Is a Park Hopper Ticket Worth it at Disneyland?
When planning your Disneyland vacation, whether or not to park hop is a big decision. Park hopper tickets allow you to go back and forth between Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, starting mid-morning on your park days.
Find out if park hopper tickets are necessary, if they are worth the added cost and some tips for making the most of park hopping if you choose to go that route.
Are Park Hopper Tickets Necessary?
In short? No. You can have an amazing time and make magical memories while visiting one park per day and some guests actually prefer one park per day tickets.
The long answer is much more complicated and I think it’s worth getting a park hopper on a case-by-case basis but here is a handy quick list of some times when it might be worth the park hopper option and when you should definitely stick to a single park:
Consider Park Hopping:
- You are on a 1-day, quick trip, you cannot extend to two days and you have favorite attractions and/or must-eat foods in both parks.
- Money is no object. Park hopper tickets cost more than one park per day tickets and that cost can be significant when you have multi-day tickets.
- You love the idea of so much flexibility.
- You are a foodie and you have your heart set on specific foods in both parks. For example, you have 2 park days and two places you really want to eat at for dinner in the same park and two places where you’d like to grab breakfast in the other park.
- It’s a slower time of year. If you plan to hop back and forth a few times throughout the day, it’s nice when you can just stroll through the turnstiles (or “tapstiles” as they are now called) and skip long lines to enter. Check out this chart for pros and cons of visiting the parks for each month of the year.
- You have a change in trip plans. See my park hopping story below.
Stick to a Single Park Each Day:
- You like to wing it. If you’re not into Disney research and planning and don’t want any expert advice for your trip, you will be able to do more with less stress (and fewer steps!) in one park.
- You have a longer Disneyland vacation planned. When purchasing Disneyland tickets, you can apply park hoppers to all of your park days or none at all. You cannot apply the park hopper option to only some of your park days. Extra days equals extra money and it’s really not necessary if you have enough time to see, experience and eat everything without bouncing back and forth.
- You will spend less when you skip the park hopper. As mentioned above, you must add park hopper to all of your Disney tickets for a trip or to none at all. For example, a 4-day park hopper ticket costs $95 more than a single park 4-day ticket. For a family of four, that is a $380 additional cost to add to the budget.
- It’s your first time to the theme parks. This might seem counterintuitive but I think park hopping can add extra overwhelm to Disney newbies.
- It’s busy. Navigating the park is already challenging enough when it’s busy, navigating two parks when they are both busy might reduce some of the Disney magic we seek in our
- You have younger children in your family or group. Park hopping doesn’t even start until 11 and many young children need a midday rest from the theme parks so you might not get to maximize your park hopping time.
Why I Don’t Usually Park Hop
Even though I love to plan, I always tend to picture my full park day at either Disneyland or California Adventure (not both) – all the way from breakfast through a nighttime show. I often take a midday break but I’m never wishing I was heading back into the other park. Mind you, I tend to visit for multiple days so I know I’ll get my chance to experience both parks.
And even though I live for the Disney food, the list of foods I’d like to try (or enjoy again!) at both parks is long enough to last many days, let alone one, single day.
The last but definitely not least reason I tend to skip park hopping is because of the price difference. I am usually traveling with my family and I’d rather spend that extra money on an experience like the World of Color Dessert Party or building droids at Droid Depot or simply more snacks and souvenirs!
Why a Change in Trip Plans Might Warrant Park Hopping
We once had a trip planned out including restaurant reservations and the previously mentioned World of Color Dessert Party then we had to bump our trip by one day. Because we already had set reservations in specific parks and because we hadn’t yet moved our return flights, our trip was possibly going to get cut one day short. In order to keep our reservations, I contacted Disney to inquire about upgrading to park hopper tickets.
They were sold out the first time I called but I tried a few times over the course of a few days and, eventually, they were available! The theme park reservation system is always changing so you can luck out like this but don’t bank on it and, instead, have a backup plan. My plan b was to adjust any reservations that I could, and cancel the rest that didn’t work with our new park day schedule.
I have to say it was fun to go back and forth freely but we were visiting at a quieter time of year and it was very rainy for part of the trip which made the parks even quieter. I remember, at one point, we were in Tomorrowland, near Space Mountain and we had 11 minutes to get to Animation Academy. On a regular day, forget about it. Because of several extenuating circumstances, we made it!
Common Park Hopping Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about park hopping at Disneyland.
Is park hopping realistic? Are the parks far from each other?
Yes, park hopping is very easy and the parks are very close. This is a common question from Walt Disney World regulars because the parks there are much more spread out than at Disneyland. At Disneyland Resort, the two parks face each other across an esplanade and the gates of each are approximately 250-300 feet apart.
Can you start your day at either park if you have a park hopper?
No. You need to make park reservations for your first park of the day.
When can you park hop?
At Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park, you can start park hopping at 11 am.
Should I get park hopper tickets when the park hosts special events?
Not necessarily. Disneyland and California Adventure close early on specific nights of the year for certain special events but if you are a family or group that likes to turn in early, you might actually choose the event location as your park for the day and skip hopping all together. On special event days, the host park tends to be quieter because most other single day park guests are opting for the non-host park to maximize their potential park hours.
This is assuming you’re not attending the separate ticketed event and depends on the event and when you feel like you’ve gotten enough value to leave the park. Each special event night is different but here are some more details about a few.
Oogie Boogie Bash is the Disneyland Resort Halloween party and it happens at California Adventure. For this event, regular park guests have to leave by 6p so you might want to park hop over to Disneyland but know that many other guests will do the same.
Star Wars Nite is at Disneyland and it’s throughout the entire park, not just Galaxy’s Edge. (Read more about Star Wars Nite here). For this event, regular guests do not have to leave until 8p so it’s possible you can get in a pretty full park day and leave happy without needing to hop over to California Adventure.
Does Lightning Lane Multi Pass work in both parks for park hoppers?
Yes, if you have a park hopper ticket and purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can use it in both parks. In fact, you can use the Disneyland app to book Lightning Lanes for California Adventure rides from anywhere in Disneyland and vice versa. In fact, once you’ve scanned into your first park for the day, you can make Lightning Lane reservations from Downtown Disney or even your hotel.
