Park hopping advice?

[cleaningmom]

I am going to disney for 9 days with 3 children (9,16,19) and was going to buy the park hopper and water park option. I don't want to spend the 9 days on buses. Does anyone have suggestions on the most efficient way to visit all the parks? What do I have to make reservations for in advance? Any suggestions on how to make the most of our trip and see the most are greatly appreciated!

[I'mNoPrince]

9 days is plenty of time to get everything done and at a good pace.

Make and Meal ressies for places you want to eat at now.

We rent a car but still use internal trans for all of our Park needs. Most say driving is faster but I like not having to worry about that .

If staying on-sight get to the Parks for Early EMH . We then leave around 11:00 or noon and hit the resort pool or a waterpark for a few hours. Go to Eat dinner and hit the Nighttime EMH park to maximis hours in the Parks.

Use the Monorail and Boats as well they are like getting on another attraction.

Have fun we just returned a few weeks ago from a 12 day trip and Want to go back already

[Tammy]

Hi! When will where you be going and where are you staying? We tried doing the early morning hours as well as the extra magical hours at night in the same day and were pretty beat after only 2 days! Are kids are younger though so that was probably part of it. I would suggest having your trip mapped put beore you go with the ressie's made for the table service restaurants if you chose to do some of those. I always did that in the past and my husband and kids would always get us off my outline after the first couple of days. This past June we actually went by my schedule (a very loose schedule) and everyone was so pleased by how much we saw and did while still feeling relaxed. It was fun to tell them I told you so! We only rent a car to drive over to Universal, otherwise disney's transportation is pretty effiecient I think. Remember you can monorail between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. It is a pretty fun ride unless you get unlucky and get on a car where you will be standing and squished. I have never done it but I believe you can walk between Epcot and Hollywood. I also think it is better to come back to your hotel midday for a swim or nap! Have fun!

[glypnirsgirl]

If this is a first trip for everyone, I recommend read, read, read, then plan, plan, plan. For a first time visitor, I recommend the Unofficial Guide. If you have already read that, and have already made one or more trips to WDW, then I recommend that you join TourGuideMike. I have found his tour guiding advice to enable you to really maximize the number of attractions you get through. Also, he has you analyze what you enjoy so that your plans can be personalized (somewhat).

[carolina_yankee]

We normally plan one or two parks a day, so the hopping option is always required for us. Plus, we like the flexibility of changing our mind if the situation warrants. Our normal pattern as AM park opening. Mid-day (often after lunch) - crash at resort. Arrive at next park around 5 for dinner and evening experiences. Bus transport has been efficient enough for us that we don't feel like we've been on the bus all day even though we've taken 2 round trips.

Nine days is plenty of time, but some general guidelines I would follow: MK is least crowded on Tuesday and Wednesday (normally). Early arrivals always make it easy to get the headliners done - and mid-day breaks can be quite enjoyable.

We'll usually combine Epcot with MK or Disney Studios (monorail or boat transfer). I wouldn't hop to any other park from MK except for Epcot because the other park busses leave from the Ticket/Transportation Center. That's an extra step I don't like.

We've not really used EMH in the AM except once (Epcot), so I can't comment. However, get there in time to enter as some as EMH begins if you're going to use it.

Dirk

[wwwdrich]

Personally, I avoid the busses. I have been bitten too many times by a bus being full and being stuck having to wait for the next one and/or getting to the stop just after the bus left. That is the reason we always rent a car (and with an annual pass you have free parking).

That said, here are a few of my tips, hopefully repeating what others have said as little as possible.

Try to avoid "hopping" to Animal Kingdom. When you visit that park make a day of it, it is a long way from everything else
Use the monorail and boats to move between Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios
Try to focus on a single park as much as possible -- we tend to do a park a day (whichever has extra magic hours that day), then park hop later in the trip to see things that we haven't already
Get to the parks early in the morning and stay late. Take a break in the middle of the day for a nap


If you want to eat at any table-service restaurants, make your reservations now. This is another place where we look at the extra-magic hours calendar, we tend to book dinner at whatever park has magic hours that night.

[TikiTwinsDad]

We plan a lot and always get the park hopper and almost always visit more than one park per day. 9 days would be perfect for that. As others have suggested. One park in the AM - Take a Break at hotel - and go to another park at night. We go as early as possible and try to take advantage of extra magic hours in the morning many times. You'll find that the least crowded times are early. I know a lot of people hate getting up early on vacation, but I've always found it worth it (though I'm not sure all 16 & 19 year olds would agree).

We've never spent "all our time" on buses. This may depend on where you are staying (where are you staying?). Somethings are more centrally located than others. Plus, you can use other transportation options if necessary or available (ferries, monorail or even a taxi - particularly for an early morning breakfast at another resort). We absolutely make ADRs. You don't have to keep them all, but at least you know you have the option.

Have fun!

[carolina_yankee]

I know a lot of people hate getting up early on vacation, but I've always found it worth it (though I'm not sure all 16 & 19 year olds would agree).
I hate getting up early, but I really, really love the quiet of the early morning at WDW. I've found that the afternoon breaks give me a greater sense of vacation relaxation than sleeping in late.

We've traveled with a couple of friends who are not early birds (fortunately, they always have their own accommodations). For the first half of the trip, we try to work with them and go their schedule. Then, we chuck it, and go back to early touring. Last time, they actually caught on that it was a good idea and even beat us to the bus stop one day!

Dirk