10 nights/ 11 days-???/advice

[lovevacations]

We are going May 20-May 30th @ WL w/ dining. It will be me (the OCD planner), my DH, and dds-8 and 6. We have never gone this long before! Outside of the DIS and TGM, people seem to think that is sooo long for WDW! On paper, I can barely fit everything in and we are not even going to a waterpark! Our general plan is to arrive at each park just before opening at least once for Epcot, MGM, AK and twice for MK. We have 3 sleep in days (after Illum., F!, and evening @ FW). We also have planned a non park day the Sunday of Mem. Day wknd b/c Saturday we are staying for Wishes and the 11:00 Spectro. We also plan on taking an afternoon break on days we arrive to park at opening, except for our last day at AK and maybe the day we go to MGM. Is being at MGM all day from 9:00-9:30 (F!) too long? We have a 6:20 adr @ MM for the dinner pkg. Is it hard to fit in shows w/ a break? On another day, we will be @ MGM to eat @ Sci Fi @11:40 and will stay until 3:30. Checking kids into Cub's Den @ 4:30 so DH and I can return to ride ToT and RnRC TOGETHER. We are also going to Silver Springs in Ocala and 2 days at Fort Walton Beach on our drive home. Are you a bit burned out of Disney at the end of a long trip? Any advice and suggestions is welcome! Sorry for the length of this, I'm having a boring Saturday night!!!

 

[tjmouse]

Not burnt out of Disney, but tired, yes! We went for 12 days in Nov/Dec. It was just me and dd for most of the time and my sister joined us for a long weekend. It was the trip of a lifetime, but it took me awhile to recover. We just did so much. I would definately put a little more down time into the trip. I know, it's hard. But, you will enjoy your trip more if you do. It goes so fast!

 

[mel]

We stay 7 or 8 days but we do Disney a day and skip the next, it seems better for our DD's, 9 & 13. The day in between DD's, mom and I shop, swim,etc. DH golf's and takes care of DD's while mom and I shop and so on! We also go to Seaworld on one of the in between days. Going every day for so many days would be hard and you will probaly need a vacation to recover from vacation! But that is usally how it is anyway!

 

[scoutsmom99]

I did 12 nights in Sept/Oct and I thought it was perfect. I wasn't burned out, but I didn't leave wishing I had more time either. It was nice to really sit back and relax and enjoy the parks and just being away from work.

I think an entire day at MGM might be too long...are you sure you can't schedule a small afternoon break in there? If you spread seeing the shows out among the two days I think you will be just fine.

 

[helens042266]

The first time we went, it was only a week and I told my DH we wouldn't go back unless we could stay longer. This time it is 2 weeks and I cannot wait! We are planning a "break day" between parks. The first time we went, we went EVERYDAY with no breaks and I thought I would never recover. This time I am going to enjoy our resort, sit by the pool, relax with the family and just DESTRESS! You have the right idea about taking breaks during the day. We wanted to see everything on our first trip because it was "the trip of a lifetime" and we were sure that we could never afford to go back again. We were the parents dragging our kids through the park determined to "see it all". Big mistake! Just make sure you don't try to do too much. Have a great trip!

Helen

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

we did 11 days in dec and wished we had more days. you just cant get enough. if you plan for 2 days at each park you will see it will be much more relaxing at 12 days time i think. pace your self. and have fun

 

[mommykds]

Last Oct we were there for 10 days & by the 7th day we were all pooped. We did the parks from opening til close every day & boy that wasn't smart. We did have fun & got to see everything we wanted & more but the kids started getting cranky. We just did too much...This next trip I have planned pool/resort days & some days we just sleep in & take our chances coming into the park later.

Just make down time for your family to relax & you will have a blast.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I don't know how long the kids can go at that pace. You would not want them to end up hating WDW would you? It is important to keep them as close to their schedule as possible. Keeping kids in a theme park so many hours on so many days is likely a recipe for disaster. I think others here will chime in when I say that for my DS, he has always liked hanging out at the pool as the best part of the vacation. This has been true since he was 4 years old.

 

[JennSaint]

We went for 10 nights last February (05) and thought it was perfect. It was nice to take some afternoons and just relax by the pool. Plus when you go in May it is pretty hot! So you'll be hitting the pool alot!

Enjoy!!

