Park Hopping vs One Park a day

joejccva71

joejccva71

Well-Known Member
Hello again everyone. I wasn't sure which section this kind of topic should be at but I'm trying to do some planning so I figured "Trip Planning" would be a good spot.

I went ahead and got the 5 park day with the park hopper as part of my package, but I'm curious. What do you believe is the best and most efficient way to visit the parks? Do you just give one full day to each park and stay there all day? Or do you park hop in a way where you would visit Epcot in the AM, and then go to MK in the PM one day, and then vice versa on a different day (MK in AM, Epcot PM)?

Just curious how you guys plan your trips? And with that being said, the only reason why I'm asking is my 10 year old has never been to Disney so I don't want her to be worn out by the 2nd or 3rd day of our trip.

Any tips/advice?

Thanks again guys!
 
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Betsyboo

Betsyboo

Well-Known Member
We use Extra Magic Hours as a way to help plan. Did you decide to stay onsite? If so, EMH allow resort guests to enter the parks early or stay late in certain parks on certain days. I think they change the days/parks so you'll need to check for May. We will hit the park with EMH and take advantage of low crowds then we may take a break from the parks and venture to another park that evening. We RARELY stay in one park for an entire day. I'm sure there will be others that have some park strategies to offer. Also remember, at this time if you are onsite you get 3 FP+ per day. That's three in the SAME park. Right now FP+ isn't accommodating park hopping but hopping is still a great feature. Happy planning.
 
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D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
PrincessNelly_NJ said:
We always spend two days at MK, two days at Epcot, one day at HS, and a half day at AK.
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Depending on the length of our trip, we do something similar, however, HS isn't always a full day for us, and with AK only being a half day, we will hop from either of them to Epcot or even MK depending on how late it is open. Once we started at AK and then hopped to HS.

We are early risers, and like to be at a park at rope drop or even earlier with morning EMH. Sometimes we will then take a break at our resort, and go back to that park or go to a different park.
 
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Lexie

Lexie

Member
Might be in the minority but strongly recommend the park hopper! We always go to one park in the morning, pool break in the afternoon then a different park that night. Find it so much more enjoyable than trying to spend a whole day at one park.


joejccva71 said:
Hello again everyone. I wasn't sure which section this kind of topic should be at but I'm trying to do some planning so I figured "Trip Planning" would be a good spot.

I went ahead and got the 5 park day with the park hopper as part of my package, but I'm curious. What do you believe is the best and most efficient way to visit the parks? Do you just give one full day to each park and stay there all day? Or do you park hop in a way where you would visit Epcot in the AM, and then go to MK in the PM one day, and then vice versa on a different day (MK in AM, Epcot PM)?

Just curious how you guys plan your trips? And with that being said, the only reason why I'm asking is my 10 year old has never been to Disney so I don't want her to be worn out by the 2nd or 3rd day of our trip.

Any tips/advice?

Thanks again guys!
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be in
 
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M

MissingDisney

Well-Known Member
We park hop always. Rarely are we at one park all day. There's no need to cram it all in, just come back another day. We have resort time mid day to swim, shop, etc. recharge batteries and head to a different park for the evening. It's just a more relaxing pace and eliminates the "we have to do it all because I can't get back in without giving something up" feeling. For kids, it also helps avoid those impulse souvenir purchases. Our kids look around and we go back to wherever they found their most desired purchases and get them at the end of the trip.
 
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gjpjtj

gjpjtj

Well-Known Member
missingdisney said:
We park hop always. Rarely are we at one park all day. There's no need to cram it all in, just come back another day. We have resort time mid day to swim, shop, etc. recharge batteries and head to a different park for the evening. It's just a more relaxing pace and eliminates the "we have to do it all because I can't get back in without giving something up" feeling. For kids, it also helps avoid those impulse souvenir purchases. Our kids look around and we go back to wherever they found their most desired purchases and get them at the end of the trip.
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Same here!! :)
 
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stevehousse

stevehousse

Well-Known Member
I think it depends on if u have any little kids traveling with you??? When I didn't have kids, we loved to park hop! But now that our boys are 2 and 5, it's easier to stay in one park all day, especially when they were younger. We usually go to the park early, take an afternoon break, and head back later. We always schedule a day to take a break with no parks in the middle of our vacation so we do not get worn out! We will not park hop again until the boys get older.
 
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agorna

agorna

Well-Known Member
this is my first time not having a hopper.. I'm still staying on resort tho.. so my question is am I allowed to go to a park, take a mid day break at the resort, then go back to that same park?
 
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KeithVH

KeithVH

Well-Known Member
We've done hopping for many, many years. Sometimes 3 parks/day. A major variable here is how well you plan you sched and making efficient transit choices. I think we've only been stuck on a bus once in 16 years for longer than we would have wanted.

However, with legacy FP gone this week, I'm starting to wonder just how much of an experience we'll be able to have. Old FPs really made a difference with multi-park days for us. This is especially more important during off-peak times when park hours can be MUCH shorter.
 
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SteveW

SteveW

Active Member
I've always park hopped. Love having the freedom to go where I want when I want while I'm there. I was there for 8 days last month and hopped between all 4 parks one day. It was great, shows in one park, rides in 2 parks and the Osborne lights at DHS to finish off the day. Not to mention using buses, monorails and boats to do it.
 
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C.M.O

C.M.O

Active Member
We always park hop too. We usually will go to one park in the morning (if there is one with Extra Magic hours in the am we will start there) then switch to another park after a rest at the hotel. I like the option of leaving a park if it gets too crowded. http://touringplans.com/ is a great resource for how busy the parks might be during your stay and how to plan your day.
 
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diznyboyz

diznyboyz

Well-Known Member
Having an autistic son, now 17, we would utilize the emh along with park hoppers and for years that has helped us when my son got over stimulated due to a crowded park.
 
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PHS79

Active Member
We have always park hopped. We would plan out our schedule around the EMH and what dining reservations we have made. When we were at WDW in Feb 2013 with our DD (3yo at the time) we would be at the our park of choice right away when the gates opened, then around 11 or noon go back to the resort to let her nap and grab something to eat, maybe some pool time too. Then usually 4-5 we would go to another park for the rest of the day. We are going back in Feb of 2015 and will probably do about the same thing.
 
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