Add weekend days to our trip, or too crowded?

[mamaofthree]

Right now we have a hotel booked for Sun July 26th-Wed July 29th. Plan is to do a 2 day park hopper for Mon and Tues. I keep trying to figure out a way to extend this trip, because I am obsessed with Disney and we haven't been there in 4 years. We can't stay longer than Wed, so if we add days to our trip, we have to go earlier, Fri or Sat. Is that a "waste" of money? The last trip we took, 4 years ago, was early August, midweek, and was the hottest and most crowded experience of my life. I can't imagine anything worse, honestly. But I keep thinking that 2 days just isn't going to be enough. We don't need/want to do EVERYTHING, but I don't want to feel uber rushed or like we can't fit in what we want either. Then again, we are finally getting to a point financially that we can prob make DLR trips more often. Should I just leave our planned trip as is and try to go again soon? We've never seen the winter decorations, was hoping they'd still be up and the parks wouldn't be too busy Jan 5-8ish. Our districts get three weeks off for Christmas, so maybe that last week most people are back in school? Also, our van will be paid off by next summer, so I was thinking of getting AP's next year to celebrate, lol. I'm kind of answering my own question here, but wanted some opinions. After all, it HAS been 4 years, and we all know we can plan to go back soon, but is that *really* gonna happen? Ugh, I can't decide what to do!

 

[stampinshauna]

Weekends can be pretty crowded, but since some of the APs are blocked out then, they may not be as bad as they could be. Look at the AP calendars to see who is blocked out on what days and you could plan around that. If more are blocked out on Sat then Sun, the Sat may not be as bad. I'd also look at the price difference between your 2 day hopper and the 3 or 4 day and decide if it is worth the extra $ for the extra days. I have found that it usually is. If it only costs $20 or $30 more per day, that is worth even a partial day to me. You can also take advantage of fastpass on the crazy days. We also like to make reservations at some of the sit down restaurants and do those on the more crowded days. Finally, I try to watch the shows--Billy Hill, Tiki Room, and things like that on the busy days and do the rides that tend to have longer lines on the less crowded days. Have fun on your trip!

 

[Sherry E]

I seriously doubt the holiday/winter decorations will still be up on January 5 in 2010, sadly. I think that they will probably start coming down overnight January 3 (Sunday) into Monday morning, the 4th. So don't count on seeing those unless you can get to DLR before January 4th. As for adding days to your existing July trip - in my opinion, yes, weekend days are crowded and so you may have to deal with a lot of people, but summer in general is a time when lots of people are on vacation and out of school, etc. So the days you think will be less crowded may be bad too. There have been reports of Tuesdays being crazy in summer, so you never really know. I never think it is a bad idea to add days to a trip, no matter which days they are - unless you just cannot afford it - because it helps to have extra time to not feel rushed and be able to do everything you want to do. I would go with adding at least one day onto your July trip, if not two.

 

[mamaofthree]

Thanks for the replies. Okay, I checked ticket prices. The price diff between 2 day park hoppers and the 5 for 3 deal is $126 for all 4 of us. Well, 5, but ds is still free. Seems like a no brainer, even if it IS super busy. We can just do the shows and leisurely stuff on the busier days. Thanks for pointing that out ladies. Now I need to find hotel deals. Right now we are booked at the Fairfield for $119 a night. I think HoJo might be a bit cheaper if I book through Get Away Today, and then taxes are included too right?

 

[stampinshauna]

When we went in Feb, it was our first time with DD. We were so glad to have more days in the parks. That way we could take a break and relax and give her some down time. It was definitely worth the extra money to have the extra days for us. If one day is just too crowded, leave for a while and then come back. If you are considering HOJO vs Fairfield in July, I'd say go for the HOJO, it is a little farther to walk to, but they have a much better pool area that the kids will enjoy.

 

[vbecky]

I would say do what your family can expect the worse and then you might be suprised. I went last year third week in Aug when APs were allowed back in Mornings were fine mid afternoon it got busier but I myself still thought things were quite doable we were never not able to do what we wanted. We to Will be there this year July 26 - 31 can't wait! I am planning on it being busy and maybe I will get lucky!!! I am planning on going first thing in mornings and going from there but hey I will be in Disney!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!