Afternoon Break: Yay or Nay?

[mshanson3121]

Curious as to what you prefer (especially those of you that travel in summer): Do you prefer to take an afternoon break, or just stay through?

 

[Dis703]

With kids yes, without I'd play it by ear. I might do fine planning a later lunch and more indoor attractions.

 

[capegirl]

We always do RD and take a break. This usually works out well in the summer when you can pretty much count afternoon storms.

 

[rteetz]

I think it depends on your length of the trip. If you are only there say 4-5 days then no I wouldn't take a break even in the summer. If you are there 6+ days then yes I think you can take a break because you have the time to do so. I feel time is very valuable at Disney and on a short trip I don't want to waste it.

 

[ghoulardi]

yay...

 

[disneymom0104]

Yes, especially with young kids and long trips. When we go to DL we often don't take a break, but the trip is much shorter. Even with the "wasted" time getting to and from the resorts, for us, the breaks are always worth it.

 

[Disneylover99]

Our afternoon breaks just turn into evening/nighttime breaks as well since everyone is just happy to hang out at the resort and swim.

 

[disney world dreamer]

if we need it we take an afternoon break inside the parks.
we just find a shaded bench, eat a snack in the a/c, or watch a show.

in the summer especially we don't tend to leave the parks because its extra tiring and you get extra sweaty just to walk out of the park to the bus stop and then once you get back to your room you just want to take a nap and not get back up lol.

if we leave a park mid day and go back to the resort its because we are done with that park for the day.

 

[asheleycs]

In the afternoon, it's 110 degrees with either the sun beating down on you or the whole of the Gulf of Mexico falling from the sky, there are ten people per square yard--half of whom are families yelling at each other because they need a nap, there is a 300 minute wait at whatever attraction you want to see, and it seems entirely rational to spend $20 on bottled water for your family.

Take the break.

 

[kschafer]

In the afternoon, it's 110 degrees with either the sun beating down on you or the whole of the Gulf of Mexico falling from the sky, there are ten people per square yard--half of whom are families yelling at each other because they need a nap, there is a 300 minute wait at whatever attraction you want to see, and it seems entirely rational to spend $20 on bottled water for your family.

Take the break.

What she said lol!!! Absolutely a break, the heat and crowds gets to be too much and people start to get cranky! A nap for hubby and a dip in the pool for the kiddos helps so much! Factor in the inevitable afternoon rain that is much nicer to wait out in your resort room. Head back after the showers end and it tends to be a bit cooler and have chased out the crowds. Summer hours are long making the afternoon break so much more feasible. No way I would attempt to go open to close that time of year!

 

[Magpie]

It's been many years since we travelled with kids, but my husband and I still love our afternoon naps. No matter the season, no matter the park hours, we always take an afternoon break. It's an integral part of our vacation for us, and the one time I tried skipping it, my husband fell asleep in Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Napping in the afternoon back at the resort works great for us, especially when combined with park hoppers. It means we get to enjoy both rope drop and evening shows and fireworks.

 

[CAS239]

AM park until about 11/noon, break for a few hours, then to the second park with fast passes already set up around 3/4pm and stay until close. That's how we do everyday at Disney

 

[Alesia]

We find that taking an afternoon break makes us more tired than just staying in the park. A break is just a momentum killer for us.

 

[VisionDisney]

We always break from the parks in the afternoon in the summer. We then head out again for dinner and parks around 6:30 or so. It makes it more enjoyable for everyone, especially me

 

[100acreHiker]

I say absolutely yes, especially if it's hot and if not a first trip and only trip. We go every year and are not commando about getting in as many rides as possible. For our kids, we've found that they are significantly less prone to mood swings and exhaustion if we head back to the resort and chill out for a bit in the room and then by the pool. Then we head back into a park for dinner and some night time attractions/fireworks.

 

[dkrauss]

My wife and I are both north of 50 our answer if Yay! Most especially when we're at a Deluxe resort. Its not a daily thing for us either. We're more apt to do it when we have park hoppers too.

For our upcoming November trip to AKV's we have several days where we're taking a break. On our first day our break will be a Trader Sam's at the Poly, a very adult orientated break Later in the trip we've thrown in a couple of afternoons at the pool for our niece and nephew (Its a great idea when younglings are along). We're doing a MVMCP during this trip and we'll do the morning and early afternoon at the resort (all though DS may be an option) to allow for rest so we can do the party from start to finish

A break period is a great way to restart the engines and enjoy resort amenities............we're big fans!

Doug

 

[mousefan73]

We don't. my mom who goes with us says it is more exhausting the back and forth.. We usually are late afternoon to close people. An afternoon break for us would mean be being at the park super early ( for us 9am) staying for 4 hours and a break for 4 and then hitting until close.. This means not hitting the sack until 11pm or midnight usually. No way after a day like this could we get back up for another early day.

My kids, nor us nap anymore... I can see a break working for families with smaller kids who NEED a nap and can make up for early mornings and late nights.

but what we do, do is the water parks first at 10am for a few hours and hotel to shower change, rest up and then a normal park... does this count?? Here we have a car and drive to the water parks,, super fast and easy with parking, fast in and out.

 

[DVCcurious]

We think it's a total waste of time. It takes an hour to leave MK, wait for a bus, and ride to your resort, then an hour to get from your resort to MK (unless your at GF, Poly, or Contemporary).

We choose either morning or evening and the do like 6 hours of park time. Our last trip in Spring Break we had dinner at Epcot at 4:30* and then walked to Beach Club and took a bus to MK and got there about 6:30 and stayed until 12:00 each night.

*No, we're not 80. Our 4:30 "dinner" was really lunch but it was our large meal at a nice Epcot restaurant. Then we had another meal about 9:00 at MK. And breakfast was at like 10:00 AM.

Why do I feel the need to justify my meal times to you?

 

[Shanti]

Yes, I recommend taking breaks in the summer.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We don't. We either go to rope drop and stay until we are beat or we go later if we are planning to stay late for fireworks etc. The only exception is if we are staying at a monorail or Epcot resort. Then we are more likely to go back at night even if we went in the morning. In the summer we always go to rope drop though and then try to make it back if we can because the weather so unpredictable.