How long a trip is too long?

[AntePrincess]

We could take a ten day trip at a value or a five day trip at a deluxe (no codes or promos, which might change the choice some), one seems a bit too long and the other a bit too short. So what are your thoughts on good trip lengths for a then 3yo and 6yo? I don't want too induce too much homesickness.

Worse comes to worse, we can stay at a value or a moderate and pick a length between ten and five, it's just the circumstances that got me thinking. TIA!

 

[budafam]

We went for 6 days but only took advantage of the parks for 5. We hit perfect weather though. No rain. We did one park each day and then the 5th day we did MK again. I thought it was perfect and by the 6th day (which we had tickets for too), we decided to head home. I plan to do the same next time but on the 6th day we'll be heading to Harry Potter World.

 

[michele2042]

We could take a ten day trip at a value or a five day trip at a deluxe (no codes or promos, which might change the choice some), one seems a bit too long and the other a bit too short. So what are your thoughts on good trip lengths for a then 3yo and 6yo? I don't want too induce too much homesickness.

Worse comes to worse, we can stay at a value or a moderate and pick a length between ten and five, it's just the circumstances that got me thinking. TIA!

Just speaking for myself, I would choose to rent points from a DVC member and get a deluxe villa. You would have access to a kitchen and more room for the young ones to spred out. Breaks would be more comfortable in a home like atmosphere. We do 5 days but I don't have young ones any longer. It's 4 adults. Myself, hubby, grown son and his girlfriend and although we would love 10 days, 5 days has been sufficient for us. Love the villas!

 

[i married goofy]

We have gone two times for two weeks and are going for another 2 weeks
in september. Walt Disney World is THE only place i don't get homesick. I have 4 kids (11-9-8-6) and they have never complained about going home early...but you know your family best! Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[Techtravler]

At the beginning of July we spent 9 days at WDW. I too wondered if that would be too long, but we did not get to do many of the things on our to do list. It did not seem too long at all.

We stayed at the Waldorf 2 nights and AKL for 6, so we certainly were enjoying our accommodations. If I did not really enjoy where we were staying I think it may have seemed a bit long.

I'm not sure how set you are at staying on-site, but if it were me, I would much rather stay longer off site at a really nice place than less days on-site at a deluxe.

There are some great places to stay in Orlando and when you compare the prices to a Disney property they seem like bargains.

The Swan and Dolphin could be a great compromise, it has much better pricing, it is still on-site and you can walk to 2 of the parks.

At AKL one of the negatives for me was staying at a Disney property, but still having to drive or take Disney transport around.

TT

 

[mpetti]

We are taking our longest trip this time 7 nights/ 8 days. I wish we could do 10 days but my DH has to work. I never get bored of disney and dream if I had the money I would love to spend a month!! LOL. If you are worried 10 days is too long why not price a mod. resort for maybe 7 or 8 days. Good Luck and enjoy your planning.

Maryann

 

[wendy522]

We never stay less than 10 days.. We were there in March stayed 16 days and we are going in Oct for 14 days. An ideal trip to me would be 21 days.

 

[acwsmom]

Our family prefers the longer trips. We've done four days and seven days and we're planning on doing ten days next May. We hated the four day trip since it felt like we had to rush to do everything. We never really took any rest breaks because we didn't want to miss out on anything. So we did a parade/fireworks every night and made sure we were there for all the afternoon parades, rushed to do all the rides on our list, etc.

Last November we did seven days and LOVED it! We didn't rush this time and spent some wonderful afternoons at the resort just enjoying the pool. We knew we could skip an evening parade because we could always go back another night to see it. So it just seemed so much more restful to us. I'm really looking forward to next May's 10 day trip since I think we'll enjoy it even more. With young kids, having an opportunity to just slow down the pace and space out everything makes it feel like more of a vacation!

 

[epcot.girl]

Our next trip is 20 nights (so 21 days) and I probably still won't want to come home at the end of it!

Longest trip prior to this was 16 nights (shortest was 12 nights), and I never get bored of being there.

 

[ancestry]

We have done one 10 day trip at WDW and we all felt that it was a bit too long for us. We have discovered that we prefer to go more frequently for less days. The best balance for us is either 4 nights/5 days or 5 nights/6 days but going 2-4 times per year instead of one really long trip.

