Mid-day breaks, how important?

[PopGirl26]

It depends also on where you’re staying. If we can walk or boat back, we usually go for a break, but it’s less likely for us if we must take a bus.

 

[anniemae]

I always felt like mid day breaks were too time consuming. Walking to the bus , waiting for a bus, the travel time, the walk to the room etc. then we would get to the room and the kids wouldn't sleep. What we realized is that you can plan to not do breaks. If we do rope drop, we don't plan any night time activities. If we want to do fireworks we don't rope drop, we head in later and maybe go for a swim before the parks.

 

[Barbanellie]

Just thought I'd throw this out there, but midday breaks aren't just for families with young kids. Mr. Barbanellie and I are mid-30s and no kids, and on our previous trip to WDW, we've found out we get cranky if we don't go back for some kind of rest (often a nap). We found out we enjoy being out early in the morning, but we love staying up late at night. We can't do both if we don't nap in the middle. Maybe it's because we're big kids, but when planning our trip for next May, we are keeping this in mind, and we will plan accordingly.

 

[MrsDuck]

I'm in my late 20s and need a midday break. I think it totally depends on you and yours. We are rope drop people AND morning people; if I don't go back to the resort for a nap or at least a lie down during the afternoon, I will never make it to night time events in the park. Some days, even with a break, hitting the parks in the evening is a no-go (I am really NOT a night owl - can you tell?! ) I'm a Floridian and yes, the heat contributes, but even in cooler months, we typically take a break.

I think the only thing to do is try a day or two without a midday break and see how it goes! If everyone can truck along, awesome! If not, adjust!

 

[skippytx]

Huge fan of taking an afternoon siesta during our trips. The kids don't really eat park food, so we hit the parks from open until 2ish, go back and the kids have lunch and take a nap. We relax and recharge, sometimes nap as well. Then we go out and hit the parks again (usually MK every night, 1 night HS for the star wars fireworks) until close or midnight or so. We avoid the hottest hours of the park, and some of the busiest times. We find crowds tend to lessen somewhat around dinner time which is when we like to head back. I love the parks at night, especially MK, but I'm also a bit of a night owl and stay up until 2AM most days anyway. The way we like to tour/visit WDW was a huge influence in us buying DVC at BLT. With the kids not really eating park food we can cook their meals in the room, and we can shut the bedroom door while they nap but still be active in the living room without bothering them. Walking distance to MK can't be beat either.

The wonderful thing about WDW is there is no real right/wrong way to visit. Do it however you like and enjoy the magic your way

 

[anniemae]

The wonderful thing about WDW is there is no real right/wrong way to visit. Do it however you like and enjoy the magic your way

This. This. This. Try it, if it isn't for you, don't do it again. Everyone has different touring styles and different stamina levels. Some love breaks, some loathe them. Some take breaks sitting on a bench in the parks, some need to get in bed and sleep, and some crazy people can go from open to close with barely stopping to sit.

 

[kcp1377]

This. This. This. Try it, if it isn't for you, don't do it again. Everyone has different touring styles and different stamina levels. Some love breaks, some loathe them. Some take breaks sitting on a bench in the parks, some need to get in bed and sleep, and some crazy people can go from open to close with barely stopping to sit.

Yes, yes, yes. What works for one doesn't work for others. We go for 4 hours, then break to lunch/pool, then go back.

 

[Oneanne]

A mid-day break doesn't always mean heading back to the resort... you could find place in the parks to chill that have sit-down space and air conditioning, and also give a visual and auditory break.

