Park Hopper with Toddlers

[Glee1973]

I am helping a friend book her trip tonight. This will be her first trip in 20 years and her husbands first trip. I am used to touring as an adult. I am suggesting contemporary or bay lake due to proximity to MK. Parents of toddlers do you usually do park hopper tickets? I am going to suggest an afternoon nap, but do you do PH? I am thinking no. Any other big tips? I am going to suggest 2-3 three days at MK. Then one day at AK. Anything else you think is a must know or do with toddlers. Thanks!

 

[jjjones325]

Depends on the kid. We took our son when he was 3. We did hoppers as we knew he'd like MK more than any other. Out of our 6 days, we spent part of the time in MK for 5 of them. However, our son never was a big napper (still isn't), so we never took an afternoon break.

 

[sponica]

Depends on the kid...some are perfectly fine napping in the strollers (mine did as an infant, we haven't tested it as a toddler yet). And toddler FOMO is real, so they might just fight a nap at the hotel anyway.

We have park hoppers on this trip because I always have park hoppers.

Toddlers sometimes care more about running around and the pool than anything the parks have to offer.

How old are the toddlers? It's a generic term that can mean anything from 12 months to almost 4.

 

[loves to dive]

I started taking my son just shy of 3 and we always had hoppers. Full disclosure, at that time there were only two parks and the only onsite resorts were the MK resorts. He did take naps and rarely used a stroller. We would just go back to the room when he got tired, nap and decide where to go that night. Also full disclosure, MK has never been my son's favorite park,even as a toddler Epcot was his favorite.

 

[mikeyg1479]

It depends on the kiddo, and the trip is ultimately what you make of it- want breaks?- take them!

We are pretty hardcore -park hoppers, fast passes, dinner reservations, all at multiple locations throughout a day, generally trying to do as much as possible- For us, our kids would just crash in the strollers when they needed rest.

As for some general advice with kids- Just keep an open mind when going with toddlers- Disney is fun, but its also tough with little ones and their limited endurance for a great many things (the physical activity, the long days, the heat, the many waits) Be patient, and let things go when they cry and get irritable. It WILL happen. Sometimes that gets tough on mom and dad, too, but keep a stiff upper lip and know that literally everyone around you is also with kids and are in the same boat (or were back in the day)- having an irritated, tired kid does not make you unique in the world, so don't let it bother you or ruin the trip. The vast majority of people won't even notice or care if a kiddo needs to cry one out- it happens!

 

[Aj1129]

My son will not sleep in a stroller so we had to do resort afternoon naps. We purchased the park hoppers and we went out in the mornings went back to the resort around 12/1 swam and then he went down for a nap. We would do dinner then back to the parks at night. We're planning an August trip and purchased park hoppers again. It just works for our family right now.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Also, for me PH depend on the time of year. In the winter, when the parks close 8pm or 9pm, I don't do breaks. But in the hot months, i absolutely take breaks for pool time, etc. Then i put on clean, fresh clothes and hit another park. So I might start at the park with EMH am hour, then later hit another less crowded park.

 

[Minniemoo15]

We don't do park hoppers with toddlers. I find it easier to focus on one park. Some days we take a break, some days we go back early and do dinner at resort, and other days we sleep in and go to the parks late. Pool days are our favourites with toddlers. Flexibility is key! Rider Swap is a great help.

 

[ChristineOH]

Are they only doing AK and MK? Then, no, I'd say they don't need hoppers.

But if they were doing all the parks, I'd say yes if they are staying at the Contemporary. They could pick a park for the morning, do an afternoon break, and then walk to MK for a while each evening.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I am helping a friend book her trip tonight. This will be her first trip in 20 years and her husbands first trip. I am used to touring as an adult. I am suggesting contemporary or bay lake due to proximity to MK. Parents of toddlers do you usually do park hopper tickets? I am going to suggest an afternoon nap, but do you do PH? I am thinking no. Any other big tips? I am going to suggest 2-3 three days at MK. Then one day at AK. Anything else you think is a must know or do with toddlers. Thanks!

on one trip my then 16 month old grandson fell asleep on ride back to room less than 15 minutes but that was end of nap for everyone with him screaming. that was our last try at a room nap. . I have had a toddler on every trip but one and we always have hoppers. yes we spend a lot of time at MK but we visit 2 maybe 3 parks on most days. I would also look at the cabins at Fort Wilderness. also remember the Disney Jr breakfast, show and characters at Studios

 

[JessicaW1234]

When our twins were toddlers, we never bought hoppers. They were so excited about everything that we did not have them nap instead we had dinner and early evenings.

 

[hllb]

If they’ll be taking nap breaks, I would do hoppers. That way they can go to a different park in the evenings if they wanted to or crowds dictated.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

We hopped just about every day

 

[ADS2508]

We fall into the camp of my kids nap better in the room. We typically hit one park in the morning, nap/swim, go to another park for dinner.

