Not Taking A Break = Crazy?

[MamaBear58]

I will be following this post carefully because I am about to plan our itinerary and am torn on this too. We are going in November so we will not have to deal with the extreme heat. And our kids will be 4 and 1/2 and 7 and 1/2. Heck, I can't get the younger one to nap at home on the weekends now --I can't see her leaving the MK nine months from now to take a nap--especially with a pool outside her window. Not going to happen.

BUT, having them up until 10 p.m. when they aren't used to it could be a nightmare for all of us.

A previous poster hit what I think is key here--avoiding overstimulation.

So my question is this--is it really feasible to go back to your resort mid-day in order to avoid that overstimulation??? All I hear is how Disney transportation is slow. Doesn't it really take a chunk out of your day? We will be at WL, if that matters.

Is it better to simply make them sit through some show that doesn't interest them (in the hopes that they will nod off) or stop for a cold drink in the shade to watch for characters or simply ride the train/monorail? Shopping I think is out--talk about stimulation--they will want everything they see.

I was also thinking of planning a day where we don't going into any park at all, other than for maybe a character breakfast and dinner at Epcot. I plan on getting PHs, mainly because it gives us this flexibility with ADRs...not because I plan to zig zag from park to park, or even park to resort.

Thoughts?

decisions, decisions....

 

[JanaDee]

I will be following this post carefully because I am about to plan our itinerary and am torn on this too. We are going in November so we will not have to deal with the extreme heat. And our kids will be 4 and 1/2 and 7 and 1/2. Heck, I can't get the younger one to nap at home on the weekends now --I can't see her leaving the MK nine months from now to take a nap--especially with a pool outside her window. Not going to happen.

BUT, having them up until 10 p.m. when they aren't used to it could be a nightmare for all of us.

A previous poster hit what I think is key here--avoiding overstimulation.

So my question is this--is it really feasible to go back to your resort mid-day in order to avoid that overstimulation??? All I hear is how Disney transportation is slow. Doesn't it really take a chunk out of your day? We will be at WL, if that matters.

Is it better to simply make them sit through some show that doesn't interest them (in the hopes that they will nod off) or stop for a cold drink in the shade to watch for characters or simply ride the train/monorail? Shopping I think is out--talk about stimulation--they will want everything they see.

I was also thinking of planning a day where we don't going into any park at all, other than for maybe a character breakfast and dinner at Epcot. I plan on getting PHs, mainly because it gives us this flexibility with ADRs...not because I plan to zig zag from park to park, or even park to resort.

Thoughts?

decisions, decisions....

For our kids, spending time in the pool was just as important to them as riding rides. To them, vacation means swimming. Even now at 12 and 17, vacation means swimming.

Round trip plus waiting for buses took about an hour out of our day, well worth the time for us.

Since you will be at WL, it should be a little less, since you have the option of taking a boat from the MK. I would still plan on an hour travel time round trip just to get a good idea of whether it fits in your plans or not.

 

[Raidra]

Wow, thanks for all the responses, guys!

My kids don't sleep in, even when we've been in the parks until midnight. They LOVE morning EMH, so it seems like it might work better for us to only do a few late nights, and mostly leave the parks around 7:30. Then we can take a short swim and go straight to bed. I don't anticipate the pool being a huge draw.. we'll be at one of the All-Stars so no slide, and we have a pool at home that they'll be using a lot throughout the summer and right up 'til our trip. But that way we can swim at the resort without worrying about the sun, and then get to bed at a reasonable hour.

We're there from Sunday 9/7 'til Sunday 9/21, and I'd rather use our park days on the less busy weekdays than the busier weekends. The middle weekend (9/13-9/14), we'll do water parks and Disney Quest, but at a slower pace. We may do MNSSHP that Sunday, not sure.

When we were there in January '12, we spent some time in almost empty QS places in AK and MK that were very low-stimulation. They also liked the games after Test Track, Journey into Imagination, and Spaceship Earth, though those aren't as low-stimulation. I didn't know there was a space like that after Mission Space, we'll have to check it out. Definitely planning on doing Ellen's Energy as a break, as well as CoP and Hall of Presidents. Shopping, IME, is not a break.

 

[ibela]

We never take breaks. When toddler age, they'd nap in the stroller. There's always a store you can step into for the AC. Now that they're a little older (5 and 7) we'll sit at a bench with some ice cream or do the indoor AC stuff. Ex. Character Connection @ Epcot, Great Movie Ride @ HS, Monsters Inc @ MK, etc. I will add, I try to avoid scheduling parks 2 days in a row so we'll alternate pool days with park days. We're DVC so know we'll be back several times over, no need to try to jam everything in. When the kids are too tired, we'll leave BUT they are usually so energized from all the rides that they don't want to leave. Also, I schedule a TS every day (whether lunch or dinner) so that's a sit down AC break too. One of my favorite memories was DD, then 4, begging to go on "just one more ride" at least 5 times. As soon as we got on the monorail, she was passed out but actually stayed up until midnight (when EMH ended)2x. She took a nap in the stroller during the day with us alternating who'd stay with her vs using FP (legacy) to ride. And we never do morning EMH, whenever the kids wake up is when we get ready to leave our resort for the day.

