Anyone do short stays and go more often?

[KSR0330]

We've visited 2 times over the past 2 years, staying 6 nights each time. I'm thinking about going for 3 night, but 2 times next year. Does anyone do this? I think one of the advantages is getting more of a chance to stay in different resorts (I'm really not interested in split stays. It just seems like too much work to me!). We could also go during less bust times, since I won't take the kids out of school for a week, but I will for a Friday and Monday for a long weekend. I'd love some input from others who have done this!

 

[OKW Lover]

Before we moved to FL, we used to do exactly that. With AP's and DVC, all we needed to do was find a good price for flights. We did stays as short as 3 nights and as long as a week. It got to the point where we were going (from MA) 5 times a year.

 

[wilkeliza]

Yes we live a flight away but can find decent deals on airfare. Also two adult with no children. So we often go after work on a Thursday and then are in the parks Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

 

[NH-to-FL]

DW and I find the overheard of the travel not worth it for short trips. We are not what you would call travelers so the stress of the travel takes a day or two to subside. For many years we did one, 1 week trip a year. As interest and finances improved we upped that to a slightly longer trip and then two, 1 week trips. I think the shortest trip we ever made was 6 nights.

Everyone is different.

Of course now we snowbird there so be aware of what this Disney obsession can turn into.

 

[nursejackie]

Oh I wish we could! As we come over from England we only come once a year but we do get to come for 16-17 days (all WDW). It feels like a lifetime between trips though

 

[hsmamato2]

over the years,we have taken trips as along as 12-13 days onsite (yep we're crazy lol) but as our family grew up,and got other interests (like traveling to other places too) we have cut our time down per trip,usually due to busy schedules. Our last visit was 4 nights ,5 full days of fun,and it felt just perfect! we get air deals for cheap or free on points,which makes it possible. Without those, I'd stay longer,as travel is $$$ for just a short trip.

 

[gatorlisa]

All of my trips are long weekend trips. The last 3 have been 4 nights with 3 days in the parks, and have also done 3 nights with 2 days in the parks, always with hoppers. While I love Disney, there are also a lot of other places I like to go with my limited vacation time, so long weekends are a good way to get my Disney fix without having to allocate too many of my vacation days to a Disney trip. Most of the time we do this just once a year, but this year we did two long weekend trips, both during somewhat less busy times (though today's definition of less busy is quite different from what it was 10 years ago). This is what works best for us at this point.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

For us, we do the exact opposite.

Flights out of Canada are ridiculously expensive so when we shell out the $$ for that we make the most of our time in Florida. Our upcoming trip is 13 nights.

 

[KSR0330]

It's actually cheaper for us to fly down and back twice during less popular times then it is once during a school break. I can get flights for about 100. each way during "off" times but pay about 350. each way if it's during a school vacation.

 

[lovin'fl]

We prefer shorter stays. First, it is difficult for DH to miss work for very long and second, it is not a super relaxing vacation so long trips can be exhausting (we once did 12 nights and came home needing a vacation). Plus it's nice to not have to wait a whole year, or more, to get back to WDW.

 

[Mome Rath]

We've visited 2 times over the past 2 years, staying 6 nights each time. I'm thinking about going for 3 night, but 2 times next year. Does anyone do this? I think one of the advantages is getting more of a chance to stay in different resorts (I'm really not interested in split stays. It just seems like too much work to me!). We could also go during less bust times, since I won't take the kids out of school for a week, but I will for a Friday and Monday for a long weekend. I'd love some input from others who have done this!

This is the only way I go as I can't be away from home for large chunks of time. Love going down there this way. I used to be able to get a 10 day pass with no expiration and use it many many times... but they took that away. lol I enjoy being there a shorter time, and as you said, I get to stay different places.

 

[gatorlisa]

This is the only way I go as I can't be away from home for large chunks of time. Love going down there this way. I used to be able to get a 10 day pass with no expiration and use it many many times... but they took that away. lol I enjoy being there a shorter time, and as you said, I get to stay different places.

We also made use of the 10-day no-expire tickets. I just used my last 3 days up on my last pass a week ago. I was so bummed when I learned they had eliminated the no-expire option. I live about a 7 hour drive away in Georgia and those 10-day NE tickets were a wonderful way to bring the per day cost down for a 3-day trip. Had I been on Disney message boards early last year or late the year before and gotten wind that the option might be going away, I would have purchased a few to lock in several years worth of long Disney weekend trips. But, I wasn't on message boards back then and had no idea the option had been eliminated until last fall when I started doing some research on an upcoming trip. I think we'll continue to do our trips the same way, with long weekends of 3-days in the park, but we'll have to learn to accept the much higher per-day cost.

 

[Mome Rath]

I grabbed one more 10 day no expire from Undercover Tourist before they disappeared and have used one day on it so far... hoping to make it last! I too am going to find it harder to drop more money for those short trips!

 

[china mom]

Before my 84 year old mother moved in with us, we loved the short trip but now, it is such a hassle and takes so long to get her back and forth (and eats so much time while we are there) we haven't been able to do that so much.

The whirlwind trips seemed to frustrate my daughter because she didn't feel she had enough time to make the travel days worth it. I guess she got over that because she went for a one day trip with me this past spring.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Yep went 7 times last year usually 3-4 days. We are DVC so hotel costs are not an issue. I have SWA companion pass DH flies free with me so we pay 50% for our flights. We have been 5 times this year with a few more trips in the future. With a DVC Gold AP at the cost of $496 you can't beat our ROI on it

 

[NuJoy]

We buy AP's every other year. On the year we have them, we stagger our 10 to 11-day Fall trips to get two long trips in the same year. We also take 1 to 2 shorter trips in between. We are also DVC and drive in overnight from NC so it is decently inexpensive to wedge a long weekend in here and there.

 

[10MoreMinutes]

I prefer several shorter trips for a couple reasons. First, I only live 4 hours north of WDW, so it's easy for me to take a long weekend and drive. Second, I'm a "go-go-go" kind of person and don't like having downtime when I'm at WDW and I find that I can do that best when it's only 2-4 or so days. Anything more than that and I start getting tired and cranky.

 

[Accident]

I had always taken shorter trips until I changed how I went to disney and then I could afford to go longer. There is something about a short trip and coming more frequently, especially during a time when a lot of things are changing that is special in it's own way. One big plus is waiting for the perfect airfare and finding a quick 3 or 4 day weekend to get down, enjoy what you love and go back home refreshed. I think the art of the weekend getaway has been lost lately and it seems to be about getting as much time as you can to cram in as much as you can do, being disney or another destination.

A short trip is better than no trip, and a lot of short trips means you can experience a lot of different things that happen at different times of year.. (and hopefully you don't end up like me where the longing for things I've never done turned into moving here so it was easier to experience them).

 

[alliecat523]

We do it all the time. Similar to what others said we find flight deals on SW, use our AP for a room discount and off we go for a long weekend.

We typically get the first flight out and take the last flight back to maximize our time. We easily get everything done that we want to do.

 

[glassslippergirl]

This is how we do Disney, and I really enjoy it as it breaks up our regular routine and gives me something to look forward to. I also find the shorter trip less stressful. We wear ourselves out for 2 days, then head for home. Of course, I live three hours away, so travel cost is just a tank of gas. We also take advantage of FL resident ticket perks-- our tickets need to be used within six months rather than 14 days. I can see that short trips wouldn't make sense economically for a lot of people, but it works for us in a lot of ways.