We typically stay at the Boardwalk or on the monorail and set it up so that we take a bus once a day and alternate transportation the other half of the day. So from the Contemporary we would bus to AK in the morning walk to MK at night or in the morning monorail to Epcot and bus to HS in the evening.

 

[twoolle]

Are they only doing AK and MK? Then, no, I'd say they don't need hoppers.

But if they were doing all the parks, I'd say yes if they are staying at the Contemporary. They could pick a park for the morning, do an afternoon break, and then walk to MK for a while each evening.

Agree with this.

Also recommend doing AM EMH then resort break then MK in the evening using pre booked FP. Also recommends ADR for lunch and not dinner, around 11 when they need a break. Dinner ADRs are tough for toddlers because they have just napped and want to be out playing, not sitting to eat.

 

[GillianP1301]

For me hoppers was something that I didn't know what I was missing until I tried them. My first few trips I never hopped and never thought about it and had great trips. I starting adding hoppers and realized the flexibility and how much more ground I could cover in a day and now I wouldn't go without them. I think that applies to all ages in your group as well. Staying at Contemporary with toddlers is an ideal time to have hoppers because you can do one park in the morning, rest and then hit MK for late afternoon/evening.

I also think the shorter the trip the more value a hopper and if they are planning just 3 - 4 park days, I would definitely do a hopper and at least hit the highlights of all the parks (so 1/2 day each, at least, at EP, DHS and AK with the remaining 1.5 - 2.5 days at MK).

 

[philly_mcphillyface]

We recently went with a four year old ... and had park hoppers and stayed at the Contemporary (technically, Bay Lake Tower); it was great to know that we could stroll to/from MK before/after naps. There were some evenings (and mornings) we'd spontaneously walk over to the Magic Kingdom to check out shops or take pictures just because we could. If it's within their means I highly recommend getting the park hopper.

 

[JediBonas]

We took our kids at 2, 3, 4 and 5 and park hopped every day every trip. That being said, we always stay YC/BC and tend to go one of the parks we can walk to as our second park, I'm not sure we'd hop as often if we were further from a park.

 

[emilyrachael]

We love staying at Contemporary or Bay Lake with our now 4 year old. We have APs, but never park hop. He's an early bird, so we hit the park at open, and then go until mid afternoon. By the evening, he's done, but if their kid is a night owl, hoppers could be useful so they can hit a different park if they'd like. I recommend checking out Epcot, too - The Seas, The Land, fountains, Imagination, and exploring some of countries are great things to do with a toddler.

 

[ktlm]

The tip from me would be to be flexible because you are not going to know how the toddler will react to WDW until you are there. They can really surprise you! How old is the toddler?

DD was 2 years 10 months when we took her for the first time. We did 2 days MK, 1 day EPCOT, 1 day AK and 1 day DHS. We had hoppers, but that is just a personal choice for WDW- we like them. We found that our 2 year old absolutely hated AK- all she did was keep begging to go back to MK or EPCOT, so we did use our hoppers. We gave up AK about 1:00 p.m., and then went to MK. Basically, for her, she looked around and there were no Princesses at AK, not that many rides for her age, it can feel hotter than the other parks; and we have a really good zoo at home which she had been to multiple times, so she had no interest in seeing animals. So, that was a surprise. We thought she would like all the parks. It took a few years before she started to somewhat like AK, and it is still her least favorite park. It turned out we spent from open to close in EPCOT, but did not have enough time. She loved it there. So many little things for a toddler to explore. So many Princesses. The boat ride in Mexico, Nemo ride; Kidcot stations; Figment; play areas etc. (Never underestimate how impressive the Living with the Land ride might be to a 2 year old. The greenhouses were a huge hit.) We needed an extra day there. When she was 3, we spent 2 days at EPCOT-- and it has been a 2 day park about every trip since then.

As far as park breaks/naps, I would tell them again to follow their child's cues. The park break did not work for us at all. All we got was a very angry 2 year old who stood behind the curtain in the room for 2 or 3 hours pouting refusing to nap because we had made her leave the park. When we went back to MK, she promptly smiled, climbed into her stroller; and went to sleep for over an hour. After that, it was park naps in the stroller for us. That worked great for her as a toddler. So, we basically just stayed in the parks from open to close, and she just took naps or slept in the stroller when she was tired, which gave DH and I the opportunity to take turns riding some of the thrill rides while she was sleeping. For us, what worked was scheduling a TS lunch. Pre-park opening breakfasts were a disaster because DD has never been a morning person. At dinner, if she was getting tired from the day, she was fidgety. Lunch was perfect, because gave us a nice break from the morning, got our energy back up to keep going; and wound her down so that we could get her to nap in her stroller pretty much right after lunch. That may not work for everyone though. DD has always been a high energy child. She thrived on the Disney excitement and loved the characters as a toddler. Other kids are different- so I think you just have to see how your child reacts when you are there and adjust accordingly.