How do I take it easy at Disney?

[Dug720]

How do you take it easy?

You make up your mind that you DON'T HAVE TO...
1 - Do it ALL
2 - Go at top speed
3 - Have every second - even down to potty breaks - timed out

And you make up your mind that you CAN...
1 - Take time to explore the parks (trails at AK, countries in Epcot, etc.)
2 - Do the shows
3 - Take breaks if you want (yes, even if you're not at a resort adjacent to a park)
4 - Be open to being spontaneous and not all planned out

Ultimately it's up to you whether or not you take it easy. It's all in your mindset.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Once we started going regularly (twice a year, now it's down to once) we had no problem doing parks in a more relaxing way. We no longer did a park touring plan and just planned our LLMP (I really miss FP+). We do not RD and much rather stay until park closes and we just take our time and then sleep in a bit. We do not need to hit all the rides and if it's a long wait, oh well, maybe later on. Even though we like taking it slow at the parks, we still only do maybe 1 or 2 TS meals, they just seem to take too long. LOL We split the park days up and have a non-park day every 3rd day if possible. We hate midday breaks, I actually do not find that relaxing, it just feels like we waste so much time, going back and forth, then if we swim everyone needs to shower afterwards and with myself, DW and 2 DD's that can take awhile. None of my family are nap people and just sitting in our room would actually drive me nuts. We much rather just grab a snack at the park and just relax there. We use to have AP's and rarely park hopped, we just take our time in the park we're in. We really miss the old extra evening hours where the park stayed open until 1AM Those were great times!! The biggest thing is to go in knowing that you do not need to get everything done. We have been doing it this way for about 20 years and when we get back home we never feel like we need another vacation to rest from our vacation. LOL

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Two words: water parks

 

[angryduck71]

I schedule a spa morning or afternoon. Either at the Dolphin or at Grand Floridian. In August, doing the spa at the Dolphin and also our down day. Going to transfer to Universal and do an escape room and enjoy the resorts as well. In September, doing the spa at the Grand Floridian, having brunch there too... then, going in later for MNSSHP.

 

[leebee]

After 30-something trips, I know there will always be another Disney trip, which makes it easier to take things at a slower pace and not kill ourselves.
If our trip is 5 days, I get a 4 day base ticket and take the 3rd day off, so 2 park days, a down day, and 2 park days. Now... that "down" day might include lunch at Disney springs, or a monorail/skyliner tour, or maybe head over to MK on a bus and ride the water transportation, so we can have lunch at one resort, cocktails at another, etc.

If it's a 4 day trip, I'll get 3 day park hoppers. Do two park days, a down day, and a park day. We designate one park to be our "evening" park (often Epcot) and hop over there for supper each night before hitting some of the Epcot attractions. Still gives us a down day to do whatever.

We also don't rope drop. It's vacation. If I am getting up to an alarm clock at the crack of dawn, I might as well stay home. If we are out of our room and headed for a bus by 10am, it's a good day! I know there are folks who are rope droppers and back at their resort for lunch, but that isn't me. I don't love hanging around the pool, and if I'm in bed by 10, I'm up by 4. Not my idea of a vacation! We'd rather head out by 10am, do the park du jour, have a nice table service meal, and either stay for the evening events OR go to one of the many lovely Disney lounges/bars for a cocktail or two. Wash, rinse, repeat... works for us.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Two words: water parks

or swimming pool.

 

[tinkerbella16]

After so many trips, resort time has become more important than park time for us. We are early morning people, so we love to rope drop... but we take a midday break every day of our trip and return in the evenings. It really does help, especially since we go in September when the heat can get exhausting. We love relaxing at the pool and just enjoying the resort.

