First Time at a Disney Resort

[cwasil]

Although I have no idea which resort we're going to stay at yet...one of my big challenges in planning is how many days should I plan on being in the parks and how many "off" days should I plan to just relax. I've always stayed offsight but this will be my first trip with a 4 & 5 year old along with a 14 year old. I think it's very important this time to stay on site so I can run "home" at a moments notice with crabby and cranky kids. The unfortunate thing of disney dining (in order to really take advantage of it) is having to create all these reservations six months out just to have a nice place to eat. This requires a bit of excessive (I think) planning in order to have things run smoothly.

The point of my, apparently opinionated question now that I read it is, do you plan "off" days when you stay on site? I was thinking of planning a "park" every other day and then, if we feel up to it, could always run somewhere on the "off" days. That way I could schedule the nicer meals with the Disney Dining Plan but still have some freedom in the schedule making. I don't want to become a drill sergeant. Thoughts? Experiences?

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

The only trips we planned off days is when we stayed 9 days. However, from experience...they never ended up being "off days" We would go swimming in the morning, hang out at the resort, and then DD or DH would want to "do something" My family can't be at Disney and relax apparently

How many days are you planning on going? I think every other day as an off day is too much. Don't forget that with those ages (esp depending on the time of year you are going and the lines)...MK will take 2-3 days, DHS will take 2 days, AK 1 day and Epcot 2 days.

Why are you anticipating that they'll be cranky??? Are they normally cranky? As long as you keep them hydrated and take a break in the afternoon to swim...you should be just fine. DD also likes to sleep in and be out late. So we do a lot of fireworks but not too many rope drops. We have never had a major meltdown and she's being going 1-2 a year since she was 2. Go with their schedule. Since we take a break mid-day, we schedule later dinners (7ish) so we don't have to rush back to the parks. Only you know your kiddos enough to know what schedule will work best for them.

OH and my other tip is to have a stroller. I'm sure they don't use them at home but they are a LIFESAVER at Disney if someone is starting to get cranky pants!!!

 

[Ariel8676]

We have been taking our kids about 2x a year for the last 8 years...i have an 8 1/2 yo, a 7 yo, a 4 yo and my 9 week old (who will be taking his first trip to WDW in August). With that being said we don't have any "off" days..we take it easy and get up early get to the parks at opening ( we usually try to get there about 15 minutes before rope drop) stay for a few hours (its amazing how much you can get done first thing in the morning) and then head back to the resort to relax, swim, nap..whatever. Then we take showers and head back out around dinner time. I can actually say in all honesty we have never had tired, cranky kids doing it this way. We do get park hoppers and do bring a decent stroller.
As far as resorts.. for your family i would suggest a family suite at a value, 2 adjoining rooms at PO French Quarter, or maybe renting points from a DVC member and staying in a 1 or 2 bedroom villa at one of the DVC resorts..full kitchen, washer and drier, lots of extra room! ( not sure what you're looking to spend)

 

[WildLodge]

Most of the touring pros advise to go to a park each morning and use the afternoon as your down time. It sets a good pace and does not overwhelm the small ones.

This also helps you plan your dining if you have TS meals...about half of the TS restaurants are outside of the parks, so you have lots to choose from and can spend the afternoon relaxing and getting to your TS destination at your own speed.

 

[kchughes]

This is not exactly an answer to your question, but I do schedule out meals 6 months out, but also have Disney dining programmed into my phone. Except for the few meals that you have to give a credit cars deposit and cancel 48 hours in advance, everything else we consider tentative. The concierge at the resort can also help locate a good place to eat with a few hours notice. But we always travel during value season and have fewer people fighting for those tables.

 

[Colinsmom]

Just so you know, even staying on site, you can't get back to your resort at a "moment's notice." You must walk out of the park (can be quite a hike), walk to the bus stop, wait for a bus (could be 5 minutes, could be 20+ minutes in the middle of the day), ride the bus, and then walk back to your room (could also be quite a hike). On average, it's probably a 45 minute process, at best. If you stay at a monorail resort, you might cut that down to about 30 minutes coming from MK only. BC/YC/BW are walking distance from DHS and Epcot, so that's probably more like 30 minutes, too.

We find that 2-3 days in a row of parks, and then one "off" day works well for our family. Note that an "off" day may involve going to a park in the morning and then leaving around lunchtime to relax the rest of the day. My kids are super early risers so there is no point in trying to lay around the room in the morning.

Oh, and for ADRs, there are only a few that you really must book 6 months out. Most places you can get an ADR much closer to your trip.

 

[mjkacmom]

I agree with PP, that the best way is to be at the parks at rope drop, do the must-do's, have lunch, stroll a bit, and then head back to the resort for some downtime. Then, head out for dinner. ADR's can be cancelled. We stayed at the BC, so we could be back at our resort in 15 minutes, if at Epcot or DHS, but it wasn't so fast from the other parks. My youngest were almost 5, and even they never had a meltdown.

 

[KY*Figment]

We like to have a day in between each park. 4 days to do 4 parks. At your kids age group I would not bother w/ the park hopper or water parks so save your money.

 

[Colinsmom]

We stayed at the BC, so we could be back at our resort in 15 minutes, if at Epcot or DHS, but it wasn't so fast from the other parks.

I guess that I was building some time into my estimates to reflect that you have to get to the park exit first, which can take 10-15 minutes, depending on where you are at when you decide to leave. So, if junior has a meltdown while standing in line at Test Track, it's still a while (more than 15 minutes) before you are back at the resort, even if you are staying at BC (the closest resort to Epcot).