Diehard for the Day? or Park Pooped?

[sullins5]

ok, ok, so I worded it wrong...What do most of you do?
When we visit the parks, we tend to be so 'driven', we stay at the same park the whole day....til closing! Or very closely too.
Yes, we stay on site, but it's as if theres a force(the magic?) that says DONT LEAVE, DONT LEAVE! lol....so what do most of you do that stay on property with long PHP or UPH?

By the 4th day, we're pretty tired, tend to 'sleep' in just a little, but don't want to miss the magic. Arriving on a Friday, hitting the parks starting Sat. And do most of you follow EMH as to which park you hit first? For some reason, we always go MK,Epcot, MGM and then AK, but I flipped MGM and AK this time because of the EMH and ps's. Any special advice and what works best for you would really give us insight .....

Thanks!

 

[SamanthaL]

I am not the commando type. We have been so many times that we know what we really want to see and what we can do with out. We tend to spend the early parts of the day getting on and off rides rather quickly then slowing down after lunch. We will go back to the room for a rest then switch to another park. We even do other things like people watch at WS or stroll the BW. We like to smell the roses. It helps so we are not totally spent when we get home

 

[bengalfreak]

We have always done the commando touring type thing. But in the summer, when the parks are open later, we leave in the middle of the day for a couple hours and go back to the hotel, eat lucnh, swim, maybe a short nap. Then its back to the parks for more liesurely touring. Close to the end of the day, when everyone else is wrapping up, we return to theme park commando status and hit things we missed earlier.

 

[jl3614]

Ten years ago - before kids, we visited from park open to park close. Sometimes we would park hop, sometimes stay at the same park all day. We purposely avoided busy kid times - our trips were January, early May or late September. During those months the park hours are generally shorter, so commando was not too difficult. Even in our prime I seriously doubt if we would have stayed all day at MK in the summer ( 8am - midnight).

Now we have kids who have 8:30 bedtime, and still need 10 - 11 hours a night of sleep. So we always return to the room mid day for a rest, and usually stay late for fireworks one or at most two evenings a trip (usually the evening before a non-park day). Our trip this last month in general we were at the parks from 8:30 or 9:00 till 1:30 or 2:00, rest in the room, then back to the parks from 5:30 - 8:30. You just need to shorten your day and reduce your expectations when you have kids under 10.

 

[RamseyTrio]

I always feel that it's a waste of time to leave the parks mid day for a rest (by the time you actually get out of the park, out to your car, etc...) so we usually hit the parks early and stay until late afternoon (4:30 or 5). Then it's back to the hotel to change for dinner (usually 6:30) and usually a game of mini-golf afterwards. If we are staying late at a park we'll sleep in a bit in the morning and arrive mid-day. We don't park hop either. We tend to go during the slower seasons so the parks close earlier and everyone gets enough rest. It's always such fun that we hate to miss even a second of it and we aren't laying-around-relaxing-at-the-pool types to begin with.

 

[Micca]

I'm a recovering commando tourist Through years of traveling to WDW my poor family struggled to keep up the pace. Having made dozens of trips to the world, I finally have relented and try to treat our days as a vacation. Having APs, and a CM in the family makes the days more relaxing as I know that we are never more than a few months away from the next trip.

 

[PanamaMike]

Never understood the "head back to the hotel for a break" mentality.

 

[bengalfreak]

Then you probably don't make a habit of touring in the hottest months when the parks are open the latest. The FLA sun can make the most ardent park commando wilt. The mid day rest is the one bit of R&R we allow ourselves at WDW.

 

[luvmk]

We almost always go back to hotel to swim. We start out early and when the kids wear down, we go back to swim, clean up, and go back out for dinner and fireworks. Part of the vacation for our children is swimming, so staying in the parks all day wouldn't be as much fun for them. We always have uph, so park hopping isn't a problem. We usually hit two different parks per day. Besides, by early evening, I'm ready for a shower and clean clothes! We also don't have a problem staying out until 11:00pm either. That's a big part of why we let the kids have some down time in the middle of the day.



Rachel

 

[RLewis]

We always get teh parks early. For MK, we take a break (either back to the hotel, or to a resort for lunch).

We usually plan an off-day (Pool, other sites) on the 3rd or 4th day to break it up. Then it's back at it.

Remember, you can always catch up on your sleep/rest when you get back to work.

 

[Blueberry]

We are "commando types", never leave the parks once we are in there. We do park hop if the park gets crowded, but we have also been known to spend a whole day in a single park and never get bored....We do go in off season when crowds are generally lighter though. I never understood the go back and take a nap theory either..seems like a waste of good park time to me, but we are two adults now too with no children along.

 

[zippehsmom]

We too believe in taking a mid day break. It's just easier on the kids and us. I also am ready for a shower and a change of clothes by midday.

I think it depends on when you go whether you take breaks or not. We always go in the summer and I can't see staying in the parks all day in the summer. It gets so hot and the kids get cranky. After our midday break everyone is ready to go, and we will usually close down a park. If the kids get tired they sleep in the stroller.

zippehsmom

 

[sullins5]

Well, it looks like it's half and half...lol...the consensus is do whatever is best for your own family I guess. Don't really know what I was hoping for...We always go in May (so it's not so hot), and we do always go 'commando' style. Saying that though, we stop in the parks, when the kids want too. We like to stroll, we don't 'run' to every ride...we've been so often, we do know what we like...it's just hard to go back, change, rest, and then come out again!

I guess maybe this year we could try something different... or we may just 'go with the flow'....

Decisions, decisions.....

But thanks for all your input....I'm hoping I'll get stirred to try something different!

Happy trips everyone!

 

[jennymouse]

It depends on what time of year I go. When it was just Dad and I in February, we got up when we got up, went and ate a leisurely breakfast, and hit the parks at around 10-11 o'clock then usually stayed all day. But since my father is 80 and he's not into the thrill rides getting to the park at opening wasn't important.

When I go in June with kids, it will be up early and at a NON EE park by opening, take a swim/rest break, then back out to have dinner and close up the parks at night. We're going for 7 nights and will take two No Park days to enjoy Stormalong Bay, AKL Pool, and Downtown Disney, etc.