Disney veterans-What advice would you give newbies to save time and energy?

[eeyoresmom]

We're planning our 7th trip to the world and I was just thinking how drastically my planning has changed since those earlier trips.For example,I never make plans to leave a park to have a meal,then return.Takes way more time then you anticipate.Now I figure out which park I'll be in and make my PS's for within that park.What have you learned from experience?

 

[Disney Ella]

That mid-afternoon breaks don't work for us. Once we get in the pool and start relaxing, no one wants to go back out to a park. Now we get to a park first thing in the morning, stay until we're tired, and spend the rest of the day relaxing at the hotel. Of course, we don't have kids who still take naps, so we can do this.

 

[dcmbshafe]

We are big fans of afternoon breaks, but we have DD4 and DS3 and a full day is simply too much for them. We also try to schedule "down" days where we don't plan to go to any parks (including water parks). The afternoon break concept works particularly well with park hopping - we plan to go to the EE park in the morning then leave at lunch time when that park is getting crowded, then after our break we go to a different park.

Regardless of whether you subscribe to the afternoon break or not, you will save the maximum amount of time and energy by buying yourself an Unofficial Guide and following their touring plans!

 

[grammagail]

...is it to actually get your kids to leave and go back to the resort? We'll be traveling with a 4 yo (grandson), myself, husband and 2 daughters (18 & 22). While I understand the concept and logic of going back to rest, nap, swim, etc.....I'm anticipating having a difficult time convincing the 4 yo to go back to take a nap????? With all the stuff around ya, how do you do it?

Guess we'll play it by ear - but while the "concept" makes sense, I wonder how practical it really is?

Advise from people who have done it?

 

[tarabl]

If you plan on eating cheaply while at the all-star resorts, the gift shops carry boxes of donuts/danish and have quarts of milk and juice there. This is much more reasonable than going to the food court. We always took our own cereal and went into the gift shop for milk/juice and goodies. Saved us a ton of money.

Hope that helps.

 

[dcmbshafe]

We stayed off-site last September with DD4 and DS3, though we were very close (Sheraton Vistana, couple miles from DTD). Both of them were still routinely napping at the time, so it wasn't difficult to get them down for a nap (most times they fell asleep in the car on the way back to the condo). Our experience was that after 3 or 4 hours of touring, they were pretty wiped out and this made them more pliable.

We are going in May and will be staying on-site (BWV) this time, which should prove even more convenient for going back to the room for a break. Over the last couple months, the kids have been napping less and less, so we are anticipating that they may not actually nap during the break time. But even if they don't sleep, we believe getting away from the mental stimulation and physical exertion associated with the parks will freshen them up and place them in better spirits for the remainder of the day. All that said, you just really need to read the kid - if they start to get cranky or "zombie-like", then you probably need to do something to get them a break. If they have a lot of energy and maintain a pleasant disposition, stay.

One of the other things that we did was split up on a couple of days - one of us would take the kids back for the break while the other stayed at the parks. This was really nice!

 

[NotUrsula]

If I have one cardinal rule, it's know which parks you want to be in on which days, *before* you arrive in Orlando. You want the general "where are we going" to be predetermined so that you don't get up, get dressed and waste a ridiculous amount of time figuring out where you want to go, or miss things you wanted to see b/c you didn't know that they were only happening on certain days.

We are hoppers, only once in 9 trips have we ever spent an entire day in one park open to close, and we didn't really wish to; it was a confluence of events that kept us there.

 

[Star Wars Guy]

My DW will make a grid of all the days on our trip. At the top of the days, she'll then match up the EE parks with the days of the week. We then pretty much schedule around that grid (PS, shows, etc.) It's worked out great and really has helped in our overall planning. My wife is also a terrific planner!

Over the course of the trip (which is usually between 6-8 days), we'll spend each morning at the park listed on our grid, take about a 3 hour afternoon break (between Noon - 3:00), and then return to the same park. If it's later in the trip, we might park hop in the afternoon/evening. About halfway through the trip, we'll schedule a night for Downtown Disney as kind of a break from the parks and usually get to bed early to catch up on some rest.

 

[grammagail]

Based on the TONS of information and advise from these posts - I've started a "grid" of my own. I basically did it to figure out which days we were going to do our character breakfast and Hoop De Do. Once I figured that out - the rest just fell in place.

We'll be there 7 days/6nights - Got lucky with an early arrival and late departure and hope to take advantage of that. Plan on a 5 day PH, 1 day at US and one "nothing day". and while it looks like we'll only be doing 1 EMH - I hope I've planned OK. I've got a "down day" in the middle of our trip - and it was based on my 18 and 22 yo's asking..........they can't wait for the trip - but don't want to get burned out either and just want a relaxing day inbetween.

While I think the break in the afternoon sounds really good - my only concern will be tearing my grandson away from it all. I'm sure the stimulation is overwhelming - while exciting and fun. Most likely - it will be ME having the problem leaving - not wanting to miss anything

 

[ValerieK]

dcmbshafe,

I had a 6 year old who stopped napping at 1 1/2 who was so exhausted that he took naps! He took pictures because it was so funny He still gets teased to this day. One morning we even thought he went back in to the room to get dressed and we found him on the bed sound asleep!

 

[dcmbshafe]

ValerieK,

LOL...I think some people underestimate how exhausting WDW can be...I have a sneaky suspicion our kids will be exactly like your 6 year-old...thanks for sharing that!

 

[Ann]

My tip is to figure out which parks on what days and then pick a sit down restaurant for lunch and make a PS at each. It is so nice to be able to walk up to a nice air conditioned restaurant just when you're hungry and tired and be able to get right in with a PS. Then you can relax for an hour and eat. This really recharges our batteries! I don't care to be waiting in a long line at counter service and trying to find a table with hungry kids. Another advantage is the meals are usually the same as dinner but less expensive. Then we can just have a sandwich or something light for supper back at the hotel. Which leaves more room to get a yummy dessert when we return to the parks in the evening (especially at EPCOT!)

 

[Disney Doll]

Don't be opposed to renting or bringing a stroller, even if your kid is no longer using one at home. Walking the amount of distance that is inherent with WDW is exhausting for the little ones! Remember, they take 4 steps to your 2 just to keep up!