That's not what we're here to talk about though. Nope, in fact I figured that since I can't really just write a bog post about how their tickets came. That's exciting for us but not really for all of you. However, it is still a bit of Disney in my everyday life and deserves to be talked about.
After much consideration, when it came to our January trip, we decided on Basic 9-Day tickets without the parkhopper option. It really doesn't matter for my family since we all have (or will have) annual passes, but for my two friends who are spending a good deal of money on this trip, we had some decisions to make. My Mom was shocked by my recommendation for basic tickets in trade for the parkhoppers, since I honestly can't remember a trip where we didn't parkhop at least once (unless it was a super super short trip before a cruise or back in the day when it was only one park a day no matter what). So here are the reasons as to why we decided on those basic tickets:
1. Parkhoppers are more expensive.
I figure this one is pretty self explanatory, but it's still worth mentioning. When deciding which ticket is right for you, cost is definitely one of the things you have to think about. Based on what you like to do, parkhoppers might be worth the extra money, but they're not for everyone. You have to factor in the time it takes to get from one park to another and whether or not you're staying on property and if you have a rental car. All those things matter!
2. Park Hours
A big one for us in January is if it's even worth it to park hop. We're going during the off season, which to be honest is kind of weird for me now. When I was younger we traveled during the off season all the time, but in the past couple of years we've gone more in the summer, simply because it works better time wise. Summertime means longer park hours, and it also means that Magic Kingdom closing at 8 in January is a huge shock. This is a park I regularly visit at midnight or one in the morning, simply because I can, so having it close at 8 (although it's open until later a few nights each week) is crazy. That being said, with the parks only open for those shortened hours, it's way less worth it to parkhop.
3. Everything Else
Because of those reduced hours, it gives us a lot of time to spend outside of the four main parks. There's still Mini Golf and Downtown Disney and a whole world of resorts to visit, so there's enough to do outside of Epcot and Hollywood Studios that parkhopping seems almost ridiculous. You can spend that time doing other valuable things!
4. Personal Preference
This is a new addition to my list of "Do you want a parkhopper." I'm so used to Walt Disney World that it really doesn't matter to me HOW much I experience rather than how I experience it. For the seasoned Disney goer, parkhopping is kind of fun. It's an adventure to see how many parks you can make it to in one day, and seriously the next time I'm there in the summer I'm going to attempt a run at seeing all the fireworks in one night (yes, Fantasmic, then Illuminations and finally Wishes). It's gonna happen. But for someone who hasn't been to Disney World as often as I have, it's sort of nice to stay in one place each day and just sort of take things in. When we went in June the only park we had a full day in was Magic Kingdom, and both Megan and Ashley commented on the fact that they enjoyed being in one place the whole day, simply because they felt like they got to see way more. I definitely took that into account when planning this next trip, and I agree with them. As much as I love parkhopping, it's kind of nice to just go to Magic Kingdom for a day. A chance of pace for the constantly moving Disnerd.
And so, we ended up with basic tickets. No matter which ones they had though, I'm just happy they get to go with me. Honestly, after June I don't think Walt Disney World will ever feel quite right without them by my side, and I'm extremely lucky to be able to share it all with them on a much grander scale.
We may have a few months to wait yet, but we'll figure some way to pass the time, right?
Have a magical day!
(Note: This blog post was written on September 30).
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