It's funny - there are so many of us silly Disney bloggers out in the blogoverse.. and we all have our own opinions about planning, where to stay, how to get there, etc... And it's always funny to see people advertise for things that I usually, under most circumstances, recommend skipping!
So today, I'm going to start a series giving both sides of the argument. Let me know what I've missed pro/con and give me your vote!
1st Up - Park Hopper vs. No Park Hopper
So today, I'm going to start a series giving both sides of the argument. Let me know what I've missed pro/con and give me your vote!
1st Up - Park Hopper vs. No Park Hopper
- Park Hopper:
- Allows for flexibility - can switch parks for meals, crowds, on a whim, etc...
- Crowd levels are higher than you expected at one of the parks, head over to one of the lesser crowded parks
- Start your day off in one, and head to another for a dinner reservation. I love to be at MK during the day and EPCOT for dinner!
- Say you're staying 4 days or less, you can repeat as you wish and still visit all parks
- Really liked Illuminations? Watch it again the next night. Fantasmic cancelled on your DHS day? That's fine, head over to the Magic Kingdom for Wishes
- On a 4 day trip, you can visit each park once. But, is 1 day enough for the Magic Kingdom? Not for me!
- If you're at a park with shorter hours and want to keep going, you can hop to a park with later hours and keep on with your day! Animal Kingdom generally closes early - much earlier than other parks. Finish your day at 5 or head over to a park closing at 9 or 10!
- Burn both ends of the candle using extra magic hours in the morning and evening.
- No Park Hopper
- Saves money.
- Park Hopper option is now $61 per person. But, not $61 per day. On a 3 or 4 day ticket, it may not be worth it. On the flipside, for a longer ticket, it's only a few extra dollars per day.
- Use extra dollars money for food, souvenirs, etc...
- Spend a full day in a park, rest, repeat.
- Saves time - park hopping using Disney transportation could require around an hour - walking to the bus stop, waiting, etc...
- Saves energy - tour the parks more slowly, taking the full day to enjoy.
Parkhopper is about $61 to add-on now. Keep that in mind while planning- great pro/con list!
ReplyDeleteI must have stumbled upon an old list. That's a huge difference for a short ticket!
ReplyDeleteWhen we stay at a Disney resort and want to enjoy the activities there, we wouldn't do a park hopper and just come back after the one park for some of the hotel activities.
ReplyDeleteAlthough if we had only 3 days, we usually do Downtown Disney the first day, parkhopper the second, and hotel pool/activities on the third day.
I've always done park hopper and I have no regrets. I think that's just the way my family rolls. We make a plan as far as meals and parks tend to revolve around that, but if we want to change at some point during the day, we have the flexibility.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the hopper when I am taking a beginner to WDW. I figure a park a day is plenty! When I am with someone who has been before or by myself, I always get the hopper!
ReplyDeleteWe have used park hoppers on all of our trips, but the prices getting higher and higher we may end up going base tickets on ournext Disney adventure.
ReplyDeleteIt's also useful if you are travelling in a group and want to split up and go to different parks, and then both meet up back in one of the parks.
ReplyDeleteWe always park hop. With little ones, we never know where the days will bring us! Having the flexibility to go to different parks is great.
ReplyDeleteI'm not for park hopping at WDW...it's not very convenient being that you have to travel to another park. At DL, it makes much for sense since you just walk across the walkway to the other park.
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