[B]Still can't decide... to hop or not... please someone just slap me[/B]

[moopdog]

I had thought all along that since we have 7 days at the parks that it would be a waste of money to get the hoppers. Also, I thought "hopping" in itself would be tough with the little ones. However now I'm rethinking - okay OVERthinking things again.

It's me, DH, DD13, DS4, and DD2. We're going from 9/22-9/30, staying 3 nights at ASM and 5 nights at OKW. Due to ages, we'll be going back to hotel each afternoon and then going back "out" after naps, showers, etc. I was thinking that since we're going back to hotel anyway, we could just as easily head to any park we want, not just the park we were already at that day, right? Also, what if we get to one and it's totally PACKED... or what if we only want to go to see one specific thing one night, like Fantasmic even though we spent the day at MK. You see what I'm saying?

On the other hand... DH and I really need to scrimp wherever we can. I would be happy to spend the money IF I think we'll use it, but boy will it ever hurt if we shell out the cash and then don't hop, or only hop once. Any insight on this....

Thanks a bunch and I will start trying to make my own decisions one of these days!! ha ha, no I won't!

 

[Mr Poohbrain]

Hi MoopDog,

First off, you're picking a great time to go, as far as crowds are concerned - so, I doubt you'll have to worry about a particular ride/show being too crowded.

IMHO, I would say "buy the hopper". You never know when the mood may strike you to go back to a different park in the afternoon, after naps. With little ones that young, they may have enough of Epcot in the morning and want to go back to MK in the pm.

Not to make you overthink this any more (I do the same thing), but do you think the 4 and 2 year olds can handle 7 out of 8 days at the park? My ds is 2.5 and we'll probably be doing every other day at the park, just so he doesn't get to fried out on Mickey and the gang. We went back in Sept and made the mistake of going to SeaWorld on Mon, MK on Tuesday and he sat in his stroller most of the morning, with a glazed-over look in his eyes (thankfully, he perked up after a much needed pm nap).

Mrs. PB

 

[weluvpluto]

Seeing the dates you're going and that you want to save money, I would probably opt for no hopping. Parks should not be that crowded then, but if Spectromagic is only scheduled once or twice while you're there, it will make MK more crowded. Last September, Fantasmic was every night, so that shouldn't be a problem.
How much more is the park hopping option going to cost for your family?

 

[elan]

WDW can certainly be done with out hopping. If it meant you couldn't go than I say no hopping. But for an extra 140.00 it will give you some great flexibility. We usually hop and I have a 7,5 and 3 yo.

 

[twinklebug]

I'd go for the hopper passes, remember AK closes earlier than the other parks & it's quite possible that the little guys will start chanting "DUMBO" when you're in Epcot. LOL.

A little off topic, does anyone else feel overwhelmed by the options available now? It used to be "How many days and what ages are the guests?" Now it's more like ordering a Latte at starbucks given all the options.

 

[moopdog]

I am thinking .... hop! But to answer some of your questions: it will be about $120 for us to all hop. I am getting the 7 day pass because it is literally only $5 more per person than the 5 day pass. I don't know that we'll actually use the days, but to me it is worth it to have the choice to go each day if we want. Especially with the 13 year old - one of us might want to take her and not the kids one day, or just go to one park at night for a "show" after spending the day at DTD or something like that. For the small cost difference, it's worth it to me to have the 7 day passes.

Thanks!!

 

[eeyoreforever]

I have debated this also and have finally decided that I will purchase my tickets without the hopping option. If I am at a park one day and decide that we do want to hop, I will have it added on to my ticket at that time. I have been assured that you can do this. It will still cost $35/ticket (I think thats the price) no matter how many days you have used or have left on your tickets. That way, the hopping won't be wasted if we never decide we need it.

 

[beth_cam]

We are planning to get the 7 day no hopping tickets. We were originally planning a 4 day hopper (I wanted days off in the hotel) but this is cheaper and I originally thought we could use the extra days to get into 2 parks in one day. According to what I read that's not possible. When I saw all the posts about the 10 day hopper with plusses and no expiration disounts through ticketmania for those who have a subscription to the mousesavers newsletter I started rethinking. For my family It is going to cost about 710 for 7 day tickets (ticketmania +mousesavers discounts). If I buy that 10 day (the potential to park hop 10 days + 5 more days of extras) I will spend about 1360 for 2 trips. or 680 each. I have pretty much decided against that since we think the children are too young for the plusses and like the idea of a more easy paced trip. I dont want to be in the park all day every day. I like the idea if we are done with MGM or AK we can enjoy the rest of the day at the hotel. Especially since the whole thought behind OUR 7 day trip was to have a vacation not a Disney rat race exhausted when we get back.

 

[LovePug]

I have debated this also and have finally decided that I will purchase my tickets without the hopping option. If I am at a park one day and decide that we do want to hop, I will have it added on to my ticket at that time. I have been assured that you can do this. It will still cost $35/ticket (I think thats the price) no matter how many days you have used or have left on your tickets. That way, the hopping won't be wasted if we never decide we need it.

This is exactly what you should do if you're unsure if you're going to hop .

 

[talicskai]

Personally I would not spend the money on the park hopper but on the expiration.....If you are buying 7 days instead of 5 because it is cheaper then add your no expiry option and you can use it the next trip....Just another thing for you to consider ~ sorry

Teresa

 

[all4fun]

I second eeyoreforever's suggestion of not buying the park hopping feature and taking a wait and see approach. That way if you get there and decide you don't need to hop then you're not out the extra dollars, but if you decide it's something you must do, you still can upgrade your tickets and do it.

