OK who will try and 'sell' me hoppers?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2007
OK who will try and 'sell' me hoppers?
6
Fri, 07-20-2007 - 2:29pm

So far I have NOT been able to justify it, when I look at what I think are perfectly reasonable touring options WITHOUT hopping for our upcoming trip (in under 3 weeks! Yikes!)

BUT

I keep hearing from all these people whose expert opinion I really respect (*coughSonyacough* as my kids would say, LOL!) that they are worth the expense...so would you please make an attempt at enlighten me??

First, there's the time it takes to actually hop between parks, that I WOULD be concerned about...if I wasn't also planning to go back to the resort in the middle of the day anyway. So since I am, it doesn't really make a difference which park I'm hopping BACK to as long as I'm hopping anyway...I can see that.

Also, one advantage I CAN see, assuming one is already taking a mid-day break as we are most days, is mix-and-matching morning and evening EMHS to maximize both...problem is, I don't think we (particularly DS, even with a nap midday!) would have the energy to keep up with that (up very early, down super late) sort of schedule, kwim? Not for more than a couple of days and not without getting cranky! Again, unless we were taking LONG naps in the middle of the day, which I guess does sound smart for an August trip, but still goes so against what are regular "rhythms" are that it's hard to picture!

So, other than "general flexibility" (to be able to change plans on a whim from one morning or night to another, for example, without that affecting the entire day)...what else would you say are your reasons for your strong preference for hopping? I'm willing to learn...before we leave and it's time to make the final decision!

TIA!

Avatar for cl_ktbugsmom
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 07-20-2007 - 3:52pm

You crack me up. :-)


Alright - here's a list of reasons why hopping works for *my* family. These reasons may or may not apply to you and yours.



  • Our first trip (first few actually) all tickets were automatically hoppers (and no expiration) and we really enjoyed the flexibility of it -now old habits die hard and all that - plus a few more trips under our belt and knowing how my girls are......

  • In the summer or with extended hours it's nice to be able to switch parks if you find one crowded, or make a long day out of the day before you have a day off

  • In the winter or with shorter hours it's nice to be able to hit a park in the am and then go to Epcot (which closes at 930) for the evening

  • My husband hates crowds and I think may have some attention issues - he can't stand to be in the same place all day - even before we had kids he couldn't do the open to close at the local amusement parks like I could. Drives him nuts

  • My middle daughter is like my dh

  • My youngest (and shortest) likes to be able to DO things, so switching up the parks allows her to enjoy the vacation more (and see other parks than MK where she can do the most)

  • My oldest likes to make the most out of everything, so the longer she's in a park, the better and if it' more than one park a
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-18-2004
Sat, 07-21-2007 - 10:16am

We've always had the park hopper, so I don't really have anything to compare our experience to. We love being able to spend the early part of the day really "seeing" things when the lines are short and it's not too hot outside. Then after spending a couple of hours cooling off at the pool or in our air conditioned room, we like to use the evening to enjoy dinner and a more leisurely pace. This last trip we tried out the dining plan, and the park hopper allowed us to make reservations wherever we wanted regardless of where we spent our day. We also really enjoyed taking advantage of the EMH at the water parks. We would hit the water park bright and early at 8am, ride all the slides we wanted without having to wait in line, and then head back to the resort to shower and dress before going out to one of the theme parks. Although we loosely plan out our days before a trip, being able to make spontaneous decisions during the day is really nice. A few times we would be sitting at dinner and someone would say, "Why don't we shoot over to _____ for a few hours?" Our experience with the park hopper has been so positive that I can't see us ever visiting Disney any other way.

Amy

 

Amy

Avatar for laurieh88
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 07-21-2007 - 10:53am

We tried the hoppers one year and absolutely hated it. It really is a family preference kind of thing, and it's SO nice that you can add it on as needed to base tickets after you feel things out a bit.

We feel much less stressed and rushed if we spend the entire day in a park - no afternoon break and no switching. We like to just take time outs here and there where we are without getting on and off the transportation (with a stroller), in and out of gates, in and out of bag search. Obviously that plan doesn't work for everyone - it just fits our family style. The fewer times we wait in line to board transportation, the less crabby we (especially DH!!!) are.

I do think a lot of this has to do with the fact that we avoid the sit down meals. If we were on the dining plan or wanted to experience a lot of the nicer restaurant options, it seems that a hopper would be a hot idea. Also, if we had only 2 or 3 days at WDW, we'd maybe consider hoppers so we could see all 4 parks. The hopper is most definitely a very cool tool when necessary!

LAURIE IN OH, Mom to:
Alex, 12.5 years old
Julianne and Leah, 11 years old
Audrey, 3.5 years old

Disneyworld trips in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
Upcoming Setember-October 2007 trip!!!




Edited 7/21/2007 4:06 pm ET by laurieh88

LAURIE IN OH, Mom to:


Alex, 1

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 07-21-2007 - 1:20pm

If you don't feel the need/can't justify it, then don't do it. Anyone who tries to "sell" you a different way doesn't take individual/family preferences into account and is selfish to think their way is the only way.

Personally, we've only been ONE day (not one trip, but one day) without park hoppers and we sooooo prefer park hoppers. I don't think we've ever done 4 parks in one day, but many of our days in 7 trips we hopped 3 parks.

We don't do Disney the way most do Disney in that they take an afternoon break at the hotel. We keep on truckin' and that's the way WE like it, but I certainly wouldn't try to "sell" that to anyone else if they WANT to take a break.

Alysha













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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 07-21-2007 - 6:41pm
We did not have the park hopper option & we didn't miss it. I felt like it would take too much out of our day to go back & forth. I also feel like it's a rip-off. When I considered how much I paid for our vacation and they wanted to charge me $40 per ticket just for the "priviledge" to switch parks-ugh-that's maddening. They won't charge you the parking fee again if you switch parks-why do they really need to charge you to move about? I don't see why it's necessary but that's personal preference. We were able to make good use of EMH w/o hoppin'.
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Registered: 08-04-2005
Tue, 07-24-2007 - 1:16pm

The biggest reason to me to

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