Breaks in middle of day and/or in middle of trip

[rotlex]

I know many are in favor of taking mid day breaks. I'll be blunt. Even with young kids, we never take mid day breaks, but rather, plan an "open day" during our stay, maybe two depending on the length of the stay, to simply swim, hang our at the resort, DTD or somewhere outside the parks.

Our reasoning? Mid day breaks are impossible for us. By the time we leave a park, get back to the hotel and back to the room, it's time to head back to the park already. We tried doing this on our last trip, and it is the last time we will ever do it. If we "need" a break, we simply find a nice indoor air conditioned attraction, restaurant or show, and take a break there. Even after multiple visits to WDW over the past years, I just think stopping in the middle of the day to go back to a hotel is a complete waste of time.

No offense meant to anyone that does this of course, it is just our experience. For reference, we have a 6 year old and an 8 month old. Our last trip was this past June, and the kids did just fine without the mid day breaks, by simply taking it easy, and not going commando etc.

 

[Planogirl]

We like to leave the parks early a few days (and we don't go back) or we might not arrive later on in a few cases. This only works if you have several days to do things which you do. I also like to be offsite here and there just to see other things.

WDW is tiring to me because of the crowds and running back and forth and it's nice to go somewhere more relaxing. It doesn't have to be the room of course.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It really depends on a lot of factors for us. We have two kids that are 9 and 3. The younger one can nap in her stroller fine. We usually just play it by ear. The beginning of the week we are fine without midday breaks. By the last 2-3 days we do take them. Everyone is starting to get tired and we enjoy the down time.

If we go when park hours are short no we usually don't leave.

If we do an 8 am ADR and then plan to attend PM EMH at another park (depending on the EMH park and time) yes we do a midday break.

I always do a day off mid trip and we go for 8 days. That day usually consists of a bit of sleeping in, a pirate cruise for the kids and then we hit the pool or a water park and then dinner that night.

 

[megrod74]

I forgot to say that my oldest has only slept in her stroller 1 or 2 times in her life so that really drove us to taking breaks at the hotel. It's much easier if they sleep in the stroller!

 

[alleghator]

I forgot to say that my oldest has only slept in her stroller 1 or 2 times in her life so that really drove us to taking breaks at the hotel. It's much easier if they sleep in the stroller!

Oh, is it ever! My kids never could sleep in the stroller.

 

[Mickey Gator]

It would be wonderful if every child at WDW had a brake in the day so the meltdowns that ensue in the evening would stop. How wonderful it would be if the sounds of whining and crying kids (who were not given the option to take a nap by their "we have to do everything in one day" parents)stopped, and all the patrons of WDW could enjoy their visit. And this is coming from a parent.

 

[dyna]

We always take breaks mid afternoon unless it's a rare day that we slept in lounged around then went to parks at dinner time. That has only happened one visit that was this past June with triple digit heat indexes all week. It was just to hot to go to the parks till the sun started going down.

Usually when we go during the cooler months the days that parks close early we go to DD or tour the other resorts on monorail etc usually don't buy park hoppers.

We also don't usually take the day breaks the few times we did take 1 day break mid stay DH was not content to take things as easy as I would have liked an seemed we ended up doing just as much walking anyway.

I'm going to suggest something no one else has suggested I think it might be a good idea for your family to split up in the am most mornings. Say Dad goes with the older ones 1 morning at the MK an Mom stay in Fantasyland with the littles then next time at MK switch then do a 3rd morning at MK everyone pretty much staying together or start out together 1st time an then do the sharing off later in stay that way EVERYONE in family gets the full benefit of the park.

Maybe split up some at DS too big kids will want to do the rollercoaster an ToT that littles can't but there are some shows there for the littles that the big ones might not be interested in.

It not so much an issue at the AK or Epcot.

 

[LisaInNc]

I am a firm believer of taking breaks even when the park hours are shorter. To me being in the parks when we are tired, hot and cranky is just not what I want on a vacation. We break every day for a few hours and take a manditory nap. My child is always refreshed and ready for a long evening. Between DTD, The Boardwalk, swimming and EMH there is plenty for us to do after the parks close.

