Disney world vacation length?

[Mizzoufan]

What is the length of your Disney World trip?

We are thinking about trying to swing a quick get away for 5 days. I think that pushing it for us. We aren't fast moving people. My husband thinks we could do it. One of those days would be an arriving day.

 

[JaimeA]

Our vacations are at least a week, we prefer 8-9 days better if we can swing it, it is more relaxing the longer we go since we have plenty of time to do what we want and not rush from one thing to another. We do a lot of resort time, golf, water parks also so that fills up the time too. If you have kids I would want at least 6 days, if it is only adults you could do it easily in 4.

Happy Planning and enjoy your trip

 

[rwdavis2]

Your question is not clear. Do you mean you can't see it all in 4+ days because you're not fast moving? It's tough to see it all in 8 or 9 days.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

We never go for less than a week. We're only doing 8 days at WDW this time, but that's because were doing a DCL cruise as well. That being said, there's nothing wrong with a 5 day trip. People do them all the time. Just don't expect to do everything you might want to while you're there. I don't know what you mean by "do it", but if you mean "do all of Disney"...well....that's not going to happen. If you mean, "Do enough to have a good time," then yes, I'm sure you can.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Normally, we do 9 days. However, a while back, my husband had a conference in Clearwater that ended on Thursday morning. We decided to take a long weekend and went to WDW. We were there Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, so only two full days in the park. We went in knowing that we weren't going to do everything that we were used to, but excited for a trip nonetheless. We planned some fun meals that we had never done before and just took our time making sure to hit our must-dos. We had a great time. My advice would be to do something similar. Pick out 3 or 4 things that you feel you must do at each park and make sure you do those. And, if you can try and do something that you haven't done before or it has been a long time since you have done such as Hoop-Dee-Doo-Review or the luau, I bet you could end up having a fantastic time.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Our first trip to Disney was 5 nights with 5 day tickets. Our next stay was 7 nights. After that our stays stretched out to 9-10 nights. We usually don't go more often than once a year, so I don't think I would want to go for for less than 5 nights. I would do a shorter trip if I knew we would be coming back soon.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I'm sorry for the confusion. I meant do all the parks.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I think any length is fine, as long as you temper your expectations. I've done both 2 weeks and a long weekend. Both were fabulous trips. For a shorter trip, it becomes more important to think about what you really want to get done in each park and let the other things go since you are probably only going to get one shot at each park.

 

[WillAustin]

I'm sorry for the confusion. I meant do all the parks.

Our first trip we did 4 parks in 4 days. You should definitely pick your "must do attractions" but it's doable. Go in realizing you won't come close to doing it all or even most of it.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

I think any length is fine, as long as you temper your expectations. I've done both 2 weeks and a long weekend. Both were fabulous trips. For a shorter trip, it becomes more important to think about what you really want to get done in each park and let the other things go since you are probably only going to get one shot at each park.

Agreeing with this poster...temper your expectations. You will not see it, taste it or ride it all. Find what is most important to you and after that, every thing else is icing on top.

We did a 4 days in park last year. Did not see everything, and we even left the parks early. It was enjoyable.

The trip before we did 5 days. Next year's trip is minimum 6 days in the park. Since we have no park days built in to our vacation, we are in the area for a week.

If you are planning on back to back park days, please don't try open to close park. Leave and come back if you want to. Find quiet places and relax. It is vacation after all.

 

[Laketravis]

For decades our trips would be for a week at a time. Then with the advent of FP+ and longer SB lines we found that two weeks works better for us. We aren't able to go during the few times of year when the crowds are in the level 1-3 range, so when we do go it tends to be on days of 5 and up crowd levels and we aren't quite members of the geriatric club yet so sitting around people watching because the lines are too long isn't fun for us. We'll make our 3 FP's a day and take advantage of any short lines that may come up, spend more time enjoying the resort and the rest of WDW, and come back feeling like we had a good time.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Is this your first trip? 7-8 days would be ideal. I found with my first trip that I just about killed everybody in my party trying to do/see as much as we could. Now that we have been numerous times, I am much more relaxed and willing to take breaks. I think as long as you have realistic expectations, a shorter trip can be done. Would your husband be willing to park hop?

 

[chelseabun76]

We have 6 full park days, and on our fly out day we'll still get a good 6 hours at a park, so I have 7 day tickets. In WDW I find that this is the perfect amount to see everything you want to see, along with some down time.

 

[larryz]

I'm sorry for the confusion. I meant do all the parks.

You can do it, just set realistic expectations and FP+ all your "must-do's."

Rope drop will help -- you don't have to move fast, just early.

 

[larryz]

Then with the advent of FP+ and longer SB lines we found that two weeks works better for us.

Hmmm. Unintended (or intended) consequence of FP+?

 

[ArwenMarie]

The shortest trip we ever did was three park days and it was great. We went to AK, MK and DHS. Our main reason to go was to see the Christmas decor at MK and the Osborne Lights. We viewed everything else as a bonus.

Anyway, I think you can have a great trip no matter how much time you have, as long as you keep your expectations realistic.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

In 4.5 days you can certainly "see" all the parks. You can take in some of the headliners and, more importantly, figure out what you'll be doing on your return trip. But as everyone has said, you cannot "do" all the Disney parks in 5 days, or even 10 days. You will miss things and, as long as you go in accepting that, you'll have a good time.

 

[PSUGuy]

If we're in the deep South for other reasons we'll sneak in whatever we can, 4 days being the shortest . Last March we were planning a Myrtle Beach/Savannah trip but the week before the long range forecast was little better than Pa weather so we did a last minute 5 day WDW stay. When planning a WDW vacation it's usually 8 park days but last Oct and this year it will be 9. We prefer fewer, longer trips because airfare is a major part so 1 RT is preferable. Also, by the end of 8 - 9 days we feel like we've had our fill, no last day blues.

Bill From PA

 

[Laketravis]

Hmmm. Unintended (or intended) consequence of FP+?

Perhaps the only thing worse than being part of an experiment and not knowing it is being part of an experiment and knowing it.

 

[BethanyLynnFit]

We usually do 5 "park days." That allows us to hit MK twice, and 1 day for the other parks. And honestly, our last day, also our checkout day, regardless of the park is usually a "half" or "short" day. That being said, we don't fly, and we usually drive directly to West Palm Beach on our last day to visit family and decompress for a few days. This year we are doing MNSSHP so we're doing one full MK day, and then the party another day.

Here's our general timeline:

Saturday: Arrive afternoon/early evening; hang at resort, swim, etc.
Sunday to Wednesday: "Full" Park days
Thursday: Checkout day/"partial or half" Park day/Drive to family
Friday/Sat/Sun: Visit family and head home whenever we choose

Hope that helps!