Vetran Disneylander's first trip to WDW...

[sleepymilo]

Ok I freely admit that I'm one of those psycho people who ends up at at least once a year (preferably twice), cuminating in at least a good 25 trips to the park. :) That being said, I've finally gotten around to planning my first trip to WDW. Having never been there before I'm not sure what to really expect...

Ok, so I have a question about WDW tickets. The magic your way base ticket allows you to not choose the park hopper option in order to save on cash. I was thinking of doing this and just visit one park per day, then choose which ones I liked best and revisit those parks on my remaining days (7 day trip). I would never do this at DLR due to the fact that DCA can't really hold my attention for a full day. I always end up back in Disneyland after a few hours due to the DCA boredom factor. Hence this is what has me afraid... am I going to get bored in some of the parks such as Animal Kingdom or Epcot due to the lack of things to do there? Would people who have been there recomend to spend the extra cash and get the park hopper option so I could leave and haul myself back to the Magic Kingdom if needed? Has anyone had issues of running out of things to do inside of these parks? Any thoughts and or info would be helpful.

[disneygeek06]

Here's my experience I'm a west coaster the Navy plopped on the east coast so when I first went to WDW i wasn't sure what to do...I recommend buying the option sure you might not use it and it may seem like its a waste of some amount of money, however comma..... you might regret it..... there are many people who just don't enjoy Disney studios and EPCOT since both of them have a tendency to be a wee bit repetitive...i would highly recommend getting the option for those just in case moments

[kairamoon]

What we're doing is buying 4 one-day tickets for MK two days and Epcot 2 days and then 2 park hoppers for AK and DHS to do both parks for two days.

[mistymutt]

I think you should go for the park hopper option just for flexibility. The Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the rest, and you may want to hop over to the studios to see Fantasmic or over to Epcot to see their Fireworks to end your day.
As far as running out of things to do, I don't think that will be a problem.
We went this year in the beginning of January (right after New Years), and it was soooo fantastically crowded and the lines so long that we ran out of time in the day long before we ran out of stuff to do!!!
Don't forget, that when you stay in WDW you always have to add time on to get from your Hotel to the parks (Waiting for Busses Monorails Boats etc)
this takes time away from your touring too

[xfkirsten]

I would agree with previous posters who suggest springing for the extra parkhopper. You have the peace of mind of knowing that parkhopping is an option. It's especially nice for visit parks like DAK that close earlier. Then, if you like, you can head over to one of the other parks after close.

[Fantasmic!kid]

And keep an eye out for Extra Magic Hours. Each park opens early or stays open later for 1-3 hours!!!


~

[BGW4SC]

I just returned from a week long trip to WDW last night and we used the park hopper option a lot during our stay. The first four days were pretty much spent at one park but we did take advantage of the Magic Kingdom being open late after our day at the Animal Kingdom. Once we visited the four parks we made a point to visit more than one park in a day so we could maximize the things we wanted to do. For example we'd arrive at Epcot in the morning and eat lunch in World Showcase and then head over to the studios in the afternoon. In my opinion the park hopper option is worth every penny and since it is your first trip you might as well do it right.

[RU42]

Park Hopper is the only way to go.

In my opinion, a person can never get bored of Epcot. I guess, as I think about it, the question must be what are your interests in Disney Theme parks. If you are only looking for thrill rides then I guess Epcot could get boring. I go to Disney for the magic. Taking a West Coast illustration; I love Storybookland as much as I love Indy Jones as much as I love Pirates. I love being transported into imagination. Epcot is great for that and the World Showcase is fun too.

I love the Studios - there are some great rides there and a good mix. The Park is just a little small so you could do everything in a day maybe a day +.

Animal Kingdom is a must do but you can pretty much hot everything in 1 day. If you miss something you can hit it 1/2 day a second day and go over to Studios for the extra time.

When I go, I focus only on the Parks. I know there used to me (maybe still is) ways to get Park Hopper with all the extras (water parks etc.) That holds no interest for me. I am at a Park when the gates open and I stay in a Park until closed. I would do something like AK in the morning and afternoon and hit Epcot at night. To me that is better then hitting Downtown Disney (et al.)

So, I think the best way to go is the Hopper. Now, if cash is a serious consideration you can do fine with the MYW option. It will just take some more planning. My concern would be if you only got through 80% of Animal Kingdom or Studios; then you would have to burn a day just to cover what you missed. That could potentially be more costly in the long run OR you will miss something you really wanted to do. If cash is overly tight, then I would say go for the Hopper.

RU

[sleepymilo]

Thanks for all the feedback. :) Yeah from the looks of it, I probably will opt for the park hopper option. One of the things that did somewhat turn me off about park hopping was the fact that the parks are farther apart than a quick walk across the enterance plaza at DLR. Oh and RU42, I agree with you, I go to the parks for the Disney magic aspect. If park hopping can give me a better experience, than I have no problem paying for it.

[kbken]

You don't need to worry about getting from one park to the other because the Disney transportation system does a great job. Have a great trip!! Get one or two of the top guide books and study the transportation system a bit.

Ken