All Day At The Parks??

[tinkgurl]

Has anyone stayed all day at the parks from opening to closing? If so, what all did you do there throughout the day? Thanks!

 

[Snoopygirl]

DH & I went by ourselves last May and we did stay all day a couple of times. Once was Epcot. We got there early for EMH and stayed all day. It was nice because we saw and did everything at our own pace. We also did MK all day. We had the KTTK tour in the morning and then stayed the rest of the day. There is so much to do!!

We are going again this Sept. w/ our 6 & 2 yr. old. Not sure if we will make it all day, though. We may have to go back in the afternoon for a break and swim and relax for a bit.

Have fun!!

 

[LISAMWDW]

Yes, all the time! We enjoy the park all day! We dine and enjoy the attractions!

 

[AnaheimGirl]

We usually do this. We always intend to go back to the hotel for a swim and/or nap, but we're having too much fun when we're in the parks and don't want to leave. We take a lot of breaks. Leisurely meals in air-conditioning. Time spent sitting on benches, people-watching and eating Mickey-bars. It isn't all go-go-go, so it doesn't wear us out to do it.

 

[Hannathy]

We always stay all day. I don't think I have ever left a park before closing,esp. at MK it is my favorite time of day. Same thing for the water parks.

 

[tinkgurl]

Thanks! Anymore stories?

 

[my_try]

My family and I were at Magic Kingdom from open 'til close when we were there last June. It was Mon., June 13th to be exact and it was very hot out (like 96 degrees). We took lots of air conditioning breaks and let the kids play in the water over by Mickey's house. Believe-it-or-not, we never repeated any rides. It took the whole 13 hours to get through the entire park!

Kathy

 

[drewswife]

When we go in the off season when it is not incredably hot we always stay all day. We don't have to rush because the lines are not bad, we sit and people watch on Main street. We hit all the parades and shows. It is a great way to go. Unfortunately my kids are older and I can't take them out of school so we either go in the summer (when it is Hot!!!) and a mid day swim is necessary or during school breaks when the middle of the day is so crowded we tend to leave.

 

[cinderkelli]

We just got back and stayed all day at every park. I had an itenerary of everything we wanted to do, as far as rides, restaurants, things to look at etc. I had reservations to eat places most of the time, but the rest of the time we just rode rides, watched shows, ate and shopped! There was PLENTy to fill up a day for us. We even had to miss some stuff.

 

[laura001]

Yes, we generally spend all day in the park, sometimes we hop to another park but not as a general rule. We usually stay for a nice dinner and also the fireworks. There is so much to see and do, you have to stop and "smell the roses" while you are there.

 

[Disney's Fab 4]

We have gone 2 times with our family, DH and 2 DS, now 10 & 8 but the first time we went Sept `03 DS were 5 & 7 and we stayed all day every day... we had a blast... Myself and DH were pooped but DS probably could have stayed another week!!! We did this the second time Oct `05 as well... We had a great time.... I think there is so much to do even just walking through each park and looking around.... However the first time when we went to Epcot we did rent a stroller at first kids were saying I'm not a baby... By 10am both kids were up for the ride.. So was I

 

[lisaross]

we're doing our 1st family trip late August and i know it will be hot -- its me DH and 2 boys 4 & 6. I'm planning on staying in the parks for 3/4 of a day -- either morning till dnr or late afternoon till fireworks. Most seem to think i'm crazy.............BUT i know we won't come back once hitting the hotel - even though we are staying on-site. Obviously we won't be doing it commando style - we'll take lots of breaks let the kids get wet eat shop etc.....

lisa

 

[cdntourguide]

I nearly always spend each day at a park from opening to closing. (or darn close to closing.)
I like to ride each ride or attraction at lease twice: some like Buzz Lightyear BTMRR and "Wedway People Mover" at least six times. I spend a lot of time pin trading, going through every store, and just enjoying the people walking by.
Usually have two meals in the park.
Find nice places to sit and watch people go by.
When at MK: go walk Push for a while
When at AL: find Devine and the talking palm tree
Epcot is great because lots of places to sit and watch people go by. Also, I really like to watch the main waterfountain go through its acts.

 

[WDWguru]

For NYE a few years ago, DH and I got to Epcot for early open (at 7 am) and stayed until close (1 am)! We came prepared, got a locker and had a blast! We ran and did the rides we wanted to do first, before it got insanely crowded, then went back to the World Showcase for most of the day. We made dining reservations for lunch and dinner at sit-down restaurants and took our time there. We sat on benches for hours and just watched people. We explored every pavilion in detail (or tried - there were still things we didn't get time to do that day) and went through our hidden mickey book and found tons of them. We ate dinner during the early Illuminations, then came out and camped out our usual spot for the midnight show, taking turns getting snacks and going to the bathroom. We took our pedometer, and even with all the lounging we did we walked more than 11 miles that day. It was a total blast!

 

[Simba22]

we always stay all day as well...And we do MGM twice, all day both times! we can ride the rides as many times as we want and not get frustrated that we are "wasting time" in line...we can walk through the park instead of running from one attraction to the next...we can stop and eat or cool off if want to and have time to do everything we want to do. Last year we didn't have the benefit of EMH so we missed Soarin', the Living Seas, and a couple countries in Epcot, and we were STILL there all day!! We took our time walking through all the shops, stopping to take pictures, chat with cast members, pin trading, hidden mickey huntingn and just enjoy being there.

 

[PIXARFREAK]

as a kid on vacation, we always stayed all day.

in 2003, i was with my DH, DS3-1/2, DS5months, brother and mom.

i prepared everyone, that if kiddies got tired, we would go and come back later.
we never needed to leave and stayed through the fireworks! We had a great time!

I plan to stay all day each of the 4 days in September!

 

[DaniDownUnder]

A friend and I stayed at MK from opening to closing in June 2003. We spent all day doing shows, riding rides (repeatedly), watching parades, etc.... STILL didn't manage to do EVERYTHING! *lol* We started to flag around 7pm...but that was when it started to bucket, and the humidity while waiting in line was TERRIBLE. So we then hid in Pinnochio's for a hour drinking coffee, having a nibble and people watching.

Granted, we were wrecked the next day. These days, I think I'm getting too old for that kind of all day running around in the summer heat. So when we go in July we're scheduling a midday break at the resort...so that we don't burn the candle at both ends. *lol*

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Oh that sounds great. We'll be going in november so I won't have heat to deal with , so it sounds like I can definately do all day at the parks. I wasn't sure if we could but seeing all who did, it sounds good. And i'll have dinner reservations with characters to break up the day too. All day at the parks will def. be my plan(all though we all know when you have kids you need a backup plan)

 

[nluvwithmickey]

This is what we always do. And it is for that same reason that we stay in a value resort.....we are never there!


I love getting to the parks in time for the opening and leaving after the nightime shows.

The only park that I don't stay until closing is AK. We usually leave after the afternoon parade. By that time, we have pretty much seen and done everything.

I'm like most other, I prefer taking it easy and staying in the parks all day than going back and forth to the resort. I'm not big on park hopping either....