For those that midday break, how long?

[DWeav]

For those of you who midday break to your resort for pool time, rest, nap, recharge, etc....especially those with kids...when do you usually leave the park and when do you return?

 

[shocker]

Depends on a few things...how long are the parks open? Will we be doing EMH? How much does a nap outweigh doing one more ride/show?

Generally, we are doing EMH and we do Rope Drop in the morning and we stay until the park closes. We also like to eat breakfast in the room and one other meal in the room. So, we will either eat lunch in the park and leave around 1-2pm with a return after dinner about 6pm or we will leave about noon and eat lunch in the room, then nap (maybe snack again) and return to park for dinner about 6 (the dinner may be around 6 or may be later to coincide with a fireworks/parade schedule). On park days, we don't spend (waste) park time chasing food at resorts, we save that for "rest" (sleep-in) days and if we need a restaurant breakfast we do that on sleep-in days too.

ETA: We've done "nap" breaks since the kids were little, they are now teens. NO ONE balks at taking a nap. When they were little I told them they didn't have to sleep but did have to lay in the bed with some A/C going and take their shoes off to rest their feet. We all know what happened about 5 minutes later . I will say I had to be careful to stimulate them on the way back to the room so they wouldn't ruin a lovely nap time with a 10 minute snoozer on a bus or boat ride back to our room.

We helped another family with Tweens in their trip plans. We convinced the parents they needed nap time. Their tweens balked, but on day 2 asked what time naps were that day and Mom said was what they looked forward to the most.

 

[Robo]

For those of you who midday break to your resort for pool time, rest, nap, recharge, etc....especially those with kids...when do you usually leave the park and when do you return?

3-4 hours.

Exit sometime between 12n and 2pm.

 

[AFwifelife]

Usually around 12/1 we leave, return anywhere from 3-5 depending on how everyone is doing. We have early lunch and dinners at 11ish and 5ish.

 

[areno79]

I'm trying to plan for mid-day breaks as well, and it's just me and DH. We're going in September and will need the break. During our last trip we were so exhausted by the end of it we didn't want to do anything so I really need to incorporate breaks into the touring plan this time.

 

[CAS239]

We usually leave the first park by noon.. Head to the second park around 3/4ish with our 3 fps set up to start about 4 or 5pm

 

[MischaOz]

We usually leave around 3:00, rest for a couple hours, have dinner around 5:00 (we stay in an off-property rental) and get back to the parks around 6-6:30.

 

[lovin'fl]

These days we head to parks around 10ish. Get back to room around 2-3. And back out for more stuff and dinner around 5-6. Usually in bed by 10-11pm. We are DH and I and sometimes college aged kids

 

[Sarahraegraham]

Our plans are always the same: RD, leave around 1pm. Figure an hour to get back to the resort. 2 hours to rest. 1 hour to get back to park, which is around 5-6pm. Works great for us

 

[My2Qtz0205]

We eat lunch somewhere between 11 and 12, then take a break and come back between 4 and 5.

 

[Beprepared]

Rope drop, leave around 1/2pm, kids nap, then return 5pm until close.

This will be the first time we don't go back though. Or at least we are not planning on it! Kids are old enough to want to try a full day....we will see?

 

[djc9699]

My trip last week was the first time we have ever left the parks for a break. My kids could go all day with naps in the stroller. My granddaughter (just turned 3) last week could not. She became whiny and sleepy so we left the parks around 12:00 - 1:00. Little toot would flop around on bed and talk until just before we were ready to go back around 5:00 or 6:00, then she would fall asleep. We are going to try a different strategy in July when we go back.

 

[Bullseye]

Depart 1-2pm, return 5-6pm. Love those afternoon breaks. The sun is getting hot and the parks are getting crowded. Swim, nap, shower, dine, and back to the park for nighttime fun.

 

[Spunky946]

Leave between 12-2 for 3-4 hours. Sometimes even just an hour. I’m often the one that needs it.

 

[MrInfinity]

Some people love the midday break, but it's not really that practical to do more than once in a while. The extra 1-2 hours on or waiting for transportation will eat up the time you'll save from shorter lines. Time is money at Disney World so you have to weigh how to not be on busses all day.

I'll add, If you are staying at a Deluxe resort like CR, Poly, GF, BC or BW then midday breaks are more feasible. Especially at the CR/BC/BW since you can walk. But anywhere else you are adding two bus rides for each trip. When we've gone back to a park twice in a day we've been at one of these close resorts. We'd do maybe 9-1, then back, then 5-whenever. Break it into around 4 hour blocks.

 

[AFwifelife]

We always have taken a midday break. I’m 30 years old, a Floridian, and have been going at least yearly since I was two. Yes there are many that don’t take a break but everyone personally I’ve known (extended family and friends) have toured similarly. It works for plenty of people.

 

[JETSDAD]

We head to the resort around 1-2 for a break/nap/swim/relax. We either eat in the room or head to a restaurant for around 5:00 then back to whichever park we're in the mood for (typically whichever one stays open latest).

 

[DIS_AWC]

We are all morning people in our party (even on vacation, no one sleeps later than 6!), so without a mid-day break the kids and grandparents would never make it to the evening shows, which we don't want to miss. We usually leave sometime between 1-2 pm and then go back to a park for a 6:30/7:00 dinner followed by the night show. The timing for the parade at MK is tough for us, so we do multiple days at MK and schedule one of them to be RD until the parade and then we are done for the day, usually do dinner at our resort that evening and opt for an earlier bedtime.

We aren't go-go-go people, so our vacation is made better (especially for our particular kids) by incorporating the daily break. I can definitely see why others would see it as a waste of time. Whatever works best for your family - YOU know them best.

 

[Lexx1214]

Everyone has a different speed for vacations. Some go commando - see everything, do everything and don’t stop until you drop. I did that when my son was young and it was great but I always found I’d take a few days off extra from work so I could rest and relax at home. DH and I are going without the kids and we are both looking forward to a more relaxed and laid back trip that will most definitely include naps in the afternoon. As natural early risers (we’re up at 5 am even on weekends) we need those naps mid day to be able to keep going in the evenings otherwise we’ll be in bed by 8 lol.

 

[Ensusieasm]

For those of you who midday break to your resort for pool time, rest, nap, recharge, etc....especially those with kids...when do you usually leave the park and when do you return?

4 hours minimum from the time you walk out of a park until the time you want to be walking back in to a park. Anything less than that is just not worth the effort it takes for a midday break. If you want to do pool time and a nap you may want even more time for your break.