Trouble planning a longer trip. How do you spend your days?

[Bete]

First, let me say we've been to Disney World over 40 times and we live in the Midwest. We have seen it all and it doesn't bother us to see it again. We do take other trips, too.

I would think about utilizing the swimming pool more. Go to a water park.

Go to some resorts and just look around. Animal Kingdom Lodge is great.

Take in the scenery at the parks. The gardens are wonderful. Do some people watching.

Get more involved with picture taking everywhere. Do more character meet and greets.

Do some special tours. There are plenty to choose from. Yes, it costs extra. I would go as far as downgrading your room accommodations and with the money saved you can do the extras. Take in an Imagineer luncheon. Do an illuminations cruise.

Maybe, try some shows. At least do the street live entertainment ones. Seeing all the exhibits and shows through World Showcase is one of our favorite activities. Going through the shops can be fun. We do things like trying on a sombrero.

Reconsider other parks. Uber is a great way to get around to Universal or Sea World.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We do 4 to 6 short trips per year and every trip has specific "must-do's" (usually anything new or seasonal special events) and the rest is gravy. We also don't do every ride, every trip (for example, the only ride we do in Fantasyland now is 7DMT). It's to the point that MK is a half-day park for us. There is SO much to do in WDW and sometimes, IMHO, it's just better to see where the wind takes you! On our last trip, our must-do's were Club Villain, the drone show in DS and a DIY monorail hop I concocted for me and DS9. On the way, we would pick up FP+ here and there, last minute ADR's, we toured most of the deluxe resorts to see the Christmas decorations, etc. It's so nice not to be on a schedule all the time! On our last day, we simply went to ESPN for lunch and watched a basketball game - DS9 was in heaven.

 

[Lothlórien]

Other than that, I'm stumped a little on how to plan this trip. We don't really like to go on the same rides over and over anymore.

I don't even know how to respond to this. There is so much to see in every attraction that it is worth multiple rides. To me, if you cannot enjoy the rides more than once, it is not worth the entrance ticket.
However, there are stage shows, street performers, mini-golf, all of Disney Springs, etc.

We have done 10-day and 11-day trips multiple times and still feel like "if we only had a few more days". Honestly, maybe your vacation dollars would be better spent somewhere else, where you are experiencing something new and unknown to you. Maybe do a cruise that stops at 4 - 5 ports so you do not get bored being on the same ship for a whole week or a different vacation type altogether.

 

[Farro]

I don't even know how to respond to this. There is so much to see in every attraction that it is worth multiple rides. To me, if you cannot enjoy the rides more than once, it is not worth the entrance ticket.
However, there are stage shows, street performers, mini-golf, all of Disney Springs, etc.

We have done 10-day and 11-day trips multiple times and still feel like "if we only had a few more days". Honestly, maybe your vacation dollars would be better spent somewhere else, where you are experiencing something new and unknown to you. Maybe do a cruise that stops at 4 - 5 ports so you do not get bored being on the same ship for a whole week or a different vacation type altogether.

Oh my! Thanks for the concern over how we spend our vacation dollars, but we do just fine, thank you! We travel all over, not just Disney.

A bit of hyperbole I suppose, I will ride some rides twice.

Thanks everyone again! I will just have to teach myself to relax at the resort also. I never looked at these types of trips as having lounging days (those are island trips), but maybe this time we will try it! And we will look at some shows, see if any appeal to us. I'm sure we will find something.

I'm not complaining by the way, we are excited to go! I just don't want to get the burned out feelings that so many have been saying they have lately. That's why we space our Disney trips apart by years, but the last two have only been 3 years apart.

 

[Farro]

I savor days at my resort just enjoying it then out to dinner. Also add Disney springs to your plans. Plenty to do there. The past two years we have taken a cab over to Universal one day to break up all the Disney.

We are definitely doing Disney Springs! Saturday evening and Sunday evening, Homecoming and then Boathouse. Then probably drinks afterwards.

We are really looking forward to good dinner every night and we have picked good restaurants. Have a glass of wine, unwind and see where the night takes us- maybe Illuminations, a night time ride on the people mover, Star Wars fireworks, who knows!

 

[Lothlórien]

Oh my! Thanks for the concern over how we spend our vacation dollars, but we do just fine, thank you! We travel all over, not just Disney.

A bit of hyperbole I suppose, I will ride some rides twice.

