Parenting in the Parks: Park Hopping vs. Single-Park Tickets for Families

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Park Hopping vs. Single-Park Tickets for Families by Adrienne Krock

The Parenting Panel, on budgeting for Park Hopper tickets when planning a Disney theme park vacation.

Read it here!

[mkelm44]

While I haven't been with my own son yet, having gone with just about every young cousin I could find lead me to the conclusion that park hoppers were the way to go. On one trip with my cousins (at that time they were 13 and 9) the younger just had a complete meltdown. For whatever reason he wasn't feeling EPCOT that day. We thought it would be right up his alley (even as a young boy he loved learning about different things) but it just wasn't working for him. So we had a choice... stay in EPCOT and hope he came around, or go on to the next park. Being sound of mind, we made way over to Animal Kingdom, which was what he wanted to do. The next day (when we originally planned to go to AK) we went back to EPCOT to do the stuff we missed, and we all had a blast.

Lesson learned for me- park hopping option with kids is your eject button- rather than feel like you *have* to be in a park, you always have the option of going somewhere else if it just doesn't happen...

[danyoung]

The main reason I've always advocated for the park hoppers is that the park schedules are not the same. If I was doing a DAK day, for example, and the park closed at 6pm, it would just kill me to not have access to another park. But with hoppers I can always hop over to Epcot to finish the evening. Course, I'm an AP holder, so it's kind of a moot point for me . . . . .

[GusMan]

Lesson learned for me- park hopping option with kids is your eject button- rather than feel like you *have* to be in a park, you always have the option of going somewhere else if it just doesn't happen...

"Eject Button." I like that.
But you are right - there is something freeing about not being tied down.

There is also one other thing I meant to mention, but thought I would wait... touring groups.
There are times in the summer where the parks get slammed by tour groups. They all flock to one park as well. If you find yourself surrounded by tour guides with flags and lines that are longer than typical*... head to another park.

After all, there are just some things that a touring plan cannot anticipate.

(* = a typical tour group numbering at least 75 people enters the line for Soarin' or Test Track equals nearly doubling the wait time all at once.)

[DisneyGator]

First two trips without kids, we park hopped all the time. Nearly every day. But then the kids came along. We got a park hopper on the first trip... and never used it once. It became too much of a pain hauling around strollers, diaper bags, and everything else a kid needs onto the Disney bus. Our thoughts have become, "Get on the bus once to go and once to leave - no more and no less". And we have found that it's much better this way because you don't waste nearly an hour of prime park time traveling around. Plus, you can't take advantage of fastpass all day when you're switching parks all the time.

As far as days at the AK, we used to cut out early and go to another park. But cutting out the park hoppers, now we plan character meals at different resorts in the evening. That helps fill up the empty time, and we get to knock out some character photo ops.

[sasmmb]

For first-timers or people who haven't been in a while, and they also have kids under the age of 9, I would recommend only getting the Single Day option. There is so much to see and do at any one park, coupled with the fact that it just takes longer to see and do things with younger children that 1 park per day is fine. You can still leave the park and take a mid-day break. The only difference between that and park hopping is you see more of your morning park. And if you only do selected lands in the AM and save other lands for the evening it really is like going to a different park but you save cash. And let's face it, sometimes your 5 year old really wants to do ____________ (insert Barnstormer, Tea Cups, Small World, etc.) over and over and over again. And that's OK!!

For more frequent visitors, or those with older kids, park hopping is a must since there are often attractions you really have no interest in so you may find yourself not staying a full day at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom.

Also, others have pointed out the flexibility of the parkhopper that makes planning easier. I tend to think the flexibility of the parkhopper makes planning harder by allowing WAY too many choices. By limiting yourself to 1 park per day, the planning actually becomes easier. So what if Animal Kingdom closes at 6 PM? Go to Animal Kingdom Lodge, eat at Boma's, enjoy the storytellers out back by the fire and view the savannah thru binoculars at night. It's still a full day and what you save in parkhopper pays for your Boma's meal.

[adriennek]

In Anaheim, packing up to get on a bus is a non-issue - you don't even have to go through bag check to hop between the two parks. The two parks are closer to each other than the length of Main Street - It would take longer to walk from the entrance of Epcot to World Showcase, than to walk between Disneyland and DCA.

I will say emphatically: Our first trip to WDW, my kids were 5, 8 and 11 and I'm VERY glad we had park hoppers. We would've been very disappointed if we didn't have the option to go to one park in the morning and finish the day in another, on a few days. Yes, we had a stroller with us. We didn't use buses, though. We had a rental car or used the monorail. I suspect that had we used buses, my opinion might be different. Maybe it's because we are so used to having our own car when we go anywhere, but the bus system at WDW frustrates me greatly.

[Maus]

This is a very interesting article. I had never thought of using single-park tickets to save money. We are so used to park hopping at Disneyland that I've automatically purchased park hoppers at WDW. I'm planning a trip now for next January with a 5 and 6 year old and after reading the comments here I'm really thinking of single-park days. We don't use strollers any more, always use the buses (which never frustrate me ) and naps are rare. The parks close early most days in January so early bedtimes will work for us. Great food for thought.

