parkhopper yes or no? And question on waterparks? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Whenbooking online, trying to find out these things.
We decided to go in September..
Again me, wife, 3 kids (5,4(boys) and 2(girl))
Should I get the parkhopper+waterpark package? or will the one park a day thing work out better(it is cheaper)
if I dont get the parkhopper package +waterparks, then how can I save on a day at water park? since it seems just buying a one day ticket to one of them is pricey?
We always get parkhoppers because we love the flexibilty. Also, our latest thing is to hit all 4 parks our last day! Crazy, but fun! We haven't done the waterparks in years, so can't speak to that.
We always get parkhoppers because we love the flexibilty. Also, our latest thing is to hit all 4 parks our last day! Crazy, but fun! We haven't done the waterparks in years, so can't speak to that.
Yeah? A buddy of mine said sine my kids were young, that the waterparks option might not be worth it since we have a pool at the hotel...? I am thinking he may be right after looking at it.
If your plan is to go back the the resort in the afternoons to swim then you may not need the waterparks and more option. I like having parkhoppers, it makes it easy to leave a park if it's too crowded and head to a different one, or as I said, take an afternoon break and then head to a different park.
We always do more than one park a day and love having that flexibility, so personally that works for you. If you think you'll be happy with just one park a day, then I'd go for that option and save the money. It depends on what you feel will work for you.
I agree with the park hopper pass because of the flexibility. Of course, depends on your budget, but if it's just swimming you want to do, then most resort pools have themes and all kind of activities around the pool. It may be worth it this trip to go with the park hopper pass option and stick with the pools at the resort. Maybe another trip go with the water parks, just my opinion. But park hopper has always worked for us. Have Fun whatever you decide!
If you're not sure if you're going to use PH I'd not buy it - you always can add PH at any Guest Service there. Same to Water park. If you're going only one day it is cheaper to pay the one day ticket in separate.
Whenbooking online, trying to find out these things.
We decided to go in September..
Again me, wife, 3 kids (5,4(boys) and 2(girl))
Should I get the parkhopper+waterpark package? or will the one park a day thing work out better(it is cheaper)
if I dont get the parkhopper package +waterparks, then how can I save on a day at water park? since it seems just buying a one day ticket to one of them is pricey?
what would you recommend?
You may not realize this, but the park hopper option, and the water parks and more option, are two completely separate options. You do not have to get them both, you can get one or the other if you so choose.
In your case, it sounds like you want only one day at the water parks, in which case it is much cheaper to get 1-day water park passes instead of adding the water parks and more option to your tickets. The WPM option will add a water park entry for each day of your base ticket; i.e. if you buy a 5-day ticket, and add the WPM option, you'd get 5 water park admissions in addition to the 5 days of theme park entry. This has always seemed like overkill to me; very few people will go to the water parks for half their vacations, even in the heat of September.
As for park hoppers, I ALWAYS recommend them. As others have said, they give you flexibility. But what kind of flexibility? Here are some examples:
* Arrive at MK one morning and find it mobbed beyond all reason. Lines are terribly long, the kids are getting cranky, and you just want out. If you have hoppers, you can leave MK and hop to another park in search of lower crowds.
* AK is terrific, but it's smaller than the other parks and generally doesn't keep most people busy all day. Finished up everything you want to do by 2pm? Take an afternoon break at your resort, and finish your day in another park. Ditto for DHS; lots of people consider it a half-day park because only half of the attractions appeal to their family.
* Suppose the only day you can get an ADR at Coral Reef is on your MK day. No problem if you've got hoppers; leave MK early, hop to Epcot, and enjoy your fish. But that means cutting your MK day short; again, no problem if you've got hoppers. Get in some more MK time in the afternoon of your AK day, or even the afternoon of your DHS day.
* Fantasmic only plays twice a week now. Does it not play on your DHS day? No problem if you've got hoppers; hop to DHS in the evening of one of your other park days to see Fantasmic.
* Did you spot a perfect souvenier (a pin, or a plush, or a t-shirt) in Epcot, but didn't buy it? You might have thought, "I'll buy it somewhere else before we leave," but now you're on your last day and can't find it anywhere else? No problem if you've got hoppers; just hop over to Epcot on one of your other park days.
Unplanned stuff happens all the time, and having the hopper option gives you a valuable tool that allows you to deal with the unexpected. I never buy tickets without it.