Thanks everyone again! I will just have to teach myself to relax at the resort also. I never looked at these types of trips as having lounging days (those are island trips), but maybe this time we will try it! And we will look at some shows, see if any appeal to us. I'm sure we will find something.

I'm not complaining by the way, we are excited to go! I just don't want to get the burned out feelings that so many have been saying they have lately. That's why we space our Disney trips apart by years, but the last two have only been 3 years apart.

I don't care how you spend your money. Your post did come across like a complaint.... like you HAD to go to Disney again and for a WHOLE 9 days. More like you were dreading it than appreciating that you can afford 9 days of Disney.

 

[Farro]

Thanks for taking the time to respond everyone!

 

[Farro]

I don't care how you spend your money. Your post did come across like a complaint.... like you HAD to go to Disney again and for a WHOLE 9 days. More like you were dreading it than appreciating that you can afford 9 days of Disney.

Okay! Thanks for the response.

 

[NH-to-FL]

We did a ten day trip once and took advantage of the "extra" time to take a backstage tour. Pick a park that most interests you. We decided on the Backstage Safari at AK. We also dialed our pace down a bit and relaxed more. Fewer rope drop mornings. I didn't catch how long it has been since your last visit but a number of rides have updated their queue's that are worth a new visit. We also spent a day at SeaWorld. Thinking back, ten days went by pretty quickly.

 

[Farro]

We may do a tour! Perhaps the one at Animal Kingdom. If Pandora is open, that's an entire new land for us to explore.

It's only been 3 years (2014), and then 3 years before that one (2011). That's pretty close in years for us, before we hadn't gone from 2000 until 2011!

 

[Klayfish]

I never looked at these types of trips as having lounging days (those are island trips), but maybe this time we will try it!

I just don't want to get the burned out feelings that so many have been saying they have lately. That's why we space our Disney trips apart by years, but the last two have only been 3 years apart.

I very much understand what you're saying, as I've had that mentality too... i.e. don't see WDW as having "lounging days". We still rarely have total lounge days, we've spent the money to go to WDW, we'd rather be in the park. But in a trip that long, you have to at least take time to slow down...it can be as much physical burnout as mental burnout. We're a very physically fit family, and if we try to go full tilt on a long vacation, we'll wear out within a week. I guess I'd call our style "relaxed efficiency". We don't intentionally waste time in the parks, but at the same time we're not running from ride to ride. "Lounge" times for us are part of a WDW day. We may have a day where we go to the parks from 9am and we're done by 2pm. If we're efficient in that time we're in the park (again, not running around, but knowing what we're doing), we can get a lot done. Then the rest of the day is chilling by the pool, having a nice dinner and going for dessert and coffee. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Farro]

Makes perfect sense! We are going to try to have a few days where we are done in the park early, go back and have some pool (or nap!) time and then go out for a nice dinner. And if we feel like it, go back to a park if it's open late, or just have some drinks at Trader Sams or Tambu Lounge at the hotel.

****I keep editing this because I keep seeing embarrassing spelling errors. And I haven't even opened the wine yet....

 

[Jennytoon]

We eat!

Our history at Disney began in 2009, 2011, and 2013 as biannual two-week summer travelers with small kids. We stayed off-site, were in the parks at rope drop, made minimal advance plans, and left by 1 PM every day. We rarely came back, except once to do Illuminations and once to do Wishes.

Starting in 2015 we have still made the summer pilgrimage, but we've moved to (mostly) staying on site via DVC, and we've had a few shorter stops of 3 days or so as well. So I definitely hear what you are saying about having gone from a more infrequent pattern to a more frequent pattern and worrying that it will grow old. We've also moved to having a lot more of a plan, because as the kids have gotten older ( = opinionated) no plan has become a recipe for a lot of standing around arguing about what the plan should be.

Going back to the "we eat!" bit, we're all foodies and we have a one-restaurant-a-day rule, so I often block out park days around restaurants or food experiences. We still don't usually spend more than a few hours in the parks on any day; we'll have a focused plan such as "we'll do the right side of Future World, then move up to World Showcase to get lunch at a quick service, see if we feel like seeing anything, and leave when we're ready." I actually really love planning longer trips, because you can take the parks in pieces and still see quite a lot.

Here are some things that we do to keep the experience fresh:

• Vary the routine -- I'll usually start with a series of early-wake / rope drop days, then transition to a series of later days to catch the evening shows at all four parks, then back to early days. The parks are really different in the evenings vs. the mornings, so varying the routine helps you get different views of each parks.
  
