Do you break everyday?

[duffy]

We didn't take breaks on our last trip, if by "break", you mean, "go back to our hotel room and rest for a few hours." We didn't have any young kids, though. I think going back to the room is more important if your party has very young children.

Our breaks consisted of finding a comfy spot and resting with a cool drink. Just sitting and people-watching for a while refreshed us. Each park has places that are great for taking breaks and even naps. Ellen's Energy Adventure, for example, is a wonderful place to take a break in Epcot.

 

[3boymthr]

Our last two trips DH and I did not take breaks and we were fine we felt we got enough rest when we stopped to watch the shows, but we were kid free.

This time we will have the three boys and although they are older (youngest is 6) I am planning on going back to the room, partly on recommendation of the UG and partly because we are staying at YC and one of the reasons we chose this resort was the pool. Since SAB closes as early as 8PM I want to make sure we take the time to take advantage of it.

We will have a car so I'm allowing 3 hours for breaks with 2 hours of that time at the resort usually right after lunch though we may take a longer break and eat at the resort.

 

[splashmtnfan]

The way we do it is:

1) If we get in early the first day and rested, then the first day at the world. we don't break, we get up early do EMH (MORNING) and leave early, around 5 (or after the parade) for dinner at DTD.

2) Most days we do EMH if it is Extra Morning Hours and get up early for them, ride a TON of rides before noon, and eat lunch back at our hotel or another resort we have wanted to check out ("killing two birds") then if we feel rested go back around 4or 5 to finish up anything we feel necessary and watch the fireworks.

3) If the hours are extra Evening hours we sleep late eat breakfast at our resort or another we want to check out then go to the parks in time to get a good spot for the parade.

4) The group we go with is usually myself, my husband, my DD9 and his parents or myself, my husband, my DD 9 and my family DBIL 65 DNi 36 and DGNi 13. So our trip plan works for the three generations and all is good.

5) Main thing is I plan it all in advance, go to EMH, go to the Early hours and leave early, go to EVENING and sleep late, eat a relaxing breakfast at a resort and go in time to get a good spot for the parades, so we can always see fireworks, parades and take advantage of the extra hours too.

6) Before we do ADRs I try to guess which park (as past has indicated) we will be at and plan accordingly, we don't switch parks to go eat, that saves time! It has always worked! We don't like to waste time, we like to relax, and we like touring the other resorts. All of these work into our schedule without causing anyone to get tired and it seems we get the most out of our time.

 

[srwarden1928]

No we NEVER break (going back to the hotel) when we are at WDW. DW would refuse to go back to the park once we had trudged all the way back to the hotel. When we get tired or hot we stop for a drink or snack and rest for awhile IN the park.

 

[mikera329]

We just came back.. Just me and my newly engaged fiance.... We are both 34 years old.. And we still took a break everyday.. We went back around 1ish.. And took one for about 3 hours.. It was so worth it.. Got a lil nap in twice.. One day i fell asleep in the lawn chairs by the quiet pool at AsSp.. You have to remember its still a vacation.. So a little rest is needed... And you will never see everything anyhow.. So why not take a break..

 

[mommymeg]

I am a planner... We have a general idea of which park we're going to on which days..On most days I have an afternoon break scheduled... We're early risers...if we make it to rope drop or go to an early magic hour, we will be ready for lunch by 11...then head back to resort by 1... nap/rest from 1-4, ADR's are all made for around 5pm, followed by the rest of the evening at a late EMH park... The exception is the days we plan on going to Blizzard Beach, (doesn't open till 10am..have ADR's for Chef Mickey's at 5pm)... no rest that day... and Animal Kingdom day, since they close early as well... those evenings we'll probably just make it an early night...

For my family (DH, DD12, DD9 and DS 4), the rests are a must if we want to explore well into the evening hours...

 

[MissMet]

I grew up going never taking breaks. Our breaks consisted of lunch time or sitting on a bench people watching. The thought of taking the time to go back to the resort for a few hours was the dumbest idea I had heard of and the biggest waist of time. I felt if I needed a break I could easily take one on a bench in the park.

However, my last trip I went with a bunch of friends, all of which are in our twenties. The first day we went to animal kingdom & decided to go back to the room around 2pm just to change into pants for dinner @ MK. We ended up hanging out at the resort for 2 1/2 hours. We swam, walked around the resort, shopped showered & changed. We headed back to MK around 4:30 - 5pm. It ended up being my favorite day! The day just felt sooo much longer and relaxed, but I didn't feel like I was missing out!

