't live without the park hopper. I agree that sometimes we'll get to a park in the morning and it will just be too crowded, so we'll go to another park. You may want to hit a ride in one park and then spend the rest of the day in another park.

I, however, don't have any kids. Your decision may be different. If your children are very young, you may not want the park hopper because it may be a hassle to drag the kids from park to park.

Whatever you decide, enjoy the magic!

 

[RiversideBunny]

We go in December.
I would not think of going to WDW without the park hopping option.
We like to be spontaneous and go to whatever park we feel like.

Very often we will go to the park that has EMH in the morning, do some big rides, etc., and then leave when it starts getting up to normal crowd level and then go to another park.
Also, it's difficult to spend all day at AK so we do it and another park in the same day.
Many times we use EPCOT as filler and go there in the evenings when the other parks start closing. The Park Hopper is very useful for that.

The Park Hopper option is definitely worth it for the flexibility that it allows.
It even helps with dining reservations since you may have an ADR in a different park from the one you started out in.

Good luck.
:xmas: :xmas:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

I think for the flexability that you would have with a Hopper then they are worth the extra money. But then it depends on your budget, your schedules and how impulsive you are or intend to be while you're there.

 

[tigsmom]

We always get the hopper option because you just never know what is going to happen. If one park is crowded you can leave and go to another. You can spend half the day in one park and then half in another. What if you are in the MK, but want dinner at Epcot?

It is worth the extra money for us as we very rarely spend the entire day (open to close) at one park.

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

I would never go to WDW without a park hopper. I want the option of being able to go where I want.

 

[TurboCaroline]

In my opinion I don't think it is worth it to get the park hopper. It is a lot less stressful to just plan for a park for that day and stick with it. BUT I can see the points that other people make about being in one park during the day and wanting to eat dinner at another park. Since we only go once a year we like to hit as many attractions as possible in each park. So to me there is no point in hopping around...:shrug: plus hopping around adds more time that you have to walk and get more blisters on your feet...:lol:

 

[Monty]

I always get the hopper and rarely use it. I look at it as insurance... If we're in AK and EE and Dinosaur both go 101, we can hop to another park, rather than stay there. As has been said, it can also mean you can book ADRs based on where you want to eat, rather than what park you're in.

 

[gettingsmaller]

We're going in Sept and will not be starting with a hopper. We have 3 kids (4,6,8), and I think 1 park a day will be enough. HOWEVER, as someone already mentioned, there's always the option of adding it. If budget is an issue (and why would you even ask if it wasn't?), I'd say to wait and see if you need to add it down the line. They'll always take more of your money, but they aren't going to give you some back if you by it but DON'T use the hopper option.

For us it was kind of an either/or: either we could park hop OR we could go to the MNSSHP. We chose to do MNSSHP (again, knowing that we can add hopper if we want). I guess it won't be a real option for you in Dec, but we also got the water park option. So, we can sort of 'hop' that way by doing a water park in the same day as a theme park if we want to...

 

[Philo]

Since the tickets we get in the UK all come with the park hopper included I can't really say what its like without it.

However, I would always opt to have it so I'm not stuck in one park all day. On our last trip (which was January so similar times to December) we might go to AK for the day then head over to Epcot to see Illuminations and grab some food. Or on the last days we would re-do all our fav attractions across the parks.

The parks do close earlier in December / January but when AK closes (without EMH) you still have plenty of time left in Epcot or MK

I'm not sure how much the parkhopper option costs but its worth it for the freedom! I just don't like the idea of saying "Today we will go to the MK and nothing else" (apart from DTD perhaps).

 

[JPVonDrake]

A couple of things to remember about park hours...

General Theme Park hours are based on projected Theme Park attendance. At each park the average family should be able to experience the same number of attractions per day regardless of the Park Hours.

On days of heavier attendance, lines will be longer, so it will take more time to experience a given number of attractions. Park hours are extended during these periods. On days of especially heavy attendance, more attractions are added to each park such as seasonal attractions, special stage shows, multiple parades and other street entertainment.

On days of lower attendance, lines will be shorter, so it will take less time to experience the same given number of attractions. Park hours are reduced to normal.

Extra Magic Hours are not figured into these projections as only Disney Resort Guests may attend during these special hours, giving Resort Guest the opportunity to experience more of the Disney magic each day during their visit.

Special Ticketed Events are only scheduled on dates of projected lower attendance when the park would normally be scheduled to close at or near 7 pm, again allowing each family to still experience the same given number of attractions every day of the year.

 

[disneytopdog]

Put me in the "PRO" Park Hopper group. For all the reasons listed above. If cost is an issue, cut something else from your trip. The Park Hopper Option is a must for me!!!!

 

[DisneyGigi]

I have went both with and without the Park Hopper option. I think it is better with. It comes in the most handy to us on days that we go to AK because it closes early and we always hop to another park. Also with ADRs if you are eating in a park that you don't want to be at all day it isn't a problem. It is worth the extra $ to me even if we don't use it every day.