Is Park Hopper worth it or the Electric Parade?

[janine]

We will be at Disneyworld for 3 days and I bought a basic pass for those days. I was planning on Magic Kingdom Day 1 and 3 and Hollywood Studios for Day 2. I booked what fast passes I could, but then find out lo and behoold that the Electric Parade is ONLY happening on Day 2 which means I wouldn't have access to MK!

Kind of frustrating, if I upgrade to Park Hopper that's an extra $200, and just for the Electric Parade in theory? OR is it worth it overall?

Thanks, first timer and never been.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'd hop. You might find that the lines are short, you ride everything/ see everything you want to at MK and you decide to explore another park later in the day. It's nice to have options. eta- but I wouldn't do it just for a parade.

[wendibird22]

We went 5 days in Dec/Jan for the first time. We didn't do the park hopper. Didn't need to. We just took our time enjoying each of the parks for a full day (well we were only at AK 1/2 as it was the day we arrived). We didn't do the electric parade and didn't feel we missed out.

[almostmom]

It's cool and all, but not worth $200. And you don't know what you missed if you don't see it! We were always so tired at the end of the day, we never saw the evening things. And we were all good with that.

Can't you buy the park hopper that day if you decide you want to go to the parade?

[123LuckyMom]

I LOVE the electrical parade! I really, really love it, but I wouldn't pay $200 just to see it if you don't think you'll use the hoppers otherwise. Having said that, the last time we went to DW we did get hoppers for our 6 days in the park and only ended up using them on the very last day. I did think at the time that we could definitely get away with single park tickets on our next trip, but as long as we can afford it, I think we will always get park hoppers. I like having the freedom to make decisions on the fly and go back to ride that one ride I just need to go on one more time. If you don't want to get the hoppers, why not go to MK on days one and two and DHS on day 3. That way you can see the electrical parade and Fantasmic, which is worth seeing, IMO.

[keh602]

We love park hoppers, but if you truly are planning to stay put at your chosen parks the rest of the time, it might not be worth it. Our kids have always been like little Energizer bunnies at WDW, so we've enjoyed being able to switch parks for whatever reason on the fly. But like PP have said, if you'd be upgrading *just* for the parade, I wouldn't.

[hellokitty]

We never get park hoppers. While the ep is nice, it's IMO not $200 nice. Are you doing fantasmic at dhs?

[klwa]

How old are your kids? Mine are always wiped before the night time parade starts. (We did manage to see a couple of minutes of it one night on this last trip, as we were walking out of the park.)

[egoldber]

We usually get parkhopper (or have that option) but I wouldn't get it unless you decide you want to hop in general.

[janine]

My kids are ages 3 and 6. I don't mind park hopping in theory but as this is our first time not sure if we'd actually do it as we tend to not make super long days as don't want to overdo it and burn out. So while we wouldn't get the max use of park hoppers maybe we'd use it somewhat by doing 1/2 days at one park and then move to the next. Other than MK and DHS are there other must see parks? We will be staying at the Grand Floridian.

[janine]

We never get park hoppers. While the ep is nice, it's IMO not $200 nice. Are you doing fantasmic at dhs?

What is fantasmic? I guess I'll look into it!

[egoldber]

Fantasmic is the night time show at DHS. It's terrific, IMO, but it can be VERY scary for little kids. I'm sure you can find it on Youtube.

My kids fav park is actually Epcot. I think all the parks are worth visiting, but on a 3 day visit, I think that limiting yourself to 2 is not a bad idea.

[123LuckyMom]

All the parks are fantastic, but I agree that with three days it's best to narrow down to two.

The best way to do DW with small children, IMO, is to get to the parks before rope drop early in the morning. You can walk onto busy rides at that time. Take a long break at about 11:30am. Eat lunch early to avoid the crowds, and then go back to the resort for a nice nap. Renter the park at about 3:30-4pm and stay until after the nighttime show. Even my 11 month old was able to do this schedule for a six day run. It's really worth staying in the parks for the nighttime stuff. The night shows are fantastic!

[acmom]

All the parks are fantastic, but I agree that with three days it's best to narrow down to two.

The best way to do DW with small children, IMO, is to get to the parks before rope drop early in the morning. You can walk onto busy rides at that time. Take a long break at about 11:30am. Eat lunch early to avoid the crowds, and then go back to the resort for a nice nap. Renter the park at about 3:30-4pm and stay until after the nighttime show. Even my 11 month old was able to do this schedule for a six day run. It's really worth staying in the parks for the nighttime stuff. The night shows are fantastic!

We have done a similar schedule with my kids and it has worked well. Our past several trips we have not done the hoppers and been completely happy with that choice. Our next trip in nov we are doing the hoppers but it is mainly bc we are staying at beach club and want to be able to walk to Epcot at night to eat, do a few rides and see fireworks. If we were staying elsewhere, we probably would have gone without the hoppers again.

[hellokitty]

What is fantasmic? I guess I'll look into it!

Beth explained what fantasmic is. I only ask, since it sounds like you wanted to spend your dhs evening at Mk. Fantasmic is dhs evening event. So, I just wanted to make sure that you understand that fantasmic is part of your ticket price the day you go to dhs too.

[keh602]

I just thought of something... You said you were looking at the first week of November, right? November 7th is the first night of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, so if your dates overlap with that, it could change your plans. Hopefully you've come across that in your planning if it's an issue, but I thought I'd throw that out there.