 

[tarheel618]

yes- I love them especially if we are going back for extra late hours

 

[bashuck]

As we go approximately every 6 months months we never do park open to close as we know there is always next time. Typical day would be 9:30-11:30, back to the resort for pool time (most days) and try and get a 45 minute nap and then out to the parks around 5 for a FP and then dinner. Then tour until the nighttime show is over and leave around 9:30-10. If I knew our next trip was our last I imagine we wouldn't take a mid day break. We go next on Dec 27 and if there is no pool time option on a given day I imagine we'll head to the first park later and then head to the 2nd park earlier without going back to the resort.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

I love my midday breaks! We head out early, usually arrive just after RD. Then we do as much as we can until lunch, eat lunch at the park (or Sanaa, that's the only place we'll leave the parks to eat for lunch), go nap, head back just before dinner, and go until we can't any more. I prefer the parks at night, so I try to get as much in at night as we can. DD14 and I tried to stay at Epcot all day once last summer. My plan was to take a good nap on Ellen's ride (like seriously, lay down, take off my shoes nap), but a family came and sat right next to us right before the ride started (90% of the rows were empty, but apparently DD and I looked inviting), so I didn't get my nap. I got off my feet for awhile (still did take off my shoes), but I was ready to go by 7pm. Not too bad, but like I said, I prefer the parks at night, so I was disappointed, and exhausted.

 

[chris benton]

The wonderful thing about WDW is there is no real right/wrong way to visit. Do it however you like and enjoy the magic your way

I know exactly what you mean, but...let's just say I've definitely seen some things....

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

We never did mid day breaks, mostly because my kids don’t believe in sleep, but for other reasons too. Transportation can eat up a lot of time that could be spent touring or enjoying lunch. We also go in the cooler months so it’s nicer to be out during the day and by nightfall I’d rather be indoors. Shorter park hours during certain times of the year also push us in that direction.

 

[Donalyn]

We've done it about every way. At DL, mid-day breaks are super easy and not time consuming. (And during our last trip, essential to keep the magic with how crowded it was.)

At WDW, breaks are really hard from MK. Better from the other parks, particularly if you are staying in the Epcot area.

I think that it depends on your kids. My oldest DD would sleep in a stroller during her first trip and was pretty flexible with her naps anyway. We didn't take a break (but didn't stay very late). My youngest DD needed a nap and god help you if she didn't get that in a crib. So, DH and DD would head back for their break and I'd typically stay at the parks with older DD and we'd meet up later.

Do what works and maybe switch it up some during the week. Also, note that you won't have the heat, but you will also have shorter park hours too.

 

[kiford]

It depends on what you consider to be a mid-day break. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go back to the room for a nap. It can be just a time to sit down and relax, maybe get a snack or a drink, watch people. We don't have kids but we still take breaks. Occasionally it means going back to the resort to put our feet up and watch TV, go to the pool or just make sure to take time to sit down every couple of hours. It does help to extend your energy stores.

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

We started the mid-day breaks when our children were young and they became a part of our trip. We still go back to our room for a rest and sometimes a nap for several hours each day. We hit rope drop, back to the room after lunch and then out to the parks through the evening shows. Our trips go so much smoother when we are rested.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I don’t like mid day breaks at all. In addition to transportation and wasted time, I find them rather stressful because it’s one more thing that had to be scheduled. We had to leave by a certain time to get my son enough time to nap and then get him up and to the transportation in time to make an ADR. Yuck. But they were 100% necessary for us because he wouldn’t sleep in a stroller. Even with only 2-3 nights of night time shows, daily naps, and a resort break day he still melted down on the 2nd to last day of each of our trips. Thankfully he’s beyond the nap. We still only do 2-3 late nights and still have a break day at the resort but only plan to do an afternoon break if someone needs it.

I’m a commando at heart. If I were touring solo, I be in the park RD to good night kiss each park day with a few days off at the resort. But that style doesn’t suit the rest of my family ... yet.
Bwahahahaha!

 

[Tattylou]

Mid-day breaks are a must for us. My kids are on the younger side ( 7 and 9) - we've been going with them since they were 3 and 5. However, even the trips I took with my family when we were teenagers we still took mid-day breaks to chill at the resort.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Like others have said, our need for a break is totally dependent on the heat. When it isn't too hot we can go go go with no problem. If it is really hot, we are dragging by 1 or 2 in the afternoon. DH and I don't have kids and the problem we run into when we do take a break is that sometimes don't want to go back after getting cooled down at the resort.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

For our family, mid-day breaks were important when our children were younger (up to around 9). We also go in the summer, when it's hot and crowded.