Having regrets about too short of a trip?

[lynzi2004]

I'm going to assume you are in southeast Missouri, because 14 hours seems a bit optimistic.

That's just too much time on the road for the payoff. I'd be waiting and saving to see if we could add a couple days at a later date.

Yes, SE MO...just outside the Bootheel

 

[Planogirl]

I'm considering a three day trip to Orlando in November but I think that we would fly since we are in Dallas. That is way too much time in a car for such a short time.

However if you don't mind road trip then it might be OK for you.

 

[Amore Disney]

I'm currently in MO and I would not think a short trip would be worth it for a 28 hour round-trip drive. And that 28 hours would be optimistic, with no traffic or long stops. The Disney parks are fun but very exhausting to tour, especially with little ones. Not to mention, you would be exhausted from driving for long distances (even if it's not overnight). Also if you plan to see everything in two days, then it might feel more rushed and stressful. It's easy to think that this trip is for the kids and forget about yourself, but I hope that a trip to WDW would be a vacation for the parents too.

 

[Accident]

If I'm in the mood, no trip is too short or long. You have a few days there with a park, I think the kids will like it. If you can fit it, the kids would probably really enjoy animal kingdom so don't overlook that park. Might be good to combine it with church and springs is opened later to head there for dinner and some shopping. I commonly head to springs after AK for dinner and other things it offers.

 

[quagmire0]

Our kids were 4 and 2 on their first trip to WDW and we did 7 days of parks. We used child swap so DW and I could ride the coasters. The 4 year old rode most everything else. We had a blast. I wouldn't say that extending your park time will be a problem. You can also add days and just take days 'off' of the parks to relax at the pool or beach.

We've got 4 kids this go around and actually ended up going from 7 days to 10 days because we tend to feel rushed/worn out at the end of our vacations. Going to take a couple days 'off' in between the park days and try to do some more relaxing. Cost-wise, it's not a huge difference.

We fly, but if I drove that long to get there I'd be more apt to stay longer - even if we're not going to the park every day.

 

[GPC0321]

If you aren't able to add actual days to the vacation, at least consider doing Sunday as a third park day. And since your little ones will mostly be interested in MK, I'd forget hoppers or doing other parks and just split MK into three different days. No need to waste what precious little time you have traveling to other parks where there might be one or two things that the kids would like. Stay in MK where there are more attractions that will appeal to them, and that way you can take mid-day breaks for chilling at the campground, pool time, naps, whatever. Your kiddos won't know anything about the other parks anyway. Save those for when they get a bit older and you can plan a longer trip.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

We got back two weeks ago and stayed Saturday to Saturday with a 5 year old and 2.5 year old. We flew. We did 5 park days: AK, Epcot, MK, rest day, Studios and MK. I feel like we squeezed out every drop of fun this trip. The only thing I think we could have skipped was Epcot, but the character greets and Akershus made it worth it.

We go to church every Sunday, but I'd skip it on vacay and go to Animal Kingdom, at least. I don't believe in park hopping with little ones. We did not take naps but were done at 4 or 430 each day besides one long day at MK for 8pm Wishes. The kids fell asleep on the bus ride or in the stroller.

 

[StuckInKS]

We are from Missouri and it will be a 14 hour drive. Are we wasting our time only coming down for such a short time? Ticket prices, etc only seem to be increasing. Plan was to come back in a couple years when the kids were big enough to do everything, no stroller, etc. Can someone with little ones give me any insight as to what the best length of time is with 2 little ones is? I know everyone's opinions will be different. I just don't want to get down there and be too overwhelmed!

We are from the very eastern edge of KS (two highway minutes from the border of MO) and it takes us 20 hrs (which is really 2 days once you factor in stopping, sleeping, etc.) It is a ROUGH drive, especially with young kids. I would not go that far for such a short trip unless it was the only option for going within the next year. I would wait until I can spend a little more time there. Beyond that, it really depends on your level of Disney love. Our first trip (with 1, 2, 4, and 5 year olds) was 5 days, which I thought for sure would be enough. It wasn't and we have done a minimum 10 days at the parks on all 5 trips since. But our Disney love is at the extreme. Five to seven days might do it for regular folks, but I definitely would not drive that far with young kids for 2 park days. The drive there and back are the worst, and we would for sure fly if it didn't cost $1,500 for our group of 8.