NOTE: A lot of people will recommend, "Don't buy it in advance - buy it after you arrive if you find that you need it!" But this is foolish, too; if you've already been through 3 days of an 8-day trip and not needed the hopper, when those situations I described above come up, you'll dismiss them and be miserable because the cost of the hopper option is the same whether you add it before or after you've used half of your ticket.
If you have it from the beginning, and keep it in mind from the beginning, you'll use it and get your money's worth from the beginning. But if you don't have it from the beginning, you'll constantly compromise your touring style and put up with higher crowds, miss meals at your favorite restaurants, spend entire afternoons sitting around your hotel because AK or DHS don't fill your entire day, or miss out on the best souvenir you spotted all week because you can't hop to another park to pick it up.
I don't know about your situation but we are always watching our buget and we have young children as well 8 & 4. They are always so tired from doing 1 park I think we will wait till they are a little older to PH. Plus it saves a TON! You have to be a little more crafty on your planning though. Check out what each park is doing on everyday for your trip, park hours, parades and shows (such as Fantasmic) and plan accordingly. Regardless on what you choose you will be at Disney having a great time!
I don't know about your situation but we are always watching our buget and we have young children as well 8 & 4. They are always so tired from doing 1 park I think we will wait till they are a little older to PH. Plus it saves a TON! You have to be a little more crafty on your planning though. Check out what each park is doing on everyday for your trip, park hours, parades and shows (such as Fantasmic) and plan accordingly. Regardless on what you choose you will be at Disney having a great time!
I agree!!! Our kids are young too and there is so much to do in each park that we have no problem filling our day with everything in one park. There's stuff they like to redo and little stuff we can take our time and explore.
And with the kids being young, we'd rather wait til they are older and can fully take advantage of the water parks. They're too short now to ride much of the stuff.
These options are very expensive to add...if you add both, you're looking at adding $400+ to your bill.
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I don't know about your situation but we are always watching our buget and we have young children as well 8 & 4. They are always so tired from doing 1 park I think we will wait till they are a little older to PH. Plus it saves a TON! You have to be a little more crafty on your planning though. Check out what each park is doing on everyday for your trip, park hours, parades and shows (such as Fantasmic) and plan accordingly. Regardless on what you choose you will be at Disney having a great time!
With kids I usually do one park per day and plan accordingly. You can check disney schedule and plan to visit DHS at a Fantasmic day and so on. Plus kids need time to relax and sometimes an afternoon pool and nap is mandatory LOL
The only time we really took advantage of PH was the one we stayed at BC - the Epcot resorts - during F&W festival. We did our morning touring in one other park, rest the afternoon at SAB and in the evening returned to "one country" at Epcot. DD loved the Duffy bear at kidcot and collected several stamps. Even the times when we stayed at a MK resort we did not return to the park at night. We saw wishes from Poly beach several times, no stamina to get the boat or monorail and face the crowds
Given the size of your family, the Park Hopper option will add a hefty price tag to your vacation. Also, since you have young ones, doing more than one park in a day might not be ideal. One other question: how long will you be at WDW? If you're staying a while (e.g. a week or so), then you'll probably have time to see and do almost everything you want even without a Park Hopper add-on.
I'm acting as a travel agent for my cousin and his wife, who will be taking their 4 year-old son to WDW later this fall. It's going to be a fairly brief trip (maybe four nights), and at his age he'll be most interested in MK and AK. While there are a few attractions for young ones at DHS and Epcot, I've never understood why families with really young children think that they can make a full day (or more) of either park. It's a meltdown waiting to happen. I've advised my cousin and his wife to forego the Park Hopper and plan their days at the parks in advance. It will save them around $150, their son will have a ball at MK and AK, and he'll have more adventures at the other parks to look forward to when he's older.
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See now my DD (almost 7) is different than the above posters. I always get PH bc she wants to be at MK so much of the time and seems to get bored if we stay in the park all day. She seems to do much better doing half days. So we always do 2 parks a day. With MK being in the majority of the days, though not all.
We have always had park hoppers even when the kids were young. We are firm believers in morning EMH's at one park, a midday break for swimming or resting and then hopping to another park in the afternoon or early evening. Sept. can be very hot and a midday break is a really good idea, esp. for younger children. As far as the water park, I think your kids will probably be more than happy in the resort pool. Wait until they get older for a water park. If you decided when you get there that you really want to do a WP, just get a one day pass. Have fun!
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We haven't done the waterparks in years, so can't speak to that.
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