Researched and primed your upcoming trip to Disneyland, but now wondering whether you should fork out the extra money to afford Disneyland park hopper ticket options? Stop what you’re doing and read on because we’ll tell you whether you should splurge on a park hopper or skip out on the popular Disney park hopper tickets.
After all, not everyone travels the same! Suppose you are a big family hoping to travel efficiently or a single Disney lover who has to make the most out of every vacation. In that case, we have all the information you need to determine whether or not splurging on these tickets is a good deal for you guys!
Continue reading to make sure you make the best decision regarding your upcoming Disneyland resort trip!
Disneyland Park Hopping Guide: Everything To Know Before Your Next Disney Vacation!
First off, What is Disneylands Park Hopper?
Disney park hopper offers the ability to hop between Disney resort parks; this valuable perk is available as an add-on to your base tickets when purchasing on the Disney website.
You’ve probably heard this familiar term thrown around while enjoying your day at the parks or witnessing mounds of people hustle from Disney California Adventure Park to Disneyland. Wondering how are they going from park to park? Who can afford two park tickets for one day? If any of that crossed your mind, you’re not alone.
When we first witnessed this, it was our first time visiting, and we were puzzled at how people could afford to buy multiple tickets for one day. It felt like an absolute waste and no way our meek little college funds would be able to afford that. But we were curious, so we decided to ask during the frenzy!
We finally intercepted a couple casually walking between the two parks and asked them what everyone was doing. They told us that at 1:00 pm, everyone who had purchased a park hopper could hop to the other park, and the best part was that it wasn’t a whole ticket but more like half a ticket or less (it depends).
We were floored! How did we not know about this? Two parks one day? We were travel lovers, so how did we miss this?
So our next trip, we got to planning and how to make the most out of our sparkly park hopper tickets! As usual, we wanted to make sure to nail the critical points of a Disney trip; get on rides, eat great food, take selfies, and have time to baby our sore feet. With the new flexibility added to the mix, it felt like we had opened a can of magic, leaving us with even more questions!
Park Hopper Facts:
- Disney park hopper allows a Disneyland guest to hop from Disneyland to California adventures or vice versa. There’s also the Disney World Park Hopper version, which is much more complicated considering how many parks there are.
- A park reservation is not required to use the park hopper at this time; reserve the first park as usual. Do keep in mind park hopper tickets are subject to park hopper availability and capacity restraints.
- Disney allows guest to utilize their park hopper at 1:00 pm; this is subject to park capacity limits, so keep in mind that Disney can stop visitors from using the hopper pass.
- Also! starting February 4th, 2023, park hopper holders and magic key pass holders will be able to swap parks 2 hours earlier than usual; that’s right! 11:00 am on February 4th will be the new park hopping swap time for those two lucky tickets or pass holders!
- You can go back and forth between parks once the window opens and throughout regular park operating hours.
*Photo above reflects the new park hopper time! 11:00 am, keep in mind $60 price for the add-on of the park hopper can change whenever Disney feels like it.
What’s the difference between a Disneyland Park Hopper ticket and a regular ticket?
A Disney park hopper ticket allows any person to hop between Disney parks in a single day, while a single ticket is restricted to only visiting one park on a given day.
Is the Disney Park Hopper worth it?
The Disney park hopper is our only option now that we have experienced it several times. The ability to hop between parks at any given time is a fantastic option for people who like to stay busy and make the most of their Disney days. However, it would be best to plan your itinerary to the T to make the most out of your day with a park hopper or without.
We’ll go over our top park hopper tips below ?
How to maximize your Disneyland hopper experience!
1. Plan Ahead!
To make the most of your Disneyland park hopper ticket, you’ll want to plan out 2-3 months ahead to ensure you’re not too early on the schedule where you are unaware of upcoming events and not too late to the point that reservations fill up for your starting park.
Maximizing your park hopper ticket around the calendar events is the most innovative way to manage your park hopper, as it allows you to take into account shorter schedule days and random cut-offs due to seasonal events.
This is especially crucial during the holidays; On our most recent trip to Disneyland for Christmas, we had to sit and stare at the reservation queue for 3 hours straight, refreshing every few seconds to get a spot for our party ?. So don’t be us, it was stressful, and we don’t recommend procrastinating.
2. Check Ride Queues Beforehand
You’ll probably wonder why even bother checking the ride lines standby time but trust! If you check ride wait times about two weeks before your trip, you’ll get a rough understanding of what rides are going off at rope drop, what rides break down often, what are the busiest, and what slow rides to take advantage of.
