How long can you stay at WDW any one day....

[emmalgin]

I have decided not to return for a while as I don't think I am getting bang for my buck. Yes we go off season, so I certainly don't have line-up concerns and that is great. However I can't get spouse or kids to spend more then 6 hours at the park.

I struggle (wrong word maybe) to get them to the park by 9:30 and then we are done by 4:30 and I am told I am a field general dragging them around. I tried the early morning route and a break back at the Hotel (15 minute drive), but then they were relaxed and did not want to head back.

I want a 10 hour day (including breaks) and more importantly want everyone happy. I read about Disney Commandos who can go from sunrise through Illuminations with kids, then Pleasure Island and return after 11:00 to their room.

How long do other's spend at the park.

 

[pumba]

we go to a certain park when it opens up and then do what we want to do....when it nears lunch time we either eat at the park or go back to our hotel....we usually go swimming and relax in the pool for a few hours and then go back to our room and get ready for late afternoon and evening parks...we usually try to do illuminations and the parade at epcot....and also Fantasmic at MGM..we love it all....so we probably do at least 6-8 hours of having a good time in the parks and then at least two or three relaxing at the pools and hot tubs....I like the ability to go to our hotel that is in Disney...

 

[ckay87]

You are so like me! But I'm not only like that with Dis, but everything we do. I feel like we've taken the time and money to do this(whatever), we can sleep some other time. But I realize that others in my family don't think the same way, so I need to get over it.

My solution...I've learned to do a lot of things on my own. Like, if DH & sons poop out at 4:30, I'll say "there's the bus back to the hotel, see ya!" Sure, I love being with my family, but they're not going to ruin my fun and I'm not going to ruin theirs.

 

[year2late]

Well, 24 hours if you are sneaky. Try hanging out after hours at Tom Sawyers Island.

 

[MJames41]

That is probably the best thing about staying onsite - my kids (17 and 15) can head out or in if they wish.

The way I normally go, I will spend hours and hours agonizing (in a fun way) a detailed to the quarter hour schedule for when we will do what. Then, when we get there, I tend to ignore it. Hey, I'm on vacation!

 

[Disney Debbie]

It depends on the trip. When I was younger (i.e. DH was younger!!) we'd go from open to close - no hotel breaks, no swimming - just GO, GO, GO!!! Then a few years back DH refused to go unless he was promised a nap! And I've come to like that myself. We'll go after lunch and he'll nap and DD and I will swim. That's when we go on our "big" trips. But when DD and I go for just a day or two at spring break - we CRAM every second of park time in that we can get!

 

[Disney Talker]

When we had our DS going with us, we would get there at opening and stay till about 10pm each night. Go back to the hotel and do it again the next day, and in mid summer too....

We still get there at opening, and stay till they close at 7pm in off season. Our theory is we go to Orlando to see the parks and are not worried about sitting around or sleeping in..we can do that at home.

 

[Lucky4me]

I can stay from open to close no problem. My family, maybe 6 hours. They don't understand why I want to go on everything over and over or how I can just sit on a bench and be happy.

 

[Lisa F]

My personal record is from around 7:30 AM til 2 AM on NYE. It was a looooooooooong exhausting day and we were afraid if we left Epcot we wouldn't be able to get back in. We saw the midnight fireworks and then went back over to le cellier (where we'd had dinner several hours earlier), requested the same waiter and toasted the new year with a wonderful sparkling ice wine and had dessert. It was wonderful, but not for every day. The next day we did sleep until noon!

Lisa

 

[WDW2002]

With short park hours we are there 30 mins before opening through close. So about 8 - 9 hours. During summer hours 30 mins before open to close with a break at the hotel so 9 - 10 hours.

 

[emmalgin]

That's why I'm not returning for a while, or if I am it will be for one day with breaks on either side.

My family doesn't want the full day and I don't get my money worth.

 

[grinningghost]

Our upcoming trip will be the first where my DD and her friend can come and go as they please. I can't wait. That way, DH and I can go and do what we want and stop to rest when we want. When you have a kid, they can go non-stop for hours. I'll be happy to sit and take a breather without hearing "Mom, can we go on a ride now?". We've always gone during the busy season, and getting up at dawn to do the parks until midnight is, to put it mildly, exhausting.

 

[sha_lyn]

I like to do 2days of "from opening to closing" then throw in a water park or DD day. Since these open later we get to sleep in on the 3rd day.

 

[seashoreCM]

Typical day for me (solo)

At bus stop 8 to 9 am give or take, perhaps with some munchies take out from the resort food court.

Return to resort via Disney bus 10 to 11 pm give or take, perhaps after Illuminations or fireworks, perhaps from Pleasure Island.

May go off site for dinner using rental car. May or may not park hop or go to water park.

Given such a late return the previous night, seldom make it to early entry.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Poohbear123]

I went in June, and did AK from 9:00am ALL the way till 6:15! I was quite surprised, but I was with Freinds, so that helped a LOT! We took a lot of breaks, and it rained twice, so it wasn't too bad.

 

[Nikole]

To me vacation is taking it easy! I'm not a commando tourist. We sleep in, have breakfast tour the parks, have lunch relax back at the hotel, tour the park eat at the park usually and stay for closing parades/shows.

 

[snowwhitemom]

Wow, We go for about 3 to 4 hours then back to the resort for whatever..naps, pool time snacks and then about 3 hours before parks close we go back. I love to stay at the resorts..it is just as magical as being in the parks for our family. I feel that I am getting my moneys worth because I do not get to relax or hardly sleep when I am at home...

 

[Judy from Boise]

well, all through up to the time I got married....going to Disney meant getting up at the crack of dawn to beat LA traffic, driving 2 hrs, getting to DL and staying till they closed the park, then driving home again !

Needless to say, putting in 8 hrs at a stretch isn't too hard when we do the parks during reduced hours, we may leave for lunch at a resort, then change parks till closing, then cap the day off with dinner and a late night swim. Of course on a 6 day trip we also mix it up and have some slow days.

now i am going to move this to the CB and you can get even more responses !

 

[helenabear]

It really depends on who I am with and when I go for me. Sometimes we'll go from morning until night without stopping (like in the summer months) or we'll take our time getting through it all. I can spend 12 hours in a park in one day (and have done that and then some) but I guess I try to take my time now

 

[nativetxn]

I can do all day from open to close in the parks but since I got my annual pass, I find that I'm more likely to go to a park for about half day then go back to the hotel for a little while just to relax. Then I go to another park for the evening.

I make solo trips mostly. You might want to think about making a solo trip so you can be as commando as you want