 

[lovevacations]

I think we are in good shape then. We will try to leave MGM by 2:00 and take a short afternoon break from 2:30-5:00. We have to be @ MM by 6:15.
Our final day @ AK we will leave when we are ready and drive to Ocala. This has been hard for me to plan because our first trip was 5 days in Nov. of 2001 and the parks were empty, the weather was cool and rainy, and the park hours were very short. This trip will be hot, crowded, and long! Thanks for the tips.

 

[o2bacelt]

I think your trip length is just fine. We're heading down March 3-13. We have a much younger child than you and plan on taking it very easy, roughly following a plan for folks with small children. We've been there enough times that we don't care if we miss a few things. Plus we've got one night figured out where we'll be leaving our DD with my inlaws for a grown ups night out. (YEA!)

I think the only advice I have is to be flexible with your plans and if everyone is pooped one day, spend it at the pool and relax.

 

[DonnaDuck]

We just got back from an 11 night/10 day trip. I must say, it was perfect!! Surprisingly, I was also worried that we would never get everything done. But we got to each park early in the morning (that helps so much) and with crowds light, we got everything done with lots of down time to spare. I have a 6 and 2 year old, so those breaks were important for us. Good Luck...enjoy your long vacation. We are only going for 7 or 8 days next year and I look forward to going 10 days again.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We had a 16 night/17 day trip last July and loved it. This year we are doing 10 nights at WDW and 4 nights at Univeral. We also squeezed in a 5 night trip in January. You can never had too much Disney!

 

[mitymott]

We just got back from an 11 day trip(only WDW) and I found the timing to be just right. We didn't feel the need to be up at 6 every morning or feel guilty for not staying till park closing. As a veteran of many commando style trips this was a refreshing change. At the end of our trip we didn't feel as though we needed a vacation to recover from our vacation.
Hope you have a great trip,

 

[thelionqueen]

We were in the same boat as some PP's. Our 1st trip was 6 nights (way too short) 2nd time was 10 days, 3rd time 12 days. We will only go for 12 nights from now on. You must have time to relax while at WDW and scheduling longer trips, IMHO, is the only way to do that.

I think you should definitely plan at least 1 full day and 2 1/2 days as "down" time. Your kids will not enjoy all the activities you have planned if they are worn out or burned out. Take the time to "smell the flowers" just my 02

 

[lovevacations]

Thanks for the input!

 

[Kae]

Take me with you! That would be my dream trip length.

Kae

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

We are going May 20-May 30th @ WL w/ dining. It will be me (the OCD planner), my DH, and dds-8 and 6. We have never gone this long before! Outside of the DIS and TGM, people seem to think that is sooo long for WDW! On paper, I can barely fit everything in and we are not even going to a waterpark! Our general plan is to arrive at each park just before opening at least once for Epcot, MGM, AK and twice for MK. We have 3 sleep in days (after Illum., F!, and evening @ FW). We also have planned a non park day the Sunday of Mem. Day wknd b/c Saturday we are staying for Wishes and the 11:00 Spectro. We also plan on taking an afternoon break on days we arrive to park at opening, except for our last day at AK and maybe the day we go to MGM. Is being at MGM all day from 9:00-9:30 (F!) too long? We have a 6:20 adr @ MM for the dinner pkg. Is it hard to fit in shows w/ a break? On another day, we will be @ MGM to eat @ Sci Fi @11:40 and will stay until 3:30. Checking kids into Cub's Den @ 4:30 so DH and I can return to ride ToT and RnRC TOGETHER. We are also going to Silver Springs in Ocala and 2 days at Fort Walton Beach on our drive home. Are you a bit burned out of Disney at the end of a long trip? Any advice and suggestions is welcome! Sorry for the length of this, I'm having a boring Saturday night!!!

We went for 10 nights last fall and it was the best vacation we ever had. Because of the extra time, we did things we never did before--The Family Magic Tour, the Circus show at DTD (I am not going to attempt to spell it), an Illuminations Birthday cruise, the children's pirate cruise. We also spent a day each at TL and BB which my children absolutely loved. We also stayed at the WL--it is our favorite.

Have a great time and do not listen to anyone telling you that it is too long of a trip. We hope to do another long one some day.

 

[lovevacations]

Take me with you! That would be my dream trip length.

Kae

Actually this is our dream trip!! We moved to Texas a year ago and this our way to celebrate the best decision we ever made! DH doesn't like to go to Disney too often.. , it will be 4 or 5 years before we return! Although, I might be able to sneak in a Disneyland trip again!

 

[debbiedoo]

This is perfect!! Have done 11 days and 13 days --- you will have no regrets