How do you spend 8 full days in Disney?

[goofy4wdw2]

We've been to Disney many times (before kids and now with kids ages 8, 5.5, and 2) and the last few trips we say we're going to relax more but we usually don't end up relaxing much at all. We do get some pool time and definitely an afternoon at Downtown Disney, but shopping isn't super relaxing with 3 kids anyway

With 8 full days we usually plan to go into parks 7 of the days even if it's only part of the day and one Downtown Disney day (with some pool time)...we usually shop til we drop so while it's fun it isn't restful. We keep thinking we'll spend more time at the resort since we're DVC and we'll be back but somehow we always go into the parks and don't leave Seems weird to travel all the way to WDW and not hit most attractions but we usually fall into bed exhausted at night and come home needing a vacation from our vacation. Don't get me wrong, we love Disney, but we want to slow down a bit. Maybe just having 3 kids is exhausting?

What do most of you who go approx 8 full days do? What is your typical itinerary and do you feel like you miss out on a lot when you take a lot of time to relax at the resort?

 

[JAG107]

We're pretty much the same. We always stay 8-9 nights and hit the parks every day, although in 5 trips we have made only one rope drop! Its just too difficult to get out of bed for us. And now that we have ds1 and dd4 we won't be going full throttle, but will still spend a lot of time park hopping. Dtd has little interest for us, usually when we do go it just reminds us that we could be in a park instead of being at a shopping center.

 

[PoohsFan1]

When we are there for 8+ full days, our itinerary consist of at least 2 days at MK, at least 2 days at Epcot, 1-2 days at DHS, and 1 day at AK. We also like to throw in a day or two of non park days to lay around by the pool, go to DTD, and to resort hop. We are definitely not park commandos either, we always take a midday break after spending the morning at the park and then head back to the same resort for dinner and night time activities. We never feel like we miss out on anything because we do spend a lot of time at our resort, and if we do happen to miss out on something, we will just put it on our list for our next trip....that is one of the many reasons why we love our DVC membership .

 

[disneynutz]

Depends on what mood we are in. Sleep in, watch movies, go for walks, maybe a few hours in the parks, watch the people on the boardwalk and the boats on the lake.

Bill

 

[SarahInMN]

We go to the parks every day but probably only ride a few rides. We spend alot of time walking around (ie all the paths at AK, looking at all the pavilions at EPCOT, exploring the gardens at various parks) and wandering through shops. We also try to find all the photopass photographers and get great pictures (we always pre buy).

We keep meaning to try mini golf but haven't yet. We also like to have a snack and a drink at various places (ie maybe just go to Poly for a lapu lapu and split one sushi order).

So a usual day is get up and have breakfast, spend a few hours in a park, then break for lunch, and head back to the room to rest. Then we go for dinner and another park usually.

 

[hmillerbarilla]

We have been doing about 10 nights in the summers and weeks throughout the year, and we really have gotten into a good groove.

My kids LOVE community hall. They can spend hours there. We play shuffleboard at BLT. We ride the boats to DTD. We take the restaurant tours at AKL. We play in the pool for 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon.

We typically do a park in the morning until 11 at the latest, then are back at the resort until around 5 and then we're off to dinner either at a resort or a park (usually Epcot!) We do campfires and movies and spend a ton of time in the room.

One summer I thought to myself, I spent $$$ on tickets and all we did was swim! But, it was a great trip, and I'm so thankful for this time with my kids.

 

[NoleFan]

I find that now that we are DVC owners, we spend less time at the park & more time enjoying all that the resorts have to offer. A few hours at the parks is good for us. We pace ourselves instead of pounding the pavement. Love the pools, my DS loves the community hall, & all that each resort has to offer.

 

[disneynutz]

We have been doing about 10 nights in the summers and weeks throughout the year, and we really have gotten into a good groove.

My kids LOVE community hall. They can spend hours there. We play shuffleboard at BLT. We ride the boats to DTD. We take the restaurant tours at AKL. We play in the pool for 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon.

We typically do a park in the morning until 11 at the latest, then are back at the resort until around 5 and then we're off to dinner either at a resort or a park (usually Epcot!) We do campfires and movies and spend a ton of time in the room.

One summer I thought to myself, I spent $$$ on tickets and all we did was swim! But, it was a great trip, and I'm so thankful for this time with my kids.

You need to get some non-expiration tickets for those vacations.

Bill

 

[hmillerbarilla]

You need to get some non-expiration tickets for those vacations.

Bill

We do APs. I've thought about the 10 day with water parks too but that would be something else I'd have to keep track of. I'd prefer my kids aren't aware of the water parks yet and we'll do that when they're older!

Could I be doing a better ticket strategy? I'm always up for learning something new!!!

 

[rentayenta]

We do 10-11 days and really take the opportunity to explore the resort. We really enjoy our resort days and like at least a full day at each resort. We like to do split stays. We seem to do a lot of half days at the park or at least take long breaks too and always do at least one water park day. They're so fun.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

We are good at maximizing relaxation there so far--key is scheduling so you don't feel like you are skipping the parks. Schedule 2-3 resort days with pool/pool hopping on the books, movies under the stars, campfire at Fort Wilderness, do a late lunch/early dinner at 3/4pm somewhere that is a fun trip to get to (i.e. Artist Point, Boma, Ohana) and have a resort exploration day/scavenger hunt day where you do something like a cupcake crawl or a photo safari where you have to find a ---- at each resort. But put it on the agenda or it may feel like a day skipping the parks rather than resort scavenger hunt day. Hope this helps. Use those DVC perks like community halls, etc, but be sure you build the anticipation for that too.