Having a rental car really helps because we can get out of the parks and back to the room pretty quickly.

We also take a day off in a weeks vacation. We sleep in, swim, go to DTD and just take it easy.

One valuable lession I learned in parenting is my daughter has a limit. We all do.It's that point right before we melt down. For adults it's a lot higher than with little kids. When I am respectful of her limitations...for example how long she can sit still in a restaurant, or how late she can stay up....things go sooooo much smoother.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We always take breaks mid afternoon unless it's a rare day that we slept in lounged around then went to parks at dinner time. That has only happened one visit that was this past June with triple digit heat indexes all week. It was just to hot to go to the parks till the sun started going down.

Usually when we go during the cooler months the days that parks close early we go to DD or tour the other resorts on monorail etc usually don't buy park hoppers.

We also don't usually take the day breaks the few times we did take 1 day break mid stay DH was not content to take things as easy as I would have liked an seemed we ended up doing just as much walking anyway.

I'm going to suggest something no one else has suggested I think it might be a good idea for your family to split up in the am most mornings. Say Dad goes with the older ones 1 morning at the MK an Mom stay in Fantasyland with the littles then next time at MK switch then do a 3rd morning at MK everyone pretty much staying together or start out together 1st time an then do the sharing off later in stay that way EVERYONE in family gets the full benefit of the park.

Maybe split up some at DS too big kids will want to do the rollercoaster an ToT that littles can't but there are some shows there for the littles that the big ones might not be interested in.

It not so much an issue at the AK or Epcot.

We did that one morning in MK. I stayed in Fantasyland with DD and DH took DS to ride some rides.

Also we don't go during high peak times or during the extreme heat so not taking a midday break when we are in the parks 9-7 isn't a big deal. My DD does fine.

 

[fla4fun]

Mid day breaks - it depends. It depends on the time of year (summer/winter), whether I'm using EMH (longer day=necessary break time), how many days I'm there (shorter trip - mid day break, longer trip - day long break).

I find if I'm there when it's really hot, I take advantage of morning and evening EMH more often to stay out of the hottest part of the day. I'll go back to the resort, shower and freshen up, have a leisurely lunch or early dinner, then I'm ready to tackle the parks in the evening. If it's cooler weather, I'm more likely to either leave the park early or arrive late, rather than taking a mid day break.

I always take at least one day out of a week or longer trip for a down day. For example, I'll be there August 4-14, and I'll probably use Sunday or Monday for my down day, depending on the weather forecast. I don't travel with children, so my down day is usually spent enjoying and photographing the resort, and maybe buying a new book at the gift shop (my guilty vacation pleasure ). If I see on the extended forecast that there's going to be a particularly bad weather day (extremely hot, extremely wet, etc.) I try to work my down day around it. If I'm there for less than a week, say 5 days, I'd be more likely to take a mid day break and not a down day.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Like many others, I suggest midday breaks and full days off from the parks to do other things like the pool, mini golf, shopping at DTD, etc. I think changing it up each day (some days sleep in and close the parks, some days wake up early and leave in late afternoon, some days take a midday break and then go back out at night, some days take the whole day off from parks), is your best bet. You have plenty of time to see it all!

 

[kidsrfun]

I'm a firm believer in midday breaks. When the kids were young AND as they grew up, we always took breaks. When they were young, they'd nap. Sometimes not the first day or two of the trip (too excited), but as the trip went on, they got more and more tired and they'd fall asleep more easily. What I found was that even if they didn't nap, they would rest on the bed, watch a disney movie, hydrate, and just unwind. It was cool, dark, quiet, and much needed! It did they SO MUCH good in the evenings. We were the 'be there at rope drop / leave at noon, back around 4, and stay until close' type of family. Also, we always took a day completely off around midweek. We'd go to dtd, resort hop, play minigolf, swim, etc. It was always a great day and if we didn't nap, it seemed like we'd always get to bed a little earlier on that night. Even this trip, when it's just my dh and I for the first time EVER, we're taking midday breaks and off days during the trip. We just can't imagine going all day and all evening too. Maybe we're just getting old!

