opinions on break day

[sahoenshell1218]

Would it be better to take a day off mid-trip and then have a day of park touring on top of MVMCP that evening near end of week; or do not have a day off but take off the morning/afternoon (up to 4pm) the day of the party? (trying to fit in breaks during most days as well)

For example:
1- Arrival and EP
2- MK
3- HS
4- Day off/maybe DTD/DQ later in the day
5- MK
6- AK and MVMCP
7- BB and DTD
8- Leave

VS.
1- Arrive and EP
2- MK
3- HS
4- AK/DTD
5- MK
6- Day off/MVMCP
7- BB/DTD
8- Leave

 

[momto2inKC]

I say the 2nd one. In all our trips to Disney we've never had a break/rest day. Taking one just doesn't make sense for my family.

 

[phyllis1966]

In the past, we've had a pool/rest day on the day of MVMCP, and it's always worked out great. We are early risers at WDW, so mid-vacation we're starting to get tired. A pool day helps us to relax and recharge. After spending the day by the pool, we're ready for a night of fun!

 

[Simba77]

Obviously a lot of this depends on your traveling party (children's ages, if any, etc).

With option #2, if you're taking day breaks during the week, and you plan to take the morning off on the day of MVMCP, then you probably don't need a whole off-day like in option #1.

Rather than take an "off day," I would just see how I feel later during my stay. If by day 5-6 the tank is running low, just take some extra time or sleep in late one morning. Sleeping in late one or two days, then heading to the parks later instead of for early morning (or rope drop) can make a big difference. Those extra 2-3 hours of rest in the morning are almost as good as a break day.

Not to mention the idea of AK during the day and then MVMCP at night seems like a really long day. And I don't like to cut back on AK... there are so many things to see if you take your time there - Flights of Wonder, two musicals, Planet Watch, the walking trails... some of the best things about AK require a lot of time. I think you're better off with the "AK/DTD" choice, because you might find that you want to stay at AK until closing, and then DTD can be later or just skip it since you have another day scheduled with time for it.

With only 7 days, I'd stick with the plan that gives you the most park time (#2). If you schedule a day off on day 4, you're risking the potential of wishing you had more time in the parks. At least with option #2, you can always scale back if it's too much.

And this is why I'm staying 14 nights in September. You can never have too much time

 

[juliebug1997]

I think plan #2 looks best.

What I was wondering is why do BBB and not go into a park so your daughter can show off her makeover? I can't see spending all that money and then spending the day at DTD.

 

[cincystamper]

Another vote for Plan 2. On our upcoming MVMCP day, we're doing a late-ish breakfast at the Grand Floridian. Depending on how we feel, we'll either relax at the resort (we're staying at AKL and we could spend days just soaking in the atmosphere and people/animal watching!) or hop over to the Wilderness Lodge to check out the holiday decor. Either way, we know the party is going to be a late night, so we're taking it easy for the first part of the day since we plan to be at MK by 4-ish.

Have fun!

 

[LucyBC80]

Option two gives you a full day at AK and since the park closes early you can still go to DTD and enjoy Disney Quest and gives you a full day rest on your MVMCP day.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Here's a third option.....have both a full day off and a morning/afternoon off pre MVMCP.

 

[sahoenshell1218]

Thank you everyone for the advice!

 

[sahoenshell1218]

I think plan #2 looks best.

What I was wondering is why do BBB and not go into a park so your daughter can show off her makeover? I can't see spending all that money and then spending the day at DTD.

We aren't doing BBB; I meant Blizzard Beach

 

[sahoenshell1218]

Here's a third option.....have both a full day off and a morning/afternoon off pre MVMCP.

I wish we had time to do this option, but it would eliminate one of the parks from our plans.

 

[NC Disney Fan]

I would have to go with the first option. We have gone for the past 6 years for 7 to 9 days. I will tell you the first year, our family of 4 needed a vacation after the vacation as we were on the go, go, go. Exhausting. We realized that our kids wanted to swim and we wanted to rest and enjoy the resort just a bit so we added in, like you, a day in the middle where we chill poolside.

However, here is the rub. To drop this day of ticket for a park was all of a $20 savings. So what we have done is used the day for the pool and then gone into Epcot in the evening to eat at one of the many awesome restaurants and just meander around for a couple of hours. But regardless of whether you have a restaurant you want to try at a park or could go to one outside the parks like Ohanas (our fav), a day by the pool to relax and enjoy your resort will be a blessing to you. Sleep in, get treats, relax, swim etc. It will give you a 2nd wind.

Hope this perspective helps.

 

[jacksgirl]

We never have a break day. We usually are there 10-12 days and instead of a break day, we just go at a slower pace. We're not early risers, so no rope drop. Instead, we sleep a little late, go to a park until late afternoon, have a leisurely TS dinner, then go to the park that is open late or find something to do until the wee hours. It works well for us this way and makes for a less stressful vacay.

 

[GillianP1301]

I like Option 2. I'm not a fan of a whole day away from the parks. I'm a go go type of person though. Even with our son, when we took him the first time last year, we did parks every day. I just scaled my days back so we didn't get over tired. I stuck with pretty normal wake up times and only toured until he's had enough. Sometimes that was lunch, sometimes mid afternoon and one time into the night. With Option 2, you can very easily build in rest by scaling back the number of hours in the park and adding in "rest" at the pool or in the room when you feel you need it.

 

[poohfriend77]

My family is not the "whole day at the pool" type. Although I will admit we usually go Nov or Feb, so the weather doesn't always cooperate. Plus we stay at All-Stars, so maybe the kids would be more desperate for pool time if we had water slides.

We tried taking a day off on our first trip, but we were actually pretty antsy, thinking that we *could* be at a park. We prefer to shop a bit at each park, rather than spend one whole afternoon at DTD. I'd go with your second option, but honestly, we'd probably add a park day and do a morning at EP or DHS to hit a couple favorite rides on the party day. Then lunch and rest at the resort before heading to MK.

 

[rdevine10]

Interesting question. Our last trip in april we were supposed to take an afternoon break most days. But our girls are getting older and did not want to. (this was a 8 park day trip). By the end we were EXHAUSTED! We are a rope drop family and a few days we stayed pretty late. Our next longer trip we will rework it for a down day mid trip (which could be a day at the waterparks with sleeping in and another one at the end of the trip).

This next trip is just a 1 park day, so we will likely go all day unless we are TOO hot and take a break!