Break time from parks...strategy

[labattblue]

I know those with little kids have no choice, but for those with older kids or adults with no kids, it seems to make more sense to go the parks and spend the entire day there. Why pay all that money to get in the parks and then go take a 4-5 hour break at your hotel room/pool.


What is your preference?

 

[halld6479]

every time we have gone with our teenage grandkids keep in mind we are in our 50's, it has been hot so we take a break in th eearly afternoon and run back over to SSR and get some tea and a potty break and pick the direction we want to go the rest of the day, it allows us to cool off for a few seconds and to set on the bus ride. we usually are not gone more then an hour then back to the park. It is just nice to get away from crowds for a bit.

 

[cdrn1]

In my younger days we would stay open-to-close at the parks. Now that I am a little older, it is my preference to go at opening, stay until about 1, go back and pool/rest, go eat dinner about 4 or 5 and back to a park until closing. Then maybe DTD until 11 or 12.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

Last time, it was all day long for us.

This time, it'll be different. Hubby will probably be off with DS8, while I trek back to the hotel for some quiet time with DS3.

I can't imagine that I would be gone for more than 3 hours or so. Which is still plenty of time in the parks, if you go when they open and stay until late.

 

[helenk]

I am in my 50s and do not need to take a break but I like to pace myself.
Generally I like to get an early start, I try to go to the park that has the early EMH, spend a few hours and then go back to the resort. Sometimes I swim at the pool for a while or just go back to the room and read. I'll grab a bite to eat at the food court and then head over to a park that will be open later in the evening.
My break is usually only a few hours not 4 or 5. When I travel in December I will take a break by visiting the hotels to see the decorations. My favorite break is going to the GF for the afternoon tea.

 

[jessily]

How we take breaks usually depends on the length of the trip. I have never traveled to WDW w/ kids, so that obviously makes things a little easier. If it's just a long weekend trip we usually go park commando the whole time, getting our "rest" during meals and shows. In 2 weeks I'll be visiting for almost a week so we will take 2 days to visit the other resorts, DD, etc.

I lived there for 4 months and still didn't get to see everything. While it's tempting to run around like crazy and do all our favorites when we visit, I realized a long time ago it's just not possible. Some of the most magical moments take place when you're people watching on a park bench With that in mind (on adult only trips) we are able to stay in the parks all day and still not get too worn out.

 

[windi622]

I've been going to WDW with my family since I was 7. I am now 24. The family has grown from my parents, me and my sister...to now including my husband and my sister's husband. In the begining we were kids, and we always took breaks during the mid day for lunch and a swim, probably because we couldn't keep up. Now we are all grown, and we still enjoy our afternoon breaks. I enjoy everything about WDW including relaxing afternoons by the pool. To me, I take a break because I can. I guess no two people do WDW the same, and that's what makes everyone's memories unique. For me, I enjoy a good balance of obnoxious crowds in the parks and splashing in the pool.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We have complete down days and we also leave a park around noon or alittle later and head back to the resort for a dip, lunch, drinks or nap. We're late 50's, children grown and gone, headed for our 40th trip in January, always stay deluxe, have AP's and stay no less then 9 nights. We enjoy all aspects of WDW, not just the parks but when we do the parks, with AP's we can pop in, see what we want, shop alittle, grab a favorite snack and head out. We picnic/party at our pool. Room rest to cool off more and maybe nap. We don't head back out till around 5 or 6, and most always to a different park. We like to catch each park for am hours and each parks for evening time to see it all. Ain't nothing popping over to EPCOT just for Illuminations and stopping at another resort for a lounge tour.

During our stay we do have a complete down day, that is no park, we might spend whole day at resort, pool, or pop over to DTD to get the shopping out of the way, usually end up at FW though, for beer and pizza, we most always are staying at WL and its a nice boat over and back and sometimes stop in at CR.

We use to go, go, go all the time when we were younger, had the kids and didn't stay very long. Taking the kids, runs the ticket price up plus food bill hence the shorter stays. Now just wife and I, stays are alot longer, its food and tickets times 2 and we have seen and done everything but like our favorites so we spend considerable time in the MK, again why we prefer WL, alittle time in MGM, bit more time than MGM in EPCOT and rarely go to AK. By taking WDW in little bites, enjoying the resort which we paid good money for, visiting other resort lounges that have nightly entertainment, and lounging for a few hours at our pool make Disney the ultimate place to vacation for us.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I voted other.

We hardly ever return to the room for a break. We only do that if we've spent the morning at a water park or DisneyQuest.

We tend to use lunch as our break time. We're at the park when they open for EMH. By 11:00-11:30 we're ready for a break so I always plan our ADRs for that time. By the time lunch is over, we're full, rested and ready to go again.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

I always try to take a 2-3 hour break...I never understood how people can go from 9am to 10pm, I just don't have that kind of energy, and I like to have fun and relax on my vacations at the same time. Plus by the end of the night I am so tired and my feet hur if I go 11-12 hours straight that I am no longer enjoying myself at all.

 

[J and R's mom]

I think it depends on how often you go to WDW. We tend to go once or twice a year and DEFINITELY take mid-day breaks--sometimes an hour...sometimes several hours.

If you only go to Disney every 5 years or so (or this is your first and only visit), I can see why folks might be inclined to go from dawn to midnight (or later) without a break. There's LOTS to see and do.

I LOVE my resort time, though. To me, it's a big part of my Disney experience, but that can depend on your resort. Some are nicer to relax at and have more to do than others.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Ddis 14 and for the past 3 years or so we do the Morning EMH until about 12 or 1 then a break . Now sometimes that going to a waterpark but we really relax and float around the lazy river for hours at a time.

