Why buy park hoppers?

[StarlitNight05]

We have always done hoppers. In my mind, it's just one big park. I couldn't imagine a visit without the flexibility of hopping from one side to the other. There are times when DL is just too crowded, so we will hop over to DCA. Or, if none of the DCA rides are appealing to us (or we are done), then we can cross over to DL.

However, if you think you will really be at a slow pace, go for the one park per day. Just know that there is a possibility you will not be able to check all your DL musts off the list, depending on how busy it is.

 

[cptmemo]

We have always done a park hopper except our last trip...we only did Disneyland but it was a 1 day last minute trip (dropping our oldest off at college).

When we go in March for 3 days, we're doing parkhoppers. There is so much variability it makes it nice to be able to switch it up if a ride we were planning on goes down, or whatever. We did discuss if the extra $250 cost was worth it, and we think it is.

 

[kikismom]

We always park hop personally. The people we are going with next month don't but they don't love DCA. They are going to this time and I'm hoping to show them how fantastic DCA really is. We like to get max pass and stack our passes to get the most out of our days. I don't think the walk is that bad from park to park so for us it works.

 

[goooof1]

Cannot imagine going without park hoppers ! FLEXIBILITY ….. really, flexibility and very little pain because the parks are so close... we always think of them as one big park. Rides, shows, food, entertainment.... just a short distance away... no transportation, security checks, just walk ~100 yards across the "esplanade".
I would feel trapped if I could not hop !!

 

[mouschievous]

I personally have never wished for a hopper while at DL (though H and a nephew have - they love that darn Incredicoaster), but I have wished for a hopper while at DCA. There's just less to do.

 

[gtpoohbear]

I know a lot of people like PH at DL because the parks are so close together and it's easier to go between them. However, you don't NEED them at DL anymore than you do at WDW. We have done single-park-per-day tickets both times we have gone, and will likely do that for our trip this spring as well. There is more than enough to do at each park to fill the day, without feeling the need to switch to the other park.

 

[Howry]

We park hop also. Especially with maxpass we hop back and forth constantly.

 

[Smrtalec33]

I think a lot of it depends on your approach to the parks. We are there three days next week and have hoppers, because we plan to do Incredicoaster, Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn and a couple others every day.

 

[sjmac42]

The price difference is $1,125 vs $1,400.

I am in the park hopping camp for the flexibility it offers having got PH’s for 2 to 10 days in the past. If it’s busy in the park you’re in, or you notice in the app that a desirable ride or 2 in the other park has a low wait time, it’s very easy to hop over and take advantage of that.

Also make sure you check the prices on the legitimate discount agents such as Undercover Tourist, aRes Travel, Last Minute Travel Club (for LMTC, you need to phone them) as there will be a small discount to help keep the costs down whichever option you choose.

 

[SeattleTink]

I'm in the Park Hopper group. I cannot imagine not being able to hop to the other park. Although, I have in the past spent an entire day in Disneyland, it is not the norm for me. I kind of feel the same way about MAX Pass. It would be very hard for me NOT to have that luxury.

 

[Where's Wall-E]

I personally have never wished for a hopper while at DL (though H and a nephew have - they love that darn Incredicoaster), but I have wished for a hopper while at DCA. There's just less to do.

This is much how we look at it too. It's nice after a morning at DCA to head back over to DL, and then even back again to DCA if you pick up a later max pass for Guardians, Soarin', etc. I typically am not looking to go the other way as much.

 

[AndrewC]

I always park hop. You need a pull a fast pass pretty early in the day for radiator springs raceway and even Guardians at times. With MaxPass I’ll scan into Disney, pull a pass for either or both of those, enjoy Disney until two or three and then head over to DCA. If Indy is down and there aren’t any fast passes available until late in the day for Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain than maybe I’ll head over to DCA and watch frozen that day and then focus on Disneyland the next day...

