Hypothetical 10/25

[pjweaver]

This one is less of a hypothetical, since my wife and I are discussing skipping a few WDW trips and saving for a huge one once Avatar/Star Wars/Pixar land are all open.

You are going to rent a condo near Disney World for one month in the summer while you are off (pretend you're a teacher). You have your car and an annual pass. Part of the condo price includes a pool area and house keeping coming in twice a week, so the only chores you need to worry about are laundry and any cooking you do.

How long before you take a day off from the parks to relax and veg out?

How long before you get bored with the parks and start looking for other things to do, even though they cost you money?

 

[NeuroCindy]

I don't know that I would take a day completely off. Maybe just a few shortened days.

As for looking for other things to do, I'd probably get annual passes to Universal as well, and between the two parks (and city walk/disney springs) I'd probably be pretty entertained.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't think I would go to the parks until I got tired of them - I expect we would plan "down" days. We also have relatives in Florida (in Boca and Naples) so I am sure we would plan time to go visit them

I am sure I would fit in some time to visit breweries so likely would make a trip over to the Tampa area to visit Cigar City and some others around there and while there maybe stop at Busch Gardens

Also, with the kids, I am sure we would check out Legoland

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I would/could have a "down day" anytime, even as soon as I got there, especially if I went in with that mindset. I've gone down before, and not gone to the parks for the first 4-5 days of my vacation, if I had other stuff planned. As far as "non park" stuff - since I don't drive, I don't do a lot off property as of now, but I'm sure I could find SOME sort of trouble to get into. Again, I'd just have to go in with that mindset.

ETA: Oh yeah - totally forgot you said it's summertime. If I can suspend belief that I'm even THERE during that very "un-Heidi-like" time of year, I'd be taking it VERY VERY easy!!

 

[KingLlama]

Four park days.....golf the fifth.....four park days....golf the fifth....

Lather, rinse, repeat. For the entire month.

And on those golf days....after the round is over, pick a nice resort restaurant for dinner, and then hit up Disney Springs. So I'd still be at WDW one way or the other.

 

[nolanboys]

I just got back from a 5 night trip with DH, who was there on business, and we only did Epcot one evening on a special after 3:00 conference ticket. I have found I am really good at pool days! If I was there for a month, I would probably do MK once a week for rope drop, and once in the evening. I would do Epcot 1-2 days probably in the evening as well for dinner and WS strolling. I would most likely do AK and HS on a rotating basis once a week. Other than that, I would be in the pool on the hot afternoons and reading a ton. I could see heading off to different resorts and exploring those and grabbing lunch since I would have a car. We never travel with a car, so I would love the freedom to check out the four resorts I've never seen.

 

[pjweaver]

Four park days.....golf the fifth.....four park days....golf the fifth....

Lather, rinse, repeat. For the entire month.

And on those golf days....after the round is over, pick a nice resort restaurant for dinner, and then hit up Disney Springs. So I'd still be at WDW one way or the other.

I don't know if they still do it, but we got a great package at the Disney courses in the summer a few years ago. It was about $90 with cart for a week of afternoon play at any course, and they shipped our bags to which ever course we booked the next day, they even cleaned my clubs. Yes it was ungodly hot, but we were paired up with a lot of CM's we became friends with. They even would give us paper fast passes or meet up and get to see some back stage stuff. Well worth dealing with the heat and storms of a 2:00 round.

 

[disneysteve]

You are going to rent a condo near Disney World for one month in the summer while you are off (pretend you're a teacher). You have your car and an annual pass. Part of the condo price includes a pool area and house keeping coming in twice a week, so the only chores you need to worry about are laundry and any cooking you do.

How long before you take a day off from the parks to relax and veg out?

How long before you get bored with the parks and start looking for other things to do, even though they cost you money?

This isn't really hypothetical to us. We've gone during the summer many times and rented a condo/townhouse/house. Most of those trips we didn't have APs. We stayed for 2 weeks (not a month, unfortunately) and got 5-day hoppers so we were typically in a park about every other day. If we went for a month and had APs, I'm sure we'd be in parks at least parts of the day on more days. One thing to keep in mind is that the summer heat is brutal. You know what it was like in July this year. We did have APs then and went into a park probably 3 out of 4 days but not for an all-day marathon. If we get in early, we usually leave around lunchtime and might go back after dinner. If we sleep in, we'll get to a park around 11 maybe and stay for a few hours. By 2-3, the heat is usually oppressive and the crowds are at their peak and it just isn't fun to be there.