 

[loves to dive]

I really depends on your personality, length of stay, where you are staying, etc. I've been going for over 40 years and am less than young (O.k. I'm old, 68). I go solo often but through the years have gone with my toddler son who is now grown and takes his toddler daughter and other family members. I don't plan a thing, nothing. No ADRs except day of, I don't buy LLs, I don't know when I'm getting to the parks or when I'm leaving. My entire trip is go with flow and on my own time and what I'm feeling like doing. Even when my son was young, we weren't ride centric. We have the advantage of having been going since before even FP so we got used to waiting in lines. I tend to wake up very early, around 4 or 5, at home or on vacation. I'll sometimes get up and make a cup of coffee and just lay around and read or if I have a balcony sit on the balcony and enjoy the resort waking up. Sometimes I'll go back to sleep, sometimes I'll take a walk. If I go to a park around rope drop it's not normally to ride a ride, it's to get breakfast and I sit and watch the park wake up. I'll go to whatever ride I feel like riding and if it looks like the wait is too long, I'll move along. Too long just depends on my mood. I have an AP but even those times I don't, I always have PHs. I'll usually leave my morning park around lunch. Depending on the park and my mood, I may or may not have lunch there or at the resort. I go back to the resort and either go to the pool or just rest in my room. How long, again depends on my mood (see a trend?) and then I'll head out to a different park. Rinse and repeat. When I'm at the parks I love to explore every nook and cranny, enjoying the details and finding new surprises. If I'm in the mood for a TS meal, I just hop on MDE (usually during my afternoon break) and see what's available that night. Since I'm an adult and not picky, any park/resort/time is fine. Again, just depends on my mood. I've never not found an ADR for day of, is it at the "must do" places? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's a great way to find new restaurants. I tend to stay at the Epcot resorts (most of the time Swan/Dolphin) so I hit up Epcot every single day of my trip. I've been known to accidently hit 4 parks in a day, just deciding this park is too crowded or I'm not feeling it and moving on.

It's all about my mood for me. Too hot, back to the room. Too crowded, go to a different park. Hungry, ice cream sounds good. Oh look, FOLK starts in 15 min. and I'm right here, think I'll go see that. Wait, I've never been down that path before, wonder what's down there, let's see. Hmmm, that bench looks mighty cozy and there is a stand to get something to eat/drink right there, think I'll just sit and enjoy that.

 

[Minnesota!]

Pool, Boardwalk for a treat and people watching, mini golf, resort hopping. We love going to Fort Wilderness and playing checkers or tetherball (if it is still there...been a few years), etc.

 

[toesmom]

It is tough to take things slow at disney because tickets are expensive, annual passes are expensive. Unless your tickets are paid for by someone else or you live close enough to get good discounts on tickets and passes, each day at disney is an expensive day. My thought is: you can rest at home, at disney do everything you can, especially if you paid alot for the tickets.

In the summer you can't really do much in that bad heat, so summer lets you have the afternoon pool breaks, but it IS VERY HOT.

We just came back July 20 stayed at BWV and Polynesian resort - but it was incredibly uncomfortably hot. And we did as much as we could because our annual passes were crazy expensive and were expiring.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We have been to Disney now quite a few times and still love going to the parks but we are trying to figure out how to slow down and relax more while we are there. What are some of your best tips or ideas to be better at taking it easy while at Disney World?

We've also been to Disney (WDW and DL) many times. Got married at WDW and became DVC members. Always thought the planning was too much and 20+ years later way too much. Bothers me that what once was included (FP) now is costs more (LL) and other things too. We've been saying for years that a Disney Park vacation is not relaxing and we don't consider it so much as a "vacation" as a get away. I know it's about what you want out of it and what you plan. We took a break from the parks and went on some cruises. Enjoyed that very much and for my husband who had never been on a cruise and thought he would hate it, loved it. We have the mind set now to slow things down, take our time and not do as much. No longer go from morning till close park hopping. We no longer get park hoppers. If we don't get that reservation or get on that ride, it's not the end of the world. I can only speak for myself here, with recent events in my life and being older, it's now about where we go and what we do. I just want to be with my husband and daughter whether it's watching TV, going to Disney or whatever, and the time just being with them.

 

[Upatnoon]

Stay in a resort with more space, especially when traveling with kids.

There are many, larger accommodations around Disneyworld if you can't pay for a DVC unit.