I’m super flexible and hop back and forth a lot

 

[chickapin parterre]

a park hopper is very suitable for folks who have visited many times....we know when Disneyland is crowded (pre max-pass days..now it is easy to navigate a crowded day in Disneyland)...so we leave around noon and head over to DCA to take in animation academy and the soak our bodies on GRR and return to lodging to rest, eat and hydrate and change clothes. Return in the evening for RSR and toy story, then head back to Disneyland to soak in the evening ambiance.

if you do not buy park hoppers...visit DCA first, that way on the second day you will not have Disneyland memories beckoning you in the flat ambiance of night time DCA.

 

[Aurora0427]

There isn’t enough for us to do in DCA so we usually spend the morning there and hop to Disneyland or vice versa. We have a little one who is too short for many of the rides and an eight year old who won’t ride things like Incredicoaster and Guardians. So we always park hop, but we are also AP holders!

 

[ccarolinec]

I'm in the park hop group as well, just because my favorite rides/foods are so split between the two parks, I enjoy being able to get off Indy and head to DCA for a bread bowl and a GOTG FP. Though, if we were a slower group, I wouldn't see a downside to one perk per day. It totally just depends on personal touring style.
Agree with park hopping being way more time consuming/exhausting at WDW. I'm so used to not having to go through security each time I hop over to DCA/DL that it was a shock almost to have to wait for a bus, get through security, etc when hopping at WDW.

 

[scrapperkimmydee]

We are going for 2 days in mid July and plan to spend 1 day at Disneyland and 1 day at CA. I planned to just purchase the 1 park per day tickets but I've had several people now say to consider buying park hoppers. We have been to Disney World many times and do not purchase park hoppers. We just pick 1 park and focus on that as we find that too much time is lost traveling between parks. Also, my daughter will be in a medical stroller (like a wheelchair) and we don't move at a fast pass. This is our 1st trip to Disneyland. Is there a compelling reason to spend the extra money to get park hoppers? I know everything is much closer together in Disneyland. Any reason not to just focus on 1 park per day? The price difference is $1,125 vs $1,400.

There’s really no reason to spend $$ on a hopper. I tell people if they are going for an odd number of days, start out with 1 Park per day tickets, spend a day at each park. If on the last day you can’t decide which park to go to and want to split the day between the 2 parks, you can upgrade your ticket that day. This way, you’re not paying the extra $$ unless you really need to park hop.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We don't always park hop, but when one park is busy and crowded, it is very nice to have the option to hop to the other park for a break, a snack or a meal, a show, etc. Then, when things calm down in the other park, we can hop back. The option is definitely a luxury, not a necessity, but it certainly helps us deal with crowds.

 

[MrJT]

With Maxpass and hours of 8am-12 midnight you can do a whole lot!

To be fair, Maxpass didn't exist the last time that went.

 

[Chickinvic]

I always park hop at DL (and never bother at WDW since it is so much more hassle). I love the freedom that being able to just walk across to the other park for a couple rides (or quieter time) that the hopper allows.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We love park hoppers but we do the same when we go to WDW and Universal Orlando.

Universal Orlando is set up a lot like DLR right next to each other and with the addition of Hogwarts Express with a park-to-park ticket you don't even have to go to the front of the park to leave anymore since Hogwarts Express connects the two parks together.

Back to DLR one of the perks if you purchase MP is that you can book a FP in one park for the other park. That can help out on your time management.

You truly don't need park hoppers with DLR just like you truly don't need park-to-park with Universal Orlando (aside from if you want to ride Hogwarts Express) but they def. add to the flexibility.

Now what you'll want to more look at is if the $275 in additional expenses is too high for you. We went 3 days on both of our trips in 2019 to DLR and we park hopped multiple times throughout the day but that's just our style.

Is that pricing you're quoting directly from Disney? Have you looked into 3rd party authorized resellers? Both of our 2019 trips we purchased our tickets through Undercover Tourist and now you can pre-purchase MaxPass with your tickets through Undercover Tourist. If you look at Undercover Tourist just make sure you pay close attention to any date-specific promotional tickets (I see one right now for a child ticket but it expires in May 2020 which is prior to your July trip for example).