Would you sacrifice having park hopper to stay in a better hotel?

[BugeyedMuggy]

We wouldnt stay in a moderate hotel even if Disney upgraded us for free. The transportation and resort layout make getting around long and tedious. If we can't afford Deluxe or the Dolphin we stay at a value. Just our opinion but I would put the money toward a park hopper.

[KennyandKim]

We don't do the park hopper because we don't have to rush through a park. We can take our time and return to the hotel midday and then return to the same park to finish out our day. We didn't stay at value because my son was suppose to go and we were a party of 5 but he didn't go and we kept our reservation at POR. Its not a big deal to us to schedule our meals around which park we are going to.

[Mitzie]

This is such an individual choice. For our family the resort and restaurants are as much about the trip as the parks. We 'hopped' for the first time this past Oct. why- we were staying at BWI and wanted to go into Epcot several nights to eat in the countries. We would only do this if we were staying in the Epcot area. Other trips we didn't hop and that was ok. We like coming back from AK park and having that evening free to sit in a hot tub or lounge around the resort. If we spent every waking moment in the parks...I would feel short changed...but that is just me.

[Goofster]

We don't buy park hoppers anymore. We do our schedule ahead of time and pick which parks we are doing that day, where we are eating and when we'll have pool days at the hotel. I just don't think its worth the $54 x five people to park hop. To me its a waste of time traveling between the parks anyways, so I don't really see the benefit. So, if I had to choose between a moderate and no PH or a value with a PH, I'd choose a moderate with no PH.

[rubato]

This is a tough question, and, as others have said, really differs from person to person. I can't imagine going to the parks without a hopper. I hate being stuck in one park. I love gettting up in the morning, riding TofT, and then, heading over to Epcot. And, if Epcot is busy, I'm off to the next thing.

But, I also will never stay at a value again. I am unable to cope with the noise level at the values, so I will forever stay at POFQ.

If it were me, I'd do both and not do any dining plans or TS (see, we're all different).

[A Big Kid]

I wouldn't, not for a moderate, maybe a deluxe. My family spends more time at the parks than at the hotel. So it wouldn't be worth it for us.

Just the opposite for me.

Park hopper or staying at the Values, I would do without the Park Hopper.

Park hopper or moving up to a deluxe, I'd do the PH.

[BrerGnat]

I, personally, won't do WDW without a park hopper.

That said, I will also NOT (any longer) stay lower than Deluxe level.

So, for me, if I can't afford BOTH, I postpone the trip until I can.

[brownie]

Probably not. I'd rather spend my money on the parks instead of the hotel, if I have to make a choice (which usually we do.)

[LudwigVonDrake]

Nope. Park hopping is part of my trip

[MOJoe]

On our last trip, that exact question came up. I polled the family and the vote that came up was split.

2 kids voted to Park Hop

2 parents voted to upgrade the Resort

What did i do?

You guessed it. Both

[LuvAllPrincesses]

If you are a good planner - you can easily plan ADRs and see a great deal of all parks without the hoppers. If you like to be spontaneous, you probably won't want to be without the hoppers. We decide based on how long our vacation will be. 5 days or less we hop. Our next trip will be 8 days so we will not hop and I will enjoy planning it all out ahead of time to save the money. We hope to not have to stay at values again...they just aren't nearly as relaxing...and will be doing POFQ next trip...after the queen bed renovation.

[Hull-onian]

Do not give up your park hopper tickets for a better resort. It is so easy to go from MK over to EPCOT.....To me the park hopper is worth it..

[Jillirose]

No, we value being spontaneous and having more options everyday - especially if we get to a park and it is beyond busy, we ditch!

[Genie1953]

We would never give up our park hoppers even for an upgrade. We mostly use our park hoppers for getting into various parks for meals. In fact quite a few of our meals on our last trip were in Epcot. We were at Disneyworld for 10 days and we did try to schedule ourselves so we didn't have to park hop as often but found it impossible to do so. I should also mention that we made it a point to always head back to our hotel for a rest every afternoon so we did one park in the morning....whichever one was in the vicinity of where we were eating breakfast...and then went back to the hotel for a rest and then headed out to whichever park was in the vicinity of where we were eating dinner. Worked out well for us. It also allowed for spontaneous change in plans if a park was overly crowded.

[johnO]

I would ditch the PH for the nicer resort. We've also quit using PH. When you park hop, you seriously miss out on so much of the fine details at the parks because youre too focused on rushing so you can get to the next park. We've found the park experiences to be so much better when you slow down and devote an entire day.

Also, the buses and food courts at the Moderates are so much less chaotic than values. In 2009 we stayed at Movies. The hotel was worn out and filthy. I made numerous complaints. The buses were always packed and the lines unbelievable. I decided that we were done with values when one night, after Wishes, we waited for over an hour to get on a bus. It was a hot September night, people were vomiting in line, becoming furious, and arguing with the bus drivers. It was absolute bedlam. I watched across the bus depot as the moderate and deluxe hotels had very short lines and more frequent bus pick ups.

Ive waited for over an hour at ASMusic for a bus to epcot one morning in the hot sun. Unreal. It wasnt that the line was long, it was litteraly an hour between the times I saw epcot buses. Again people were furious in the hot Florida sun, the manager and a Bus supervisor came out. They redirected a bus, we got on, only to be involved in a traffic collision, and had to wait for another bus!!!

This last trip at CSR, the buses came more frequently. There is a covered bus stop, w/ drink machines, the lines are shorter, the food court was far less chaotic. The hotel has queen beds, a refridgerator, flat panel TV. Plus, theres a sit down restaurant at the moderates.

You should try it this time. You might like it and be done w/ values and park hoppers, or if you dont like it, you can go back to the values.

[akaDisneyDreamer]

I think I would have to find a way to do both! Cutting back at home to save extra money? Have a garage sale? Disney is really the only thing I ever splurge on! I want everything about my Disney Vacation to be outstanding and to me, staying in a nice place is all part of the magic. So, bottom line, if I had to choose between a nice resort or park hopper, I'd choose the resort, even though I love using the park hopper. Seriously, if you can find a way, I recommend doing both.

[mom2morgan]

I would. I like both Park Hopping AND stayig in a moderate, but if forced to choose, I'd do the moderate. Love the parks - but it is also important to me to have a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere to hang out in aftewards :-)

We are trying to decide if we should give up the park hopper options and use that money towards upgrading to a moderate hotel?

[dwonderz]

Personally, it depends on the number of days your there.

If your there for a shorter period of time, I would stick with Park Hopper as you will be able to hop between parks and experience more in a shorter amount of time. Also, you won't be spending too much time in your hotel room when your going for a shorter time.

If your there for a longer time and can devote one day to every park - sure, why not splurge and upgrade to a moderate! Maybe you'll get a pin code !

[ransam]

wow..never thought of that...i have always used park hopper and stayed in the value....but maybe i can use what i don't spend on the park hopper on a moderate. I"l lhave to do some price comparison.

[johnO]

wow..never thought of that...i have always used park hopper and stayed in the value....but maybe i can use what i don't spend on the park hopper on a moderate. I"l lhave to do some price comparison.

Yeah, try it.