When Park Hopping returned to Disney World in a modified way earlier this year, we had quite a few concerns about it, including whether it would be worth the cost, how the modified system would work in actuality, and more.
LET’S GO PARK HOPPING!!
One BIG concern we had was whether guests would even be ABLE to park hop, as it is based on capacity and availability in the parks. When it was first announced, it sure seemed like we had to brace for the inability to hop due to capacity limits. Has this been an issue for us yet? Is it an issue you should be worried about for your next trip? We’re breaking it all down for you right now!
What’s Going on With Park Hopping Right Now?
First, let’s go through a quick break-down of how Park Hopping operates in Disney World right now. As we mentioned before, Park Hopping returned to Disney World in a modified way earlier this year. There are a few important things you need to keep in mind if you want to Park Hop under this modified system.
First — you need a ticket with the Park Hopper option or a pass that includes park hopping abilities (in other words, a basic one-day, one-park, standard ticket won’t allow you to hop around).
Balloons!
Second — you need to make a Park Pass for the first park you want to visit each day of your trip. Third — you MUST visit that first park in order to hop later. You can’t just skip that first park and go directly to a second park later. Instead, you MUST enter your first park (the park you have a Park Pass for), and THEN you’ll be allowed to hop.
Fourth — you can only hop to another park beginning at 2PM each day. Disney has noted that this 2PM Park Hopping start time is subject to change in the future, but that is what it is set at right now.
That view tho
Fifth — and this is the real kicker — you can only hop at 2PM IF there’s availability. Park Hopping to each park is limited by the park’s capacity limitations. So, there is a possibility that one of the parks (or all of the parks) could be at full capacity with no availability for Park Hopping when you try to hop in the afternoon. If that’s the case, then you wouldn’t be able to hop to those parks without availability. You can call a number to check each park’s Park Hopping availability.
Click here to see our page full of information about Park Hopping!
Why Was Park Availability for Hopping Such a Concern?
Park capacity is limited in the Disney World theme parks right now. Based on the most recent information Disney has shared, capacity is capped at 35% at the moment. So, capacity and availability to get into the parks is limited on a general scale.
We’ve seen Park Passes filling up for one and sometimes ALL of the parks on various days, sometimes for several days or a week at a time now that the busier spring and summer months are arriving.
Look at That Line!
Let’s say all of the Park Passes for all 4 parks for all of the days of your trip are completely full — that means the parks are ALL expected to be at capacity those days. The concern is that if all of the parks are at capacity (or are just very busy), there may not be availability to Park Hop. Among all of the other factors, this is one of the things that really made us wonder whether park hopping would be worth the cost in 2021. If you WANT to hop to another park but can’t, is it even worth spending the cash for a “what if?”
Essentially, you have to pay to use the Park Hopper option, but you are not TECHNICALLY guaranteed to hop at all.
A Look at Some Disney Crowds
There is a possibility that you’ll get to the 2PM Park Hopping start time and one or more (potentially all) of the Disney World parks will be entirely full, without any availability to Park Hop at all. This could happen for one day of your trip, two days, or maybe the entire trip. Yikes.
There’s even a possibility (as far as we know under the information Disney has presently been shared) that you could see a park has Park Hopper availability, get on the bus to go there, and then arrive only to find that it reached capacity for hopping while you were traveling there and you’re no longer able to enter. You could go back to your original park or go to another park with availability, but that would still result in a lot of lost time and effort.
Click here to see the 3 BEST things about Park Hopping in Disney World and the 2 WORST!
Things Have Surprisingly Worked Out
So…do you need to be afraid of there not being any Park Hopping availability? Have we ever tried to hop to a park only to find there’s no availability, as we previously feared? It turns out the answer is…”No!”
Crowds can be another source of stress for any guest!
Seriously! Things have actually surprisingly been fine for our DFB reporters. Our reporters are in the parks essentially every single day getting all the latest information and updates for you. They’re even in the parks during those VERY busy holiday weekends. Overall, our reporters really haven’t experienced issues with Park Hopping availability after 2PM each day. Even at the busiest we’ve seen so far, Spring Break, we hopped each day with ease. We kept checking the phone number — all parks available each day!
But, That Could Change! Here’s What You Need to Know
Now, this is just what our reporters have experienced, so it’s possible that other guests have experienced something different. We’ve asked around and, to our knowledge, we haven’t seen anyone encounter a park at capacity for hopping. And it’s very possible that things could change soon, so the fact that we haven’t had issues with Park Hopping availability is NOT something to take for granted.
The summer season is coming up, which is typically a very VERY busy time for Disney as kids are out of school and many parents take advantage of that time to go on trips. From what we’ve seen, this summer will likely be very busy. Park Passes have been filling up already, although some have later become available again for certain dates.
Time to Face the Summer Heat and Summer Crowds
We actually haven’t experienced a “true” summer with Park Hopping yet, as it only became available when the parks reopened last July, when part of the summer had already passed by. Plus, crowds were notably lighter when the parks first reopened. We also didn’t get to experience a summer with Park Hopping at 35% capacity, as the parks were previously capped at 25% capacity. And there’s a chance that capacity could be increased even more in the future.