ETA: We have always had multiple kids under 5 for our trips and 5-10 days has never taken that big of a tole on them, but we go slow and at their pace.

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

My first trip, I was 24 yo and my DD was 9 months old. I fell in love. I started crying on Main Street when the castle came in to view. I had no idea the impact Disney would have on me. No matter your children's age, don't underestimate how much time YOU will want to spend at the parks in Disney. Disney truly is for all ages. You may be surprised as you watch your children react to the magic around them, how much they will enjoy and want to do.

If I was traveling that far ( and that's how long our drive is) I would definitely spend more than two days in the parks. Whatever you decide... I hope you have a magical time.

 

[Mainemama]

My first trip was when my kids were 4 and 6. I was also in the second trimester of pregnancy. We flew down (a full day of travel each way, so similar to your scenario) and then had 4 park days. On the last night, we actually looked into changing our flights, as it was way too short! That said, any time is worth it to me. Just be prepared to want more. In your scenario, I would at minimum at a day and avoid hoppers. On Friday, after you set up the tent and swim, maybe have a fun meal at the fort. We love Trails End! I would do Epcot or Animal Kingdom Sunday evening. Both parks can be really enjoyable just to walk around with kids that age. I avoid DS, but I don't like crowded stores, and many others do. Best case scenario... Extend your trip 2 more days. The tent site is cheap, adding 2 days of tickets will cost, but you could protect your rest day, and give a day each to AK and Epcot. You also would feel more down time between your two drives.

 

[AllieBoo]

I would definitely add a day or two if possible. I also would not do park hoppers, and just concentrate mostly on Mk with maybe a day at either Epcot or AK. Fort Wilderness is a great campground, we camped there once and loved it! Enjoy!

 

[caliope]

Thank you all for your input! I'm going to have to talk it over with DH, he is Disney clueless. He thinks I am way over-planning, over-thinking, etc! His plan is basically to walk in and go wherever we want...I'm guessing he is going to be in for a big surprise! The length of the drive is long, but we never fly anywhere and routinely make 14 hr drives to see his sister in NC, almost always just drive overnight. That was DH's suggestion, but I totally nixed that! There is no way I could drive overnight and then do a full day in the parks with 2 kids!

I'm mostly concerned with just not having enough time in the parks, but mostly just concentrating on MK. DH's thoughts are just to skip what we don't have time for and come back again sometime. I'm thinking I can likely add a day or two on, hopefully some decent FP+ will still be available! Thanks!

Last April we drove from Massachusetts with our son, who was 2.5 at the time. It's a 19 hour drive under ideal (no traffic, no construction, no stops) conditions. Needless to say, we knew conditions wouldn't be ideal so we broke it up and planned "interesting" stops along the way down and back: half day in Washington DC, half day in Savannah GA, half day in Philly. We also built in a planned 2 day visit at my parents' time share north of Orlando. This allowed for us to arrive at WDW fairly well rested. With the lengthy travel time on both ends, we opted for 4 days in the parks and a half day at DS, and that was fine at our son's age. Any less than 4 park days and I think we would have felt it wasn't worth it. But, we also didn't jam pack our park days. We had hoppers and would do a park in the AM, rest at the resort midday, then do another park in the PM. DS was happy regardless because it was all novel (We also took him when he was 16 months but he didn't remember it). On the whole, we viewed the entire trip, including the drive time, as our spring "vacation", because it was more than just a Disney trip for us. So, I guess my point is that 2-3 days can be worth it, if the attitude going in is that the whole journey is a family adventure. But, if you're focused only on the Disney aspects and the drive is just a means of getting there, you may find yourself too exhausted to enjoy the short time you'll have on site.

