The difference between Disney World’s Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus comes down to what you want to do beyond the four main theme parks.
Park Hopper lets you visit more than one Walt Disney World theme park on the same day. Park Hopper Plus gives you that same park-hopping ability, plus a number of separate visits to Disney water parks, miniature golf, Oak Trail Golf Course, FootGolf or ESPN Wide World of Sports.
If I’m only planning Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, I would usually choose regular Park Hopper. If I already know I want a water park or several of the included recreation options, Park Hopper Plus becomes much easier to justify.
Park Hopper vs Park Hopper Plus at a Glance
| Feature | Park Hopper | Park Hopper Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Visit more than one theme park per day | Yes | Yes |
| Magic Kingdom | Yes | Yes |
| EPCOT | Yes | Yes |
| Hollywood Studios | Yes | Yes |
| Animal Kingdom | Yes | Yes |
| Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach | No | Yes |
| Miniature golf | No | Yes |
| Oak Trail Golf Course | No | Yes |
| FootGolf at Oak Trail | No | Yes |
| ESPN Wide World of Sports | No | Yes, subject to event availability |
| Number of Plus visits | None | Equal to number of ticket days |
What Is Park Hopper?
A regular Disney World theme park ticket normally allows admission to one theme park per ticket day.
Adding the Park Hopper option lets you visit more than one of the four Walt Disney World theme parks on the same day.
For example, I could start the morning at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, move to EPCOT in the afternoon and finish the evening at Magic Kingdom.
The four theme parks included are:
- Magic Kingdom
- EPCOT
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney currently allows Park Hopper guests to visit another theme park during operating hours after entering their first park, subject to capacity limitations.
A regular Park Hopper ticket does not include Disney’s water parks.
If you’re deciding whether hopping itself is worth paying for, I keep that question separate in my guide to whether Park Hopper is worth it at Disney World.
What Is Park Hopper Plus?
Park Hopper Plus starts with everything included in Park Hopper.
You can visit multiple theme parks on the same ticket day, but you also receive a separate number of visits to Disney water parks and other eligible recreational experiences.
The number of Plus visits is based on the number of theme park days on your ticket.
| Park Hopper Plus Ticket | Theme Park Days | Plus Visits |
|---|---|---|
| 2-Day | 2 | 2 |
| 3-Day | 3 | 3 |
| 4-Day | 4 | 4 |
| 5-Day | 5 | 5 |
| 6-Day | 6 | 6 |
| 7-Day | 7 | 7 |
| 8-Day | 8 | 8 |
| 9-Day | 9 | 9 |
| 10-Day | 10 | 10 |
So a 4-day Park Hopper Plus ticket includes four days of theme park admission with hopping privileges and four separate Plus visits.
Those four Plus visits are not four extra theme park days. They are admissions to the eligible water park and recreation choices.
What Does Park Hopper Plus Include?
For each Plus visit, Disney currently lets you choose one of the following:
- Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
- Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
- ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
- Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course
- FootGolf at Disney’s Oak Trail
- Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course, one round beginning before 4:00 PM
- Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course, one round beginning before 4:00 PM
Availability matters. Disney water parks can close for seasonal refurbishment, weather or other reasons. ESPN Wide World of Sports admission is available only on event days, and some events require separate admission.
Oak Trail requires an available tee time, while FootGolf operates on select days and times.
If a Disney water park is the main reason you’re considering Plus, see my guide to Disney water park reservations and current entry rules.
Does Regular Park Hopper Include Water Parks?
No. This is one of the biggest differences between Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus.
Regular Park Hopper only changes how you can use your theme park admission. It lets you move among Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom on the same day.
It does not include admission to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.
If you want both theme park hopping and water park access, Park Hopper Plus is the ticket option designed to combine them.
How Do Park Hopper Plus Visits Work?
This is the part I think is easiest to misunderstand.
A Plus visit is counted separately from a theme park day.
For example, suppose I have a 4-day Park Hopper Plus ticket. I receive:
- Four days of admission to the four main Disney World theme parks with Park Hopper privileges
- Four separate Plus visits to eligible water parks or recreation
I could use a theme park admission and a water park visit on the same calendar day.
I could also use a Plus visit on a day when I don’t enter any of the four theme parks, as long as everything is used within the ticket’s valid use period.
That flexibility is one of the best reasons to consider Plus for a longer vacation.
Do Park Hopper Plus Visits Give You Extra Vacation Days?
They can help fill additional vacation days, but I would not describe them as simply adding one extra day for every Plus visit.
Disney tickets have a defined usage window that begins on the start date you select.