During the summer months, we could see more days hitting capacity, and potentially more crowds staying IN the parks, creating Park Hopping availability issues. If the parks reach capacity and enough guests don’t leave or hop to other parks, we could see some parks without any hopping availability when the afternoon rolls around. So far, it hasn’t been an issue (at least for us), but it could become a problem soon.
Mexico Pavilion Crowds
What can you do to try and avoid this Park Hopping availability issue? First, before you plan to hop (whether you go right now or during the summer), check the Park Hopping availability. You can call (407) 560-5000 for the most up-to-date information on park availability. When you dial, a recording will tell you which parks have availability for hopping. Again, we recommend you call this number BEFORE you leave your first park.
Tree of Life
If you and your family absolutely MUST visit a particular park or ride a specific ride, then you’ll probably want to make a Park Pass for that park and make it the first park you visit (at least during one day of your trip). That will help you at least guarantee your entrance to the park, and (if the ride is up and running) give you the chance to ride whatever ride at that park you’ve got to see.
If your plan only includes that must-do park as one you’d hop to in the afternoon, you run the risk that the park might not have Park Hopping availability and you might not be able to enter it. If it’s a must-do, you might not want to leave it to chance.
Main Street
And if you’re traveling during a really busy time when the parks are set to reach capacity, you might want to consider whether Park Hopping is something you absolutely need, whether the cost is worth it for you, and whether you should plan your trip for the possibility that Park Hopping won’t happen. Again, it hasn’t been an issue with us yet, but it could be in the future.
Click here to see some Park Hopping transportation updates!
Overall
Overall, being able to hop to the parks we’ve wanted to visit, even on busy days, hasn’t been the issue we were concerned it might be. But, it could certainly become a BIG issue in the future, and we think it’s something you’ll probably want to think about when planning. Given the rules of the modified system, you just need to take a close look and see whether Park Hopping is something you really need and whether it’s worth it for you.
Pandora
Remember that you can always add on the Park Hopping option to your tickets (even part-way during your trip). But, Disney will charge you as if you’ve added the Park Hopping option on for your entire trip. So if you have a 4-day ticket and you decide to add the Park Hopper option on day 2, you’ll still be charged the park Hopper upgrade for all 4 days. So, if you are going to add it to your ticket be sure to do so early on! And keep in mind that you generally cannot remove a Park Hopper option from a ticket, so you want to carefully consider whether you need it before paying for it!
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Check out the video below about the return of Park Hopping!
Can you park hop to MULTIPLE parks on the same day? Click here to see our answer!
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What would happen if we made reservations in Epcot, but have a park reservation for a different park in the morning? If the Epcot gets to full capacity are we SOL with our reservation?
What happened to “third” ;-P
Jnoel, it was up in the paragraph after “second”. 🙂
Jenny, we have not yet encountered that problem. We expect you’d be let into the second park, but we haven’t been able to confirm this.
Does a park pass reservation grant guaranteed access for the whole day? For example, let’s say I have a reservation for Epcot and I got there in the morning, but decide to go back to the hotel for a couple of hours and come back later. If I come back after 2pm and people have hopped to Epcot, is it possible that the park is at capacity and I can’t get back in?
Re: park reservations/hopping
I have a park pass reservation for EPCOT.
If we go to Blizzard Beach for the morning THEN go to EPCOT in the afternoon, say around 3, are we considered “hopping?” We have dinner reservations at the Biergarten. Will we be allowed entrance if it’s full?
Must we always report to any park we have reservations for in the mornings?
If you leave your original park to hop to another, will you always be able to get back into the original park or could you be blocked from coming back in due to increased crowds while you were gone?
I hopped from HS to AK to Epcot all in one day on Tue 5/11/2021. Didn’t have any problems. Oh and we drove and got to AK really late 4pm ish and no parking attendants so you don’t pay (we didn’t anyways with AP) and you can park as close as you want.
We just returned from a week at WDW, 05/08 thru 05/15 – We park hopped 3 days No problems for us, worked well – what is surprizing is how they say they are at 35% capacity and the lines are long, dining is difficult and walkways are crowded – its far more crowded then when at full capacity and that just is so confusing to me, I mean if we are at 35% I expect to have walk on rides and ease of dining, NOT SO NOT SO
Hey Sarah! That was a sort of question of mine. I am going to WDW the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I already have my PH tickets with my 1st park pass set for each of our days.
Ex. I have a park pass for the MK with a lunch res. for JNC. I want to hop over to EPCOT for dinner.
How do I get the Dining Res system to let me make one for Monsieur Paul?
I have not seen this addressed as of yet. If one of your members can check this out for me, it would be appreciated. I have time since I cannot make DR’s until Sept.
Thank You for all your hard work in keeping us updated. I always refer every one I know to DFB.
Loyal reader
Diane
Diane, if Monsieur Paul has reopened by the time of your visit, you’ll be able to make an ADR there without a Disney Park Pass for EPCOT. The system doesn’t require DPP info in order to allow you to make an ADR.
Melissa, you could be unable to return if that park were to reach capacity while you were gone.
Beverly, as long as you have a Disney Park Pass, you should be able to tap into the park, regardless of the time of day. You would not be considered Park Hopping because the water park requires a different, separate ticket.
Mike, as long as you have not tapped into a second park, you can return to EPCOT.
DFB Sarah: Hey, thanks for being so responsive to your readers/viewers! It’s a nice touch.
Jim, this means so much to me. Thanks for saying that.