To Park hop or not -- that is the question

[durangojim]

25 years ago when I started going to WDW as a child we would never park hop. We'd either stay in Orlando or later in the Disney Village as it was called back then and go from open to close at one park. Once we started staying on property we began to park hop, and now having kids of my own, I would have a hard time imagining not park hopping as we usually go to one park in the AM, come back to the resort and take a swim and or rest and then go to a different park in the evening. So I'm wondering, how many of you park hop and how many don't, and what's your reason for either choice?

 

[mickeymatt]

We're quite lucky in the UK, there are special 14/21 day Ultimate tickets. They include unlimited parks, water parks, Disney Quest and park hopping - but they must be used within the 14/21 day limit and can only be bought here. They are really good value for money; so much so that most people buy them even if we aren't expecting to spend 14 full days in the parks ( because of the price, and to be able to call into a park on the way back from somewhere else without worrying about using a day ticket up.) We got ours for this September when we booked the holiday last Autumn, and paid £188 each for 14 days.

That is a fantastic deal.

 

[mickeymatt]

For those that only do 1 park per day, what do you do on your AK day and it closes at 5pm?

I haven't been there for a one day trip in a long time but we went during our 5 day trip last Sept. and I still do not understand why they close so early. We did not get everything in that day that we wanted to do. We did go to the poly and ate at Capt. Cooks....YUM!

 

[krankenstein]

I tend to visit at least 3 parks on every day of my trips.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

We tend to do 2 a day...even if it is spending almost the entire day at one park, then hopping to another park an hour or two before closing or having dinner ADRs at another park.

IMO, hopping just brightens the Disney experience.

 

[ProfSlim]

I'm a park hopper/water park fan....I love the flexibilty. I wish it wasn't so much $$$$ though. I stayed off site one time and in that instance I found the park hopper to have been a waste....eventhough we only stayed a few miles from Disney, when we returned to our condo at the end of a long day we really didn't go back to any of the parks. We went over to DTD a few times. Also, I find when staying on site I'm more likely to really "park hop", that is, go to the MK in the morning, DHS in the afternoon, and EPCOT at night for a few hours at a time (as an example)...

 

[disneyowf]

I think Park Hopping is the way to go for the added flexibility, especially with the Extra Magic Hours. I think for myself, now with adult children, the inconvenience of trying to move smaller children from Park to Park isn't a restriction anymore, so that factors into the LOVE of Park Hopping. Besides, after the 5:00 close at DAK, it's another good alternative.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I always have a park hopper - some days I use it, some days I don't. When I'm in Epcot or Magic Kingdom, I do tend to get immersed in the park and not want to leave. However, Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios are just half day parks for more. I like to finish up what I like to do in those parks and then hop to another one.

 

[shaelyn]

For those that only do 1 park per day, what do you do on your AK day and it closes at 5pm?

I haven't done it before because this is my first trip without park hopper, but we're planning to head over to the MK resorts to explore a bit, grab dinner and probably watch Wishes from the beach! Or, since we're staying at Saratoga, we might walk over to Downtown Disney... we'll see!

 

[njDizFan]

Park Hopping is essential, especially when you can do DAK and DHS in half of a day.

I will never understand how anyone can do AKL or DAK in a half a day?! maybe since I usually go during busier times of the year, but if I'm not there from opening to close there is no way I can catch everything. just to do the e-tickets and wander the trails( DAK)and have a meal, see the parade....stay for Fantasia(DHS) , see at least some of the shows...way to much for 1 full day...

 

[DisneyJoe]

I will never understand how anyone can do AKL or DAK in a half a day?! maybe since I usually go during busier times of the year, but if I'm not there from opening to close there is no way I can catch everything.

That's the difference - some of us don't find the need to hit a park and absolutely see everything on every trip - we know we will be back and can see those things then. We change things up from trip to trip, sometimes seeing one set of attractions, the next time seeing another set, with some overlap of course. This makes having a park hopper essential for me.

 

[coltow]

I will never understand how anyone can do AKL or DAK in a half a day?! maybe since I usually go during busier times of the year, but if I'm not there from opening to close there is no way I can catch everything. just to do the e-tickets and wander the trails( DAK)and have a meal, see the parade....stay for Fantasia(DHS) , see at least some of the shows...way to much for 1 full day...

I have 2 kids who aren't tall enough for most of the thrill rides at DAK. They also aren't old enough to appreciate the shows. My oldest is too scared to try Dinosaur and Bug movie. There's no way the rest of the park would take us a full day. We go early, hit safari, 2 trails, maybe EE if someone's with us to sit with boys, walk through Dino land and head out. We have never been there past noon with the kids.

We always get hopper option. We like the flexibility it offers in case things come up. We don't plan to hop every day. We always plan to hop on DAK days but alwasy end up doing a time or 2 more.

 

[RussJT]

We have done it both ways, and have decided that we like to stay in one park each day better (and we usually stay there 7 or 8 days).

Generally, we get to each park early and stay most of the day. We spend one full day in DHS and Animal Kingdom (having a dinner ADR set up for a resort restaurant on Animal Kingdom day since it closes earlier), and do Magic Kingdom and Epcot twice. This always seems to give us the chance to do everything we want to do, without having to ride from park to park.

 

[Lucky]

I never understood Park Hopping. When I get to a park I don't see any reason to leave. I have it planned with ADRs to split up the day and stay completely immersed in that one park. I seems like a waste of time. that time spent transfering to another park is time wasted I could be on a few more attractions. Unless you did everything you wanted to do and just wanted to hit your favorite attractions at each park before you leave.

To me, an air-conditioned monorail ride from MK to Epcot for dinner at World Showcase is not a waste of time.

 

[njDizFan]

To me, an air-conditioned monorail ride from MK to Epcot for dinner at World Showcase is not a waste of time.

nobody loves a good monorail ride and air conditioning more than me, but for the extra$250 for the park hopper option for family of 5 I would rather make my ADR's at EPCOT the day I was there.

 

[DisneyJoe]

DTD, fireworks at the Poly, spirit of aloha, boardwalk dining, ......

Spirit of Aloha will cost you almost as much as adding the Park Hopper to your tickets, and the show only lasts 2 hours.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

We always get the park hopping option on our package each year. We rarely ever stay in one park each day. We always go to a park in the morning, go back to the hotel to rest or swim, then go to another park or DTD for the evening. I actually love going to the parks at night much better than during the day...its just a better experience for me. I can't imagine not having park hoppers on our tickets when we go...even if we didnt park hop. I just like having the option of be able to leave and go to a different park...less planning is good. We can be spontaneous and do whatever we feel like doing each day.

 

[blackthidot]

I love being and to come and go when I want, where I want!

 

[Lucky]

nobody loves a good monorail ride and air conditioning more than me, but for the extra$250 for the park hopper option for family of 5 I would rather make my ADR's at EPCOT the day I was there.

I wouldn't buy park hoppers if I were only there for a few days. But averaged out over a 7 or 8 day ticket the added cost is pretty low.

 

[SnowFire]

We always go with the park hopper option. Sometimes we use it, sometimes we don't. We like having the flexibility.

 

[DisneyMom4]

Park hopper -- all the way!

It is just so valuable to be able to leave a park if it is just too crowded or if it doesn't suit you that day.