This is essential information to know because, let’s say, for example, you love fun rides and want to strategize what park to start at or when park hopping is best. You’ll know when certain rides are business and when to hop between parks.
For example, we knew if we started at Disney California Adventure park, we would be knees to chest to guardians of the galaxy or cars land. We would ride the slow rides in between at California, grab snacks, then beeline to galaxies edge during one of the many breakdowns of the Rise Of The Resistance to wait for the ride to open. Also, if a ride breaks down, grab drinks or snacks or both and head over to the ride to wait for an opening; that’s how we rode rise of the resistance four times in two days ?.
3. Utilise Genie Plus to your advantage!
Okay, okay, we know forking out $20-$30 additional per ticket per day is a little extreme, but if money isn’t an issue and time is, then we highly advise you to splurge on genie + for at least part of your trip. The reason is that genie plus allows you to skip that forsaken 3-hour standby and go on with your merry myself to the front of the line (close enough).
While Genie + and lighting Lanes are limited in the fact that you can only get two pay-per-use attractions and one of each per day, it still is worth considering. If you are a longtime Disney park guest, you probably know the tips and tricks needed to get around those tortuous lines; we know a good amount of tricks ourselves that we usually don’t need to splurge on genie plus, but most people don’t have the time to learn those tricks, so splurge and be happy you aren’t waiting in a two-hour line in Californian weather ☺️.
4. Disneyland Parades and Disneyland Shows? Oh My!
One of the best parts of having a park hopper is switching between the parks multiple times a day (as long as capacity limits allow it). We love planning which shows, parades and live plays to watch to match our park hopper schedule needs. During big shows and parades, this is also one of the best times to get on rides ?.
5. Don’t Sleep In!
Making the most out of your Disney park hopper also directly impacts how well you execute your morning park plans; we always try to arrive at park opening and, if possible, Disneyland Rope Drop!
Being an early bird means you have fewer people to bump into and lower wait times since not everyone wants to be at Disney right at rope drop hours if you are staying. Disneyland resort hotel, then you’ll also be aware of the additional perk that Disney hotel guests are allowed in the morning, such as early theme park entry ?.
How much is a Park Hopper at Disneyland?
| Type of Ticket | Disney Park Hopper Days | Cost ($) Per Ticket Each Day * |
| Southern California Resident Weekday Ticket Offer (3 days) | 3 | $60 |
| Regular/Kids | 1 | $65 |
| Regular/Kids | 2 | $60 |
| Regular/Kids | 3 | $60 |
| Regular/Kids | 4 | $60 |
| Regular/Kids | 5 + | $60 |
*Prices can change and are not set in stone; Disney reserves the right to change without notice
The Disneyland Park Hopper varies in price depending on how many days you plan on going. If you are lucky and live near the Disneyland resort, you can enjoy the special discounted price for regular admission, but the park hopper follows the regular pricing.
It looks like the only park hopper option you’ll be paying more for is the single-day option. If you go more than a single day, you’ll receive the discounted price of $60 versus the $65 choice for single-day parkgoers.
Commonly Asked Questions For Disneyland Park Hopper
How do Disneyland Park Hoppers work?
The Disney Park Hopper is an add-on for buying your Disney park tickets. Remember that the Disney park hopper can only be activated at your designated park choice after 1:00 pm if the park isn’t at max capacity. When it’s 1:00 pm, you can shimmy on your way to the other park and get in the ticket line. The Disney cast will scan your mobile ticket or take a physical ticket and scan it, and then you get in!
*We are not affiliated with Disney; Disney and its subsidies and logos are owned and trademarked by Disney. We are just major Disney fans =)
How much is a 2-day Park Hopper at Disneyland?
A 2-day park hopper ticket at Disneyland will set you back $60 a day per ticket; remember, you’ll still need to make reservations for your first park but don’t need them for your hopper choice.
How much is a Disneyland Park Hopper ticket for 2023?
Disneyland Park Hopper tickets add-ons are $65 for single-day visitors and $60 for multiple-day visits.
What time can you enter Disneyland with Park Hopper?
Initially, it’s always been at 1:00 pm, but starting February 4th, 2023, Disneyland will allow park hopper holders and magic key pass holders to hop 2 hours earlier than usual, so 11:00 am!
Can you go back and forth with Disneyland Park Hopper?
Yes! That’s precisely what we do when we hit up Disneyland and California adventures. To master your itinerary, you want the flexibility of park hopper to hit specific queues, utilize genie plus, and be able to strategize what shows you’ll want to enjoy.
That wraps up our top tips for using the famous Disney park hopper! If you love Disney as much as we do, then read our other top Disney tips!