14 nights - how many Disney days

[SophiaG]

Ill try to keep this quick. Planning a trip with another family who have concerns that 2 weeks of theme parks is too much. I'm of the mindset that not every day is to be a park day and there is plenty of other things to explore.

So my question is, how many park days would you estimate for a 14 night stay?

Thanks in advance

 

[scoobydooby]

This depends on so many factors. Do you want to stay in the parks from opening till closing or go back to your hotel for breaks? How much of the parks do you want to do? Do you want to see all the night time shows? Do you want to ride things repeat times? If you want to get a good proportion of each park covered and intend to open them at rope drop them stay all day I would say AK and DHS need at least one full day each and MK and Epcot need 2 days each finishing at tea time possibly on your second day. So 6 days. The water parks are half to a full day each, not including the evening depending on how much you enjoy them. Disney Springs needs several hours without a meal to just race around it. So to have a look at all the Disney stuff including both water parks and Disney Springs would be 9 days with some down time built in for 5 evenings. I am on my 10th trip next month and still haven't seen it all!!!! I did do a 9 day trip with DD last year where we just did Disney stuff and we didn't get near a water park as we felt we didn't have enough time. We really LOVE the four main parks though

 

[Caseheidi]

We always plan one out of park day for every two in. So for two weeks we would plan on getting a 10 day pass if we did not plan any days at other parks/major attractions. We also find that with a 10 day pass we do not feel the need to spend full days in the park. We have been known to not enter a park until early evening for dinner.

I do agree with the PP that it depends on what you want to do /see. How your group likes to spend their time should determine how many days you get. In some of our earlier trips, we started with a smaller pass, and when we decided we needed an additional day or two, it was so easy just to add it on. S if you worry about getting too many days, start with a pass for the number of days you know you need, and add on at the parks if you need more.

 

[chmurf]

if you book from the UK you'll get a 14 days pass for less than a 10 days US ticket, so no need to worry about tickets and adding days

how many park days depends on how you tour the parks.
We usually go to the parks every day for 3 weeks, but we only go for 3 hours at a time, using FP+ on either side of a TS meal and that's usually fine with us. Or we do mornings (RD then call it a day by 1pm and spend the rest of the day at the hotel or shopping, or ... whatever we want to do) or afteroons

You also mention that you're planning with another family that has those concerns. wouldn't it be possible that you leave days open for them, and go to the parks with your family while they enjoy an off day ?

 

[wayneg]

If we had 14 day tickets (possibly your best value) we would tend to go most mornings at rope drop for a few hours while quiet then come out and do other things(shop, pool time etc) when it starts getting busy, we never stay in for full days anymore. Some days if we don't want to get up early we would do something thru the day then go in a park in the evening to see fireworks.
Every family is different though, some prefer to do just one day in each park from opening to closing.
We have got to the stage of not doing Disney at all for a few years, after 22 years and about 35 visits we prefer to explore things outside the parks and sail on the Disney cruises.

 

[BudgieMama]

We're planning a 14 day trip next summer (everyone was right- 7 was not nearly enough... I find it weird that on the TPAS board, many people 5 days is more than enough for a trip for two adults... But that's another qut!)

I'm assuming you're using the UK 14 day tickets (apologies if that assumption is wrong) so you don't have to worry about cost so much, and can park hop and visit the water parks without any bother. If you count water parks as parks, I'd say it's quite feasible to visit a park every day (not for the whole day, but at least part of a day) if you want to, or to take time off if you want to and have a lazy day at your resort/visit somewhere offsite/whatever suits you best.

Our plan isn't finalised yet as park times won't be out for a while, but even if we only hit a park for a couple of hours in the morning or pop in for dinner and the fireworks, we're thinking we'll be in and out of the parks every day. But as we won't have ADRs to make every day this time, our timetable will be more flexible in case we decide we want a day off.

I should add, we might be the only adult couple traveling who don't get a lot from DTD. We'll plan some time to explore but DH hates shopping and we both hate the price of alcohol in the US, so we won't be drinking or doing lots of trawling round shops.

I would like to try the mini golf that is included, if I can figure out transportation!

 

[LiquidSunshine]

I agree with what PPs have said. It depends what you want to see/do at each park. Make use of Rope Drop, EMH, FP+ etc.

Also factor in time for anything outside of the parks that you/the other family may want to see. Outlet shopping, Discovery Cove, Kennedy Space Center etc.

During our last trip, we loved some downtime exploring POFQ, sitting with a drink and watching the world go back. It was also nice using some quiet time to explore other resorts.

 

[saintrob]

During our first trip we did full days in Disney, Universal and SeaWorld. This summer we're up to our mid twenties in terms of trips and although we still haven't seen/done everything we do the parks differently. I agree with the others - it all depends on how you want to play out your days. We didn't really enjoy the full days but at the time thought it would be a one off trip!!

 

[SophiaG]

Thanks for all the replies, I think the point about half days will help my friends settle their concerns. Having never been before I think they are imagining 14 days straight at Alton towers and not grasping the variety or flexibility as we would be getting the 14 day ticket and cars (I'm hoping to be together but separate) to make life a bit easier.

 

[Kath2003]

I'd have a conversation with them about NOT having to do everything together. They may want to spend more or less time in particular places than you, and the last thing you want is to wind up getting frustrated with one another during the trip. We have been with other people and have always had the discussion that "we will be doing x, you are welcome to come if you wish but we won't be offended if you don't want to" and vice versa. We typically go for 10-14 days and hit the parks at rope drop probably 95% of the mornings but almost always leave before lunch. Sometimes we return later in the day, sometimes not. I would DEFINITELY build in the flexibility to do your own thing (have your own cars, or one car and set of bus passes etc.) and not commit to too much together - you probably will do most things together, but there's not the pressure to do so which makes the whole thing more enjoyable for everyone.

 

[dixonsontour]

Two cars sounds like a good plan. Water parks can be a big hit with kids but a change of pace.

 

[bex7583]

We're planning a 14 day trip next summer (everyone was right- 7 was not nearly enough... I find it weird that on the TPAS board, many people 5 days is more than enough for a trip for two adults... But that's another qut!)

I'm assuming you're using the UK 14 day tickets (apologies if that assumption is wrong) so you don't have to worry about cost so much, and can park hop and visit the water parks without any bother. If you count water parks as parks, I'd say it's quite feasible to visit a park every day (not for the whole day, but at least part of a day) if you want to, or to take time off if you want to and have a lazy day at your resort/visit somewhere offsite/whatever suits you best.

Our plan isn't finalised yet as park times won't be out for a while, but even if we only hit a park for a couple of hours in the morning or pop in for dinner and the fireworks, we're thinking we'll be in and out of the parks every day. But as we won't have ADRs to make every day this time, our timetable will be more flexible in case we decide we want a day off.

I should add, we might be the only adult couple traveling who don't get a lot from DTD. We'll plan some time to explore but DH hates shopping and we both hate the price of alcohol in the US, so we won't be drinking or doing lots of trawling round shops.

I would like to try the mini golf that is included, if I can figure out transportation!

blizzard beach bus , as the mini golf is just at the other side of the arking area to the water park