Afternon break, or just stay?

[DisneyFive]

We stayed with kids the same age as yours... but there's nothing wrong with leaving if you need to.

We tried the afternoon break option, but it was more work than it was worth for us. Didn't gain us anything.

Dan

 

[librarymom2007]

Every family is different, but we find that taking an afternoon break makes us more tired than just staying all day, especially if there's swimming involved. Once we hit the pool we're done for the day.

Agree. Once we leave we are done for the day.

 

[JennyMP03]

I never considered an afternoon break until I took my 20-year-old cousin last year. After being up for RD, she wanted to relax by the pool. I was wary of losing park time at first, but it was wonderful. RD each morning, back to the resort for pool/nap/shower after lunch, and off to a different park around 5. It was so much more relaxing than staying all day, and we didn't miss anything we wanted to do. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the pool time, as well. I wish I were lounging by the Hippy Dippy pool right now!

One day, we woke up at 9:30 and didn't get to AK until 10:30. It was already hot and crowded. We stayed in the park until about 5, and we were both miserable.

For us, RD and afternoon break was definitely the way to go! And trust me, I am not one to willingly wake up early if there is any other viable option. Those first two hours after RD are so worth it.

 

[SplashMo]

I would say rope drop. Take a break as needed... Showing up at noon sounds like a bad idea... However it will work in AK and DHS fairly well... MK rope drop for sure...

That said we Rope Drop and no break. Even when the kids were young...

 

[IndyRnRfan]

Lots of good info on here. I say just try whatever you think will work best for you the first day or two and then switch it up with something different the next day or two and compare. Our son was 8 when we first took him, only time we went back to the hotel was to get ready for dinner. We usually hopped in the pool for a cool down and then readied ourselves for dinner. We then stayed until closing time many nights. If he was 5, I don't think we could have done that all day. Being at the parks for 12-14 hours wasn't anything for him at 8 years old though.