Do you feel you really need a day off?

[Aeweddle]

We aren't big on rest days. We like to take a morning or afternoon off here and there. It helps. I find it to be more exhausting watching my kids all day at the pool (DS is 2).

 

[pigletgirl]

Yes. The last 3 trips we've been on, it's been brutally hot, so it was necessary to take a day and just chill. We ended up having breakfast at Boma, and then spending the day at the pool. We had an early dinner and early night before another day in the parks.

It really keeps the momentum up!

 

[disneymom0104]

I have been to WDW and DL with children almost every age, ranging from 6 months to 13 years and have had a 1-3 year old on 6 trips. We always go for 10 days (WDW) and 5-6 days (DL) have never had a rest day. We do take breaks in the middle of the day but have never had an entire day off- just what works for us but we have never even considered it or thought it was necessary.

 

[Fosteringaprincess]

We have 4 kids age 16 years to 23 months. We travel to Disney just about every year for a week. It is truly our happy place! We do normally take 1 day off. That being said....it's never a day off! We spend several hours swimming at the resort and 1/2 day at Disney springs. We usually use this day to run any errands ( pick up more breakfast food for the room and waters...). We also try to go to bed early that night and have a character breakfast planned that am. We love this schedule! Hope this helps. Also keep in mind that if your family wants to have more entertainment on your day off... weigh the costs bc after 4 days at Disney it's so cheap to add days there. If costs aren't a concern awesome... one year we did drive overr to the beach for a few hrs. That was fun too! Until a storm blew up quickly! Just think about your families style when planning. Have fun!

 

[Corsetopia]

I think temperature also has an effect on whether we can go longer or not with the younger ones. When we went during the summer heat, it was absolutely brutal and we needed that midday break, but when we went in November, the kids seemed to be able to go for longer and weren't as worn out with the temperature.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I don't necessarily need a full rest day but my kids LOVE pool time as much as the parks. They can sleep in until 10-11 and then stay in the pool for a solid 6 hours or more. That gives me sleeping in time, some morning alone time and drinks by the pool time while they play. Then we do a dinner ADR at a monorail resort. We enjoy the day a lot.

 

[Shanti]

So I don't have a trip planned yet but next time we go we will have our kids (no more adult only trips) Our kids will be around 3 and 1. If we leave the parks for naps and breaks at the resort do you feel you need to take a full day off from the parks and make a resort day or something?

When staying more than five days, yes, I definitely want a resort day. With small kids, I'd probably make that a three day rule.

 

[harrowgirl]

We rarely take a full day off. we would consider a day off to be going to the park for just 2.5 hours and doing a few attractions with our FP. But generally we arrive in the parks at rope drop, or shortly thereafter, and tour until lunch time, then take a midday break and return around 6 or 6:30 to the parks.

 

[Tucker24]

As prior posts have stated depends on how many days but also take into consideration which hotel you are staying in and transportation. Our first trip the kids were 3 and 4 staying at the Coronado. It really took a toll on us going back and forth on the buses while carrying two backpacks, kids and stroller. We didn't take a really good mid day break nor did we take a day off and we ended up being "that family" with break downs and fights. Last year we stayed at the Poly so transportation was easier. We did take a day off but hubby and myself wished we could go to the park. We took a mid day break meaning we took our lunch to go and ate in a nice quiet and cool hotel room. We didn't do a mid day pool break so as to not tire out the kids, but they really benefited from watching a little TV, eating, and "resting" on the bed. We left the park around 12:30-1 and went back to the park around 4
We typically go from Saturday to Saturday leaving the arrival and departure day free from park days. This next trip we are skipping the day off and maybe doing half a day at the park because it's so little money to add another day.

 

[Aliceacc]

We never take a day off, but we do a mid day break every single day.

WDW is absolute sensory overload. A full trip is an awful lot of stimulation.

Why not try the afternoon breaks, and see how it goes?

 

[StephanieCL]

We are traveling with our 2 yr old but my husband and I are go go go type of people especially on vacation. I have an easy day planned for the day of the Halloween Party and will come back to the hotel during the day if necessary. Hoping not to though!

 

[harrowgirl]

My son has autism so about 3.5 hours is as long as he can do at the parks in one stretch. So we do mornings and evenings with swimming and relaxing in between

 

[kreckl]

We all love our day out of the parks- this year we are also adding a water park day. We rent a car and go someplace fun. And we also switch it up- a few longer park days but more often half days- early or late, and resort time. We have found that for us it works well. The resorts are expensive, so we make sure to enjoy what they have to offer. We've been many times and honestly don't wait in long lines for much- fast passes have helped us a lot! If the line is long, we just skip it. This helps us feel relaxed on vacation. The parks can be overstimulating sometimes, especially for little ones.

 

[Aliceacc]

Part of the year is also the time of year you travel.

We're both teachers, with 3 students in the house, so we only go in summer. Park hours are LLOONNNGGG, and the weather is a real factor. I can't imagine 7 consecutive days of rope drop to late fireworks without a break.

 

[Baklava]

We did 10 days with 2 days "off" and determined that next time we really need to be more vigilant about keeping those "off." ADRs in Disney Springs and dinner shows and a DVC tour... we were kind of on the run and what we really needed was a pool day with no plans.

 

[AshleeH]

The only way I'd take a break is if I was staying over 2 weeks. I've taken kids to Disney at age 4 months, 18 months, 4, etc. and a midday break is the perfect way to recharge. Plus, there's usually a few naps in the stroller throughout the week. I wouldn't "waste" a day in Disney if I'm only there for a limited time. We've never once had a meltdown in Disney, so I'm sticking with that plan for our upcoming trip. The key is to be flexible, within the limits of ADRs.