  
• Plan one special event / tour per trip. Sometimes we'll do one per week if the second is really cheap. I'm talking something like a dessert party, Hoop de Doo, Dine with an Animal Specialist, etc.
  
  
• Break the pattern by splitting up. We were there for two weeks in 2015 (as usual), and each week my husband and I had date night -- the kids stayed in the room and ordered pizza, and they thought it was the bomb to be left on their own! If your kids are old enough to be left at home by themselves (and therefore old enough to be left in the room by themselves) I highly recommend this.
  
  
• You can also split up the touring. My parents will be coming with us in 2017, and each of the younger kids has been given an afternoon to be tour director with grandma and grandpa. Since they're not yet old enough to go to the parks by themselves, this is a chance for them to be in charge of what they want to do in a way they don't normally experience. Even if you don't have extra adults, you can split up the ones you do have to let your kids' personalities come through in the touring style.
  
  
• Let everyone else help plan. We'll do a Disney Quiz / question per week for a while, asking about things like favorite restaurants, favorite rides, etc. This both helps build the excitement of the trip and makes each trip different as the kids grow and their tastes change.
  
  
• Challenge each other to look under the magic. This one will be controversial, because some people don't want anything to take away from the fantasy, but we like the challenge of observing individual ride features and then discussing them. An example: on the Nemo ride, look carefully at the section with Bruce the Shark. Although he's part of the ride, unlike the rest of the up-close-and-personal experience Bruce is behind a rope frame. This character that some kids might find scary has been carefully placed in something that strongly suggests a cage -- just think how much thought and care went into that detail! Those details of imagineering are really fascinating to my family.
  
  
• If you're not so much into spoiling the fantasy, pick a goal activity. Hidden mickeys and pressed pennies are popular; my son has made a goal to throw a penny into every fountain in Disney World. It's amazing how goals like finding pressed penny machines or fountains can help you notice details you never appreciated before and tie your trip together.

And we've never done this kind of thing, but I've carefully bookmarked them anyway to keep in my back pocket ... you could always try a scavenger hunt:

http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/01/18/magic-kingdom-scavenger-hunt/
http://blog.touringplans.com/2015/05/26/amazing-race-around-disney-world/

Last, but not least ... we don't forget that it is our family vacation. We bring cards or small games that travel well -- if we're hanging around the resort, we often play games together. Sometimes we'll go to one of the deluxe resorts that has a nice lounge and play near there; maybe getting snacks from a nearby bar. "Hanging around the resort" sometimes feels like it has this wasteful connotation, like "why did we pay all this money just to stay in the hotel and just how many hours can you spend hanging around the pool anyway?" Having some options for family-focused resort hanging makes us feel like we spent quality time together, in or out of the parks.

 

[Farro]

Thank you! This trip is all adults, but you gave some great ideas for those traveling with kids!
And all of us adults are still family, so it is great to remember to remind ourselves to just enjoy time together as family.

And we definitely plan to eat!

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

With 9 days you have a great amount of time to....RELAX! We are very fortunate to have gone on several 10 day trips and realized that we don't have to be in the parks each second of the day. We go more often now that we are DVC members, typically 3 trips- 7 days each time- per year. While our kids LOVE the parks, they get a burnt out so we have changed things up as of late. We now plan on making rope drop, using our FPs early and then leave the parks by 1pm latest. and then? They swim and we relax by the pool (depending on the time of year). Sometimes we go back to a park at night, sometimes we don't.

 

[bryanb]

I like the suggestions here so far. With a longer trip, I would definitely consider park hoppers if you haven't already. The cost per day isn't that significant, it gives you the luxury of letting go of so much planning, and you can let your family's whims take control at least part of the time. The water parks are great, and you can even do some resort hopping if you enjoy experiencing different themes and meals during your stay.

On such a long trip, I'd probably choose several days to be flexible days. I'd make a few FP+ to have in my back pocket, since you can always change them, but be prepared for anything.

 

[LumosQ102]

We're international visitors, Brits, and culturally vacations are 2 weeks as standard. The shortest trip we took was 9 nights, as an emergency need a bit of pixie dust break, and we concentrated just on WDW so we could make sure we go everything we wanted to do done. We're 2 adults, no kids. We mostly go for 17 days and have yet to run out of things to do.

