Park Hoppers vs Single Park Tickets

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

MousePlanet has posted an article on the pros and cons and varying opinions on purchasing park hoppers vs single park tickets, when touring Walt Disney World and Disneyland. The article focuses on which type of theme park tickets may work best for different families, particularly for families on a budget...

http://www.mouseplanet.com/10271/Park_Hopping_vs_SinglePark_Tickets_for_Families

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I just don't understand why someone that's going to WDW would buy the park hopper option. A 7 day regular ticket costs $288 and if you add the hopper option it costs $345. Is it worth the extra $57 to be able to leave one park and go to another in the same day? For a family of four that's an extra $228. I always hear people say that They like to go in the morning to MK and then go swimming at the resort and then go to Epcot for dinner and then Fireworks. Then what the next day you go to Epcot early and then go to MK that night to watch Wishes. Why not save your money and goto MK early, then go resort swimming and then back to MK for wishes that night? I've spent the money before and gotten the hopper option but really the ability to go from park to park isn't worth it. Yes I get it if you live close enough and go all the time and or have an annual pass that you might just go to one park for one or two things and then want to do something else at another park but I feel for the vast majority of guests to WDW its not worth the money. What do you think?

[Spinner...Ben 1]

We are non-hoppers, for the reasons you mention, as well as most of the time we leave the park to come back and swim/eat with the intention of heading back only to find ourselves at the campfire or watching fireworks from the beach instead.

Spinner

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

We don't hop for exactly those reasons. We also don't go in the park everyday, so I'd add a day before I pay to hop.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

We did get the Park Hoppers when we went.

However, the reasons were:

Not sure when we would go again (actually haven't been back yet and it's been over 3 years)

Huge discount on tickets (Homeschool Days)

End of January so low crowd time

No preschoolers, toddlers or babies (youngest was 7)

We hopped every day. Sometimes more than once. We could split up (guys go and do some things while girls do something different) and then meet up again.

I do wish we had taken more advantage of things offered at the Fort and if/when we ever do get back we will do that, but I still think I would keep the park hoppers. For our family it just works better based on the demographics. We have a teenage son and 2 preteen girls. Obviously their interests are different. Even some of the things I want to do are different from what my family likes. I tend to like the parade and shows more than they do.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

The time wasted in travelling between parks is enough reason for me to pass on the parkhopper option. Time is money at WDW.

[DHayesJr 0]

I can see both sides. In 2007 I had the park hopper option and did not use it, but the crowds were low then in early May. This year we're going in early June and may opt to have it again. I may just add the option once I get there - as I anticipate the need for it to be based on the crowds generated by Star Wars Weekend and other groups scheduled at the beginning of our trip. If the crowds aren't as bad as anticipated, I might be able to save some money, but at least with the PH option, I can add it if needed.

[Lou... 3,118]

There are people that feel it's worth it, I don't. It's easy money for Disney though.

I wonder how many people pay for it but don't use it?

[Beckers 1,136]

The only day it has ever seemed worth it go us is on ours at day there. When my parents took my brother and his wife and myself and DH (no one had kids yet) we park hopped to hit HS, MK and EPCOT in one day just to hit 1 or 2 favs in each park. But we haven't bought hoppers since because I'd rather spend the money on other stuff at Disney.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

We never purchased park hoppers until a few years ago. Now I wouldn't want to be without them or APs.

Unlike most of you, we don't spend much time at the fort. If we are there, it's to eat, sleep, take the dog for a walk, or go looping to visit fiends. We tend to hit the parks early, come back to the fort after lunch and go looping with Kassie, have an early dinner, and go back to another park (usually MK).

For us AK and DHS are half day parks. We don't want to go back to either after dinner. And we tend not to go to EPCOT after dinner because of the long bus ride. We could visit MK every evening and be happy.

When our children were young there was only MK and EPCOT, and we didn't feel the need to park hop. But now that it's just the two of us, we really enjoy having the flexibility.

[TurkeyPants...Nicole 92]

I'm with Gwen on this one. We have gone two years in a row and gotten Park Hoppers both times. While we both love the Fort, we are planning on getting Park Hoppers again this year.

We like the flexibility to go wherever we want whenever we want. When we go, we spend only a few hours a day at the campground. With the amount of money a ticket costs - we want to get as much use out of it as possible.

We like not having to plan every single day in advance. Usually, we choose which park we are going to based on the Park Hours. During F & W we will go to Epcot for 5 or so hours in the late morning/early afternoon - then we will go back to the campground, get ready for dinner, go to somewhere like Kona for dinner and then head over to Magic Kingdom until 1 or 3 in the morning. We are never ready for bed during vacation before midnight. We feel like we are getting the most out of our vacation this way. DHs biggest complaint about last year was that "we sat too much". He is going to regret saying that this year! :)

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

DHs biggest complaint about last year was that "we sat too much". He is going to regret saying that this year! :)

He is in T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!! :rofl2:

We buy APs, but one big reason we like them is because we can park hop. We're there long enough at a whack that we don't mind the transport time, and we enjoy bouncing into a park for a little while to do a few things or grab a meal, then head out somewhere else.

My favorite park hopping endeavor is the "fireworks blitz"... catch Wishes at MK then hop over to Epcot for Illuminations. We've even managed to pull off 3 parks in one day... just for giggles.

Park hopping also comes in handy if you happen to find yourself with a bunch of Wild Womenz determined to cram as much into a park day as they possibly can.

I do tell folks though, don't add PH to your ticket until you're sure you're going to need it (you can add it to your ticket at any time).

The one time I would think PH could actually be quite useful is if you're there during those crazybusy times (like Christmas) so that if the park you're in gets insane, you can bug off to a less crowded park.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

We hop. We do the park that has the earliest opening that day, leave for a break and then usually head to the 'recommended' park in the evening. This time, Eldest is looking forward to eating at Epcot for each dinner. No way would I spend the entire trip in only Epcot. Hopping we will be doing.

[Davydee 3]

When we were younger, we could park hop. But not any more. We're lucky if we last long enough to see the fireworks now. :laugh: David

[DHayesJr 0]

There are people that feel it's worth it, I don't. It's easy money for Disney though.

I wonder how many people pay for it but don't use it?

I agree that it is easy money for disney. I would suspect the get a lot of unused PH sales.

[DHayesJr 0]

There are people that feel it's worth it, I don't. It's easy money for Disney though.

I wonder how many people pay for it but don't use it?

I agree that it is easy money for disney. I would suspect the get a lot of unused PH sales.

[DHayesJr 0]

Correction: they instead of the.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

I just purchased four 5 day single park tickets through Mousesavers. We used to park hop but not since we had kids. I'm thinking about upgrading them when we arrive, but I am on the fence. $250 goes a long way towards diesel.