 

[SuperTink]

We take breaks, and we go off peak. We also do the AM EMHs. There's always something to do at night. So it makes sense for us. I think it all depends on your family, their ages, and your touring style. Do what feels right for your family, not what anyone says it "right."

 

[tefrench]

Our family went in June which was super hot, and even my 9 year old son needed a rest. It really helped us enjoy our visit a lot more. We saw an awful lot of hot, tired, cranky kids, and I was so glad that we took breaks every day. Plus it helped keep mom happy! Just do what works for your family.

 

[BillyBuckner]

It seems like the vast majority of responders believe that the mid-day break is still pretty important in the slow time of year.

So I have a followup question: Do you think that the 'break' needs to consist of going back to the room and laying on the bed or lounging around the resort? Or would one of the ideas below be a sufficient break.

a.) Boat from MK to WL. Take in lunch, leisurely look around the resort.
b.) Same thing but to a monorial resort
c.) Same thing with Epcot/DHS and one of the Epcot resorts
d.) Go sit for a leisurely lunch then sit in a long, boring and restful attraction (or string a couple back to back) and try to count that as a break (Energy Adventure, Hall of Presidents, etc).

Do any of these help as 'breaks' or is the room and the bed important?

 

[rdearth]

I think breaks are only needed when the hours are long and the temperatures are high.

But, be flexible.

Basically, as you probably know, the 4 year old will decide when and where the breaks take place and it will probably be in his stroller. That could be at 10 am, 2 pm, 8 pm, there's no telling. Just because you as a family decide to go back to the hotel at say 2 pm every day, that doesn't mean that young children know that's the time to relax and calm down.

So, I would keep the idea of taking a break in your mind, but not put it into the official planning schedule.

I think either of your plans for the two weeks are fine, but again, if possible, I would keep it as flexible as I could as well. You never know for certain if for example Day 2 of the park completely wipes you out for Day 3 until you're there and experiencing it. Maybe Day 4 is the day that you start to notice everyone cranky and dragging.

I know it's not the easiest thing to do if you have ADR's and the like, but when travelling with young children, making an itinerary in pencil is the best thing to do in my opinion.

 

[Planogirl]

It seems like the vast majority of responders believe that the mid-day break is still pretty important in the slow time of year.

So I have a followup question: Do you think that the 'break' needs to consist of going back to the room and laying on the bed or lounging around the resort? Or would one of the ideas below be a sufficient break.

a.) Boat from MK to WL. Take in lunch, leisurely look around the resort.
b.) Same thing but to a monorial resort
c.) Same thing with Epcot/DHS and one of the Epcot resorts
d.) Go sit for a leisurely lunch then sit in a long, boring and restful attraction (or string a couple back to back) and try to count that as a break (Energy Adventure, Hall of Presidents, etc).

Do any of these help as 'breaks' or is the room and the bed important?

This will depend on the people taking the break. Unless we go offsite, this is the type of thing we do EXCEPT I think that it's vital to leave the park. I don't get the same feeling of relaxation if we stay, not even in a boring attraction. I do get a bit of a rest when we ride the train around MK but it's the only exception for some reason. I guess that everyone is different.

I also think that downtime is very needed by most kids. Our son usually couldn't relax enough to sleep but he read his books or watched a little TV in the quiet room and that always helped.

 

[BillyBuckner]

I thank those who attempted to address the issue of entire days of rest from the parks. I understand that most are not staying long enough that it becomes an issue.

Some basic math tells me that when I arrive on Nov 8, leave on Nov 20 (12 nights, 13 days) and I have 10 day park hopper tickets, that I am going to have at least 3 days that I don't go to parks. I am trying to figure out what is the best strategy for spreading out those days.

