Do you split your days between parks....

[Irishmommyof4]

or devote a whole day to one park?
We have kids 8, 6, 4, and 1. We will be having lunch in the parks and then going back to the resort for a rest in the middle of the day. We're trying to decide if we devote one day per park- i.e. MGM in the morning and then go back to MGM in the afternoon after rest- or if we split them up, i.e. MGM in the morning, and AK after rest in the afternoon.
What has worked for y'all?

 

[BankBunny]

We usually do one full day in each park and then split our remaining days between parks. For example:
MK-full day
EPCOT-full day
MGM-full day
AK-full day
Split remaining days-morning in one park/afternoon in another or water park.

 

[kizmac]

If you're taking an afternoon break you really could do either. We always go to one park but stay all day without a break except we usually spilt AK and MGM into the same day. (no afternoon break)

If you are going for many days and have the time, I think it would be nice to mix things up a bit.

 

[Princess Patti]

whole day at each park, from opening to closing

 

[Susiesnowflake]

We always split our days. Arrive early, leave around lunch, hang at the pool and then return to the parks late afternoon.

 

[jjarman]

We always split between parks. We do like you. We go first thing to a park, say MK, eat lunch there and head back to the resort around 2:00. Then usually after supper or sometimes earlier we head out to another park, maybe Epcot for Illuminations. I just love doing more than one park a day.

 

[Leota]

We always split our days. Arrive early, leave around lunch, hang at the pool and then return to the parks late afternoon.

Ditto.

When we go off-season, it becomes essential to Park Hop that way. Doing MK,AK & MGM during the day & Epcot at night as it's the only one open past 8pm.

In all my trips to WDW, I can count on one had the days we stayed in one Park all day.

 

[Jenny]

we usually split our days...usually MK or AK in a.m. & MGM or Epcot in the p.m. We like MK/Epcot b/c of the monorail and AK/MGM for combinations. We have devoted almost full days to each park but have found ourselves going over to epcot by 5 for dinner plus it's open the latest (til 9).

Last jan, we planned mgm in the a.m., resort break then back to mgm but that didn't work out...we arrived at opening, enjoyed the morning & lunch then were headed to the bus stop at 12:30 for the 1:00 nap. As we exited, our then almost 3 yr old DD fell asleep in the stroller. We knew that she'd wake up if we moved her so we returned back to mgm, she slept in the stroller for about 1 hr then we resumed our day so it depends on the child.

Good luck.

 

[graygables]

We park-hop, too, but we might stay at AK for a full day, then break for dinner/rest and head over to Epcot for the evening (or take the kids to a club and DH and I head over to Epcot!)

We used to even split AK, stay until lunch, then hop somewhere else and then another day, hop to AK in the PM for the parade and such, then to Boma for dinner, but that's when they had the meal certificates and it worked better for us. Esp when we go and the hours are shortened at MK and MGM, we take full advantage of Epcot staying open late.

 

[AJKMOM]

Now that it costs more money to buy a park-hopper ticket, you might want to check your budget. It is cheapest to get a ticket that does not include the park-hopping option.

 

[HookdonWDW]

Now that it costs more money to buy a park-hopper ticket, you might want to check your budget. It is cheapest to get a ticket that does not include the park-hopping option.

This is a good point, but I love the flexibility that a park hopper ticket gives us. If we walk into a park in the morning and it's too crowded, we can leave, go to another park, and visit the crowded park on another , hopefully less crowded, day. With a Base Ticket, your stuck in that park for the day. I guess it just depends on your individual personality.

 

[ellyn2000]

I'm with BankBuddy. We do a full day @each park and break up any remaining days by "hopping" from park to park to catch anything we may have missed or want to do again.

 

[beattyfamily]

I couldn't live without the flexibility of park hopping so that is a given that's always in my budgeting for a trip. Period.

We sometimes stay at a park all day and sometimes we split between two parks. We'll do Mk in the AM and MGM for Fantasmic in the PM or AK in the AM and Epcot in the PM but sometimes, especially if we get a late start, we stick it out till we're done with that park then we'll go to DTD at night.

I like playing it by ear but having the flexibility to do whatever we want.

 

[goofie4goofy]

We hop hop hop!

We don't have kids and don't plan, we also stay at the GF...so being on the monorail makes a big difference. We also go during low crowds.

When we arrive the first thing we do is go to the MK...gotta see the Castle and go on POC an HM.

A typical day for us is 2-3 parks...

A few weeks ago we did this a few times

We take the boat from the GF to the Poly to go to Kona for breakfast...Presspots baby then take the bus from the poly to MGM..have lunch at either BD or 50's...then the boat to EPCOT for some drinks around the world and a spin on Test track...back to the GF for a freshen up back on the monorail to the MK...then the boat from the MK to the GF and get ready for dinner...usually at Cirticos or Cali Grill..


I wonder how many miles that is???

 

[pbharris4]

We have done a split day once. If I did it again....I would only do it if we go in late Jan. or early Feb again. We have a 9 yo and 2 yo DD. We prefer to just do 1 day at that park. We do around 2-3 parks per year. We will leave a day in between parks so my youngest can get a good nap in. The only time we will do all parks in one trip is if we go earlier in the years because there's no lines. We just don't like doing all the traveling with our 2 kids. We go to a park, stay all day and then leave. Unless....my 2 yo is having a meltdown and then 1 of us takes her back, but that rarley happens as I head those tantrums off pretty well.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Some of both. The hop feature is worth the money, IMHO. If nothing else, it serves as insurance, in case a park is particularly crowded, or your favorite rides are down that day. I've been to MGM on days when several rides were down, so it's nice to be able to come back.

 

[ainmama2001]

Gotta love the park hoppers! We normally try to spend a full day (or two) in MK and Epcot. We'll do half day at MGM and a full or half day (depending) in AK. We usually do most of our "hopping" at night for shows and fireworks and parades, not to mention dining.

 

[Nank]

I did not hop with my 4 year old. We did 1st night Epcot.
2nd Day - MK am - rest - back to MK
3rd Day - AK until we were too tired
4th day - Chef Mickey's - MK
last day - MGM morning - MNSSHP at night with a long rest/swim in between.

Have fun!

 

[binky503]

We just got back and went to one park in the morning, then went back to the pool in the afternoon to wind down then went to another park at night. My children are young so I didnt want to tire them out.

 

[DisFlan]

We always split. One or two parks during the day, then back to a park or DTD for the evening fun. We wouldn't go without hoppers. We can get SO much more in of what we want to do with hoppers.

We've been to WDW many times and don't feel we have to do everything in a park at one go. We pick and choose our favorites and must-dos at any one park and move on to another. And we might choose to do the same park again the next day. I'd hate being tied into doing only one park a day, for a whole day, and not being able to hop back to it on a later day. It would seem like half a vacation!

DisFlan