As for other things to do, absolutely. We usually do at least one thing during our trip that is a separate ticketed attraction. One year it was Kennedy Space Center. One year it was ziplining. One year it was 2 days at Universal. One year it was Bok Tower Gardens. On recent trips, we have always included a day to volunteer at Give Kids The World Village. There are also plenty of things to do in the area that aren't big ticket items like going to the Florida Mall, shopping at Theme Park Connection, wandering around downtown Kissimmee, visiting Disney Springs, and more.

The one comment I would make is to consider a house or townhouse with a private pool instead of a condo if you will be there for a month during the summer. It is so nice to have your very own pool right outside the sliding door where you can relax in peace and not have a dozen kids screaming and splashing. You can take a dip any time you want to, day or night, without having to pack up your stuff and carry it to the community pool. And we would definitely skip housekeeping unless the owner required it but that's just us.

 

[pjweaver]

The one comment I would make is to consider a house or townhouse with a private pool instead of a condo if you will be there for a month during the summer. It is so nice to have your very own pool right outside the sliding door where you can relax in peace and not have a dozen kids screaming and splashing. You can take a dip any time you want to, day or night, without having to pack up your stuff and carry it to the community pool. And we would definitely skip housekeeping unless the owner required it but that's just us.

Well we will have to see what kind of deal @DisneyKevin gives us in a few years.

 

[mcd2745]

Four park days.....golf the fifth.....four park days....golf the fifth....

Lather, rinse, repeat. For the entire month.

And on those golf days....after the round is over, pick a nice resort restaurant for dinner, and then hit up Disney Springs. So I'd still be at WDW one way or the other.

I'd probably go with an almost identical schedule. Hit the parks 8 out of every 10 day cycle - with 3 cycles for the month. The other 2 days, golf in the morning, chill by the pool in the afternoon, followed probably by a dinner at Disney Springs. Each of the eight park days within each 10-day cycle would likely break down as 2 days each for MK and Epcot, 1 each for AK, DHS, and both of the water parks. The middle cycle could be broken up to include side trips to Universal and Sea World.

 

[disneysteve]

Well we will have to see what kind of deal @DisneyKevin gives us in a few years.

I'm not sure where Kevin's homes are. A couple of popular developments are Windsor Hills and Windsor Palms. We've stayed at Palms numerous times and like it a lot. We also stayed in Crestwynd Bay a couple of times but that is only townhouses and they don't have private pools.

 

[rteetz]

I don't know if I would take an off day because I'm bored of the parks but I might take a day to swim and then find something to eat in Orlando that I've never been to. I might also take a couple days and go to the dark side (universal) since I've never been there. I'd obviously go to Disney as much as possible but a month gives me so many more options to do other things in the area that I've never don't before.

 

[Accident]

You are going to start off and end with a lot of park time. It's just the conditioning you ahve from all previous disney trips and well placed in my mind. First set of visits are going to be seeing what's changed and taking the place in.. Your I made it loop.

Then it's going to settle in that you can just go back tomorrow so this is when why, how and how often is going to dramatically change. You'll start to do things like look at the wait times to see if a park your in the mood for is crowded or annoyingly crowded. You'll avoid weekends when it's more crowded, you'll find that sweet spot day/night that really works for you and favor that. You'll look at the week forecast and see a future day that is more pleasant than today to be outside at the parks. You'll be fine not going unless something is pulling you because for a few weeks, you can just go tomorrow. You will make a trip in here or there but not for a park. You'll want to go eat somewhere and maybe pop in for a few minutes to the park but eventually it won't be worth your time or energy to do either.

The travel time sometimes is longer than your time there so it doesn't take too long before your just not in the mood for the traveling because you can just go tomorrow to get that dole whip and look for something closer. You'll also be passing by all these great places to eat for much less money getting to and from so you'll start to look for more local to where your staying things to do. Disney prices don't change because your staying there a month so they help you want to limit your time because an AP doesn't get you food.

