parkhopper yes or no? And question on waterparks? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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.
__________________
Stephanie- Mom to Jaden and Emerson, Wife to Keith, Novelist
I'm an independent agent with Fairytale Journeys, specializing in Disney vacations!
Visit my Facebook page!
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.
__________________
Walt Disney World has become a touchstone for me, a constant in a world where everything changes. Again and again I have come back to this place, grounding myself, communing with all the people I've been.
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!
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
We haven't done the waterparks in years, so can't speak to that.
PassPorter Guide Author
Dancing in the ABC filming of the Disney parade!
"Sparky"(My first trip.)
Lisa 
Linear Mode