If I delve a little deeper into my line of thinking-- According to the crowd calendar at Touringplans.com Nov 8, Nov 14, and Nov 21 are all '9' days. So my original thought was avoid the park on Nov 8 (arrival day), avoid the park of Nov 14, and play the ending by ear. (i.e. go to park on Nov 20 (departure day) if I have a day left on tickets, otherwise if I used them all then go home on Nov 20 -- note we are driving)

When my friend started mentioning that they like 2 days on, then 1 day off, then I started second guessing my plan.

Since I know that I have to miss at least 3 days (counting arrival and departure days) I've been looking at options. Most likely options I see are

Original Plan: 1 OFF, 5 ON, 1 OFF, 5 ON, 1 OFF
Plan B: 1 OFF, 2 ON, 1 OFF, 2 ON, 1 OFF, 2 ON, 1 OFF, 3 ON
Plan C: 1 OFF, 3 ON, 1 OFF, 4 ON, 1 OFF, 3 ON

I think I need to pick one of these strategies, or another one. I thik Plan C may look like a reasonable compromise -- The only downer I see for Plan C is that it will put me in the park on one of the days that Touring Plans rates as a '9' for crowds.

Aside from making sure we don't 'hit the wall', My other motivation for deciding this now is so I can call for ADRs on August 10th. ideally I would like to find a set of ADRs that works perfectly for every plan. However, realistically, I think the best I can hope for is ADRs that work for my preferred plan and work 80% of the time for the backup plan.

Any more thoughts on this from anyone?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It seems like the vast majority of responders believe that the mid-day break is still pretty important in the slow time of year.

So I have a followup question: Do you think that the 'break' needs to consist of going back to the room and laying on the bed or lounging around the resort? Or would one of the ideas below be a sufficient break.

a.) Boat from MK to WL. Take in lunch, leisurely look around the resort.
b.) Same thing but to a monorial resort
c.) Same thing with Epcot/DHS and one of the Epcot resorts
d.) Go sit for a leisurely lunch then sit in a long, boring and restful attraction (or string a couple back to back) and try to count that as a break (Energy Adventure, Hall of Presidents, etc).

Do any of these help as 'breaks' or is the room and the bed important?

When we went in 2008 DD was 2 and we did no midday breaks. We went the first week of March and parks closed about 8 pm. We did lunch ADR's and rested and relaxed then and did long attractions. But we also only did 4 days of parks.

This past year DD was 3 and we went during high peak time (3/21-3/28) so park hours were late but the crowds weren't so bad until the end of the week. DH was against midday breaks because when he went as a kid they did ALL DAY parks in July/August. I told him we would play it by ear and he said okay.

Well on day 1 we did all day. Day 2 we did dinner at 5 pm and then went back to the resort. Day 3 all day parks. Day 4 rest. Day 5 midday break. Day 6 midday break. Day 7 left the parks around 2 pm for the day. Day 8 we did late breakfast and MK one last time and left. So as you can by the end of the week the temps got a bit higher, the crowds got a bit thicker and we were getting tired and we did midday breaks.

I just talked to DH today and he said he actually likes midday breaks now. This next trip park hours will be around 9-7/8 for the parks. We will be going first week of March. For our next trip I plan to do about 3-4 days of midday breaks and one rest day out of our 8 day trip. So not including arrival and departure day two days we won't plan a midday break because it'll be Epcot day and the kids relax when we do WS. The other day is DHS and with so many shows the kids really relax then. Plus we like to sit on benches and people watch, catch a snack BUT we aren't opposed to taking a midday break those days IF needed! I would like to hop to PM EMH both of those days so we may very well be doing midday break those days but knowing my group we won't need it. Especially since Epcot day is our 1st full day at the parks and we will just want to go go go and the DHS day is the day after rest day when we are all rejuvenated and ready to go again.

 

[lustergirl]

I think breaks are important for a family with younger children. Come day three at full force you are probably due for a major breakdown. Disney World is alot of ground to cover so don't over do it.