Adding Park Hopper Plus currently extends the normal ticket validity period by one additional calendar day.
For example, Disney’s standard 4-day ticket can currently be used within a 7-day window beginning on the selected start date. Adding Park Hopper Plus gives you an additional day in which to use the ticket benefits.
That is different from receiving four extra unrestricted vacation days just because a 4-day ticket includes four Plus visits.
You need to fit the theme park days and Plus visits inside the applicable ticket validity window.
Can You Go to a Water Park and Theme Park on the Same Day?
Yes.
A Park Hopper Plus water park visit and a theme park day are separate entitlements.
That means I could spend the morning at Typhoon Lagoon and then use my theme park admission later in the day.
Because the ticket also has Park Hopper privileges, I can visit more than one of the four main theme parks during that theme park day, subject to normal capacity rules.
I don’t necessarily think that’s the best schedule for everyone. A full water park day followed by several hours at Magic Kingdom can become exhausting quickly. But the ticket itself gives you that flexibility.
Do You Need Reservations With Park Hopper Plus?
Most guests using standard date-based Walt Disney World tickets no longer need theme park reservations.
Some other admission types can still require theme park reservations, so I would check the specific rules attached to your ticket rather than assuming every Disney admission works the same way.
Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach currently do not require separate park reservations for normal water park admission.
The non-theme-park Plus options have their own restrictions. For example, Oak Trail requires a tee time and miniature golf rounds included with Park Hopper Plus must begin before 4:00 PM.
Can You Upgrade Park Hopper to Park Hopper Plus Later?
Yes, eligible Park Hopper tickets can generally be upgraded to Park Hopper Plus while they are still valid.
Disney ticket windows and Guest Relations can help with the upgrade. Depending on the ticket, you may also see modification options in My Disney Experience.
There is an important catch if you wait until late in the trip.
You normally pay the applicable Park Hopper Plus upgrade for the ticket, not a tiny prorated amount based only on the days remaining.
So I wouldn’t intentionally wait until the end of a 5-day ticket expecting to buy one cheap day of Plus access.
Current Disney planning guidance also says the upgrade needs to be completed before you use the theme park admission on the final valid ticket day.
If you’re only looking to add hopping and not the Plus benefits, my guide to upgrading a Disney World ticket to Park Hopper covers that separately.
When Park Hopper Plus Makes More Sense Than Park Hopper
I would consider Park Hopper Plus primarily when I already know I’m going to use the extra admissions.
- You already want a Disney water park day. This is the clearest reason for me to consider Plus.
- Your vacation is longer than your number of theme park days. Plus visits can give you activities for some of the days between theme park visits.
- You want both park hopping and recreation. Park Hopper Plus combines the two instead of forcing you to choose one or the other.
- You will use more than one Plus visit. Water parks, golf and miniature golf make the extra cost easier to justify if several are already in your plans.
When Regular Park Hopper Is Enough
I would stick with regular Park Hopper if my vacation is centered almost entirely on the four theme parks.
- You don’t plan to visit a Disney water park.
- Miniature golf and golf are not priorities.
- Your trip is short enough that there isn’t much time for recreation outside the theme parks.
- You mainly want the flexibility to leave one theme park and finish the day somewhere else.
In that situation, paying for Plus benefits I probably won’t use does not improve the trip.
What About Water Park and Sports Instead?
Disney also sells a Water Park and Sports option.
It includes the same general type of water park and recreation visits as Park Hopper Plus, but your theme park admission remains limited to one theme park per day.
The difference is simple:
| Ticket Option | Theme Parks | Water Parks & Recreation |
|---|---|---|
| Park Hopper | Multiple theme parks per day | No |
| Water Park and Sports | One theme park per day | Yes |
| Park Hopper Plus | Multiple theme parks per day | Yes |
If I don’t care about hopping but definitely want a water park, I would compare Water Park and Sports against Park Hopper Plus instead of automatically paying for both features.
Which One Would I Choose?
For a theme-park-heavy trip, I would choose Park Hopper.
If I know I want Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach or several of the included recreation experiences, I would choose Park Hopper Plus.
The important part is not the word “Plus.” It is whether those additional visits match things I was already planning to pay for.
A 4-day Park Hopper Plus ticket does not give me eight theme park days. It gives me four theme park days with hopping and four separate Plus visits that must be used within the ticket’s validity period.
For the broader ticket lineup, see my Disney World ticket types guide or my main guide to Disney World Park Hopper tickets.
Disney keeps the current Park Hopper Plus inclusions and restrictions on its official Walt Disney World ticket page.