 

[Imhere]

Some people spit out the word "break" like it's an obscenity or something.

I remember on our first or second trip I used to be the same way. I'd wonder why people went all the way to WDW to take a break. You can break when you die.

Now we frequently go back to our resort in the middle of the day. We don't take naps but we do like to hang around the pool.

Going to the pool and having a beer or mixed drink while swimming or reading a book is PART of my vacation.

I'm not taking a break, I'm just doing something else.

 

[kmb584]

We don't take breaks either. I've tried doing so in the past but my little one wanted nothing to do with it. She wouldn't rest let alone nap, she wanted nothing to do with the pools, and all she did for those few hours was talk incessantly about going back. Not worth it for us! For "breaks" we'll head into an attraction like CoP or UoE, something where she's able to sit, relax and cool off.

 

[lroger01]

I will be following this post carefully because I am about to plan our itinerary and am torn on this too. We are going in November so we will not have to deal with the extreme heat. And our kids will be 4 and 1/2 and 7 and 1/2. Heck, I can't get the younger one to nap at home on the weekends now --I can't see her leaving the MK nine months from now to take a nap--especially with a pool outside her window. Not going to happen.

BUT, having them up until 10 p.m. when they aren't used to it could be a nightmare for all of us.

A previous poster hit what I think is key here--avoiding overstimulation.

So my question is this--is it really feasible to go back to your resort mid-day in order to avoid that overstimulation??? All I hear is how Disney transportation is slow. Doesn't it really take a chunk out of your day? We will be at WL, if that matters.

Is it better to simply make them sit through some show that doesn't interest them (in the hopes that they will nod off) or stop for a cold drink in the shade to watch for characters or simply ride the train/monorail? Shopping I think is out--talk about stimulation--they will want everything they see.

I was also thinking of planning a day where we don't going into any park at all, other than for maybe a character breakfast and dinner at Epcot. I plan on getting PHs, mainly because it gives us this flexibility with ADRs...not because I plan to zig zag from park to park, or even park to resort.

Thoughts?

decisions, decisions....

I don't think the main issue is the actual bus ride. It's the time from deciding to head back, getting to the front gate, waiting and riding the bus, getting from the bus stop to the room, unloading all the "stuff", relaxing some but not too much since there are ADR's to keep or fireworks to see, then packing up the "stuff", getting back on the bus, walking from there back through security and turnstiles, and on to the thing you want to do, that is time consuming. If you're planning to hop anyway, then a pitstop at the resort probably doesn't add much more time - unless you have a large group and lots of "stuff".

I'm a believer in the 3/4 day plan for groups of more than two adults. Getting back to the resort and not "having" to go out again will make the evening relaxing. Then on some mornings do a late start. You'll likely enjoy sleeping in, eating a nice breakfast, taking a morning swim, and just not rushing, It makes for a nice afternoon/evening in the parks. Normally I do 4 morning 3/4 days, then on the 4th day take a break and head back to the same park. then the next two days are late nights. You get 4 rope drop mornings and 3 nights to see the fireworks in a weeklong vacation.

 

[Cyrano]

We have always taken breaks whether it was Disneyland Paris trips in the winter or Walt Disney World trips in the summer It could be to go back to the resort pool, go shopping or visit other resorts. However I can appreciate that for some, the time traveling back to the resort can seem like a waste of park time.

Ultimately you know your family best and could try a few days without a break to see how this affects how you tour the park

 

[mill4023]

It really depends on:
Weather
Park hours
Age of kids
Number of days in a row you plan to be in the parks

Generally, we do not like to take afternoon breaks. But that doesn't mean we go open to close, day after day. We can usually handle two full days in a row, but after that we are exhausted and need a day where we sleep in and do more relaxing stuff.

But our last trip was in the summer. With the heat, being in the parks became very draining and uncomfortable between noon and 5pm. Plus, with the longer hours, it was much easier to take afternoon breaks and still have plenty of park time at night. So afternoon breaks worked really well on that trip.

 

[paintnolish]

We never used to: rope drop until close in summer! Our last two trips have included the baby, though, so we either did rope drop and then left for a break or stayed a little longer and left for the night around dinner. We then spent a relaxing evening by the pool.

 

[wallskm]

We don't really do breaks. We found leaving the parks to be more stressful than just finding a nice spot to prop our feet up for a while and have a snack. We don't stay late every night and also try to throw in some other rest times.

 

[DisneyMomma2000]

We are the type of family that does parks from rope drop to close. We've only park hopped on one of our trips. When the boys were young (3/4) we went in August. They napped in their strollers and we purposely did indoor attractions/late lunches/snacks, etc. during the hottest parts of the day. It is definitely doable.

This did wear them out as they fell asleep on the monorail and stayed sleeping til morning. Everyone rested well.

When doing this though, we didn't do parks back to back days. We would do one day in the park, and then one day at the pool/waterpark/shopping.

