Park hopper pros

[old feller]

Not in a rush but, what are the best ways to use hoppers to get on lots of rides.....like rope drop one park and fastpass a different one .???

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We have done that but we mainly use Hoppers for dining choices and dessert parties.

 

[kiramay]

We hop everywhere. Usually we RD park 1 and have our first 3 fastpasses there before noon. Our first MK day we usually don’t hop because there are so many rides to FP. Other days we hop after lunchtime, depending on what extra FPs we get and what we want to do. With my husband and kids we tend to end up at Epcot. When I went with my sister we went to HS frequently for RnRC and the Taphouse. We usually will do 2 parks a day, but I’ve done 3 parks a few times. I learned that if we get a lot done in the mornings, I’m more relaxed about making less plans in the afternoons (which is what my husband prefers). Also, my kids have gone 4 times so they know what they want to do.

 

[Delirium]

We do it both ways. If we are focusing nighttime on non-ride activities (dinner, fireworks, concerts, shows, etc.), we will FP the morning park. However, there are certain rides, especially at MK, that we want to experience at night, so we will often use FP there at night after rope dropping somewhere else in the morning.

 

[SaintsManiac]

On a short trip I like to plan AM EMH with or without FP, then schedule the best FPs I can get for park #2. Take a break in between.

 

[greg9x]

I don't think park hoppers necessarily allow you to do 'a lot' of rides... it can help if you rope drop a park that gets busy later, then hop to a less crowded park. Or if you really just did everything you wanted in a park, so go do more at another one... But you have to figure lost time in transportation etc.
For us, hoppers allow flexibility.. go to shows or fireworks in evenings, or go try to catch something missed previously in a park, or try to get that one ride kid loves again. Also as others mentioned, if you want to eat somewhere in particular.

 

[Nohal]

Most of our ADR's are in Epcot so we park hop for dinners. We usually rope drop one park and hop to another. Depends on the time of hard to get FP whether we start at one park and hop to another. Everyone has their own ideas for park hopping and mine are different every day. An example is, on our 5 day trip next month I couldn't get a FP for FOP any of the days, we will rope drop AK do FOP stand by then a few other rides then hop to MK where I have my FP for after lunch.

It takes a lot of time to go from park to park. If you want to do more rides, I would think staying in one park (recommend MK) and make FP for before lunch and then keep getting an extra FP after that.

 

[mom22boys]

It takes a lot of time to go from park to park.

I should know the answer, but I don't. In all of our trips we have never park hopped. Exactly how do you get from one park to another? MK to EP would be monorail. EP to HS would be by boat. But, how about from MK to HS or from MK to AK? Or the reverse, how do you get from HS to MK or from AK to HS? I know it is such a basic question, but we have just never done it.

 

[Nohal]

I should know the answer, but I don't. In all of our trips we have never park hopped. Exactly how do you get from one park to another? MK to EP would be monorail. EP to HS would be by boat. But, how about from MK to HS or from MK to AK? Or the reverse, how do you get from HS to MK or from AK to HS? I know it is such a basic question, but we have just never done it.

Buses run from one park to another. There is a board at each park by the buses to tell you what number bus stop for which park.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I should know the answer, but I don't. In all of our trips we have never park hopped. Exactly how do you get from one park to another? MK to EP would be monorail. EP to HS would be by boat. But, how about from MK to HS or from MK to AK? Or the reverse, how do you get from HS to MK or from AK to HS? I know it is such a basic question, but we have just never done it.

There are park to park buses.

 

[vicb]

On our last trip in May we used our hoppers for:

One morning we slept in a bit, sit down breakfast then strolled WS Epcot with no FP, rest back at hotel then headed to AK 2pm with our FP s
One morning we used FP at rope drop in Epcot FW, pool, HDDR then into MK used 4th FP at HM then stayed for eve emh

Sometimes we use hoppers to eat dinner in Epcot or to hit just a few rides we've missed at another park. Also really helpful to fitting in all the evening fireworks shows especially if you have any rain days. Some trips we rode the monorail from MK to Epcot, strolled through Epcot hitting a few things on our way back to the Epcot resort area which is where we always stay.

Personally I wouldn't go to WDW without hoppers, just gives you way more flexibility and the chance to maximize what you can see.

 

[GillianP1301]

We generally do one park in the morning/early afternoon where we fastpass and then hop to our 2nd park, normally wherever we have our dinner ADR. Very rarely do I intentionally book my advance fastpasses for later in the day, unless we are doing a sleep-in rest morning and only doing parks afternoon and evening.

 

[OB1]

We normally use our hopper to jump from a park that is getting very busy to one that should be slower. Of course as adults, EPCOT can be a common hop late in the day for a place to eat and catch a drink.
We have done no FP at the first park since we arrive early, with FP at our 2nd park. Our last trip we tried to max out morning FP, and then acquire what we could after using up our 3 FP. It can work, but it depends on the park. Of course, no way to get FOP, but we did get Navi. Still not sure what the best strategy for us is.
I do agree that the best way to max out is do not hop. We had a car, and that can help everywhere except MK. Too bad the express system is not still running. That made it perfect to hop.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

Park hoppers are great when there's MNSSHP or MVMCP. You can rope drop Magic Kingdom and then leave at 6 to go see fireworks in a different park. My husband and I paid for an in-room babysitter one night and after doing MK with the kids during the day, we went to both HS and Epcot that night. We used our fast passes at HS to get ToT and RnR, and then managed to snag a FP for Soarin' to end our night. We loved our park hoppers!