Are the extra ticket options at disneyworld worth paying for ?
December 19, 2009 by GroovieT
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At Disneyworld you can pay for the "Park Hopper Option" and "Water Park fun and more" option. Considering I will be there in December 08 are these options worth paying extra for ?
Are the individual parks so small that you would want to "hop" ?
What is included in the "more" option besides the water park considering December isnt really the best time for a water park holiday ?
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I’d suggest "The Unofficial Guide to Disney World" More detail than you’ll ever need.
Hoppers offer you flexibility. Trying to tackle Magic Kingdom in a day is a marathon – especially if you’re there at peak season (The Unofficial Guide has crowd level stats by day! Available on the internet too if you search). If you’re there awhile maybe you spread it out over a couple of days – take a break and go to a water park. And BTW – it’ll still be warm enough for the waterparks in Dec. It’s rain you’ll need to watch for although hurricane season is pretty much over by then!
I might skip the water parks option in December, but I think that includes Paradise Island, which is all the clubs. You might want to check that, and decide if that´s an option you want to take advantage of. If I remember correctly, that individual ticket is substantial.
the Park Hopper can be useful. It´s the multiple day ticket, and you probably don´t want to spend more than two days in any one park, and can get away with one day for most of them. We actually did Animal Kingdom and MGM in one day, but our 4 year old couldn´t do too many of the rides, so we did skip a lot to do that, and didn´t miss it, because, well, we saw Mickey, and rode the Dumbo, oops! I mean Dinosaur ride. (it´s the same one with different fiberglass molds on it. Sorry, I should have warned you that was a spoiler. That ride is about all over the parks. Different decorations, same ride). And then went on the MGM and the muppets show, etc. It worked for us. Couldn´t have done it with the regular pass. Also, isn´t the Park Hopper about $10 less per day than buying them any other way?
The parks aren’t small but they are so differently themed that you may want to have the hopping option simply to go one place in the morning and different option in the afternoon/evening…
Animal Kingdom is devoted to animals
Epcot is more focused on technology
Magic Kingdom (where the castle is) is more geared toward small children and dreamers
MGM (soon to be hollywood studios) has a movie theme.
You can definitely spend a whole day at each of the parks if you wanted too, so getting the hopper option isn’t a necessity if you’re trying to stay within in a budget. That said, if you can afford it, I would get it because of the flexibility. We usually get the hopper option because we like to eat at the different restaurants at the various resorts and in the parks. And we don’t like to have to coordinate the Extra Magic Hours with our dining reservations and which parks we want to go to. In case you’re wondering, Extra Magic Hours is where Disney will open one park either earlier or later than normal by a few hours or two for guests who stay in a Disney hotel. Each day a different park will have these extra hours and since it’s only open to guests staying on property, it’s not as crowded. Although, since you’re going in December, it will still be pretty packed.
We’ve never done the water park options because we’re not a big waterpark family, so sorry, can’t help you there.
Let’s take each one of your questions individually. First of all, are the options worth paying for. I would say, Park hopper option, a resounding YES!!!!!! The Water Parks and more option, it depends on what you want to do.
The park hopper option is worth the money. I have been to Disney many times and I have only been without it once, and added it immediately. The base ticket allows entry to one park per day. That means if you go to the Magic Kingdom in the morning, you can ONLY enter the Magic Kingdom for that day. Not a big deal? How about this. Let’s say for example you decide to hang out at the Animal Kingdom for a day. You enter the AK and have a great time. The AK closes earlier than the other parks, so you decide after a couple of hours to run back to your resort (another must, staying on property!) and take a quick nap and grab a bite to eat. You are going over to MGM then to catch the Fantasmic night time show and maybe ride the Aerosmith Rock ‘N’ Roller coaster. You are ONLY allowed to do this if you have the park hopper option.
Here is another situation. You enter the Magic Kingdom, and after walking down Main Street you decide that the park is just too crowded. Instead of being stuck there, you could leave, hop on the monorail to Epcot center and check it out. Again, only if you have the park hopper option. It just gives you the ultimate flexibility, which is what you want on vacation, isn’t it?
Next, no the parks are not necessarily small enough you would want to hop, but if you are like my familiy we like variety. We usually go to one park in the morning, then a different park in the evening. Again, only with the park hopper option.
The water parks and more option is just that, the water parks (there are 2 good ones) and entrance to Disney Quest and the miniature golf I think. If you plan on going over to DisneyQuest at all or to hit a water park at all, add the option. When you are going the water parks may be closed for refurbishment, so I would check the calendar as you get closer to your trip. DisneyQuest is a great place to spend a little time, my kids and I love it. Oh, and the water parks are heated, plus temperature wise you might be able to swim and hit the parks a little, so I wouldn’t count out the water parks.
If you want more info, there are a few places to check. First of all I would check out the disboards. The disboards is a free message board website that is all about going to Disney. You can get opinions, ask questions, get dining reviews, trip reports, resort reviews, and much more, all from people who go to Disney often and know what they are talking about. No travel agents or Disney cast members, mostly people who go to Disney and know what they are talking about. Also, go to the bookstore and get the Birnbaum’s guide to WDW. There are a ton of guide books out there but that is the one that has worked best for us.
Hope this helps, have a great trip!!
You hit the nail on the head — the individual parks will keep you busy all day and into the night. Unless you are staying 10 days or something, why would you want spend your time riding the transportation system around between parks?
The only exception I’d make for that would be if your trip has enough days (and money) to give two days to each to Magic, MGM, and Animal part of the day but returning to your Epcot area hotel for a freshen up and a short walk to dine/shop in one of Epcot’s great venues. If you’re not staying ‘on campus’ then I’d definately skip the park-hopper.
You are correct that even in Florida it’s winter water park may not be a good idea. If you are staying in a "A" or "B" level WDW hotel, there will be a nice pool area with at least a whimsical water slide and free towel service. Even if you are staying in a "C" WDW hotel, you are still free to go swim in the pool and order drinks at the Tiki Bar at other hotels.
I’d think hard about the dining plan. Usually I do the dining plan one or two days and ‘save points’ for a splendid dinner in a nice setting. (The dining plan may have changed and disallowed this.) Otherwise, I pack meal bars, fruits, small can of tuna, etc, and really avoid buying prepared food in the parks. You can spend $10 at a snack bar and walk away hungry. Just buying drinks is $10-15/day/person so think about getting sippy-jugs you can refill at water fountains.
It’s 80 degrees in Orlando today, so you may find the water parks enjoyable, and less crowded than they would be in the summer months.
That option also gets you into Disneyquest, if you like video games and Pleasure Island for a little more adult entertainment. Beyond the variety of dance clubs there is also the Comedy Warehouse, which features improv comedy, and the Adventurer’s Club which is an experience unto itself.
Others have mentioned the advantages of the park hopper. I find it a great advantage to be able to see part of one park in the morning and then "hop" to another park for fireworks or the evening Extra Magic hours.
You most to visit
Magic kingdom
Animal kingdom
MGM studios
Epcot center
Disney Downtown (Disney Quest)
You must to stay in a Disney hotel and go to the parks when there are extra magic hours.
You need more than one day to visit each park, so you can get extra time if you stay in a Disney hotel