??? Park Hopper ?????

Hoppers are about the only thing I'm totally down with getting. We do not have children but it is our plan still to get them even with kids (obviously yes this can change if it does it does). The added cost is something we can adjust through something else personally.

Cons with Park Hoppers are expense but Pros with Park Hoppers are it's not priced per day but per ticket (at the moment). That means you could spend 2 days not hopping but then spend another 2 days hopping and see value in that, for instance.

A lot can really come down to kid's personalities but also the adults in the traveling party--if you're not happy that can also affect your day and your interaction with the kids. If your kid gets bored or fussy a change of scenery can be just the thing to help OR it's taking a break and then going to another park for the rest of the day--maybe there's a ride or parade or show or fireworks show the kid really wants to see. Park Hoppers allow for that flexibility and that can be just the thing a touring party sees as working for them.

Keep in mind not everyone is utilizing Disney's transportation. With Uber/Lyft (even Minnie Vans though they are under Disney's transportation umbrella) not to mention....rental cars :) people can get from place to place a variety of ways. Plus there's also planning parks like MK and Epcot in one day where you can get around just using the monorail or now with the Skyliner you've got connection points too. With DHS and Epcot close together you can walk between the two, use the boats, other transportation already listed and a rental car would be fairly quick too.
 
To each his own, but with our young kids, we would do a kid park in the morning, then spend the evening in Epcot - which was a great place for us to wander around while the kids rested in the strollers. It also gave us the freedom to do EMHs in the morning, then about 11am when that park got really crowded, we'd hop to a different park. We usually stay at BWV, which makes Epcot a wonderfully convenient every afternoon park.

As we've gotten older (and our kids are now young adults) hoppers have become less important since we are only trying to meet our own needs.
 
We had park hoppers the first time we brought our kids a few years ago....and we used the hopper privilege exactly twice over the course of an 8 day trip . We just realized that OUR touring style didn't necessitate having hoppers, and I actually PREFERRED planning one park in a day and building our day around that. For me and the way my brain works, I could plan things out much more easily without having to add in the variables of visiting other parks in a single day. Everyone is different, but for us we stick with the one-park-per-day strategy.
 
When we stayed at the beach club, I couldn’t imagine not having them, we hopped every single day, sometimes to three parks. One park in the morning with a plan, then back to the resort for a nap/pool, or walk over to DHS or Epcot. Then, another park for dinner and evening fun (most of the time it was Epcot or DHS, both walkable).
 


In 6 trips to WDW, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve hopped...and this includes hopping to Epcot three times during Food & Wine just for the free AP coasters. I have never bought hoppers for regular tickets. We typically go in the AM, take afternoon break, return to same park in the PM. Trip number 7 is in 6 days, I’m the only one with an AP, the rest have non-hoppers. So it will be another hop free trip.
 
We didn't start using park hoppers until our kids were pre-teens. Before that it didn't really matter and they didn't know the difference. Now of course we don't go without it. But when we had strollers and toddlers it was difficult enough to go to one park.
 


We don't hop either and never have. Our youngest is now 8yo and I still don't see that changing. We like getting to a park at opening and staying til close. That is just us though and everyone has a different style of touring. We find the getting around WDW pretty tiring so not looking to PH. We do have AP's so it's not really a cost issue but more a use of time.
Curious - do APs only allow entrance to on park per day? I had no idea, we considered upgrading on the last day of our trip this summer but ultimately decided not to purchase
 
This is definitely a personal preference thing & has no bearing on age, in my opinion. It was actually easier to park hop when they were younger because we’d go back and swim/rest then hit a different park at night. Fast forward to being older & they don’t want to leave until they’ve done it all (nor do they want the extra walking or bus time)... adults-only trips vary widely for us too. Some friends say they will not park hop at all, some have to, and my husband & I just like to do whatever strikes our fancy (although we usually have AP’s now, so it doesn’t affect us monetarily either way).

Knowing your own personal traveling style (and that of your companions) is the most important thing when deciding for/against park hoppers... or giving out advice. If someone is unsure, I always recommend single park tickets since it’s super easy to upgrade if they change their mind. To each their own!
 
This is definitely a personal preference thing & has no bearing on age, in my opinion. It was actually easier to park hop when they were younger because we’d go back and swim/rest then hit a different park at night. Fast forward to being older & they don’t want to leave until they’ve done it all (nor do they want the extra walking or bus time)... adults-only trips vary widely for us too. Some friends say they will not park hop at all, some have to, and my husband & I just like to do whatever strikes our fancy (although we usually have AP’s now, so it doesn’t affect us monetarily either way).

Knowing your own personal traveling style (and that of your companions) is the most important thing when deciding for/against park hoppers... or giving out advice. If someone is unsure, I always recommend single park tickets since it’s super easy to upgrade if they change their mind. To each their own!

This is same with us. We always get the PH, even when our kids were very little.
 
We did three parks in a day last time we went with kids aged 4 and almost 2. My kids enjoyed riding on the different Disney transportation options especially the boat from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. We liked the flexibility being able to spend the day in Magic Kingdom then get dinner at Epcot. Or when my son announced on the last day of our trip that he really wanted to meet Jesse before we left while at HS we could hop to MK and make it happen.
 
It’s good to get if you really want to ride Rise Of the Resistance. If you miss out on getting a boarding pass the first time you can go try again the next day. It’s also good if you only have 3 days but want to hit all 4 parks. It hard to do with littler kids but my older kids love it. It’s a preference thought. It’s extra walking to the busses which not everyone likes.
 
We like to stay at the Boardwalk area so it works to go into Epcot in the evening for dinner and a show. It will also come in handy if we have trouble scoring Rise of the Resistance down the road.

With little kids who tend to run out of steam it is probably not needed, or if you are staying offsite.
 
The original argument against hopping focused on riding buses. We hop a lot and rarely get on a bus. I can only reiterate what many others have said. There are so many good reasons to park hop. It makes planning much easier as well. With the Skyliner now and rideshare, hopping is part of our touring style. And during the holidays it is so nice to visit MK on a party day (low crowds) then hop to another park.


Not uncommon to hit 3 parks in a day. I only wish they would restore the Express park to park option. That was so convenient.
 
We are getting the hoppers for the first time in a decade because.........………..
going with my husband grandson and daughter, sister and my stepson. I see us starting out the day together but who knows with a 5 year old how the day will play out. This gives everyone the option do go where they like, at any given time. We definitively will not be glued together all day, everyday.
 

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