 

[Lee & Kerry]

Can someone help me out here. DH and our 2 kids (DD4, DS2) are planning a trip to WDW at the end of April. Coming in on a Friday and leaving Tuesday. Staying at Ft. Wilderness in a tent. We have 2 day tickets. Plan was to setup and enjoy resort on Friday, MK on Monday, Church, Disney Springs, Resort on Sunday, and back to MK on Monday. Leaving Tuesday morning. We have even toyed with the idea of adding park hoppers as there is a couple things at Epcot and DHS that we would also enjoy doing sometime in our 2 park days.

Our reasoning for the short trip, was that our kids were small (the youngest will be iffy on whether or not he will be tall enough for many of the coasters) and we knew an 8 day blowout in the parks would be way too much for them. Our DD just wants to see princess and buy a princess dress DS just wants to slide at the pool!

We are from Missouri and it will be a 14 hour drive. Are we wasting our time only coming down for such a short time? Ticket prices, etc only seem to be increasing. Plan was to come back in a couple years when the kids were big enough to do everything, no stroller, etc. Can someone with little ones give me any insight as to what the best length of time is with 2 little ones is? I know everyone's opinions will be different. I just don't want to get down there and be too overwhelmed!

That would be a painful drive for little return, we drove from Colorado..thirty hours..stayed two weeks to recover just to drive back..won't drive that again until we retire and drive it one way down and stay.

 

[jmccoy18]

Our last trip we went with our 2yr old and we did 4 days in the parks and that was fine. I don't think I would have been happy doing any less. We were there for a total of 6 days and it was just right. We were able to take time away from the parks and enjoy the resort (Ft. Wilderness- the campgrounds are awesome!!!) and take our time in the parks and not worry about having to take mid day breaks with our nap schedule.

If I was you I would try an add at least 1 or 2 days to your trip to make the long drive worth it and give you a little room to enjoy the parks more.

 

[crazedprincess]

Just reading about the long drive, the tent set up, quick days in MK, pack up and leave after only 3 days..... that exhausts me! I think you would be much happier if you waited a year and really really saved up money for a longer trip. And I think you are (or your DH is) underestimating the vastness of Disney World. It's not just a little amusement park where you can just walk in and wander around with no plan. (Just basing off of what your hubby said with your overplanning).

 

[SplashMo]

I would leave Saturday, arrive Sunday, Animal kingdom till 2-3PM hopping over to Epcot for world showcase and illuminations. Tuesday MK, Wed return home or see MK one more day...

 

[Belle5]

If you look at the ticket structure...once you pay for the first three days the remaining days are pretty inexpensive, relatively speaking. I think I would save more and stay longer. You need to make that challenging drive have some pay-off! Two days in the parks is just not going to cut it!

 

[mrzrich]

Forget about being too short for Disney. That's too short for me to set up my camp site. When I was a tent camper I loathed setting up and breaking down camp for quickie trips. If I'm gonna set up, it's staying up for a few days.

I also think about the long drive and then sleeping uncomfortably for 2 nights and then the long drive home.

Not trying to be nosy, just trying to be helpful. How much was your site. I ask, because value rooms can often be found on orbitz or cheaptickets.com for cheaper than a campsite when you apply their promo code at checkout

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Minimum for us is at least five days, that's one day per park and an added day at Magic Kingdom. Two days is not really enough time to do anything, IMHO, unless you are an experienced Disney fan and made time to visit the parks on top of something else. I wouldn't make that drive for such a short amount of park time.

 

[SplashMo]

I would leave Saturday, arrive Sunday, Animal kingdom till 2-3PM hopping over to Epcot for world showcase and illuminations. Tuesday MK, Wed return home or see MK one more day...

Thinking more about this.

Leave Sat
Arrive Sunday
MK for one day Monday. Rope Drop with FP+ for 2 hours after park opens.
MK rope drop until noon next day. Hop to Epcot with FP+ for Test Track. See the World Showcase, watch illuminations
AK for one day until 4PM.
Leave

It may be even wiser to

Leave Sat
Arrive Sunday
MK for two days starting on Monday. Rope Drop with FP+ for 2 hours after park opens.
EP for one day rope drop with FP+ for SOARIN. Ride TT first and then use SOARIN FP. Ride some other rides and then see the World Showcase, watch illuminations
AK for one day until 4PM.
Leave