We took our kids to Disney World in April and we bought a 5-day hopper pass for each one of us. The nice thing about Disney is that once you hit day 3 the prices for each day drop a ton. I think we paid around $7 or $8 for each additional day after day 3. The thing that I have to wonder is if the added hopper option was worth it. I think it was for the last day but a waste of money for the first 4.
The hopper passes do add a nice chunk to the cost and I think if you are older and can travel without strollers, kids, and diaper bags then they may be more worth it.
It took so long to get from one park to another with the kids, that we found ourselves only using it twice in the 5 days and the first time, was a waste as by the time we got to the next park we had only 40 minutes left.
If you buy the bulk passes you cannot just add the hopper pass or the never expire option to just the one day. They require you to pay the full amount, even if you have used the previous days. So this is what I have learned.
Buy the 4 days of regular passes to go to the 4 parks. The 4th day is so cheap it is totally a savings. Then if you feel like you need a 5th day to do what you missed then go buy one ticket for one day to the park you want. The hopper pass is worth it if you want to do 2 parks. From my many experiences with Disney, you really only need 2-days to magic Kingdom anyway. The rest of the parks we were able to get through everything in one day, with small kids in strollers.
now for my opinion. If you only want to spend 3 days in parks that is great. If you have small children under the age of 8 I would bag animal kingdom and do Epcot, Magic kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Animal kingdom have very little rides my 48 inch 6-year old could ride. I was actually pretty bored in that park. The 4th day I would do magic kingdom again. The favorite of the kids too.
Happy Disney. It is our favorite place to vacation…love it!
From one Disney Fanatic!
As an annual pass holder for Disney .. I’m a frequent flyer to all the parks ..
a couple tips for visitors to the park!!
1. You can bring all the food/snacks/drinks you want to the parks as long as it doesn’t require cooking or a cooler that needs “storing” if its on wheels and you can pull it you can take it with you as long as you have someone to watch it while you’re on rides.
2. They offer “FREE WATER” at all the fountain pop drink stations. Just ask for ice water!!!
3. If you eat at Yak and Yeti take out in Animal Kingdom .. the food is super good and THERE’S A LOT!! There’s enough for kids to split or even adults!!
4. Make sure you get fast passes for the big name rides like Soarin’, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain .. etc ..
and ..
5 .. if its hot which it normally is in Central FL .. Over in the newly redone Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom .. there is an AWESOME water area that’s not a ride .. its just a walk up and get wet area!! So head on over there and get cooled off!!
Have fun Disney Fans!!
Thanks Emily! I had no idea about the free water! That would have been awesome!