To park hop or not to park hop?

[proud mom]

Hi all! I'm planning a trip to Disneyland with my adult daughter (26). It will be around May 14 -- but not during any of the Grad Nights. This will be her first trip to Disneyland/California Adventure. I've gone before but not in a couple of years. In the past I have always gotten park hopper passes. This was also before Lightning Lanes. Looking at park passes and the price difference between one park a day and hopping is around $100 for a 5 day ticket. Is it worth it?

Also, how important are Lightning Lanes for May 14 through 18?

 

[Louis63]

Definetly worth it

 

[kikismom]

We are big time parkhoppers. We go back and forth as the day goes. For us CA doesn't feel like an all day park.

 

[disneychrista]

If you had a 3 day or less pass I would say skip adding park hopping but for 5 days you might want it, since that is more than enough time to explore both parks and repeat favorites.

I would concentrate on a single park for at the first couple days. And then park hop as you see fit on days 4 & 5. I found that I didn't get as much done when I park hopped vs sticking to a single park each day.

 

[LKing]

Disneyland is celebrating its 70th birthday this year. The festivities, including a much anticipated return of Paint the Night, will begin on May 16. I think the 14 & 15 will be pretty calm, but May 16 - 18 will be a zoo.

 

[LAS2AMS]

The hopping add on drops as you add more days. IMO, the concept is heavily overrated on this fourm - I’d rather spend the $$$ on more time in the parks than hopping (it costs up to $75 to hop on a 1D ticket, and $90 on a 3D). For $105 for 5D, I’d consider it… but honestly, I think the money is better spent on a nice meal or two. Five days is a lot of time to spend in the parks.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I'd say it's worth it. It gives you more flexibility. If rides are down or it's crowded in one park, you can try the other park. Also, if a ride is down for an extended period of time, you can try again another day no matter which park you started in.

 

[Dznefreek]

My wife and I went 9/15-9/20/2024.
We did Mon./Tues. at DL and Thurs. at DCA.
We used LLMP instead of hopping.
We were able to do a total of 41 rides over the 3 days.
We were in the parks from roughly 8am - 3pm each day.

 

[Pluto468]

For only $100 to add it over 5 days I would definitely do it. Hopping gives you so much flexibility. Have a fun trip!

 

[Tinkaboo]

Park hopping is where it's at! So easy, so close. I wouldn't go to the park without it!

 

[mdmost]

We enjoying having the flexibility to go from one park to another in a given day. For instance, we may book a day at DLR but then want to go on a nighttime ride of Guardians of the Galaxy or go back to Cars Land at night. We started letting our teens go on their own for a day so the park hopper lets them criss cross the parks chasing Lightning Lane times while the wife and me take it easy in Fantasyland or riding the riverboat.

 

[maleficent55]

for many, MANY reasons it is worth it to have park hoppers. To me though, the absolute biggest reason is that Disneyland is always open about 2 hours after DCA.

personally, I couldn't take having to end my night at DCA at closing knowing that Disneyland is still open for a couple more hours AND Main Street for another hour after that.

 

[gsdweller]

Totally worth it

 

[MagicDVC]

At DLR, it's worth it to park hop. We like to jump between parks if we get through the things we wanted to do. Although, I don't think we've ever not had park hoppers at DLR.

 

[RunnerMom71]

It's especially worth it if one park gets super busy. You just walk across the esplanade.

We also find it worth it for food: I think the food options are much better at DCA and a lot of times we want to enjoy a glass of wine or my husband a beer with dinner. One of my fav things to do is grab one of the quick service meals in DCA and sit under the tree at the wine bar / Sonoma Terrace. It's so pleasant to relax and take in the ambiance in this nook at the park!

 

[MonocularVision]

for many, MANY reasons it is worth it to have park hoppers. To me though, the absolute biggest reason is that Disneyland is always open about 2 hours after DCA.

personally, I couldn't take having to end my night at DCA at closing knowing that Disneyland is still open for a couple more hours AND Main Street for another hour after that.

Ha! This is us. We rarely hop to CA when we start at DL, but you can be sure we will hit DL after CA closes.

 

[goooof1]

YES ! Park hoppers are so worth it !! Entrances are ~100 yards apart (across the Esplanade). Flexibility is worth it. We always get hoppers and go back and forth like it is one big park..... and you don't want to be looking at the other gate and thinking, I'd like to run over there for a bit !!