Is park hopping worth it?

[brave321]

We're thinking about a trip in May. We want to park hop two days between MK and HS. However, we were planning on going to Epcot as well but didn't necessarily want to park hop that day. I was looking at the tickets and it's cheaper for us to get three day park hoppers than two day park hoppers and one day one park tickets. So now that we're going to have the option to park hop, I want to know if we should. We'd probably be at Epcot from 11-9 to do most rides and walk around WS. MK has EMH that morning though, so we could use that if we wanted. But, we don't typically do morning EMH and that seems like a bit of a long day. Would it be worth it to get up early and go to MK for a few hours?

 

[MrInfinity]

So you're hopping 2 days for sure... between MK and HS both days? That's a 1/2 day at each, two times? I don't think I would do that. I would just do one day at MK and one day at HS without hopping at all. It's the same amount of time but less busses. But there is certainly nothing wrong w the idea of going to the MK in the morning for a few hours and then going to HS for the evening. Take a break at the pool. MK 9-noon, off noon-4, then HS 4-9 with a dinner reservation and fast passes. If you're at Epcot 11-9, I would not hop that day as well.

Which resort?

 

[AFwifelife]

It depends. For us, PHing is a must but we also take an afternoon break. We also like a change of scenery and crowds. We are also morning EMH people but with the afternoon break, we aren't ridiculously tired by the end of the night.

 

[BrianL]

Don't feel like you need to park hop every day of your trip. The option is nice to have, and something I use all the time, but not ever day of every trip. Use it as needed. The cost of the upgrade is worth it if your touring calls for it.

To answer your other question, I would probably just go to Epcot at rope drop, but I do rope drop every day. MK EMH wouldn't be bad if you don't want to arrive to Epcot until 11. I would totally do it, but your mileage may vary.

 

[RocketCityMama]

We buy hoppers because we often like to change parks by evening time or if the crowds get crazy at one park or our dinner reservations are at another park. Sure I can try to plan adr's based on the park day but sometimes those dates aren't available, so we go with the flow. I love EMH both morning and night so we take advantage of them when possible

 

[loves to dive]

We have always bought hoppers so obviously for us, it's worth it. Depending on when in May you are going, it's possible F&G will still be going on at Epcot and you might actually want to hop over there for a hour or two on another day.

 

[MHSweb79]

To me your question is whether it's worth it to hop on your Epcot day, given that you've planned to spend 10 hours there. (You know theFuture World section opens at 9, right?) it's a long day, especially if it's hot. Morning EMH at MK would be too much for our family but if you decided to go that way you could ride the monorail to Epcot which is kind of fun in itself.

 

[3gr8boys]

Not specific to your plans, just to hopping in general....

We get PH tickets so we can change parks late in the day based on what the kids want to do after a more scheduled morning/early afternoon...even splitting up sometimes.

I like knowing that I can change my plans regarding which night I catch which nighttime shows without having to change the who!e day.

 

[Nohal]

In all of our trips we have never been without park hoppers. We have been going since you could park hop as part of the ticket price, you just got your hand stamped. I'm so used to hopping, I don't think I could be without them. We hop because we don't think that AK is a full day park, nor is HS. We also PH for dining or if a park is crowded we go to another park.

 

[alex9179]

The option is nice to have, and something I use all the time, but not ever day of every trip. Use it as needed.

Totally agree. Only hop if it jives with your plans. My family could spend all day in Epcot, no problem. If your family has had enough with plenty of time to hop, look at FP availability/hours and go.

Edit: I love hoppers and wouldn't go without them. We go to AM EMH when offered and hop to another park for the evening. But, we don't do that every day.

 

[CrankyDad]

Really only you can answer that. We jut got back two weeks ago and we hopped parks all days but one.

Heck one day we did tour in AK, lunch in Epcot Japan and then hit MK for our fast passes.. But that is us

Honestly, you know your family and pace of hitting the parks.. Go with that

 

[jaiminee krikit]

For a quick trip, it’s totally worth it. You can see everything you really want to see. Longer trips, we never get it. We always plan one park per day.

 

[crazylady]

If I had the park hopper, I would use it. But I would try to adjust the schedule so I was hopping between HS and Epcot one of the days. It is any easy walk or boatride between the two so no buses.

 

[chs27]

It depends where we stay. If we stay at Boardwalk, I feel I need PH because we're so close to HS and Epcot. When we stay at OKW, we don't. Disney Springs has a lot to offer.

 

[Haley R]

We’ve always used park hoppers but for our upcoming trip we aren’t. It’s a short trip due to our budget. We are taking our niece so are doing dah, 1 day at mk, and 1 day at ak. Then we have one off day. We could’ve bought another days worth of tickets but it’s just not a cost we could handle this time. Our niece is very excited to have a day to go swimming/Star Wars vr in Disney springs.

 

[unrequited23]

It's cheaper to buy the 3 day hopper vs your other option. You are considering a few hours at MK on an EMH day where you should not 'need' to use FPs in the morning. I'm guessing you will make your FPs in Epcot. As type A as I am, I would suggest that you make a night before/day of decision if you want to go to MK.

 

[Shellyb84]

We have APs, but if we didn't I would always get hoppers. We hop a good bit. We go to morning EMH usually, then we're ready to leave by lunch time. We go back to the resort to relax and go to the pool, and then if we decide to go back to a park it's always a different one that we went to in the morning. The change of scenery is nice, and there are attractions we like to do more than once but not necessarily in the same day. Also, we like the Epcot area resorts so when we stay in that area we frequently walk over to Epcot for a drink, dinner, or to just wander around WS for a while.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

It depends. For us, PHing is a must but we also take an afternoon break. We also like a change of scenery and crowds. We are also morning EMH people but with the afternoon break, we aren't ridiculously tired by the end of the night.

We get hoppers for exactly these ^ reasons.

We also don’t really like to plan our Disney vacations. We are more a spontaneous touring family and the hoppers allow us the freedom to go/do whatever our little hearts desire whenever our little hearts desire it.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

We always have PHs, some days we use them some days we don't. They are handy to have though just in case. Plans can change and it's nice to have that option.

 

[KenHutch]

I am just the opposite of most of the posters here, in 4 trips we have never used park hoppers. And unlike most people who say that Hollywood is a half day park I have managed to keep busy for 2 days there every trip. I do understand people hopping for eating purposes but I have the girls pick based on what park we are in or they choose a resort to eat at (my preference the hotels do a better job than the parks). If its a short trip and you are trying to maximize your experience they are probably a good idea for you.