Rest Days?

BudgieMama · Nov 23, 2015

With a two week trip in the planning, and memories of how wiped 7 days left us, I'm definitely keen to plan some rest time into our schedule this time.

I'm wondering how other people do this: do you take the whole day away from the parks? Do you stay at your resort the whole day? We won't have a car, and are staying onsite, so disappearing out of the Disney bubble isn't part of our plan.

My tentative plans at the moment (until Park Hours are released) generally include the option to pop to a park for the afternoon, if we fancy it, or in for the evening for fireworks/shows, as it seems a shame to not make use of the parks I dream of being in every day whilst they're on our doorstep, and I feel like we'd be bored at the resort all day. (We don't have kids, so not having to plan around small people!)

I'd love to hear your thoughts/experiences.

dixonsontour · Nov 23, 2015

We tend to do part park days.

So your plan sounds good to do an afternoon or evening some days rather than a full day.

Ideas for downtime are mini golf (fantasia and winter summerland), visit disney springs or visit other resorts plus swimming.

So maybe have a lie in, lazier breakfast some days and evening in parks. Doing every park at ropedrop isn't sustainable for us.

loves to dive · Nov 23, 2015

We've never spent an entire day out of the parks. We have also not ever have been for that length of stay, our longest has been 6 nights/7 days. We always have PHs so that makes a difference in how we do it. We have been known to sleep late and go to the park of choice then spend 3 or 4 hours, go back to the room and lay out by the pool for a few hours, then back to a park for a few more hours. We have never been from park opening to park close at any one park and rarely even do that long of a day even with hoppers. We almost always take a few hours about either every day or at least every other day and lay by the pool or resort hop. We have been going since my son was almost 3 and he is almost 35 now and this is how we've always done it. Even if we only have 4 days we still park hop and still don't go from opening to close. We don't "plan" rest days or rest times. If we are tired or bored we just go back to the resort or resort hop. If we are hungry we eat. It's all about time away for us and not about riding rides and getting exhausted.

zavandor · Nov 23, 2015

I found that I'd take it slower everyday rather than having a day completely off. Since in the morning and the evening attractions have the shorter queues, then I plan to be at rope drop, ride and use FP+ until lunch time (late lunch). Have a table service lunch, because it's cheaper, easier to book and in air conditioning while outside it's 40°. Book a 4th (or 5th) FP+ for something in the evening, if available. Then head to the resort for a nap or some pool time. Finally back to the resort for evening entertainment and some ride.
Also, I add water parks days: since I get bored quite quickly, I go in the morning and leave early afternoon, making it a different and not stressful day.
Water park days and Animal Kindom days have a dinner at a resort restaurant attached (Boma at least once).
Last two vacations this kind of plan worked very well.

willeve · Nov 23, 2015

We stay onsite too. We tend to go to the parks for opening in our first week(while the jet lag is getting us up early) and return for a swim and chill out by 1pm. We go out for tea/dinner around 5pm either to a park or Downtown. Second week we tend to be a bit slower off the mark in the mornings, maybe go shopping or to a waterpark, then go into the parks around 4/5pm for dinner and stay for fireworks and shows. We tend to go to the parks everyday, but not for full days. Works for us.

Elise79 · Nov 23, 2015

We tend to part days too.

We head to parks of a morning then back to resort of an afternoon.

Some days we will have a quick dinner and head out for fireworks while others we go out for a dinner or drinks. We like the signatures and the lounges now to hang out.

We will generally do one full park day in December but it's cooler so the heat doesn't pay any part.

Kath2003 · Nov 23, 2015

We don't do specific rest days. We plan to go to the parks at rope drop for part days every day. We don't plan in too many parks so if we miss a day, it doesn't matter - but that rarely happens. If you plan a suitable number of parks, you have the flexibility to do what you want, when you want.

bex7583 · Nov 23, 2015

rest days ? pardon me , what are these ??

Minniesgal · Nov 23, 2015

We love our rest days and use them to do mini golf or shopping or tour resorts. In a 14 day trip we would probably do 2 days MK, 2 days Universal, 2 days Epcot, 1 day Hs and 1 day AK. The rest would be rest days with Signature meals booked for dinner.

We have never ever done a full park day. We are rope drop to late lunch then done unless we come back for fireworks.

Jon84 · Nov 26, 2015

Part days on the whole.

Our next trip is 7 nights, so it's rammed, the only offsite day is to BGT. But we have still built in relax time.

On a 2 week trip we'll still do part days, but some whole none park days too, might go to Disney Springs or similar.

scoobydooby · Nov 29, 2015

On a two week trip we don't have whole days doing nothing but we do have a couple of days where we go shopping or to Disney Springs. Now I have teenagers we have to make every other day a sleep in because they just aren't big on getting up. That's a pain at Disney but FPP has made it easier actually.

scoobydooby · Nov 29, 2015

On a two week trip we don't have whole days doing nothing but we do have a couple of days where we go shopping or to Disney Springs. Now I have teenagers we have to make every other day a sleep in because they just aren't big on getting up. That's a pain at Disney but FPP has made it easier actually.

saintrob · Nov 29, 2015

Rest days are a must! Even during our supposedly once only trip back in 2001 we still had days away from the parks to recharge our batteries. We love our sleep and 22 trips later we've only made rope drop once and that was on Christmas morning!! We tend to always visit a park each day but it's mainly at night.

T00dles · Nov 29, 2015

We tend to do rest days. (But we have a 6 and 2 yo) So we do resort pool day, sometimes just resort shopping/hopping. (You could do lounge hopping, or drinking around the monorail loop!) Disney Springs is a fun place to relax or we do waterpark days. Have fun!

Lyricallie · Dec 2, 2015

We're also in the half day camp. We're both quite lazy so I think we're going to do a pool morning/afternoon after a late breakfast see some of the resorts then probably go see the fireworks and go on some late rides. Otherwise we'll just burn out.

Woodview · Dec 3, 2015

Rest Days..... here is my view .

We have arrived at the villa where we will be for 3 weeks.

A family arrives next door and great excitement & fun & swimming takes place till about 10pm

That family are Off to Disney by 7 am & back by 6 pm ............NO SWIM in pool

That happens every day till they pack up & have a swim before they go to airport.

How was your holiday we ask ?

Great but we are very very tired .... only a few swims .. in this lovely pool .... We should have taken some rest days ....

But we were persuaded to buy / needed all the Theme park tickets to have the Theme Park Fun

You DO need rest days .

Elise79 · Dec 4, 2015

Woodview said:
Rest Days..... here is my view .

We have arrived at the villa where we will be for 3 weeks.

A family arrives next door and great excitement & fun & swimming takes place till about 10pm

That family are Off to Disney by 7 am & back by 6 pm ............NO SWIM in pool

That happens every day till they pack up & have a swim before they go to airport.

How was your holiday we ask ?

Great but we are very very tired .... only a few swims .. in this lovely pool .... We should have taken some rest days ....

But we were persuaded to buy / needed all the Theme park tickets to have the Theme Park Fun

You DO need rest days .

Yes but to enjoy a swim doesn't need a whole day and that is what most people on this thread have said.

The quietest times in the parks are first thing in the morning - make use of that and have a break and swim in the afternoon and you get the best of both worlds :goodvibes

BudgieMama · Dec 4, 2015

Thanks all- I think that's helped clarify things in my mind. Neither of us are hugely big swimmers, and with us being onsite, it's no bother to pop back in the afternoon if we want, or have a late start and catching a bus in when we're ready. I've heard so much talk about the importance of rest days, but not having planned them before means I wasn't all that sure how people made it work.

Part days are definitely a way forward for us.

Rest Days?

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