Hiya Stacy,
Welcome to planDisney! I love park hopping because I can maximize my time in the parks and experience a lot in one day. Having a Theme Park ticket with a Park Hopper option is the very best! My perfect Walt Disney World day starts at either Disney’s Animal Kingdom to ride
Kilimanjaro Safaris or Disney’s Hollywood Studios for
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and then hopping to EPCOT to grab a snack and stroll around the World Showcase! Whatever your perfect Disney park hopping day is, it will be amazing.
With so many things changing, getting clarity is always a good idea, so thank you for your excellent question. At this time, you do not need to have a
Disney Park Pass Reservation for the second (or third or fourth) park that you wish to visit that day! However, this is subject to change, so I highly recommend double-checking the
website before you leave for your trip to ensure nothing has changed since we last spoke. Now I do want to remind you of two other key park hopping guidelines. So let’s say you have a Disney Park Pass Reservation for EPCOT in the morning and decide to enjoy the pool and amenities at your Walt Disney World Resort Collection Hotel until 2 pm. Although this sounds like a practically perfect way to spend the day, you can’t just head off to Magic Kingdom Park because you have a Park Hopper. Before hopping to Magic Kingdom, you would still need to go to EPCOT and physically enter that Theme Park first. The last thing to be aware of is that park hopping is subject to theme park availability for the park you plan to hop to. I have personally never had a problem park hopping to another park, but sometimes the Most Magical Place on Earth can be very busy. To find out if the Theme Park you wish to visit is at capacity for park hopping, you can call 407-560-5000 and hear the current park hopping availability for all four Theme Parks.
I hope this was helpful, Stacy. Please come back and see us if you need anything else!
Happy Planning,
Ashley F.