Fort day/Park Day/Fort...What's your pattern?

[Readerbug]

For those of you who come to stay at the Fort as a rest/recreation destination as well as go to most of the parks, how do you divide your week?

How many days in/out in a row do you do?
What seems the best happiness balance for your situation?

Asking everyone.
(Personally, I am especially wanting to hear families with young-preteen age kids experience, and from those who have gone often, but not so much you're a native of the magic kingdom).

I was planning on, in a 10-14 day stay, on the weekends and a wed or thurs spent at the cg or resort hopping, and 4 days park.
(This for kids who visited Disneyland a bunch as babies, most of them, but kids first WDW trip.)And I am now debating about increasing the Fort days, and buying less park tickets....leaving more to experience next time.​

Do you ever feel there's a # of consecutive days at the Fort that are too much for kids- or adults- to take, and start feeling like this: , when compared with the lure of the castle, and all the wonderful manic possibilities just over the water?

Or is it easier coming up with a number of consecutive park days that's just too, too to take- kids or adults or both?

Of course, assuming one gets the luxury of time to spread....out....a trip.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I can't speak about the Fort directly as I have not stayed there yet, always off site. But on my longer stays (10 and 12 days) I have found the following.

Our first full day in FL is usually a rest day. After driving down, hubby and I are tired and need to recharge our batteries. We usually sleep in, hit a store for whatever we may need, have a nice dinner and maybe visit downtown Disney.

After 2 park days in a row we are usually ready for a rest day. The kids never want to go to the park 3 days in a row. They would rather hang out, play and swim after 2 days in the parks. After a rest day, they are ready for another park day. I try not to over plan, instead go where the mood takes us.

I think that Fort Wilderness will be great for us since my hubby and son love to fish. My kids love the sea racers, and the animals. They will love biking/skating/scooter riding and swimming. I think the Fort will add a new dimension to our off days.

 

[KristinU]

We tend to do the parks every day, but just for a portion of the day - since we are beholden to the school calendar we've been going during busy seasons lately, so that means the parks way early in the morning and come back to chill at the Fort by lunchtime for the rest of the day...maybe go back into a park for something special on an evening or two. HOWEVER, we've only gone for a week...if we were to stay longer I think we'd split it out more.

 

[KPSmithSr]

This is the way we approached doing WDW. We visit the parks three or four days and then take a day off. If there is a big desire to go to a park on our "day off" we do not go until the afternoon. The days we visit the parks, we normally take a mid-day break to come back and relax at the pool or hang around the camper. In the late afternoon or early evening we head back to the parks. We tend to eat super at EPCOT so we would head to EPCOT after the break. On our day(s) off, we get up late, have a big breakfast (not very big ones on our park visit days) and do stuff around the Fort or other things. The pool is the main event but mostly whatever the kids want to do. We found that this "day off" schedule keeps everyone from getting too tired but still see most of what we want. The days off also force us to do different things. Sometimes we visit other resorts, especially Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is another cool thing to visit. We also hit downtown Disney on our day off. We always end with a park day, just seems like the thing to do. Hope that gives you some ideas, Good luck and have fun.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

We tend to do the parks every day, but just for a portion of the day . . .

1) Yep, also our plan.
2) We like a few hours in the park and the balance at the campground.
3) We alternate mornings-afternoons-nights to improve the experience.
4) Usually during a trip, we make a full-day at the campground.
5) Just for a break to veg-out.

 

[retired and happy]

We go where we feel like going, when we feel like going. We're on vacation. Usually that means more Fort days than Park days, and usually not more than 2 park days in a row...or park afternoons.

 

[Bearikens]

My DW and I have used the commando approach to the parks (see as much as possible in limited time), used a rest day at the end of the stay, or used a rest day in the middle and end. One thing to keep in mind is that park tickets will expire 14 consecutive days after their first use, except for those purchased with the no expiration option. This is the main reason we tend to save up the day off until the end of our stay (so we"re not paying of park days we aren't using). Kids over 7 should be able to handle full park days, but I've seen many children under 7 getting tired and cranky by 3 pm. Adults, if they allow themselves to, can enjoy both the parks and FW without getting bored as there is a LOT to occupy their sense of wonder and enjoyment. Word to the wise, try not to try to cram too much in a single park day. Plan some quiet time while in the parks...sit down and people watch, have a relaxing lunch or dinner, and sit down and watch a parade. A good rule of thumb is to allow at least 2 days per park. Piece of advise, try not to touch queue ropes or holders and if you do then be sure to not touch your face or eyes until you wash your hands. One trip I picked up a rather nasty virus that hit the day we were leaving and I suspect the queues was where I got it. Now, I avoid touching the queues and haven't been sick since and I now take and use hand sanitizer.

I could spend several days just exploring and enjoying all the activities available at FW and I have seen children spending hours just running around the camping loops...not to mention riding bicycles, playing with other children, fishing, swimming, visiting the petting zoo, and nature watching.

Generally, most people who go to WDW tend to be planning their next visit before they leave to go home, so don't feel disappointed if you don't get to see everything this time. Heck, we are still finding new things to see and do and we have been there multiple times over several years.

Hope this helps

 

[TOGA]

We usually do 1 Fort day per every 2 consecutive Park days. It's worked out pretty well so far.

 

[North of Mouse]

We have been having AP's for the last years, so we tend to go in the parks every day, though, depending on our feelings, do take breaks and go back to the MH for awhile.

Unlike most, FW, in and of itself, has never been our biggest draw. We love it there, but we don't drive that far just for an awesome campground. It's part of the complete relaxing picture for us, but the parks are the main draw.

 

[alayne]

I'm liking this thread. We are going for our first LONG trip. Our past trips have been 5 to 7 days including travel. This trip we get 16 days including travel!!! My family has already said they want to spend the first and last full day at the Fort. Which is fine with me. They also don't love AK so that is usually a 1/2 day for us so we can spend the other 1/2 at the Fort. I'm hoping this trip I can spend a lot more time in the World Showcase at Epcot. My DH and I really want to explore each country and try the Drinking and Eating Around the World.

Our trip is still a long way off and without seeing Park Hours it is hard to really plan days. We also fine that we have to be more go with the flow with our kids. Lots of times how I plan the day ahead of time is not how the day ends up turing out. I was surprised on our first trip to the Fort how much our kids would rather stay at the Fort then at the parks. Can't wait to read more about how others divide up their time between the Fort and Parks.