Is 5 days too long...

[disneymom0104]

I don't think 5 days is too long at all, in fact, I really wouldn't want less than that! We were there 6 days in Oct and it still flew by too fast!

 

[WestWind]

5 days is not too much time.

We usually go for 10 days with probably 8 days in the parks and a couple days for other things. We have gone for as long as 14 days. It is so nice to be able to relax around the parks and not be rushed into trying to see everything. ... and there are so many good places to eat - the more days there the more you can try.

I figure we are spending a good part of our trip money on the travel to get there (we are in Canada), we need to make the trip worthwhile and stay for as long as we can.

 

[Welivefordisney]

funny, my family was just talking about this the other day. When we go it is always for 5 days. By the 5th day DH is whining that it is too long, but when it comes time to plan the next trip... DH is the one who insists that we go at least 5 days..... 5-6 days would be great... but we always find that we have missed something.
Have a great time

 

[Monica D]

For me, 5 days is too long. When my kids were younger it was ok as we'd go back to the hotel after lunch for naps. Now that they're older we pretty much go, go, go all day. We usually spend one full day doing DL, one full day doing CA Adventure, and maybe one day going back and forth to do any rides we missed or want to do again. Granted, we go off season so the wait time is rarely more than 15-20 minutes (or we do FP) so we can get through everything quickly. We also take a day to go to Legoland, although I think my kids are getting too old for that now.

 

[Monica D]

Being a lawyer, I'll give you the lawyerly answer on this... Is 5 days too much? Yes - and - no.

If you are going for 5 days mid-week in low season, your wait times will be minimal, and you may find yourself repeating rides over and over, just to fill time.

If you are going for 5 days high-season and 2 of those days are over the weekend, then no, 5 days is not too much time.

I should have read this first...I totally agree.

 

[Geemo]

Time of year is an important part of the equation as mentioned.

We do not like crowds and our kids are home schooled, so we go during the off season. Less people and far better rates on resort packages. We try to pick a time in October or January.

I like to go for a minimum of 5 days. It gives you time to casually go though the each area of the parks. We went for 8 days once and the kids did get bored towards the end of the trip. For more than 5 days, a rental car for side day trips would really add to the trip.

 

[PrincessSitka]

I am going in March for 7 days

 

[Midnightred]

My family, and my cousin's family spent 3 days in the park this past July, and we all agree it was not nearly enough. We are going July 2013 and staying Sun-Sun with 6 days in the parks!

Midnightred

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

For me, 5 days is too long. When my kids were younger it was ok as we'd go back to the hotel after lunch for naps. Now that they're older we pretty much go, go, go all day. We usually spend one full day doing DL, one full day doing CA Adventure, and maybe one day going back and forth to do any rides we missed or want to do again. Granted, we go off season so the wait time is rarely more than 15-20 minutes (or we do FP) so we can get through everything quickly. We also take a day to go to Legoland, although I think my kids are getting too old for that now.

If you are just in it for the rides I may agree with you. But once you add in parades, shows, billy hill, exploring TSI and the Animation Academy, you couldn't get through it all even in the slow season. We did 6 days in September between labor day and Halloween time and we just barely did it all.

 

[myxdvz]

I think it depends on the ages of your kids and what you want to do.

We were just there last week and while we had 6 days we only had 3.5 days at the park.We went to the parks Mon (PM), W, Th, F and while we did everything we wanted to do - I felt that more time would be nicer. Some of the things I wished we had more time for:

- my kids wanted to redo some of the rides (ToT, TSMM, Indy)
- we had lots of special FPs left to use
- they only watched Jedi Training the first time but wanted to do it again, this time to volunteer
- I would have wanted to watch some of the bandstand/main street shows
- we wanted to ride the monorail and the train around the park
- I would have wanted to spend some time enjoying VGC, doing the tour, swimming, etc

We could have easily filled 5 days! Next time, I will plan for 5 days.

 

[Argento]

We have young kids (3 and 4) so we wind up taking a very casual, laid back approach and our 6 day, 5 night stays aren't usually enough to hit everything in both parks. We also don't conscientiously try to hit everything, we just kind of start walking and see where we wind up. After 6 days of that, we've usually missed an attraction or two but, hey, there's always next year!

 

[Brady's Mom]

One of the things for you to consider is that much of Sept. is off-season. Labor Day is the first Monday of September and has the 1/2 marathon and is a Federal Holiday in the US. That weekend can be crowded.

The rest of Sept. is pretty slow. Weekday hours (Mon. thru Thurs.) for DL are usually 10am - 8pm and weekends are 8am to 11pm or midnight, for DCA they are often 10 am to 6 pm. I don't know how CarsLand will change that, but that has been the way it is for a while.

Fantasmic and parades will probably only be shown on weekends - Fri, Sat, and Sun nights. WOC may only show on weekends, also.

Haunted Mansion and IASW will be down for their Christmas refurbs and unless you go very early in Sept. you will likely miss them.

Halloweentime usually starts mid to late Sept. This adds earlier closures in DL because of the Halloween parties. They were held on Tues. and Fri. this last year. They are a separate ticketed event - just so you know.

Since you're coming all the way from the UK you might consider that 6 day hopper since the cost is minimal (about $5 a ticket). That way you could capitalize on any arrival day or beach day or departure day or whatever. We will sometimes get a longer ticket in order to enjoy DLR one morning (mid-trip) and then at about lunch time go to the beach and enjoy the beach all afternoon. It gives us a chance to relax and not be on our feet, and we've still had a chance to capture those early morning rides.

 

[arielrocks]

Bradys Mom - that post was amazing! Thanks so much! We will be there from 29th sept for 6 nights. Last time we missed Fantasmic but saw WOC 3 times! I can't miss Fantasmic this time so plan on seeing it the saturday night we arrive. We are also planning on doing the Halloween party on one of the nights!