It's going to be a time where your really going to explore central florida, learn more about it, go off and try new things and discover what some towns around here do and love not being at disney... your also going to start to discover which parks you really don't care about. For me, I sit here thinking i' haven't been to ak lately. then I think, I don't want to take the time just to ride EE and come home there is just nothing else i'm in the mood for there.

So the short answer is you'll start and end in the parks. but the 3 weeks inbetween you'll probably do a day or two to a park and maybe 1 more day for somewhere to eat that you like. If something new opens or announces it's closing it's a little draw.. you will spend more time in other theme parks and just exploring the local sights and things to do. central florida has some really fun things to do that aren't very expensive.

 

[Aerin75]

I am very bad at just pool days. We might go to the parks in the morning until we can't stand it, and then go back. If we wanted to skip Disney for the day, I might stay in and read while the rest of the family does pool. But I would definitely do Universal, and probably LEGOLAND. Find different places off property to eat. Some sort of trip (even if I had to get a hotel for a day or two) to go to the Everglades since it's on my bucket list.

Basically, I see myself doing precisely what @Accident has described.

 

[disneysteve]

We are not pool people. Most trips, even in the summer, we never touch the pool, but when we have our own private pool, we do get in a couple of times. When it's a community pool, we usually don't bother.

Definitely explore the offsite dining options. They are so much better and cheaper than the onsite choices. Whether you want fast food, a casual meal, or a nice dinner out, there are plenty of options.

 

[Accident]

I am very bad at just pool days.

I don't do pool only days, but now living here, there is so much to do outside of disney. It's a lot easier to not end up at disney when you did it for 8 other days already and it takes 40-60 minutes to get to the park with effort from you and not just a nice walk to the bus, boat or monorail. I had trouble finding a reason to just see the new muppets in mk for example. I waited for my parents to be in town to join them at mk and have another reason to be there.

orlando sentinel published a list of all halloween activities going on. Keeping in mind MNSSHP is just 1 item, there was 172 things on their list. disunplugged calls it theme park land but I would call it the entertainment capital of the US (and I was in nyc prior).. there is so much around to do entertainment wise and then you add in the dining and nature stuff, nasa stuff, shopping, touring things that are always passing through. I've been here almost 7 months and I'm still finding it overloaded on what to do next... the west coast isn't far away and the tampa area is amazing with it's own stuff and theme parks, zoos, etc...

You also don't see these little things you miss at disney still happening in the area. For example off kilter played an oktoberfest I was at last weekend. most of the other vloggers and podcasts did a 45th anniversary concert nearby which included many acts no longer playing at disney, recognizable castmembers and even things like push the garbage can was there. these are people and things that disney may not have actually owned and they still live here and come out and even do some charity events..

 

[Accident]

I was thinking about this more and wanted to throw this out there to everyone...

i'm wondering what a trip like this would do to me to want to come back. If I didn't move here, we wouldn't have come on a trip in 2015 or 2016 which was our 2 getting ready and deciding to move trips. I would have skipped coming until 2021 for the 50th at the earliest. I'm not really sure if I did a month for that I would want or need to come back for a very long time if I ever did. We also have a bucket list item to see all properties so it's not like i'm skipping disney, we just burnt out after 2 longer trips in 2014 and just didn't need to come back.

any thoughts? would the dream trip for a month where you explore all of central florida be that moment where florida is either a place you move too or would it be that trip where your just done for now..

 

[Aerin75]

When we came in 2014, we did a week without a break day because that's what we do best for the timeframe. I think maybe two weeks would be my limit Disney wise (with maybe two Universal days); at that point we'd take break days.
More than that, and I'd wish for home. Moving might not be viable-I would wilt.

 

[disneysteve]

any thoughts? would the dream trip for a month where you explore all of central florida be that moment where florida is either a place you move too or would it be that trip where your just done for now..

It's a little hard for me to answer that because we already want to move there. We've never stayed for a month but we have stayed for 2 weeks numerous times. Each trip has only increased our desire to come back soon and hopefully eventually relocate.