What to do with mid-day break?

[mom2AidanAndEli]

This is going to sound completely ridiculous, but it's an honest question!

What do you guys do when you take a mid-day break? I mean what do you actually do once you get back to the resort? My kids will be 13 and 15, so a nap is out of the question--much as DH and I might enjoy that! Sitting by the pool in the hot mid-day sun just doesn't sound appealing to me. We're going the end of August and I know it will be unbearably hot as it always is at that time. Even going in the pool--the water's not that cool! Do you all just hang out in the room?

We've often scheduled a lunch time TS and that's been our break. Or we consider things like air-conditioned shows (Ellen, Presidents, One Man's Dream, etc.) to be break times. But then we haven't been close the park types on every day either. This year we're thinking we want to stay later at the parks, so I'm thinking those actual resort breaks would be a good idea. But I kind of see us getting back to the room and everyone sitting around, "Okay, we took a break. When do we go back?"

 

[maggiew]

Usually my daughter and I go to the pool. My DH and younger daughter nap. Both my girls are older (23 and 19 now), but they still need an afternoon break!

Maggie

 

[mom2rtk]

The few times we tried an afternoon break, I tried unsuccessfully to nap and only made myself more tired. We prefer finding quiet cool places to get off our feet in the parks.

 

[CarolynFH]

On our earliest trips, we'd take the kids swimming. Once we became DVC owners, we would have a 1 bedroom or larger, so those who wanted to nap (DH and I! ) could do so. Kids could read, watch TV etc. as long as they were quiet. When the kids were older (teens) they could go to the pool without us.

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

We love to take our break at the pool. No matter how hot it is the pool is a refreshing break from the temperature, crowd, and stimulation. A nice few hours to decompress. Our DD is 15/16 on our next trip and loves pool time as do DH and I. We sometimes fall asleep on a beach chair which is an added bonus. We go back to the room and shower and get ready for our dinner ressie and feel reawakened. While this might not work for everyone it really takes the rush, rush, rush out of our trips.

 

[Lucius Best]

We've done both: gone all day, and taken breaks. If you're going all day, you've got the right idea: eat an indoor TS lunch, then do a bunch of sit-down shows in AC during the heat of the afternoon when crowd is busiest.

On our late summer trips staying at POR, we took a lot of breaks. We would never lie out in the sun by the pool, or nap in the room. We would hop in the pool for a while to cool off, then lie in the shade. Shower in the room, maybe grab dinner at the POR food court before going back to the parks, unless we had dinner ADR somewhere. Pool/shade/shower did wonders for refreshing us before going back out.

 

[cakebaker]

There is a lot to see and do within the resort, but we go back to rest and relax, not expend more energy. We're used to some pretty hot weather in the summer so pool time is refreshing to us- and I despise cold pool water anyway!

Depending on which resort we stay at we'll either eat in the park right before we leave or eat at the resort for lunch. Then it's pool time for my grandson, and back to the room for a nap for him and either naps or just relaxing for the rest of us. I'm one who cannot sleep during the day and if I do manage to get to sleep, I wake up exhausted. Everyone else in my family naps like a champ. So I usually take that time to shower and change into fresh clothes then play on the laptop or look at what we're doing that evening and make any changes we need. The time flies by, doesn't take much to eat up a 3 hr or so break.

If you can't nap and you don't like being at the pool, then a midday break at the resort may not be for you. For us, it's a must.

 

[poohfriend77]

Different strategies work for different families, so maybe you're just not "break" people. We never have been either. Honestly, when my kids were younger, the thought of traveling back to the resort, walking to the room, getting the kids into swimsuits, reapplying sunscreen, going to the pool, swimming, going back to the room, and getting the kids dressed, walking back to bus stop, going back to park, OR... saying, "Be quiet. Just close your eyes for a few minutes. It's rest time. 10 more minutes. You don't have to sleep, just lie quietly," on repeat, because my kids were NOT nappers... Both scenarios left me far more stressed and exhausted than staying in the park for a couple extra hours. We were much better off staying through until dinner time and going to the resort after that. We'd stay for the night shows only once or twice per trip, but even those were often 8 p.m. in Feb.

We are changing strategies this time though, because it is our first summer (HOT!) trip, and the hours are much longer than we're used to. The kids are older now (12 and 10) and they know we will take breaks to be able to stay out later. They don't have to sleep, although they may actually give in if we're staying out past midnight. They can play on their phone/ipad, have a snack, read, watch TV, etc. Basically just cool down and recharge. We'll see if we can successfully make the transition to becoming "break" people!

