Hello Scott and Valerie,
Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your question. May is right around the corner and so is your magical vacation!
I love adding the
Park Hopper Option to my tickets. You'll have more flexibility when it comes to making
dining reservations since you're not limited to one park on a specific day. Plus, you'll have the opportunity to see all four parks even if you're only at Walt Disney World for a couple of days.
Although you do get flexibility with the Park Hopper, it doesn't mean you'll get to see everything. In fact, usually when I park hop on shorter visits, I only get to experience my "must do" attractions. While you can visit multiple parks in one day, the only way you can return to a park the following day would be to have a
valid admission and theme park reservation.
For example, if you decide to visit
Disney's Animal Kingdom and then hop over to
Magic Kingdom, you would need a reservation for Disney's Animal Kingdom. That park usually opens earlier than the others, so you can probably experience most of the attractions in that park by the 2:00 PM time, or a little after that. At 2:00 PM you could either take a break at your resort or head straight to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon and evening. There are over 20 rides, not including shows and entertainment in Magic Kingdom, so there is really no way to see and do everything in one evening. If you wanted to return the next morning, you would need a ticket and a reservation for Magic Kingdom.
Hope this helps. Have a magical vacation!
Diane