Then it's back to the parks normally the Evening EMH. If we tried to do the entire day that would be from 8am until 2am some nights and that just doesn't make sence and the heat of the summer just adds to it.

Sometimes we will just go to the room for a quick nap and lunch as well.

 

[deekaypee]

I voted for the mid-day breaks, as that's the option I use most frequently. But depending on my length of stay and the time of year, etc., sometimes we'll take a day off. We'll get up late, have a character breakfast, and do some on-World activity we haven't yet tried. And for even longer stays we'll sometimes--gasp--go off-World.

I didn't always tour like this, though. I used to be a tour commando from open until close. (I'll never forget telling my banana-eating friend to "Eat your bananas! It'll help prevent leg cramps while running around Disney!")

It wasn't until after I met my DH that I learned the joy of stopping to smell the roses. He reminded me that we were on vacation, staying in nice hotel rooms that have comfortable beds, and we supposedly like each others' company! It's a good thing he's right, because I am inordinately fond of the Mouse.

 

[Elmo888]

Before kids, we would go all day for a few days and sleep in/return to the hotel in late afternoon on the days when we needed the rest. We went in January, though. If we were going in the hot summer months, we would probably go back to the resort for the hot afternoon.

And I just wanted to add another school of thought for the "going all day because you paid for it" theory. You also paid money for the resort (in some cases, a lot of money) whether you stay at values or mods or deluxes. Besides the obvious (pool, restaurants, bars, etc.), there is a lot to see at the resorts. The resorts are so well done. I don't feel like I'm "wasting money" if I am at my resort resting, exploring, eating, drinking, etc. As another poster said, the resorts are part of the Disney experience.

 

[silverhaze269]

I voted for 'other' too.

I've only been to WDW twice before, but both times we stayed "off-site" and couldn't just go back to the hotel for a mid-afternoon break. Well, we could have the last time, but the parks didn't stay open very late.

We just like to maxamize our time, so we just usually have our 'break' during lunch or whenever we eat. It might be different this time though, because we're staying longer than we have in the past, and we're on-site.

 

[lustergirl]

I voted for resting back at the resort but we usually only do this for a couple of hours then head back to the park for the evening magic hours. We are traveling solo this time without the boys so we will have lots of time to see great things as the both of us aren't into rides, only a few (can't miss Splash Mountain). We still tire out pretty quickly though!!

 

[deekaypee]

And I just wanted to add another school of thought for the "going all day because you paid for it" theory. You also paid money for the resort (in some cases, a lot of money) whether you stay at values or mods or deluxes. Besides the obvious (pool, restaurants, bars, etc.), there is a lot to see at the resorts. The resorts are so well done. I don't feel like I'm "wasting money" if I am at my resort resting, exploring, eating, drinking, etc. As another poster said, the resorts are part of the Disney experience.

I agree with this, especially after my first few trips (not to mention I'm older). When I take a beach vacation, I don't have to spend every minute in the water or even on the beach, to feel I've made the most of it. When I go to a major city, I don't try to pack in all the possible things I could see/do; I try to be selective. And if I gambled, I'm pretty sure winning wouldn't be part of the criteria I used for a good Vegas trip. (Unless I wanted to live with disappointment....)

There's so much to see/do in Disney that being rested enough to enjoy what I do choose to do, and feeling free to be selective in those choices, makes sense to me. Plus, sometimes I believe it's the littlest moments, those unplanned/unstructured times, that make me appreciate Disney better as a whole. I have very fond memories of eating at Aunt Polly's Landing on Tom Sawyer Island, just people watching and taking pictures. One year, I went with my friend's family, and his daughter's favorite memory was the pool. The pool she remembers; Dumbo, no recollection! (She was very young.)

So I guess what I love most about WDW is that Disney is like my favorite all-you-can-eat buffet. There are so many selections to choose from that I want it all. But I know that if I choose carefully, and indulge in reasonable portions, I will enjoy the experience much more than if try to cram it all in. (And I hope you all forgive my for that tortured metaphor.)

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

The hardest part for us is getting to and from the parks. Those long walks to get to and from the bus are what wear us down so taking a mid day break would be more trouble than it is worth. We tend to go later in the day, take our time and take it slow nowadays. We actually see more than we used to that way and have many more magical moments.

I say everyone should do what feels like fun for them and if one parent likes it slow while another likes it fast let the slow one sleep in and take a bus over to the designated park a bit later in the day and keep everyone happy!! If one parent is not happy there is a good chance that neither parent will get to go back anytime soon.

Make YOUR dream come true!!

Slightly Goofy

 

[5/4Disney]

I must say, we have never gone back to a resort to rest. Even when we've stayed on site. By the time you treck all the way back to the hotel the kids usually fall asleep on the bus We just make sure we have enough stroller room for them to sleep. I've done this with mine starting when they were less than a year old.

 

[Colleen27]

We have found that our kids hated doing mid-day breaks. They didn't want to leave the parks to go back to rest, and then they didn't want to leave the resort to go back to the parks. LOL.

We use a combination of strategies to keep everyone rested and happy. We like to use meals as our breaks within the parks - a nice, sitdown lunch or dinner is very refreshing, and doesn't take all the travel and hassle of a trip back to the resort. We usually plan a resort day or two, though that is as much because we're all swimmers and want the pool time as because we need the rest. And we stick to our normal schedule as much as possible when we travel, which means very few super-early mornings, and some late nights with sleep-in time the next day.