Is Park Hopper Necessary?

[DietCokeLover]

We will be at DW in December. DCs will have just turned 2 and will turn 3 while there. We will be there for 5 days.

Do we need to purchase park hopper add ons to our tickets, or will DCs be so worn out from doing one park that it won't be worth the money.

DCs still nap and go to bed at 7:30 pm, so we won't have a lot of late nights.

[egoldber]

Necessary? No. Nice to have, certainly.

My kids also go to bed pretty early in general, but we tend to stay up later at WDW. We like to go to one park in the morning, then go back to the hotel and rest, then head to another park in the evening. It just makes it more interesting and a nice change of pace IMO to break up the park days.

[JTsMom]

We got it last year, but are skipping it this year. We did use it a couple of times- twice for dinner in Epcot (which was a huge mistake- way too much walking). You can always upgrade if you feel like you need to once you're there. Having said that, with a shorter stay, I think it would be pretty nice to have. That way on say your AK day, b/c you'll be done early, you could always go to a second park.

[infomama]

We got it and I am glad we did. Not so much for during the day but for the evening (dining). Dd1 wanted to go back to Epcot everyday to ride Soarin' (oh, I loved that ride) and we only spent 1/2 a day at AK so it really came in handy. I would say go for it if it is doable within your budget.

[Momof3Labs]

We use it almost daily - starting the day in one park, returning for a nap/break, and ending the day in a different park (often Epcot). You can always buy your ticket without the park hopper option and add it at the ticket booth at the time you decide to use it (vs making the decision in advance).

[Rainbows&Roses]

We were there for 8 days and did not need it, nor did we miss them. If you plan well, you can get around having them. We had lots of ADR's in the parks too.

However if we had been staying at a monorail resort or within walking distance of a park, I think they would have been nice to have.

I would agree to wait to buy them till you arrive and need them, but just be sure to use them if you buy them. I have read stories about people using them for one dinner ADR in a park. Since you pay for the park hopper for your all whole ticket, it becomes a very expensive dinner!

[DietCokeLover]

Thanks for all your ideas. I think maybe waiting til we get there might be the best idea. I wouldn't have thought of that.