 

[Mushu2015]

Our DD is only 3, but we also always break by the pool and have quiet time in our room. Even if DH and I didn't sleep, it was a great way to decompress after all the stimulation of the parks. Combine that with a refreshing shower and we were all raring to go back to the parks each night.

 

[gatormom2tots]

We always nap and sometimes pool. Naps are for the adults more than the kids! Maybe tour another resort?

 

[cheshirecollector]

Even when I'm an adult traveling solo, I take daily breaks back at the hotel. I bring a little food to the room, eat, then sit around for a while. It's not just the air-conditioning that helps me, it's also the quiet. Your room is going to be much quieter than any area of the parks. The constant barrage of noise everywhere else can be exhausting sometimes.

 

[rapunzels]

I think you will be surprised how tired your 13 and 15 year olds will be, getting zapped by the August heat and humidity. Having down time at the room and the pool will be a welcome escape from the heat and lines at the parks. If it ends up not working for your family, you can always head back to the parks, but don't make the mistake of not scheduling the breaks. Disney will be anything but magical, with a tired, hot, unrested, feet/legs hurting family.

 

[Aerinha]

Rarely do I take a resort break, but sometimes I will stop back at the room midday to drop something off or get something I want. If the AC feels really good and I am mot in a rush, I might hang out for a bit writing the morning up in my journal before going back out. My last visit, I went back to change for MNSSHP and wound up on the hotel porch for an hour or so because mousekeeping was in my room. It was relaxing and because I was at YC I had a view from the porch of the lake.

 

[gtpoohbear]

Even when I'm an adult traveling solo, I take daily breaks back at the hotel. I bring a little food to the room, eat, then sit around for a while. It's not just the air-conditioning that helps me, it's also the quiet. Your room is going to be much quieter than any area of the parks. The constant barrage of noise everywhere else can be exhausting sometimes.

This is me too! I haven't found very many people that understand this need for a "quiet" break, but after several hours in the park, the stimulation, even for me as an adult, can become too much. I've spent many afternoons sitting in the room with a napping child while DH went to the pool, more recently with DD while DS was napping. He always feels bad and says we should switch who goes/stays, but I have to reassure him that I NEED that dark and quiet time in the room as much as the napping kid, lol! I usually spend the time downloading my camera or just surfing the web, but I need to be out of the hustle and bustle of the parks for a while.

We've done a couple of short trips with just one park day where we skipped the break and stayed open to close... and I did make it, (just barely sometimes!) but there's no way I could do that day after day on a longer trip. I just need those couple of hours to decompress.

 

[Brian Noble]

Even when I'm an adult traveling solo, I take daily breaks back at the hotel. I bring a little food to the room, eat, then sit around for a while. It's not just the air-conditioning that helps me, it's also the quiet. Your room is going to be much quieter than any area of the parks. The constant barrage of noise everywhere else can be exhausting sometimes.

Quoted for truth.

We also tend to stay in DVC villas (or offsite condos) so there is room to spread out. We catch up on email, read, or just hang out. That's a lot easier to do in a condo-style room than a hotel room though, and one of the reasons we really like timeshares.

 

[lllGurulll]

I always just look for AC attractions in the parks. I can't do midday naps because they make me feel horrible. Plus, even a little noise prevents me from sleeping. If we actually go to the resort, its because we are done for the day.

 

[Alesia]

Contrary to what people here might tell you, midday breaks don't work for everyone.

We do fine if we stay in the parks all day, but if we go back to the hotel we're done for the day. For us, taking a break at the hotel is just so much more exhausting than staying in the park all day.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think a lot of this is very individual.

How close is your resort to the park(s) you will be traveling to and from?

Do you buy park hoppers (if so you'll be spending travel time whether you stop at the resort or not)?

How many people are staying in your room? If you're going back to a room at full occupancy, that might be more stressful than staying in the park.

 

[georgina]

Contrary to what people here might tell you, midday breaks don't work for everyone.

We do fine if we stay in the parks all day, but if we go back to the hotel we're done for the day. For us, taking a break at the hotel is just so much more exhausting than staying in the park all day.

Agree! We have never been midday-break-at-the-resort people either. Even in the summer, we just sit down for a while with a cool drink or visit some air-conditioned shows. We often hop to another park also, and don't have trouble staying until near closing time. It really depends on your family and how they would handle it.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Hmm. Send the kids to the pool...