I’m planning on doing early entry at the parks on some of our days and using the hopping strategy when the park starts getting crowded. About what time do the parks get crowded. I’m going the 2nd week in May. I’m trying to decide when I should start my fast passes in the second park.
We didn’t get hoppers for our trip, but I would plan to hop between 11 and 1. 11 if I wanted to eat in the 2nd park, or a little later if eating in the first park. If one of that days parks was Epcot, I’d be planning to eat there because there are so many things we want to try.
I think it also depends on what you want to do in the first park. Are you only interested in walk on rides? Do you want to do a show around 10 or 11?
It all depends on what the aim of hoping is. If it is to maximise rides then we get FPPs for second park and hop around 11ish. If it is to see parades/shows and have lunch at the second park we usually hop around 12ish and use 3 FPPs in the first park. sometimes we just play it by ear and hop when the first park gets too busy, with FPPs from 12:30ish in the second park.
I am in the anti-hopper crowd. I find that the whole “EMH park is more crowded” thing is a little bit overblown, and that you are most likely sacrificing valuable park time going to another park that may very well be just as crowded as the one you left.
The only times I would consider hopping is if you are taking a mid day break (and are therefore leaving the park anyway) or if you have an ADR in another park that you couldn’t line up with your park schedule (e.g. you have more EP dinner ADRs than EP days).
We’ve also stopped hopping years ago, rather spend money on where we stay, nice dinners, etc.
We also always take the afternoon break. So if we were hopping, then we’d go to second park after the break.
I agree that the theory that emh parks are way more crowded than other parks is not that big a deal. might ramp the CL up by a point or so, but that’s pretty much it.
Thanks! I’m hopping my last 3 days of a 7 day trip to hit favorites one more time. I think I’ll make fp reservations around 2 or 3 so we can have lunch in our room. I like playing it by ear, but having to make fp reservations makes it tough. I don’t know if we will even want to get up for early entry by that time. I really need to start writing down our fatigue levels so I can refer to them for the next trip. I am waiting to plan the night time shows which makes park hoppers worth it.
I will say that the other time hopping makes a lot of sense is during party season. There is a significant and noticeable difference at MK between party days (early close) and non-party days.