How Does Park Hopper Work at Walt Disney World?

With so much to do at Walt Disney World, you want to ensure you get the most out of your time in the theme parks. One of the best ways to do this is by adding the Park Hopper option to your park tickets. Park Hopper allows you to visit more than one Disney theme park in a single day. Park Hopper tickets give you the ultimate flexibility to visit the theme parks when and how you want. Are you wondering how Park Hopper works? Learn everything you need to know about park hopping at Walt Disney World here!

​How Park Hopper Works

Park Hopper is a ticket add-on that allows you to visit multiple theme parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom) in one day. You can hop between any park as much as you’d like. Want to rope drop Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT in the morning, then have dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom in the evening? No problem. Want to do the Four Parks, One Day challenge? It’s possible with Park Hopper! 
 
There are two types of Park Hopper tickets. The first is the standard Park Hopper pass, which allows you to visit more than one theme park in a day. The Park Hopper Plus option also gives access to the Disney water parks, regular golf or FootGolf at Disney’s Oak Trail, Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf, and ESPN Wide World of Sports (which is a great deal if you’re visiting for a family member’s sporting event or competition). The number of times you can visit these extra experiences is based on the number of days on your ticket. For example, a 4-Day Park Hopper Plus ticket allows you four visits to one of the experiences listed above during your trip.
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You can purchase Park Hopper tickets when you book your vacation package or add them to a base ticket at a later date (you'll just be charged for the price difference separately). You must purchase Park Hopper for the entire length of your trip if you have a multi-day ticket. You cannot add Park Hopper to only part of your trip unless you purchase a single-day Park Hopper ticket. We don't recommend this because adding Park Hopper for a single day is more expensive than adding Park Hopper for multiple days.

Benefits of Using Park Hopper

There are several benefits to park hopping. Park Hopper passes give you the greatest flexibility when visiting Disney theme parks during your vacation. If you plan to go to a particular park but get there and your family's not feeling up for it, you can immediately leave and go to another park. If one park closes early, you can spend even more time in the parks by hopping to a park that’s open later. It also gives you more options for table-service dining inside the parks, as you can make a dining reservation for a restaurant at any park on any day of your vacation, versus being limited to dining with a one-park ticket. You also can split days at the parks depending on your family’s preferences. For instance, you may split a day at Hollywood Studios and EPCOT if you have preschoolers who won't enjoy some of the bigger rides those parks offer.

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  Park Hopping May Be for You If….

Park hopping makes sense for some families. Now that you understand how Park Hopper works, here are some things you’ll want to consider when deciding whether park hopping may be a good idea during your next vacation. Park hopping might be right for you if:

• You want to visit more than one park in a single day. 
  
• You have visited Walt Disney World before.
  
• You’re planning a short trip (less than four days) but want to visit all the theme parks. 
  
• You’re staying during a busy time (Christmas, Thanksgiving, spring break, and Labor Day weekend, for example).
  
• You’re visiting during the fall or winter when Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is going on. (This is one situation where we STRONGLY recommend you upgrade to a Hopper.)
  
• You’re staying at Disney Resort that’s within walking distance to a theme park.
  
• You are ok with the logistics of traveling to multiple parks in one day (including using different travel methods, navigating parking, loading and unloading a stroller or ECV, etc).  
  
• You’re willing to lose time visiting each park to account for travel between parks (especially if you're using Disney-provided transportation). 
  
• You are open to using a Minnie Van to save travel time if you don't have your own transportation.  ​
  

Park Hopper Cost ​

The cost of adding Park Hopper to a base ticket depends on the day and time of year you want to visit. Like regular theme park admission, Park Hopper tickets are more expensive during popular, crowded times like spring break and holidays. However, ticket prices decrease as the number of days you visit increases. Vacation packages (theme park tickets + Disney Resort stay) will get you the best deal for ticket pricing. 
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Park Hopper and Genie+ ​

We highly recommend purchasing Genie+ when park hopping. Genie+ allows you to skip standby lines at attractions throughout the parks. Genie+ ride selections are made in advance at specific intervals throughout the day (learn more about how Genie+ works here). When you purchase Genie+ on the day you want to use it, select the “multiple parks” option. There are several ways you can utilize Genie+ and park hopping. One strategy that works well is to visit one park (say Magic Kingdom) in the morning when it opens, wait in standby lines for attractions while lines are short, and make Genie+ selections whenever you're eligible at the second or third park you want to visit. This will significantly decrease your wait times at the second park, especially if you plan to park hop in the middle of the day when lines are longer than in the morning. 

Transportation Considerations

You’ll want to become familiar with the various transportation options available, especially if you plan to utilize the complimentary Disney transportation like buses, boats, the Skyliner, or Monorail to travel between parks. Disney also recommends allowing 1.5 hours of travel between parks when using provided transportation, but this is a conservative estimate. Transportation from Disney Resorts starts 45 minutes before park open and stops one hour after park close.  Bus transportation between theme parks begins at 10 am each day. Note: driving or utilizing a private ride-share service, like Minnie Vans, is the quickest way to travel between parks.  

Park Hopping FAQs

Here are the answers to some common questions about how Park Hopper works: 

Do you Need a Reservation for Park Hopping?
No. Reservations are no longer required for date-based tickets (including Park Hopper tickets) as of January 9, 2024. 
 
How Many Times Can You Hop With Park Hopper?
You can hop from park to park as many times as you desire, as long as the park is available for park hopping and hasn’t reached capacity. You can check Park Hopper hours for each park in the My Disney Experience app.

 When Is the Best Time to Use Park Hopper?
Park Hoppers are beneficial throughout the year, during any day of your stay. However, you’ll get the most out of your Park Hopper ticket if you use it on days you plan to get to the parks early and stay late. Consider starting your day at the park that opens the earliest and park hop to the one that stays open the latest. Park hopping also works great for days with early park closures, such as when Magic Kingdom closes early in the fall and winter on select nights for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. With a Park Hopper ticket, you can take advantage of the low crowds at Magic Kingdom on party days and then hop to another park in the evening. 

What Happens if the Parks Reach Capacity?
Park hopping isn’t guaranteed, even if you purchase a Park Hopper ticket. The ability to park hop is based on crowd levels and park capacity limits. If you’re already at the park when park hopping becomes unavailable, you may not be able to re-enter that park if you decide to leave. You’ll be notified if park hopping is unavailable through the My Disney Experience app. Generally, Magic Kingdom is the most likely park to reach capacity. If you’re visiting during a busy season, plan to visit Magic Kingdom first to avoid this. 

 Strategies for Disney Vacation Planning Success

 Park hopping allows you great flexibility in how you choose to enjoy the theme parks at Walt Disney World. However, park hopping doesn’t make sense for every guest. No vacation is one-size-fits-all! At Just Add Magic Travel, we’ll get to know you and your vacation desires to help determine whether Park Hopper is the best option for your vacation. Let us help you add some stress-free magic to your vacation! 
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