When you are going is one of my favourite times to visit. the food and wine fesitival is great, and it is worth thinking beyond the booths in world showcase. They have a lot of culinary demonstrations in the festival centre, the programme will come out in the summer. It gives you food demos by type, and have a lot of great chefs visiting. each demo ends with you getting a small plate (app size-ish) of what they are cooking, plus a paired wine. We love the cheese & wine seminars which if my memory is serving me well take place on saturday morning. There are also wine tasting sessions, my favourite are the cocktail tastings! the cheese & wine is a little spendy (I think it was about $70, but this is a lot of wine / cheese & a great expert) the normal sessions are more in the region of $15 per person. This tends to take up a lot of our time on our October trips, and is a lovely way to do Epcot in a slightly different way, freshening things up.

In the parks generally? Just take a breath and enjoy the theming, look for the details and relax. I've grown to love the queues thanks to the detail you find there these days - the Peter Pan queue these days is gorgeous following the changes. As you're not a show person, if you are going to do any I would go with Flights of Wonder at DAK, Fantasmic! at DHS, Philharmagic at MK (ok, not quite a show, but not a ride, plus a great place to get out of the heat). We used to dash around so much, but since FP+ we don't need to worry so much anymore as we have out selections booked in advance. It makes park hopping easy too, we rope drop or do EMH at the first park, then have our FP selections at the second park either that afternoon or evening after a little time at the pool.

If you want to add in a tour, Wild Africa Trek at DAK is amazing, so very worth the money. If you want to add in something a little cheaper, Walt Disney: Marceline to Magic Kingdom is a morning tour at MK that only costs $30pp & you get to go backstage at the Haunted Mansion and see how the peppers ghost effect works in the ballroom scene. The Keys to the Kingdom tour is a lot of fun too, is closer to $80 per person & includes lunch. The tour takes you into the utilidoors which is rather interesting to see.

Whatever you end up doing I hope you have a super trip!

 

[LuvMyEAR]

We have made nearly annual family (grandparents, parents and 2 children) for a while and are looking forward to our 11 day stay beginning Ot 29. My 2916 trip was just my DD and me, but we had 5 day passes! We enjoyed dining venues we never tried before, went to Disney Springs 3 times and never even went into a real restaurant...couldn't get much past Amorette's, LOL, but absolutely loved the entertainment and atmosphere.

We found we really only spent a few hours in parks each day, and DD is not a ride person, but we enjoyed every minute there, knowing we did not have to keep up with the high energy, ride-crazy younger generation. We looked at everything shiny, too. Since we love Christmas and the Disney decorations, we loved lingering over the displays. This year, our trip spans the Halloween to Christmas changeover in MK and we are very excited about that. Love F&W, too.

We also managed to hit a few malls and came home with most of our Christmas shopping done, too. You will have a great time, setting a vacation pace that suits how you feel each and every day.

 

[laughinplace199]

For us, a longer trip means extra pool time. We usually go for a week and spend every day in the parks. We get up at rope drop and stay in the parks until after lunch, then go back to the resort before going back out for dinner and more park time. We try to fit a swim in, but the kids also need naps/downtime (and so do I), so our pool time is limited. If we had 9 days, we'd spend more time at the pool.

 

[MommaBerd]

I always love reading these threads because as an "observer," I always glean some great ideas! @Jennytoon - you have some great suggestions I am going to tuck away for our next trip!

OP, I'm not sure how many days your last trip to WDW was. Have you been on shorter trips and this will be your longest? I am spoiled because we usually have 8 park days and at some point in the planning process I always feel/think, "Are we going to get bored going to X park on more than one day?" (Not that we spend the entire day each time.) But the reality is that everything takes longer than you think it will, or at least *I* think it will. And plans and priorities change over the course of the trip based on what we see and experience as we go along. So, often we leave not doing at least one thing that I had hoped we would do. And now, it's tough for me to think about "only" going for 3 or 4 days.

One of the things I wanted to do on our last trip is the Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot. I have heard very good things about it, and it isn't very expensive. So, maybe that's another thing to put on your list to investigate.

Another out-of-park suggestion I have is Splittsville (bowling) at DS. SUCH a nice place, delicious food, and a great bowling set-up. We really enjoyed our night there!

Finally - and I know this really isn't the place for restaurant recommendations - but I HIGHLY recommend Tiffins, or even "just" the Nomad Lounge, for an evening meal. What a beautiful and interesting restaurant! And the food was amazing. Dining there is an event in itself.

I hope you have a fabulous trip! I look forward to a time when we can do a trip with friends/relatives that is adults-only.