Is park hopper worth it at disney?

Question

I plan on buying a 5 day pass to walt disney world, and I'm a little iffy on buying a park hopping option. I know there's a lot to do at each park but would a park hopper be worth getting? Or is it just a waste because I'll never use it?

I plan on buying the 5 day package, but I'm not sure if I want to get this park hopping option. Will each park fill a day for me? Or will I lose out by not being able to park hop

Answer 1

YES YES YES,... let's say you decide to go to the Magic Kingdom one day & you do most of the things that you want to do, but you heard about this great show/or firework show at another park. If you want, you can use your parkhopper & go see that show in the same day.

park hoppers are great because they allow you the freedom to go within all the parks anytime you want. So if you finish one up early or get bored you can go to another one!

If the crouds were too big at Epcot, you can try out Animal Kingdom, ... & So on.

Answer 2

When I talk to people that are wanting to save a little money, I always recommend not getting the hopper. While it is a nice extra to have, I don't think it is something you HAVE to have.

The biggest problem is that there is quite a bit of time lost in the parks traveling between them. So, you will be able to see less in each park. But, keep in mind, you can always leave and go back to the same park you went to if you like, just not another park.

There is a lot to do in each park. The only park that may not take a full day is Animal Kingdom, but you could spend a whole day there if you wanted to. It also depends on your children. If you have younger children, you may be a little slower because of meeting the characters, etc. If you have older children, there may be fewer rides they are interested in. You also have to factor in the time to eat.

So you just need to decide how important it is for you to go to different parks in the same day. It is nice because you can go to Animal Kingdom in the morning and to EPCOT for dinner. But, there is a lot to see outside of the parks, such as downtown Disney and putt putt courses. So it isn't like you will be board.

For a little more, you are able to get the Waterparks and more option, which is definitely worth it. You can go to the waterparks, DisneyQuest and Wide World of Sports with the ticket. It will start saving you money after two visits. It is something to consider.

I hope this helps!

Answer 3

I have an annual pass and I say park hopping is the way to go! Because Animal Kingdom closes so early during the winter months, it would be great if you could go to another park, say EPCOT for the remainder of the day after you leave Animal Kingdom. Not only that but if there is a place you wanted to go for dinner but the place you wanted to go to was BOOKED, then you would have more options for dinner.

If you have your heart set on eating somewhere in the parks, I would highly, highly recommend that you make reservations. Many of the restaurants fill up quickly and walk in's rarely ever get seated (particularly during peak dinner times).

You will not see everything in 5 days, it is impossible! I have an annual pass and there are things at Disney that I haven't seen or done yet, if you can believe that!

I do have to add that if you have a strict itinerary for your trip, certain things you have to get to, etc, then you may not need a park hopper.

Park hopping is a great option on a ticket. We park hop from the Magic Kingdom to EPCOT to eat dinner a lot. We'll go to the Animal Kingdom in the early part of the day then head over to MGM or another park, then maybe head over to EPCOT again for dinner and fireworks.

Park hopping is also very convenient and easy too... buses will take you to and from any park. You can take the monorail from the Magic Kingdom to EPCOT, boats to and from EPCOT and MGM, so don't think that you have to drive all over the place to get to the parks!

Answer 4

Hi there! Well it really depends on a few things. Have you been to Walt Disney World before or is this your first time? If you have been before, then you might want to consider the park hopper option so that you can leave one park and head over to another if you feel like a change of scenery. Park hoppers are great for people who like to spend half of their day at say Animal Kingdom, but have been so many times that they don't need a whole day and can hop over to another park to finish up their day. They are also ideal for folks on a tight budget. If a family only has 2 days to spend at Disney, they can purchase 2 day park hoppers and see all 4 parks in those 2 days.
However 1 full day is plenty of time at each park and since you have 5 full days for a vacation, you could save a lot of money and just buy basic park tickets for 4 days. That is my recommendation. Then use your 5th day to do something else like go to one of Disney's Water Parks, the beach, Kennedy Space Center or Universal's Islands of Adventure.