[davidgra]

I find myself agreeing with almost everyone -- using the park hopper option is really a must. While you might save a *little* money by keeping your tickets limited to single-park admission, you will lose the ability to maximize your money by being stuck in parks that close earlier than other.

One of the main reasons to use a park hopper has to do with "extra magic hours." Parks that have extra magic hours that day are more crowded. If the Magic Kingdom is open three hours later for resort guests, every resort guest with a single-park ticket will go to the Magic Kingdom that day and spend all day there. Our family looks at the extra magic hours schedule and picks a park that ISN'T having extra magic hours that day. Once we get to the extra magic hours time, we hop over to the park that IS having the extra magic hours. It's the best of both worlds. (We rarely do extra magic hours in the morning, but it's the same scenario where we'd start in the extra magic hours park, then hop over to a different park once the regular park hours have started.)

[THpoohbear]

I'm in the minority on this one. I now go for single park tickets at WDW. My first trip I purchased park hoppers and used them nearly every day. I planned to start the day in one park and finish the day in another. While it was fun, and I enjoyed visiting each park multiple times, I also found it very time consuming and a little jolting to our day. Maybe we are unflexible?! I don't know, but it seemed to us that we didn't enjoy the second park of the day nearly as much as the first.

My second trip I purchased park hoppers and used them only once. The itinerary was planned that way, I think on our AK day. I did appreciate having it for that one night, but didn't miss the capability on the other days whatsoever. From the next trip forward, we've stuck with single day tickets and have never looked back.

If you are planning on a mid day break at the hotel anyway it doesn't take any more or less time to park hop. But if not, it's an added hour or so using Disney transportation to leave on park and get to the next.

I will not use morning EMH without the park hoping ability, so we've lost out on those, BUT my last couple of trips has been with a very small child and our day goes much better if I perish the thought of waking him earlier than I really need to, so now we just avoid EMH entirely.

Now, at Disneyland, it's a whole different story. When we hop we are inside the bag check area so we don't need to go through it again. AND the parks are so close to each other. AND we don't have to drag strollers and diaper bags on any transportation, so I do heartily recommend park hoppers on the West coast. Interestingly, my sister lives out of state but is a disneyland vet. When she visits, she prefers to use single park tickets. She likes to focus on one park a day vs. ping ponging back and forth.

In the end I really do think it depends on one's situation and demographic, and to some extent, personality. I personally have a grand time at WDW without park hoppers and am kind of relieved to only focus on one park per day.

[Mermaid]

I have never gotten or wanted PH on my adult only trips to WDW. I felt like it worked fine for us to just focus on a park per day and on AK day we wither got to rest a little or went to DTD. But, I can see the appeal of them with children to maximize early entry, head out of a park that people aren't feeling that day, switching after nap etc. We plan to go back to WDW when my kids are 5 and 6, so we have some time to mull this over, ha ha, but this has given me a lot to think about!

[3Princesses1Prince]

We didn't get PH on our WDW trip and I won't make that mistake again. If you are taking mid day breaks then park hopping is easy and convenient.

We always hop at DLR. It's so easy. Though we don't always hop every day. We do on most days.

[cstephens]

The main reason I've always advocated for the park hoppers is that the park schedules are not the same. If I was doing a DAK day, for example, and the park closed at 6pm, it would just kill me to not have access to another park. But with hoppers I can always hop over to Epcot to finish the evening. Course, I'm an AP holder, so it's kind of a moot point for me . . . . .

I also think there's a huge difference in planning/travelling for a single person and when you're vacationing with children, especially younger children.

[danyoung]

I would think with younger children the need to take a nap back at the hotel would be even greater.

[3Princesses1Prince]

I would think with younger children the need to take a nap back at the hotel would be even greater.

I agree.

[shna]

We went to WDW twice in 2009 -- once with our daughter (who turned 5 during the trip) and once without. We didn't get park hoppers either time - and we did NOT regret the decision. During our trip with DD, we were staying at a rental house about half an hour from the parks, so we weren't heading back in the middle of the day. We weren't starting at the crack of dawn, either (nobody in the family is a morning person). We made plans around ADRs & avoiding whatever park had EMH and things worked out just fine.

When DH & I went without DD, we stayed at POFQ. It was in September, so we were able to do the Halloween party. I *think* we did that after we had visited another park during the day, so we sort of hopped without having hoppers (but paid for the Halloween party tix). It worked out well.

When we go in 2014, the choice of tickets *might* depend on park hours. If parks are closing before 10pm, there's really not much point to hoppers for us. If everything is open late, then that might sway us. Since we'll be going in September again, I'm guessing the parks won't be open terribly late & we won't need hoppers.

That said -- when we go to Disneyland, we almost always hop. Even if it's only to ride one ride or to get one special yummy treat -- but we have APs, so it's no big deal.

[EeyoreGirl]

I have been debating which tickets to buy for our upcoming DLR trip. I was thinking about getting single park tickets to save money. But reading these posts and talking to my husband who agrees with many of you we'll be getting the park hopper tickets even though they are more money.