It’s officially 2021, which means park hopping is BACK at Disney World!
Cinderella Castle
We tried it out on New Year’s Day and learned a lot about the new process. We found out that you can park hop to as many parks as you want (if not at capacity), how transportation works, and more! But today, we’re here to talk about the BEST and WORST parts about park hopping!
The BEST Things About Park Hopping
Flexibility
One of the best parts about the return of park hopping is the amount of flexibility you have! Since Disney World reopened in the summer of 2020, guests have been required to make a Park Pass Reservation. This reservation secures your spot in the park, and that was the only park you were allowed to visit that day.
Park Hopping Information
Now, guests still have to make a Park Pass Reservation, but they do not have to make another one for the park they want to hop to. So after you scan into your original park, you have free reign to hop anywhere you’d like after 2PM!
Park Hopping Procedure
With one park per day, it can be pretty limiting for families, especially if you are on a short trip and want to fit two (or three or four) parks into one day. Although modified, this is a positive to park hopping coming back!
Got Questions About Disney World’s New Park Hopping Process? We’ve Got Answers!
Avoid Crowds
With the global pandemic still happening, many people try to avoid crowds as much as possible. And although we saw some pretty big crowds in Disney World for the holidays, they are a bit more avoidable with park hopping!
Magic Kingdom
If you and your party start to feel overwhelmed by the crowds in a certain park, you don’t have to go and sit in your hotel room for the rest of the night. Just park hop to another park that has room, and hopefully the crowds are better there!
Hollywood Studios Crowds
We’ve been back in the parks every day since Disney World reopened, and from our observations, we see Disney’s Animal Kingdom with the most room to spread out consistently. This is probably the best park to visit if you need a break from being around lots and lots of people.
Pandora
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a fairly small park (and perhaps the most popular park), so it gets congested easily.
Galaxy’s Edge Crowds
We’ve found that EPCOT is either very roomy or very tight. In World Showcase, crowds tend to gather in certain pavilions since they are close together to begin with.
EPCOT Crowds
Magic Kingdom is also very popular and there are certain choke points that get very crowded depending on the time of day.
Tomorrowland
With the ability to park hop, is the ability to escape the crowds! This is a big perk, especially with the current pandemic, because you can continue having fun in the parks!
See New Year’s Day crowds in Disney World
4 Park Challenge
Many have attempted the 4 park challenge, which is where you visit ALL four parks in one day! We even did it the day park hopping returned!
4 Park Challenge
Whether you challenge yourself to ride something at each park, eat something at each park, or just scan into each park, this is a super fun challenge that many families try. And now, this challenge can make a return with park hopping! How fun!
Park Hopping Returns!
When park hopping for this challenge, we’d recommend heading to the park that closes first that day. This way, you have a better shot at making it to all 4 before they close!
Here are park hopping transportation updates so you can complete this challenge!
The WORST Things About Park Hopping
It Can Be Expensive
There are many perks to park hopping, but there are also a few downsides. A big negative for a lot of people is the cost of a park hopping ticket.
Ticket Booth
We recently looked at if park hopping was worth the price in 2021, especially with the modifications of going to Disney World right now. Ultimately, it depends on what you and your family want.
EPCOT Ticket Booths
If you are traveling on a budget, you may want to stick to the base ticket option of one park per day. If you’ve never been and you want to splurge a bit, the park hopper may be for you.
Will Park Hopping in Disney World Still Be Worth the Cost in 2021?
Your Time is Limited
The biggest modification that comes with the new park hopping process is the Park Hopping Hours. Previously, guests could park hop to any park at any time, but now that has changed.
Toy Story Land’s Slinky Dog Dash
Currently park hopping hours are from 2PM to park close. This means that you only have a limited time to spend in another park. Because of this, you’ll probably want to make a Park Pass Reservation for the park that you want to spend the MOST time in. Also, you are not guaranteed to be able to park hop. If a park or several parks are full, you will not be allowed to hop to those parks! This has not happened to us since it returned, however this is a possibility during busy seasons.
EPCOT
Even though Rise of the Resistance in Disney’s Hollywood Studios gives guests two chances to get a boarding group (one at 7AM and another at 1PM), you can only get one if you start your day in that park. That means that if you park hop to Studios later in the day, you will NOT get a chance to ride that attraction.
Learn more about park hopping hours
Although there is both good and bad, we are glad that park hopping has returned to Disney World for 2021! Are you? This experience can be super helpful for families, and it can be a lot of fun! We’ll continue to update you on all things park hopping, so stay tuned to DFB.
Here’s EVERYTHING You Need to Know About Park Hopping in 2021
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Too expensive for me.
Park hopping is not to mea good thing if the parks lose a 6 and hopping don’t start till 2 traveling time on resort transportation leaves you off at entrances with expansion and new added hotel that’s like in Gods country so what can you achieve for $65.00 a person for added 260 for family of 4 four to me not the caring of customers that I always thought Disney caring of guest was priority. My gut tells me this is going to be the norm for Disney after corvid This is not the Disney I love going to 3 to4 times a year too much difference for me
We made the decision after taking our daughter to WDW for the first time in 2018 to go every-other-year. We just went in November of 2020 which was definitely a different experience but still a good one. Since my daughter is now 10, I’m thinking of taking mini WDW vacations with her on the off years of our family trips. If we are able to do a mini-trip this year, it would probably only be for 2 nights, and since we’ll only really have 1 day to go to the parks, I will probably do hopper passes so we can enjoy 2 parks while we’re there. I probably wouldn’t try to fit more than 2 in, though, in one day. That would probably be too much.
Park Hopping is dead and any one who purchases a “Park Hopper” ticket add-on is wasting their money and their vacation time. Under the current park access restrictions, you can purchase a park hopper add-on and not even be able to hop to a second park. Also, current park hopper park hours are very limited, starting at 2:00pm and most parks now close by 6:00pm, and it can take 60 to 90 minutes of your time to travel between parks and even more if you use a car. Also, you may get to the second park and not even be able to access the park because of capacity restrictions and you may end up standing in lines most of your time in the second park.
My strongest recommendation for 2021 is to not go to WDW.
I always do hopping. I go at times that, while not peak, are also considered times with decent evening hours. I hop in the evenings for the nighttime parades and fireworks of my choice.
We are taking our grandsons May 29-June 7. We have always opted Not to purchase Park Hopper option. We originally bought a 6 Day with 6 Day water park option for a really good price on Undercover Tourist. We don’t plan on purchasing Genie +. I decided to check on My Disney Experience what adding Park Hopper would cost. Surprisingly, it was only $134 for 5 of us. That’s $27 a person/$4.50 a day. We decided to go for it. With crowd levels uncertain since the pandemic, we decided this made sense to us.