3 days-To hop or not to hop?

[Wendy98]

DL first timer, WDW vet. We have 3 days in July to spend at DL. Background: We (myself, dh, and 3 kids-8,10, and 13) are staying at DLH. Is there a need to park hop with just 2 parks?

 

[mom2rtk]

It depends on when the days are and if there are shows/fireworks you can only see on certain days. we don't hop at WDW but almost always do at some point at DLR. That said, we don't tend to hope back and forth a lot, but enough that hoppers are an automatic for us.

 

[tasha99]

We always get hoppers for DL. I only get them if we're staying at an Epcot resort for WDW (hopping doesn't seem necessary there, but it's nice to be able to eat at Epcot). The parks in DL are much closer, making hopping so much easier than at WDW.

 

[DarthMole]

Hop. We always get hoppers. Our last trip we stayed at DLH and took full advantage of EMH. By mid morning we were ready to hop. I imagined what it would be like to be captive in the one park all day and can't say it appeals to me at all. Now if you're strolling in a 10-11am, then one park per day would probably work just fine.

 

[squeezle]

You can certainly do it without hopping, but with the parks just steps apart we have always opted for hopping... and that way you don't have to decide which park only gets one day.

 

[MarissaMarissa]

HOP!

 

[ParkHopper1]

Yes, yes...oh and yes!

DL is MUCH different environment from WDW. It is more like one big park. Unless it is a money saving necessity...such as a choice between two day park hoppers and three day single park as your ONLY options the budget will permit, then the few extra dollars for hoppers are well worth the flexibility they allow IMO.

On any given day we will bounce back and forth twice a day to each park.

 

[Winnowill]

Our first trip, we had four-day non-hoppers. We missed RSR entirely as a result and had to wait two years before we got back and finally experienced it. We'll never go without hoppers again!

 

[mom2rtk]

Something else to keep in mind is that you can start with single park tickets and add hopping if you decide you need to.

 

[jessiegirl1982]

For a 3 day ticket, definitely worth it to get hoppers... so convenient to hop at DL.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Hop because:
-You're staying onsite and can take advantage of EMH and then spend the rest of the morning in the other park if you want (it takes like 90 seconds to exit DCA and be in DL if there are minimal entry lines)
-Nighttime entertainment options, if the fireworks get cancelled no biggie you can see them a different night
-Family acting like night owls? Hop over to DL after you're done in DCA, it's usually open a couple hours longer

We love hopping at DLR and staying onsite we get even more out of it (because we spend more time in the parks when we stay onsite its nice to have new options).

 

[ktlm]

We always hop at DLR- it takes 5 minutes and you don't even go through bag check between the parks. In July, DCA is usually open until 10:00 and DL is usually open to midnight- so if you are late night people, you can get 2 more hours in by hopping. We usually hop a few times a day-- if the lines are long in one park and we look on the app and they are shorter in the other- we hop for a while. If DH suddenly wants a beer from the Karl Strauss beer truck at Pacific Wharf at CA, he hops. If DD suddenly really wants to ride RSR- we hop and jump in the single rider line. If we went to WOC and did not get to see Carsland at night one night- we might hop another night just to see the beauty of Carsland after dark. We might go to the early morning hour at one park and then hop to the other. We stay at DLH and last summer the metal detector lines were crazy, so there was a time or two that we went through the Grand Californian and entered CA (with just a family or two in front of us- although the short line will not happen until about 10 minutes after rope drop and then we have found it to be good the rest of the day) and then we walked through and exited CA and went to DL. We find at DLR we really use those hoppers.

 

[purple figment]

While there are only two parks they are so close together that it is easy to hop between them. The distance between DL and DCA is about 100 steps or the distance between Future World and World Showcase in Epcot.

We always hop between the two parks when we visit because it gives us more options in planning what to do next. If one park is busy or there's a show/parade/ride/restaurant we want to enjoy we can walk over in just a few minutes. Also, DCA tends to close earlier than DL so we can always get that extra hour or two of park time in DL.

You can always start with one park tickets and add hoppers if you decide to hop.

 

[losfp]

Hop for sure. We did 11n at WDW a few years ago and I think we only hopped once. But every time we visit DLR, we hop almost every day. We do early entry/rope drop in one park, then usually when it gets busier, it's easy to hop across to the other park. And we can plan dining/shows etc without having to commit to a particular park for the day.

 

[BayouQueen]

Seems like it's pretty unanimous here -- gotta hop. It's not like WDW!

 

[lk2500]

HOP!!

 

[goooof1]

YES, HOP!!! you will LOVE the flexibility....(all the above examples...)
oh, and as stated by a pp above, it would be like being captive in one park, knowing there is so much more a short, short distance away and you are stuck as things get more and more crowded.....or you want to get something good to eat that's at the other park, or see a show, etc. etc........no relief!

 

[Wendy98]

So glad I asked! We have AP for WDW and are just used to going wherever, whenever. I love the flexibility of hopping.

Now possibly considering a 4th day...We will be driving from Yosemite and was planning on just dinner and walking around Downtown Disney the day we get there. It will be a whopping $43 total to add the 4th day (with hoppers). Decisions, decisions...

 

[tarheelalum]

Without question, buy the hoppers. You'll regret it if you don't.

 

[danceanddisney2010]

Omg definitely hop. We ALWAYS get hoppers..I don't think I could do one day one park when it it soooo close! It is so nice being able to go back and forth.