Does park hopping really wipe you out?

[pixiemama91]

we park hop doing 2 parks a day. We rope drop the first park and then come back to the resort between 11-1 and then take a break swimming or relaxing in the room. Then we go into our second park between 4-6. Dinner is usually planned for a second park or possibly a resort near our second park for the day. we try for a 3-4 hour break each day. We also go in the summer when it is really hot so the break is mandatory for us so we dont get too cranky.

 

[Nancyg56]

I just don't see the point of it UNLESS you are "done" for the day at one park and want to do something else. There is plenty to do in each park for an entire day.
That being said .. it's fun for a Disney veteran that are just there to experience stuff and don't care about being efficient with your time (you just like "being" there).

I try not to plan it .. as it can be NOT relaxing to try and meet timelines (FPs times or ADRs)

We use hoppers for that reason. We leave one park when we are done, and head back to the resort. We head back out around dinner time and often dine in a different park. Personally, I don't need hoppers and would manage quite well without them, however the rest of the fam loves them.

I think that stress, exhaustion, etc are all relative to what your family enjoys. We like ADR"s planned park days, planned resort hopping, etc. and never find having those planned out in advance a burden. If you are one of those families who likes knowing that you can head to another park, either planned or on the fly, and if you have no need for the additional money hoppers cost, they can be a fine way to enhance your trip. Beware that hopping from one park directly to another takes time, so budget it into you day.

 

[tlcdoula]

This trip we are going to rope drop and spend our day at that park till after lunch, then either go back to the hotel to have a rest and then head to the second park for the evening. At the second park we will watch the fireworks or night show... I am trying to make this trip less stressful and trying to not over plan... but it is so hard for me because we don't get to DW often and I want to see and do it all...

 

[TwinkleKS]

We don't park hop a whole lot anymore. Normally, if we do it is to head over to Epcot for our evening meal. This year we are staying at the BC, so I have more meals at night where we can walk over and eat after we are done with a day in the parks. I usually make my plans around one park per day.

 

[holden]

We just got back from a quick 2 day trip. We hopped and covered 3 parks each day - rope drop to park close.

 

[10CJ]

I think where you are staying can also factor in. We stayed and Beach Club over Spring Break so hopping into Epcot is easy.

Our next trip is a short one. We are staying at BLT and I plan to hop 2 of the 3 days. Both of those days involve time at MK.

If you get to your FOP FP at the beginning of the window I think you should have plenty of time to get to MK. You can always call an uber or Minnie Van if you seem pressed for time.

 

[Delirium]

All park hopping should involve Epcot for a couple of reasons.

• The monorail/boat/walk provide easy access to MK and HS and allow you to avoid the bus (the bus can be one of the most stressful activities at Disney).
• As a park, Epcot provides the most opportunity for relaxing, which is essential for not overdoing it in what could be a long day (if you don't take a break in between).

If you do take a break, be committed to making it a long one. Going back to the resort for only 1-2 hours can be counter-productive.

 

[JasonMouse]

I never spend a whole day in one park. I use maybe half of my fastpasses. And I rarely make advanced dining. I also never stand in a line longer than 25 mins. Zero stress. And yes we do a LOT and we are very tired at the end of the day.

 

[mickeymom22]

We park hop all the time. Most of the time we keep it to two parks per day. Once we did all four, just because my kids wanted to say they had, but I can honestly say that wasn't relaxing.

Our best park hopping experience was when my kids were little and we stayed at the Beach Club. We would start the day MK, AK or HS and end every day with a late dinner at Epcot and leisurely stroll back to our room.

I think if you have the right mindset you will enjoy park hopping...just don't try to do everything every day you are there, and you will be fine!

Have a great trip!

 

[portocall]

I generally like to pick a park and do it until I am done. I have hopped before and will likely hop this trip but I would find hopping too much exhausting. This trip I think we will be taking a break in the afternoon so we will do mornings and evenings at the parks. That makes hopping less taxing. I generally don't like the travel time wasted but this trip is longer than any of my others and I am staying at the Poly. My dream resort. I want to enjoy it.

I agree with some of the others. I would rethink some of your ADRs to reflect the park you plan to be in.

 

[Minniekins]

We definitely prefer to park hop! It keeps our options wide open, to how we want to do things, or to accommodate things that might force us to change things, (such as weather, or if we have to change things if one of us isn't feeling well, or we missed something, want to do something again, and more). Even if we don't plan to hop we can decide to change things up at the last minute if we want to. Generally we usually only hop between two parks in one day, though I think we've done 3 parks once or twice.

We'd definitely feel more stressed not having that option to hop and being stuck in only one place. Being able to hop is something we plan, and also allows spontaneity! Is it ever a little crazy or stressful? Well I suppose sometimes, when we definitely want to still hop, but are running behind or we are cutting things close and have to rush a bit. If we choose, we can always change plans so that works. But, 95% of the time the hopping works out and we're happy to have that choice! We do try to keep Adr's in a particular park on the day we are doing that park. Occasionally we've gone to EP mainly for an Adr, but mostly try to keep things easier by doing restaurants that are in the park we are planning on. Sometimes that's guided by the restaurant choice, sometimes we pick after we've decided the park.

 

[Disneylover99]

We park hop most days. We plan our fp's in one park and then we consider what we want to do next. Sometimes we stay in the park, other times will hop to another park or two. But we're flexible and not tied to ADR's, so it's enjoyable and not exhausting.

 

[LovesTimone]

It truly is what you make of it, and how you visit... are you a commando type or are you more just go with the flow, or somewhere in between...

Lots of folks, hit a park in the morning, back to the resort for pool or nap time or both, before heading into another park for the evening.

