Afternon break, or just stay?

[tinkerbella16]

I go in November and we always take an afternoon break each day! The weather not even as hot/humid as it is in the summer so I couldn't imagine not taking breaks in June. We are RD people, so we like to leave the park when it starts to get crowded between 12:30-1:30pm. Rest, swim and enjoy the resort and freshen up for the evening. This has always been our plan and having that rest midday, gives us more energy at night. I love the parks at night, it is like another world. So I would say yes go to the parks early and take an afternoon break and come back at night.

 

[nalajms]

I have a 5 & 2yo. I've stop doing the "go back for afternoon naps". They end up taking a power nap on the way back (we stay onsite), then both are wired by the time we get to our room. The only one that ends up napping is DH!!!

We power thru. Find a quiet spot for 2yo to nap in the stroller. I'll take the older one on stuff he wants to do. When we head out, it's without intention of returning that day.

For summers, I'll schedule indoor/shaded stuff for early afternoons. MK - Dumbo tent, tea cups, laugh floor, etc. HS - Beauty and the Beast, Indian Jones.

 

[SunkistJoy]

We stay offsite also, and our kiddos are 11, 11, 9, 7 & 5. What we did this time (1st week of March) was go at RD and stay all day. During the afternoon we tried to watch shows or do nice calm things where we were off our feet. And we did RD (or w/in a 1/2 hr of RD) to close. Some nights we left at 9, when Epcot closed, w/o going to MK for those final few hours, but we stayed until at least the park we were in closed...and at times hopped to a later closing park.

But, what allowed us to do this, is that we only went to the parks every other day. So on our off days, we just hung out at our villa, swam, relaxed, etc. Of course it wasn't as hot as it will be in June, so I'm sure that will make a difference. We also opted to rent a stroller from WDW. We probably could have done w/o it, but going late into the night, we wanted the youngest 2 to be able to sit and rest if they needed to (which they did).

For us, it was the best of both worlds, and I will try to schedule all our days at WDW like this from now on.

 

[staceyeileen]

I wouldn't take an afternoon break, but I also wouldn't do 12-8pm. You'd miss the low RD crowds and arrive at the park just in time for the peak crowds/heat. Not my idea of a good time. With no break, I'd probably do RD until 3 or 4pm.

 

[starsweeper]

We go in October most often but still prefer to hit rope drop, have lunch and head back to the resort for 2-3 hours. We usually return to the park between 4-5pm and ride a few things with everyone, then DH returns to the room with our 3 & 4yos while the 8yos and I stay until close around 11pm. It's nice to have a couple hours of calm and be off your feet during the day, and kids love the pools.

 

[Ava]

For me, the afternoon heat is unbearable. It's difficult to enjoy the parks. For my family, that time is best spent not at the park, despite the transportation annoyances.

This is us, too. I joke that my girls are wilting flowers, but they really do not do well for long periods in the extreme heat. Our best days on our last trip were when we got to the parks early (either pre-park ADR or rope drop), went back to the hotel after lunch, then returned to the parks in the evening for dinner/more rides/nighttime entertainment. If it doesn't make sense to do the RD/hotel break/evening schedule, like at AK when the park closes at 5pm, I like doing a lunch ADR (or a nice indoor, air-conditioned CS lunch); if we do that, we can usually make it to 5-6pm without going back to the room.

 

[Cyrano]

We always take a break going in June and July. This might be because the girls want to get some outlet shopping in or relaxing at the pool.

We tend then to park hop to another park in the evening and find that we are much more refreshed. Whilst I admire those that can last for a full day it is often easy to spot those that have reached their meltdown spot

Another family favourite option is to visit some of the other resorts.

 

[Kristina4109]

We stayed onsite in June and even though the transportation to and from the parks were excellent and we planned on taking mid afternoon breaks, we only did this three out of our nine park days. The other days we took breaks IN the parks. We tried to plan it so that we were indoors in the air conditioning sitting down when it was hottest. This could mean a restaurant, a show, anyplace we could put our feet up.

 

[rtbreneman]

We always take an afternoon break for several reasons.

1. Our kids need it. We hit RD and usually want to close the park, and they can't make it for 12 or 13 hours. There's got to be a break in there.
2. Those hot afternoons are usually the busiest times of the day. I want to limit my line waiting as much as possible, so we plan to hit the parks early and hard, take off some time, and then re-hit the parks in the evening until close.
3. We stay on property with our own vehicle, so the drive time is not bad at all. Even with disney transportation, the travel back and forth is manageable.

 

[cherice95403]

We are planning to park hop each day with a break. RD to around 11 at one park and then a swim break and lunch at the AKL and afternoon at a different resort. This is allowing up to take advantage of the early morning openings without dealing with the heavy afternoon crowds there

 

[wahoostampingirl]

It really depends on your family. Last time we went in the summer was Aug. 2011. We were staying offsite at Windsor Hills, so pretty close to the parks. I wanted to do the break in the afternoon, but every time we tried, it was a struggle to get my dh and ds back to the parks in the evenings. They just wanted to stay at the house once we got there.

We are going this June and I think we will probably just do RD to whenever we're ready to leave. Or go in much later, planning to stay to close. I find that a break day in the middle of the vacation is more beneficial for us. We sleep late on that day, hang out at the pool and maybe go to DTD.