The ability to relax in your own space, have a kitchen for snacks can make a huge difference.

 

[hes122]

We've finally started taking midday breaks to either go back to the room out at the pool. The first time we did it, we intended to go to the pool but naps seemed to be more appealing once we got back to the room.

On my last trip (which was a solo trip) I ended up taking nap breaks on my two heavy park days. They provided me with enough boost to get through the rest of the day once I went back to the parks.

 

[NickC]

Relaxing can be stressful. But, it's much more enjoyable for us. We've found that there is a sweet spot for planning. Too much and we are tired from doing too much. Too little and we are missing out on our favorites. A little planning can alleviate some stress. For example, we like to have a dinner reservation. Sure it ties us to a park and a time. But, it's so much less stressful that trying to figure out where to eat--or what isn't booked---in the moment. We also like to have a basic morning plan worked out before hand. It could be as simple as doing the right half of MK starting with Space Mountain and then People Mover. We do like to have LL's, but we rarely use more than 3-4. We've found that using too many has us crossing the park too much.

 

[North of Mouse]

We have been to Disney now quite a few times and still love going to the parks but we are trying to figure out how to slow down and relax more while we are there. What are some of your best tips or ideas to be better at taking it easy while at Disney World?

In all my years of going to Disney, I have never seen a rope drop. I don’t care how much more I could get done, I am not showing up that early. We arrive around 10am after a decent breakfast & do what we can. Around 4pm we stop for a TS meal either before or after hopping to a different park. We use the trip between parks & the dinner for a 90ish minute break.
Edited to add we tried the afternoon break and were just bored. I can sit around and do nothing at home and I don’t nap so why are we going back to the resort? I’m sure it works for others but not us.

I wish I could add some tip as others have done but I honestly don't know how. When I first saw the OP's post I thought it was a joke or 'tongue in cheek' question. I have never thought about the two things in the same paragraph.
In all our 50+ years of going together to WDW we are just now beginning to slow down a little. We mostly do rope drop and stay as long as we feel comfortable, usually 5 ish. Then we go get ready for our dinner. Our 'rests' are the sit down shows and a snack or quick serve break. We know the parks in and out and don't tire of being there, but we do our relaxation at home before and after.
Now, I see, after reading so many replies, we may be in the minority, I just don't know. Anyhow, we're all different in our vacationing styles and must do what fits us best. We also go in the Spring and miss the heat.

 

[mom2rtk]

I wish I could add some tip as others have done but I honestly don't know how. When I first saw the OP's post I thought it was a joke or 'tongue in cheek' question. I have never thought about the two things in the same paragraph.
In all our 50+ years of going together to WDW we are just now beginning to slow down a little. We mostly do rope drop and stay as long as we feel comfortable, usually 5 ish. Then we go get ready for our dinner. Our 'rests' are the sit down shows and a snack or quick serve break. We know the parks in and out and don't tire of being there, but we do our relaxation at home before and after.
Now, I see, after reading so many replies, we may be in the minority, I just don't know. Anyhow, we're all different in our vacationing styles and must do what fits us best. We also go in the Spring and miss the heat.

Same for us, and we typically go in December and January. That does make a difference.

 

[bullcat_02]

I wish I could add some tip as others have done but I honestly don't know how. When I first saw the OP's post I thought it was a joke or 'tongue in cheek' question. I have never thought about the two things in the same paragraph.
In all our 50+ years of going together to WDW we are just now beginning to slow down a little. We mostly do rope drop and stay as long as we feel comfortable, usually 5 ish. Then we go get ready for our dinner. Our 'rests' are the sit down shows and a snack or quick serve break. We know the parks in and out and don't tire of being there, but we do our relaxation at home before and after.
Now, I see, after reading so many replies, we may be in the minority, I just don't know. Anyhow, we're all different in our vacationing styles and must do what fits us best. We also go in the Spring and miss the heat.

I can't take it easy either. I think it depends on how often you are able to go too. I never know when my next trip will be so I always want to do rides more than once every trip and my trips are always between 9-11 days with only one rest day.