If we have breakfast plans at one park, say Tusker House at AK then if we have FP's hit the safari, and Maharajah Jungle trek, then maybe Lion King performance... then head out and to another park, making FP on the way for where we are headed.

We normally hit 2 parks per day, we have done 3 if something comes up amazing like a FP for FOP, and switched parks on the spur of the moment.

Use the time traveling between parks to regroup, and rest some...

 

[NH-to-FL]

When DW and I did our on site vacations we always got park hoppers (or APs). Most days we would be up early and rope drop the park that had the morning extra magic hour. After the early start we would take a break and head back to the resort when we got tired, usually right after an early lunch. After relaxing for a few hours we would head off for whatever evening activity struck our fancy in the moment.

Yes, the early mornings on vacation were a bit of a struggle but we enjoyed the lower crowd time in the parks for the first few hours. The afternoon breaks, OK... naps... made up for the early morning. The free form evening balanced the planned morning.

On our "rest day" we would sleep in, get a late breakfast/brunch and then decide what we want to do. Since we were at the Boardwalk it would usually involve wandering over to Epcot.

So park hoppers were a key part of our on site WDW vacation strategy.

Once we shifted to longer off site vacations our strategy shifted to visiting one park per day. We had APs but didn't really use them to park hop.

My opinion is that if you are staying on site that Park Hopper tickets are very helpful. And if you are staying at one of the Epcot or MK resorts they are almost necessary.

 

[kwdw]

It's an overplanned day that will wipe you out - not park hopping.

If you are scheduled so tightly you need to worry about where you are when - that's what will exhaust you.

Folks who always take an afternoon break at their resort are some of the most positive advocates of park-hopping - because its one park - break at resort - second park.

Those who don't take a break during the day view park hopping a handful of ways:
1) A time waster/extra walking and simply not worth it.
2) A way to deal with crowd flow during the day.
3) Experienced travelers who only want to hit certain attractions.
4) Folks who view the travel time between the parks as a break.

I personally fall into one of those 4 categories above on different days! I lean towards #1 most of the time or when traveling with others - but as a solo traveler - all 4 attitudes work for me. I'm rarely the "afternoon break" person.

For newbies at WDW who have at least 4 full parks days - I recommend NOT hopping.

But for folks who have been to Disney several times - everyone develops their personal preferences based on their experiences.

 

[tzolkin]

We have gone to at least two parks per day every single trip (and our early trips were 12 days with toddlers).

Does it take up park time? Of course. But for us it doesn't seem like a "waste" of time. We are all introverts so we need a little break from the crowds and noise. Hopping on an empty, air-conditioned bus and spending 20 minutes in silence is a much welcomed chance to decompress.

When the kids were younger, we did go back to the room for an afternoon nap so going to a different park that evening was no different than heading back to the morning park.

For me, the issue would be the planning. I like park hopping because it gives us the freedom to go wherever we want. Having FPs and ADRs cuts into that flexibility a lot. I don't mind hopping multiple times in one day because we feel like it, but I do not like feeling obligated to leave what we are enjoying and head somewhere else because we have a reservation.

 

[pooh2001]

We used to park hop
EMH at one park - eat brunch then go to another park

Last time we went to WDW - we only park hopped one day to do rides- and to take advantage of the park hopping, purposely went to another park to eat a TS meal.

So next time we go to WDW, we will not park hop.
It will be early November, some parks may have less hours allowed, such as 9 AM to 7 PM
So dinner may be a resort CS or TS.

I guess since we are older and our DS & DD are older, park hopping is not in our plans.

Do what is best for you and your family.
Either way, to park hop or not, is still good.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Our August trip we had hoppers and were there for 2 weeks. We didn't start hopping until the second week, when we had things the kids wanted to do again in one park, or Fastpasses that we could only get for the second week and then didn't have much left of interest in the same park.

We also sometimes hopped to see the fireworks/shows in the evening at different parks. My kids also liked taking the ferry or monorail as an experience on it's own!

This trip we only had a few ADR's, and I even modified them a few times, or booked them on the way to the park while on the bus!, as I didn't want them taking up too much time like they had on previous trips...

 

[toodycat]

I was worn out on our last visit, but I don’t think it was the park hopping. I think it was the heat and the neuropathy I acquired from successful cancer treatment since this was our first visit after my illness. However, I see park hopping as a way to sustain energy. Rather than spend 10 hours or more at one park, you can break it up, go back to the resort and then visit another park in the evening. For example, we spent about five hours at AK, went back to Kidani for a few hours to swim, and then headed to Epcot for our favorite attractions, shopping, dinner at Chefs de France and then Illuminations. I think this approach works best if you are not the kind of person who has to experience every single attraction at every single park. For my family, we’re very content to stick with our greatest hits list and then switch parks.

 

[disneyseniors]

It seems overwhelmingly in favor of park hopping on this thread! I am in the park hopping category. I love the spontaneity of deciding when and where we want to go in the afternoon/evening hours. We are seniors, so we get up early and go to park opening, stay til after lunch, and head back to our resort for some rest for a few hours. Our rest is required due to health reasons, which I won't get into. Then after resting, we decide if we want to go to DS, or which park we might want to go to for the evening. It is so freeing to do it this way, no stress.
I used to be on the dining plan and made adr's every day. THAT was stressful, trying to get to a reservation when we were at another park. We finally quit doing the DP and have never been happier. Now we make 2 or 3 adr's at our favorite restaurants for our 10 day trip, and it is easy to plan to be at that park. If we did a different place each day, that would be stressful. Park hopping has never been stressful or restricting to us, exactly the opposite!
For our situation, it works and we will always get the hoppers. I almost forgot to mention that if the weather changes, we are free to park hop. If the crowds are bad at one park, we are not tied into just that one. If we just change our minds, we are free to go to another park. It's all good.