Our upcoming trip in May will be a little different as they are now 17 and 18. We will probably still do rope drop to close, but we are taking a free/rest day in the middle of the trip.

 

[photo_chick]

The two trips we've taken with kids have been in March and January. Both times we had 10 days in the parks, and the last time we spread it out over two weeks and didn't do parks on Saturday and Sunday. That's what we'll be doing this trip - Mon-Fri in parks, Sat/Sun off, Mon-Fri in parks. But we'll be going in September, and we're not exactly fans of heat and humidity.

Our past trips, we always went back to the resort in the afternoon. To me, though, it felt like a waste of time. Nobody ever napped.

I'm thinking this time that maybe we would skip going back to the resort and try to find air conditioned places to rest in the parks.. and leave most nights before 8pm (we'd do MSEP/Wishes and MNSSHP once each, and Illuminations on a Friday). Our ADRs will have a fair number of last-breakfast-seatings and lunches, and we'll also be park-hopping so I know we can just hang out on the monorail for a while. I've got a few spots in mind for where we can relax, and attractions that I know will be like a rest. But I thought I'd ask if anyone has any non-obvious spots to rest and relax, or things to keep the kids entertained while resting. Would it be weird to get a snack at an air-conditioned CS place and just let the kids color for a while, as long as tables aren't in demand?

I've got the 'obvious' break stuff down, but I'm wondering if there are less obvious ways to rest (in air conditioning) that I might not know about.

Thanks!

We didn't take a break for a couple days on our last trip and we found air conditioned attractions where you sat down when we felt like we needed a break. It worked very well for the days we wanted to stay in the park all day (this was a July 4th week)

As far as coloring at a CS place... I don't know if someone already mentioned this in a response, but there was a thread where the poster was talking about seating at CS restaurants and you cannot go in and sit down now if you do not buy food. Not sure if this happens all the time now or not but it's worth investigating if that is part of your plan.

 

[ktlm]

We don't take breaks. We are rope drop to close type people. We tried a break the first day of DD's 1st trip when she was 2 years old, and it did not go well. After that, she just napped in the stroller. DD is 8 now and has been to WDW every year since she was 2. At age 6 and 7, she went all day open to close with no stroller or breaks. We find that what works best for us is planning our big meal as a table service lunch most days. That gives us a chance after spending the morning in the parks to sit and recharge. If people get a little hot or tired in the afternoon, we might sit on a bench and eat a Mickey Head Ice Cream bar or hit a show to sit a bit, or hit one of the longer rides like the Great Movie Ride at DHS or Living with the Land at EPCOT.

 

[EMode]

We don't take breaks. When the kids were young we'd go early and stay most of the day. Now that they are much older we just arrive a little later and stay much later.

If I was going for 2 weeks I'd probably just do alot of half days at the parks instead of doing full days with breaks.

 

[TreeSapp]

As far as coloring at a CS place... I don't know if someone already mentioned this in a response, but there was a thread where the poster was talking about seating at CS restaurants and you cannot go in and sit down now if you do not buy food. Not sure if this happens all the time now or not but it's worth investigating if that is part of your plan.

This really depends on the crowd level. In September it really shouldn't be an issue. DH and I often pack a bag lunch and about half the time we sit inside or outside at a QS to eat it. Sometime we eat in transit between parks and sometimes just on a bench.

One time at Gaston's Tavern we slipped in to eat a bag dinner due to rain (we'd had TS lunch earlier).... A busser came over, we thought to shoo us out, but she'd noticed our anniversary pins. She stopped to talk to a us for a few minutes... Then a bit after that came back with free drinks for us! "An anniversary gift from Mickey!" Very nice bit of extra magic

 

[Raidra]

As far as coloring at a CS place... I don't know if someone already mentioned this in a response, but there was a thread where the poster was talking about seating at CS restaurants and you cannot go in and sit down now if you do not buy food. Not sure if this happens all the time now or not but it's worth investigating if that is part of your plan.

We'd definitely get something to eat if we were to do that. But we'd probably stay a little longer than if we were there to just eat, know what I mean? We would never take up a table longer absolutely necessary if it was crowded, though. There were times on our last trip when we were one of only two or three families in the dining room.. that's what I envision when I think about breaking out some paper and crayons.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

OP, since you are going in September, when it's very likely to be extremely hot and humid, you may want to take a break to spend a few hours at the pool.

We never take breaks for the sole purpose of resting. In the cooler months we almost never leave the parks for a break. However, when its super hot we break almost daily for a few hours at the pool. Every one feels so much better and refreshed after our pool breaks.

 

[Kellykins1218]

We never leave for a break, we just go to a show.

 

[MichelleVW]

We don't nap - no young kids, but do hit RD/ AM EMH thne like to leav epark around 12 when it is gettign crowded, go to hotel, hit the pool, sit in the sun, and then hit a different park around 4-5 for the evening.

That's what we do...or sometimes we will go to AK or DHS and stay until 2 or 3 and then leave and not come back. I just can't do all day without getting majorly cranky. Even with resting...it's just too much. We're going in 2 weeks and I'm really hoping it's warm enough for some pool time in the afternoon!