We will probably try one of the fishing charters at some point too and I think I will surprise my DH with the driving experience in one of the crazy luxury cars at some point too.

 

[JustTinking]

We are good at maximizing relaxation there so far--key is scheduling so you don't feel like you are skipping the parks. Schedule 2-3 resort days with pool/pool hopping on the books, movies under the stars, campfire at Fort Wilderness, do a late lunch/early dinner at 3/4pm somewhere that is a fun trip to get to (i.e. Artist Point, Boma, Ohana) and have a resort exploration day/scavenger hunt day where you do something like a cupcake crawl or a photo safari where you have to find a ---- at each resort. But put it on the agenda or it may feel like a day skipping the parks rather than resort scavenger hunt day. Hope this helps. Use those DVC perks like community halls, etc, but be sure you build the anticipation for that too.

We will probably try one of the fishing charters at some point too and I think I will surprise my DH with the driving experience in one of the crazy luxury cars at some point too.

Wow, you are so creative!! Will you plan my next vacation? What is a cupcake crawl?

 

[com_op_2000]

Try planning for part of a day offsite:
At Gaylord Palms Resort; they have 3 acres under a glass roof. The area under the roof is divided into three areas Key West, Everglades, and St. Augustine/type fort. There are fish, snakes, gators, etc that you can view. You can spend 3 to 4 hours over there touring the resort/areas and it does not cost anything.
Or if you do not want to leave the WDW area:
How about a horse and buggy ride at PO/RS (The old Dixie Landings) or FWC?
AKV/Sanna for dinner and watch the animals on the savanna.
Take a monorail tour of resorts - stop and rest/get back on/tour. The lobby of GF has a band playing in the afternoons, set, listen, and relax as much as you want.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Wow, you are so creative!! Will you plan my next vacation? What is a cupcake crawl?

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/05/28/food-challenge-the-disney-food-blog-2012-cupcake-crawl/

It seems like each resort has specialties We did this for the girls's birthday, skipping the ones in the parks.


Also just heard on the ResortLoop podcast Ep 10 that SOME transportation drivers have cards (like trading cards) That could be fun--transportation safari!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Don't forget jogging trails, long morning walks, dinner theaters at hotels (hoop de do, Spirit of Hawaii, mickey's bbq, hotel character meals, and I am sure i am forgetting something, ESPN radio show, etc) surrey rides, horseback riding at Ft Wilderness, or even (gulp) go offsite.

I really enjoy just wandering the resorts

 

[double r]

We like to resort hop and sometimes just stop and get drinks, or at the Poly the wife has to get her Dole Whip, we are also campers so we take some time to roam around the Fort, if it's near a holiday the campers usually decorate their sites so night time is better for that.
One of the things we want to check out is ( I think) piano Bob at once again I think Port Orleans( not totally sure) we hear it's a good show. If I'm wrong on location please correct to the right resort.
Last time we did the mini golf thing, don't forget your DVC discount and had a good time. Good luck and slow down some and you will be surprised what all you can find.

 

[amym2]

OP, when our kids were younger (and we only have two, DS11 and DD9), vacationing was always exhausting, no matter where. Any time we'd try to take a walk, DD would want to push the stroller instead of sit in it. Watching the kids at the pool was work, not fun. Meals were quick because the kids were ready to go after eating their entrees.

It will get easier to relax as the kids get older! We used to go, go, go at the parks, but now we do find more time to relax at the resorts. We know we will always be back, so we spend more time out of the parks that in them. Last trip, we only did TL and Legoland, so that forced us to spend more time at OKW and SSR. We played minigolf, walked around some other resorts, participated in the activities at the pools.

I used to be the one who couldn't imagine going to WDW and not doing a park every day. I've learned to adjust. That said, we are planning a 2014 WDW trip and we won't have done the parks in three years (we did the non-parks trip in 2012 and are going to Aulani next month), so I expect that that trip will be more go, go, go at the parks. But the kids are old enough to handle it- and old enough that they can just chill in the room while I take a nap to recover.

 

[ludari]

When I say over a week at Disney I obviously hit the parks but not everyday. I also like to relax at the resort by hanging out at the pool, attending visiting other DVC resorts, watching the eletrical water parade, ejoying an outdoor movie and enjoying several nice meals at various resorts. I will spend a little time in Downtown Disney but like you said that is not really relaxing. I have in the past arranged for DVC tours of resorts and I enjoy traveling by boat when I can. During one of my extended stays at AKV I enjoyed the animal and cultural programs offered.

 

[dsneygirl]

We were there for 10 nights last week. We watched the movie at our resort one night, went to the FW movie one night. We had a car so we ate off site a couple nights and did some shopping. Spent an entire afternoon at the GF pool. We also had a couple hiccups (my DH got a head cold, DS#2 threw up) that slowed us down.

 

[goofy4wdw2]

OP, when our kids were younger (and we only have two, DS11 and DD9), vacationing was always exhausting, no matter where. Any time we'd try to take a walk, DD would want to push the stroller instead of sit in it. Watching the kids at the pool was work, not fun. Meals were quick because the kids were ready to go after eating their entrees.

It will get easier to relax as the kids get older! We used to go, go, go at the parks, but now we do find more time to relax at the resorts. We know we will always be back, so we spend more time out of the parks that in them. Last trip, we only did TL and Legoland, so that forced us to spend more time at OKW and SSR. We played minigolf, walked around some other resorts, participated in the activities at the pools.

Thank you SO MUCH for this post! I feel like we try to relax and it's not really relaxing...so it makes me feel better that it's not just our kids...and to know that it will get easier!!

Thanks everyone for your replies...I love all I the ideas!!