 

[DebMcDonald]

I admit I was thinking the same thing, hopping vs. not hopping and saving money, but in the end we have decided to hop and the reason is maybe we'll have a day that we are just too tired to stay until closing or too tired to go back in the evening and on another day we could just go back that evening and do that parade or whatever we missed, go back for that missing autograph,etc.

 

[oogieboogie]

September 2004, AK closed at 5pm, MK closed at 6pm or 7pm, and MGM closed at 7pm many many nights. What would you do in the evening if you still feel like going to the parks? Your options would be quite limited if you didn't have hoppers.

We have APs, but let me tell you... it's nice to be able to hop. One morning, we went to AK, decided after 2 hours there that it was too crowded for our taste, and we went to MGM instead. After spending time at MGM, we decided to end the evening at Epcot because we wanted to see Illuminations and the kids wanted to ride Journey into Imagination. Had we not had the ability to park hop, we would've had to explain to the kids why we couldn't do the things they wanted to do.

For 7 days being there, I would definitely get park hoppers. Yes, it's a bit more money, but take out eating out at TGIF or Outback for one night and you're already saving at least $50 right there.

 

[ArRzrbk]

Thanks a bunch and I will start trying to make my own decisions one of these days!! ha ha, no I won't!

No need to make your own decisions. You have us! Plus, I am a fellow OVERthinker, and I think we are the really smart ones. The really smart ones can always see every angle and plan for every senario - even the worst cases! Anyway...

With the kids, I think hopping is the way to go. You will most likely be going back to the resort for naps, and who knows, you may find that the parks you thought they'd love they didn't. Or that they are "over" them after just a morning there. With the hopping option, you can take them someplace else for the afternoons, and you also have the option of going someplace else for dinner - lots of great restaurants in the parks.

Oh, and I think it is a fine idea to add the hopping later, if you really aren't sure you'll be hopping. But it does sound like we are two peas in a pod on the planning, thinking, worrying front, and I say...make the decision before you leave home. It will be one less thing to worry about. Take it from someone who knows!

P.S. I am still agonizing over my own ticket purchase - have done so for so long we are now going to have to do "will call" and pick them up at the hotel. But I am going to make my final decision between the 7 day and 10 day non-expiring park hoppers today...I think

 

[beth_cam]

I keep wanting to hop for me (i figure we could do most of akl and mgm in one day finnish up mgm another and move on. Plus going back and forth between epcot and mk) We do back to the hotel for naps to I understand it isnt as if it means extra time used up going form park to park. But what I keep reminding myself is what did I spen all that money on a delux fun hotel for if I am going to do nothing but run to parks and sleep. When animal kingdom closes early, we can enjoy the hotel. If we get sick of Epcot on the third day there (OKAY mommy REALLY REALLY likes epcot but we may have to rework that plan) we can play i mean after all the whole point in us booking a week well now we are at nine nights,( thankgoodness there is only 5 weeks left till we go otherwise who knows how much i would extend it) the whole point was to have a relaxing vacation and not come back feeling like we are so exhausted we need some time off.

 

[DebIreland]

You will most likely be going back to the resort for naps, and who knows, you may find that the parks you thought they'd love they didn't. Or that they are "over" them after just a morning there. With the hopping option, you can take them someplace else for the afternoons, and you also have the option of going someplace else for dinner - lots of great restaurants in the parks.

My thoughts exactly! After agonising about which tickets to get, I was swayed by the ability to visit theme park restaurants on evenings or mornings we're *not* touring those theme parks.

Great point too about the children being "over" the theme park after just a morning. Without hoppers it could be quite distressing to realise that your Magic Kingdom day is now gone after having been to only a few attractions. *shudder* lol! I say "lol" but actually I'd probably be devastated for real and the other kids too, if one of them wants to leave and the others don't!!! At least this way if one or more of us say they'd like to go back to the resort for a swim, we can do that stress-free knowing we'll be back.

But it does sound like we are two peas in a pod on the planning, thinking, worrying front

Push over in that pod and make room for me! I've analysed this holiday to death! And I'm *still* not done! It is fun but it's also a lot of hard work and gets stressful!

make the decision before you leave home. It will be one less thing to worry about.

Agreed again. I have purchased mine already and it's a great weight lifted. I have no regrets Now if I could just decide where to eat. I have made a list of restaurants I like the sound of, with comments cut and pasted from posts here and from my 3 (yes I bought *3*) guide books and I'd need 2 months at WDW to eat at them all! Slowly but surely I'm narrowing down the choices and I've even made 4 PS's - yeah!!!!!!! But how long will it be before I ring to re-schedule those,

 

[DebIreland]

does anyone else feel overwhelmed by the options available now? It used to be "How many days and what ages are the guests?" Now it's more like ordering a Latte at starbucks given all the options.

Yes, I am totally overwhelmed at times! I had to stop planning for a couple of weeks because it was stressing me out and I had lists and sub-lists and a list of lists! lol.

"Overwhelming" is the perfect word for it! But I am so glad the DISboards exist and that I have access to them because I shudder to think that, if we didn't have internet access, we'd just arrive at WDW and play it by ear. I also read the Unofficial Guide cover to cover and bought a Passporter but I wouldn't have known that *they* existed if I didn't read about them here. Thank you DISboards!!!!

 

[eeyore kelly]

I decided to get the Park hopper feature as a "just in case." At this time I don't plan to use it, but if we get to the parks and decide to use it, it's there.

 

[chrisn]

and we've NEVER hopped. We stay at the same park all day. I always buy them thinking what if we want to but I feel like it's a little too much wasted time. Of course this is coming from the girl who doesn't leave the park for naps, pool breaks, meals etc, and I also avoid the EMH parks like the plague so take it for what it's worth. For us, it just doesn't make sense. I am quite pleased with the new MYW ticketing system because now I will be able to save a little money and just buy the 4 day base ticket.