Just going to the resort and skipping the parks

[Disneyfanatic108]

On our last visit I realized that I enjoyed the resort and being on property better than going to the parks. I was wondering if anyone else felt this way? We just started doing the run disney races and can get a hotel discount that way. With the cost of tickets going up, and the new FP+ system, the parks are more stressful than ever. It seemed I was forever trying to get a 4th FP and having to constantly cross the parks to get to the attractions we did have passes for. I would now rather spend the ticket money on a longer stay or better resort.

 

[Minnesota!]

That is what we discovered, too. We enjoy the resort as much/more than the parks. No stress, no mess. We do the "other stuff"...swim, mini golf, bowl, window shop, ice cream, meals at resorts, transportation, Fort wilderness, etc. We love it!

 

[Coconut8473]

We loved having our Annual Passes for this reason. Our trip last summer was one of our most relaxing, because we didn't feel the pressure to get our money's worth out of park passes each day. Unfortunately, since we'll only be able to visit once this year we didn't renew. We bought a 7 night package with 7 day park tickets for our next trip. I originally wanted to opt for fewer days for the park tickets (to force us to have some "off days), but the price differential isn't that much between 5 and 7 days. I'm hoping that if we keep this knowledge in the back of our heads we'll allow ourselves to go at a slower pace (enjoy more pool time, eat at restaurants at different resorts, mini golf, etc.).

 

[cedricandsophie]

For every time we go to disneyworld we go to parks only one day. In December we were there a week and went one day. Hit three parks that day. We are leaving on feb 28 for two weeks and wil go parks one day. I could skip it entirely but my husband likes to park hop one day and hit as many big rides as we can. We find the resorts very relaxing. This time we are splitting our stay among ak club, old key west and wilderness. We lay by pool, play tennis, go to movies or bowling, eat fab meals and read a lot.

 

[ModernArtist]

Personally, I can't imagine staying in a Disney Hotel and not going to the parks. Especially when right outside Disney's gates are dozens of more luxurious hotels with better amenities for less money. But that's me. To each their own. To me the parks are only stressful if you make it that way. No one NEEDS a 4th FP to enjoy a park. Thoughtful planning and a positive attitude go miles.

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

My wife would opt for 1 park and that would be Epcot. My fav park is Animal Kingdom. We both agreed though that the Magic Kingdom just is not worth it anymore. Even the kids have pointed this out. We will just have to visit the Poly for fireworks but the new DVC has really messed that up to.

 

[eastendlights]

Personally, I can't imagine staying in a Disney Hotel and not going to the parks. Especially when right outside Disney's gates are dozens of more luxurious hotels with better amenities for less money. But that's me. To each their own. To me the parks are only stressful if you make it that way. No one NEEDS a 4th FP to enjoy a park. Thoughtful planning and a positive attitude go miles.

I agree. As much as I adore Disney, if I had no intention of going to the parks I would stay at a Four Seasons or other super luxury resort for the same or less money. We have spent over $22,000 on a two bedroom suite/10 day base tickets ALONE at Easter at AKL and there is no way a luxury hotel other than Disney would come even close to costing that much.

 

[elaw]

Having gone so many times, Our enjoyment breaks down to about 80% Resorts, 20% Parks. FP+ really allows us to get a later start ... knowing that we don't have to rush to the parks early to get the headliner FP's anymore.

 

[dansdad]

We had a 7 night resort only stay and absolutely loved it. It has really changed the way we tour WDW now. We have at least 3 usually 4 full days where we don't step foot in a park. There is just so much to do outside the parks. And now we actually come home feeling refreshed and rested instead of needing a vacation from our vacation.

 

[lauracitawita]

I love reading all your comments.

We are going to Disney World again in November for two weeks. We have always only gone for one week at a time. I am looking forward to hanging around the resort for 3 or 4 days instead of going to the parks every day. With one week we feel like it has to be go, go, go. This will be our first trip to get everything we want in but still relax and enjoy the resort.

 

[~Tinkerella]

We just booked two nights at Port Orleans Riverside before a Disney cruise and have no intention of visiting the parks. Just a couple of nice relaxing days at the pool, Downtown Disney, and maybe doing a little resort hopping. This will be our first time not going to the parks; have been talking about it for a while so this is our test run.

I wonder if we might be able to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks from hear the monorail platform if we want to view those. Does anyone know?

 

[calismic]

We spent a weekend at Wilderness Lodge and only went to Epcot. It was just as magical. I absolutely love spending time at the resorts without the mayhem of a park trip. During our honeymoon we also spent 4 of our 10 days just relaxing at various resorts as well. There is so much to do and see!

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

I am the type of person that if I spend that much on tickets for a family of 5, we will be in the parks from open to close including the extra magic hours. This past trip we were down for 10 days, did the Tower of Terror 10 miler, and park hopped for 4 days, and did a Halloween Party. The time at the resort was the best part of the trip. I would have a hard time staying off property at a different resort because we love the atmosphere. I feel we would miss out of the experience by staying off property.

 

[sdsatl]

My favorite trip has been an eight day/two park days trip. It was so relaxing, and I really got to explore Disney. My friend is on a seven day/seven park days trip now and said she wished she had time to stop and relax. The first time I visited the AKL, it was so relaxing, I never wanted to leave! Get a good room rate (and don't stay by Epcot), and a resort staycation could be totally magical. Also, my kids' favorite part of vacation? The pool and playground.

 

[Kevin355]

We schedule for 6-7 days and go to parks maybe 4 days. FP the rides we want, do EMH and do some rides...go back and take a break, then maybe hit another park or not. Liked doing the Boardwalk, GF, and some other resorts and seeing what they had. Nice and relaxing.

 

[RustManFan]

If I wasn't going to go to parks I would head to Hawaii or somewhere like that. Maybe San Francisco or a National Park

 

[Disneyfanatic108]

That's also been the new debate RustManFan. Do we start looking for another place to vacation? I guess we will have to take things slow and see where it leads us.

 

[NJlauren]

I like to build in some resort time, but if I'm totally skipping the parks I would go some place else. For the cost I could go to a relaxing resort elsewhere with money to spare. But if you like Disneys atmosphere I could see staying with no parks, just wouldn't be my choice.

 

[DisneyMandC]

We're big park fans, so we really like to go go go. That being sad, we don't have kids so it's not like we have the stress of having to get a FP to meet Anna and Elsa or get character signatures or anything like that. We have booked FPs for each day we'll be there on our honeymoon, but if we miss them then it's no big deal. We are big foodies though, so we are looking forward to a lot of our meals in the parks

 

[wlake]

We seem to alternate between park trips and resort trips. If I'm doing a runDisney event, I like the resort only trips much better! Then I can hang out at the expo without feeling like I need to rush back to the parks. The only advantage to having park tickets after a long run is then I'm forced to walk around for the rest of the day and I'm not sore at all afterwards like I am if I collapse at the resort instead.