Park Hopper or No?

[disneylizzy]

If you want to avoid crowds, the hopper is the way to go. When a park gets crowded, just hop somehwhere else. Also gives you more flexibility w/ your dining reservations b/c you don't necessarily have to do that park on that day - like if you want to take advantage of extra magic hours elsewhere.

[greendoor678]

I originally mentioned that with our 1 year old that we will opt for the non-park hopper pass. Now that we are beginning to book dining reservations, I'm now giving the parkhoppers a second look. It will give us much more flexibility since we are going with a group. Though, we do have a one day non-parkhopper pass we received as part of the Disney Give a Day program.

[Sockdoodle]

Also depends on when you will be going and if you want to go 'commando style'. During the summer peak season, there are often two magic hours - one in the morning and one in the evening, each at a different park. Thus, if you can handle 8am to potentially 3am days, you will be getting VERY good value for your tickets. Park hopper might also add some value to your tickets for those AK days, since it closes so early - after AK closes, just hop to another park, like MK, and have some more fun!

[RREng77]

Since the park tickets in the packages seem to be reduced to base tickets, it takes more homework to tailor the total package to our needs. In our case, needing the Park Hopper option (we always have gotten it) is a result of the EMH's and our ADR's. We always get it in advance because of the prorated price if you add it during your stay. (We were told the first few days are most of the total price) The only thing we are seriously considering eliminating is the Water Park option. Not going to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon during our next stay is not the end of the world for us. Even when we go, we only usually only go to one of them once during our stay. I have to check it out but if we change our minds and want to go during our stay I don't think a one day or late entry pass (I think we've seen that) is very expensive compared to the add on length of stay charge. We still have to research that one.

Skipping the water parks is a fantastic suggestion, JimB - especially, IMHO, with little ones under 3. They're typically just as happy swimming at the resort/hotel at that age, and skipping the water parks can save some serious $$.

[momeja]

I definitely think that unless you have a real need for a park hopper, it's easy to avoid the extra cost. As for the WP, I bought a 10 day non-expiry ticket with WP and more about 4 years ago and have been using it ever since. It was well worth the investment and has more than paid for itself. Of course, it is a pain to keep track of the ticket, though.

[MmeLeota]

We like the park hopper option, but we don't add on the water parks. We've done the whole DisneyQuest thing and the water parks are not of interest to us.

[Amy]

I definitely think that unless you have a real need for a park hopper, it's easy to avoid the extra cost. As for the WP, I bought a 10 day non-expiry ticket with WP and more about 4 years ago and have been using it ever since. It was well worth the investment and has more than paid for itself. Of course, it is a pain to keep track of the ticket, though.

Is WP - water park? Do the non-expiry tickets cost more? I would have so much trouble keeping track of the ticket!

[theBIGyowski]

From what I have gathered...the non-expiring tickets cost a good bit more. They almost negate the benefit of buying the longer tickets to use on multiple trips.

[momeja]

It's true. They're quite a bit more. They're only good if you want to buy the Waterpark and more option and hold onto the ticket - since you get a ton of the WP options with a mult-day ticket. Otherwise, I agree that non-expiry is a waste of money.

[neapolis]

Park hopper def the way to go , i always jump between the 3 disney parks on the last day.

[Amy]

Park hopper def the way to go , i always jump between the 3 disney parks on the last day.

"3 Disney parks"?! Which one do you leave out?

[neapolis]

Animal Kingdom im not a big fan ... has some good attractions like A bugs life and Everest but on my last day i always hop between M.k , Studios and Epcot.

[davea61]

We are not a big park hopping family. I like to start and end our days in the same park. Also, not a big fan of AK either. Although we let our kids decide, we usually get a 4 or 5 day and do 2 days at MK, 2 days at Epcot (or 1 day), and 1 day at DHS.

[boilerbabe]

When my mom and I got at the end of this month, she won't have a park hopper but I have my AP. We just didn't want to spend the extra $$$ for a few days. It will be interesting though, I'm so used to being able to go wherever I want! Hopefully it will work out?!

[Amy]

When my mom and I got at the end of this month, she won't have a park hopper but I have my AP. We just didn't want to spend the extra $$$ for a few days. It will be interesting though, I'm so used to being able to go wherever I want! Hopefully it will work out?!

I'm sure it will be fine. However, if your Mom gets tired and wants to take a nap, you have the option to park hop while she is resting, and then you can meet her back at the room or the park she started at for the day!