We didn't do it again, because it was my friends' first visit, but my next trip, I'm definitely taking breaks! I loved it!

 

[disneydiva0729]

My DP and I are both 21 with no kids so when we go there are no breaks in the parks, but what we do is since we normally go 10-12 days, we schedule a day called "hotel day"... normally plunk in the middle of the trip...no breakfast or lunch reservations, just sleep in, then go to the pool, ride the boats, enjoy what we paid for.... even on hotel days we have a hard time keeping ourselves out of the park, and are in whatever park has evening EMH by 4 pm... but its a rest day none the less...
Last time we went though... I admit we took a break once.... we were in A.K. and there were "showers" (in my opinion hurricane) that lasted for 5 hours.... that day we took a nap until it stopped raining

 

[Brendan1]

Because we usually travel for ten days. I plan every day as a half day. We like to hit the parks early and finish early maybe around 2 or 3. This gives us time to go back to the hotel and relax and get ready for dinner and if we are up to it we see one of the shows or nighttime parades.

Have a great trip!!!

 

[xiola]

We are going to this time around. For one thing, it's going to be HOT. The last time we went, DS was 5. We were in the park for no more than two hours before he was ready to go, and I mean done for the day. He's 9 now, so I'm really hoping he will last longer, and I think a break in the middle of the day will really help (for all three of us.)

We will probably eat lunch in the park at around 1, go back to the hotel for some pool/reading time, and then head back out around 4. That's my plan, anyway. Always subject to change.

 

[tzolkin]

We took a long break every day. We often went to am EMH and then left the park by 1130 or so. We went back to the room and ALL took a nap for several hours. We then went back to another park around 500 for a few hours.

Since my kids were 9, 4, & 2, I didn't think they would sleep since they did not normally nap but they really surprised us. Only once did my 9 yo and I not fall asleep within 5 minutes of shutting off the lights. She and I walked around the resort, got Mickey ice creams, and talked while every one else slept. We really all enjoyed getting out of the heat and away from all the people. Also, none of us ever got cranky/miserable/overstimulated because we only spent a few hours in a park at a time.

 

[Lurker1]

I just got back from a 10 day trip. 2 adults in their 40s. We took a 2 hour break every day. It gave our feet a much needed break! But we'd go from rope drop until about 1 or 2, go back to the hotel, and go to another park at 4 or so. It made a big difference. And because we were there so long - and doing only parks all 10 days, it worked out fine.

However, I've also been there in June when it's HOT! I definitely recommend taking a break then! Get out of there in the heat of the day, jump in the pool, and go back when the sun isn't quite so hot!

 

[jimmalru80]

We have taken a break every day of every trip we've taken. Early on it was for a nap, but lately it's to relax by the pool then to shower and dress up for dinner.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

No breaks for us. IMHO, it takes too long -- getting back to the buses, commuting to the resort, changing into swimsuits, showering to go back to the parks, commuting back -- too much time wasted. We usually schedule a table service for lunch or an early dinner, so we can sit down in the air conditioning for an hour or so. (And the last trip, and this coming trip, are end of August/beginning of September).

 

[Clupaczyk]

We will be heading down to Disney for the first time this Oct and our girls will be 5 and 6, we also have both grandmothers going. We'll have to see how the first couple of days go, but my plans for now are to hit the parks early, head back to the resort around lunch for nap/relaxation/pool time and then head back out to the parks and be able to catch the fireworks. My girls are usually in bed and sleeping by 8pm. If we don't rest mid-day they'll be zombies by dinnertime and I don't want to be stuck in the hotel room by 7pm every night because they've crashed! Who knows, maybe several smaller breaks inside the parks will be fine, but I think they'll need more rest than that, not to mention myself,too!
Carrie

 

[tortugapirate]

For me, it really depends on the month and who is with me. I am a young adult who usually travels with her mother to the parks. I don't have any younger siblings, so we can sometimes hold out the whole day if necessary.
This probably is also due to the fact that we casually stroll around, and do not feel the need to rush around so much.

But, when we went in August last time, it was absolutely necessary to take a break everyday. The heat was so intense during the middle of the day, that it would cause us to become tired. Also, it felt nice to change clothes, since we would basically sweat like crazy. It was also nice because then we could look at our dining plans, check out park hours, etc. in a quiet location to gather our thoughts and form a plan if necessary.