The shorter trips always leave us wanting more. After the really long 10 day trip we were exhausted, over done, and didn't want to go back for a while.

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

I think it's better to stay longer with little ones. You can take more afternoon pool breaks and go at an easier pace without feeling like you have to cram everything in. I can't imagine a trip that's too long!

 

[disneychic2]

I second the idea to go Moderate and stay for 7 or 8 days. We always stay 8 days and find it a more relaxing pace. We can get everything done and don't have to kill ourselves doing it. Of course, I would like to stay even a bit longer, but I'll take the 8 days! I think with your children's ages, a slower pace would be ideal. You can take mid-afternoon breaks at the pool and go back in the evening for more fun. I do like the idea of renting DVC points too so you can have a little more privacy and a place to go once the kids are in bed and you want to stay up. Whatever you decide, have a great time and lots of fun planning!

 

[BrerVixen]

We always go for 14 days, standard UK holiday. I could easily go twice as long if I had the money

 

[Squidgyness]

We usually go for 2 weeks, but we split it:

6 days at Disney
2-3 at SW
2-3 at US
2-3 Downtime Days.

If you arent planning on going to another park, go for 7 days, with one downtime day in the middle.

My 2 cents.

 

[mkoerner]

We own DVC, so we are finding that gives us flexibility to do both long weekend stays and longer stays of about 10 days. The longer stays allow for a much more relaxed vacation as we don't feel the need to constantly be on the go. The shorter stays are more for special things, like seeing Christmas decorations or a long weekend from work. JMO, but only you know what's best for your family. Good luck!

 

[Sappermont]

This is sort of tangential to your question but an interesting piece of information, I think. I was talking to a CM when I was making my reservations and he was telling me that in their training they are told that if someone wants to do *everything* in WDW, you'd need to stay for over 3 months. So, I think there's really no duration where you can really do everything - it's just what fits your lifestyle.

We are going down for 6 nights, 7 days. I think that it will be a good length. Ten would be ideal!

I'm interested to see trip reports for all these people who are staying for 2 weeks + How fun would that be!!!

You can't go wrong with either stay, imho.

 

[TinkandGoofy'sMom]

We have done 6 nights (POP), 7 nights (POFQ), and ten nights (POP). We spent most of our time in the parks, and enjoyed every minute of it. Now we own DVC, so have points to play with each time. Our next trip will be 7 nights, then hubby and I will go for 5 nights without the kids, then take the kids next summer for 10 nights. Now that they are older we'd like larger accomodations for more privacy and comfort. We also plan on spending more time at the resorts now, and also do the waterparks which we've never done. The beauty of a WDW vacation is it can be as fast-paced or relaxing as you'd like it to be, there is a variety of accomodations, dining and activities for everyone. As mentioned before, I would look into renting DVC points. I'm sure whatever you choose you'll have a magical vacation, and there's always next time!

 

[scout68]

We have done both long (more often) and short trips. Even with the frequency that we are lucky enough to go we find that the longer trips immediately remove all the stress of "getting everything in". It gives one the luxury of dictating your schedule opposed to your schedule dictating you.

 

[Swan4Me]

4-5 days is our max

We go every year or every other year

Honestly-I get tired of paying high $$ for the food at Disney-no way I could do it for 10 days.

 

[skinnietink]

I have 2 boys ages 9 and 6, we have been going to WDW every year since my oldest was 4. Our longest trip was 8 nights. No one ever complained of being homesick and the boys always wanted to stay longer (so did I). We became DVC members about 3 years ago. You should really look into renting points for a Villa. The studio rooms have a kitchenette with a small refigerator, toaster, microwave and coffee pot where you can have snacks and breakfast in the morning. Otherwise it is the same as a hotel room. The Animal Kingdom Lodge has rooms for the least amount of points of any DVC property, so you might want to look into it. The cost ends up being cheaper than a moderate and this is during prime times such as Easter. It is even cheaper during other seasons. I enjoy being able to go back to the resort to relax during the day and not feeling pressured to see and do everything, which is why I would recommend the longer stay.