If you would like help planning your trip or would like to read up on some fun tips and ideas that are updated monthly, visit my Disney Vacation Services Website, I'm All Ears at:

http://im-all-ears-disney-vacation-services.blogspot.com/

Have fun!

Answer 5

In your case, I'd get the Park Hopper Option. You're only going for five days, and there's enough to do at Walt Disney World to keep you occupied for weeks, even months. The Magic Kingdom Park and Epcot each take at least two days to complete. The Animal Kingdom Park doesn't take too long, usually just an afternoon. The Animal Kingdom Park is only open until about 6:00 on most days anyway. Disney-MGM Studios also doesn't take very long. It would make sense to spend one day at the Animal Kingdom Park, and then spend that evening at Disney-MGM Studios (perfect if you're planning on seeing Fantasmic!) Don't forget, there's also two Water Parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, plus Downtown Disney. Each of the Water Parks takes an afternoon and Downtown Disney takes at least one full day.

It takes at least two weeks to do every Park, Water Park, and Downtown Disney. My boyfriend and I just got back from our most recent Walt Disney World vacation a few weeks ago. We went for 11 days, two extra days than our last trip, and it still wasn't long enough. If you were going for longer and had time to relax and take your time and go to one Park each day, you may not need the Park Hopper Option. But chances are either your first or last day you won't have the time or energy to go to a Park, then that only leaves you with four days. There's four Parks, but you may not want to be at the Parks from open to close everyday, and then that leaves you with even less time. No matter what you think, you'll never be able to complete the Magic Kingdom Park or Epcot in one day, so you're already bound to miss a lot of great stuff at each of those Parks. Another reason to get the Park Hopper Option is the fireworks shows. If you go the Animal Kingdom Park one day, that night you may want to see the fireworks shows at the Magic Kingdom or Epcot, and you can't do that without the Park Hopper Option.

Have fun!

Answer 6

The park hopper is the best option. Because you can plan to have more options of things to do throughout the day. You don't just have to stay at one park and when your bored that's it! You can go from park to park and say eat at one, see shows and another and ride rides where ever you end up. It really is the way to go, you won't feel so tied down and stressed out about what you have to get in through out the day!

Answer 7

we went to Disney for the first time in august of this year and already have a trip planned out for this coming June. we have two daughters, ages 6 and 4 and i didn' t buy park hopper because i figured we'd never have the time to use it with having the kids. i was right. we went for 7 days and spent two whole days in magic kingdom and still didn't get to see it all. if you only want to spend a whole day in ONE park, you won't need it. there is so much to do, in my opinion, you don't really need to park hop. just plan your meals for the day in the park you will be in. there is a great variety of things to do and places to go. i did, however, buy extra tickets since per person it only costs roughly three dollars MORE for each extra day of theme park tickets. we bought two extra days for cheaper than the park hopper costs. i got them just in case we forgot something or really wanted to return to a park later in the evening for some reason. those two extra days worth of tickets, we didn't use, but it was worth it to get it JUST IN CASE. something to consider is, though, that animal kingdom closes early for the animals. if you don't wanna go to another park, go back to the hotel room and enjoy the pool or go to downtown Disney and enjoy the stores. it's a matter of preference, we're not getting the park hopper this year coming either.

Answer 8

The park hopper is a better deal. Say you actually got to ride everything in one park that you wanted to do, then you can go to the next instead of waiting until the next day. Or what if you really liked one ride at each park? Then you will ave te option to jump to each park & ride all of your favorite rides in the same day!

Answer 9

A park hopper pass is good for 5 days and when I bought it, it did not have to be 5 consecutive days. I used 4 days intermittently in Orlando, 1 day in CA a year or so later. The single admission to each park is about $65.00 each. I didn't spend a full day in 1 park so we were able to hop around and not have to pay for Epcot or
MGM after visiting Magic Kingdom

Answer 10

I see many different answers, and each one is right. FOR THAT PERSON. It really is an individual choice. Some people like to go to more than one park in a day, or like having the option to go back and see something they might have missed. I bought the park hopper option in 2004 and didn't even use it. I find that we like to thoroughly enjoy whatever park we are at for the day. But that is just what fits our lifestyle.

You have to make your own choice. good luck and have a great vacation!