 

[PixieT78]

When we went last time (our only other time), we did not do breaks at all. We would be at rope drop/EMH and stay there until we left for a late dinner. By the second last day of our trip, we were ready to drop - we bailed at about 4, skipping MSEP and Wishes which we had really wanted to see, grabbed a slice of pizza at the resort and crashed at about 8. This was a 32 year old and a 39 year old in late September (although it was in the 90s). This time we're doing a mix of late starts, early evenings (or at least evenings away from the parks), afternoon breaks and one very short day. I have a feeling we'll still end up exhausted by the end though.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

What are your plans for food? When we've stayed offsite, we do that type of schedule, eat lunch and dinner outside of the parks during our down time and it saves a ton of money. We enjoy a break in the middle of the day so we can stay late when it's dark and cool and much less crowded since people wear out earlier in the day.

 

[Kayabee]

We're going the last week of June - HOT and busy. We're staying off-site, about a 12-15 minute drive from the TTC. Traveling with two children, 8 & 5. We're looking at two options:

1. Do a 12-8 type day, where we just try and do indoor rides/shows as much as possible during the afternoon.

2. Take an afternoon break where we go back to our house and nap/swim (we have a private pool). We would arrive at RD, probably leave the park around 12:30 and plan on being back around 5:00, stay till 8:30ish. After travel time we would probably end up having 2.5-3 hours at the house. Is that worth it?

I wouldn't do a break because by the time I was back at the house and done swimming I wouldn't want to get back in the car, drive, park and get to the park. I'd probably do RD and stay 8+ hours and go back to the house. On a couple nights, I'd go later and stay later.

 

[misse320]

I probably wouldn't take a break if we stayed off site. Seems like too much wasted time. One strategy I've used the last few years is to book late TS lunches instead of dinners. This gets you out of the heat and crowds at the peak time of the day. Then, when everyone else sits down to dinner, you can hit the rides.

Even staying onsite, sometimes when we take an afternoon break I don't have any motivation to head back to the park.

 

[fairy oma]

We stay onsite and always try to take an afternoon break. DGDs take naps and then are fresh for the evening Wishes or Illuminations or if we are so lucky, MNSSHP of MVMCP or we go for a swim.

 

[Delilah1310]

We are two adults and DS7, and we do a bit of a combo.
The first two or three days, we do full days - everyone has loads of energy and is so pumped to be there.
By day three or four, the new-ness has worn off and we start to feel a little more tired, so we either do a half day in a park and afternoon/evening at resort, or go back to a park in the evening for nighttime-specific entertainment.
we always stay on property, so I'm not sure about factoring the transportation from and back to a park.

 

[mombrontrent]

We don't rope drop. My DH works nights so is not used to being up early an my DS15 is a night owl and hates mornings. I am happy if we make it to the parks by 10:30 (they would prefer to roll in after lunch). We will stay until park close though wether that is 9pm or midnight. We might do one park during the day, leave for dinner and do another park until close. We also only are planning 5 park days in our 9 full days. Other days will be water parks, DTD, resort pool time etc.

 

[ariane37]

It's so much of a depends-on-your-family question. We'd never done breaks, before kids or with. When they were little they fell asleep in their strollers when they were tired and we left parks when DH and I were ready.

Last Aug. was our first summer trip, and since I DETEST sweating I planned to return to our resort almost every day - for me Honestly I did figure everyone would need a rest from the heat and since we go often I didn't think we'd miss that time in the parks. I also scheduled our TS meals as lunch rather than dinner which was awesome A/C at the hottest time of day. Anyway, DS's swam the 1st day we returned for a break. The other days they didn't want to, and we ended up sitting in our room for an hour and then going, "ok, let's go back to the parks!" Two days of that & we gave up and did indoor stuff or shopped while it was really hot. Wasted too much time going back and forth when it wasn't needed (and FYI we all handled the heat better than we thought).My point here is, if you think you may want breaks, plan them into your day and try it once or twice, but be open to throwing that out the window and staying in the parks.

FWIW I agree 12-8 just puts you in the heat and crowds and rather than chilling during the hottest hours, you'll want to be doing attractions b/c you'll have just gotten there.

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

We're going the last week of June - HOT and busy. We're staying off-site, about a 12-15 minute drive from the TTC. Traveling with two children, 8 & 5. We're looking at two options:

1. Do a 12-8 type day, where we just try and do indoor rides/shows as much as possible during the afternoon.

2. Take an afternoon break where we go back to our house and nap/swim (we have a private pool). We would arrive at RD, probably leave the park around 12:30 and plan on being back around 5:00, stay till 8:30ish. After travel time we would probably end up having 2.5-3 hours at the house. Is that worth it?

We have stayed on sight and off site. We stayed off site early on when the kids were young and we were still paying off our school loans . Even though we would have to drive back and forth from the TTC the children needed the rest and, in my opinion, a break from the huge amount of stimulation( not to mention my need for a lounge chair and a cold brew). That being said, taking a break in the middle of the day has become part of a day at WDW for our family. We do really enjoy the fact that staying on-sight makes this much easier but, even if we stay off site in the future a mid day break will always be pert of our day.