How long is too long at WDW?

[Thiago Acquaviva]

We're used to do split stay. ~10 days inside Disney and ~10 days off-site for Universal's, SeaWorld, BuschGardens, etc.
I consider 10 a great number, but because our flight tickets are very expensive and the whole trip is very expensive so we can't go that frequent, I would consider a lot more lol

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

Thanks so much for the replies and all the suggestions of other stuff to do in the area. It definitely is harder because we haven’t been there before.

I will answer a couple of the questions that have been asked. We are staying at Coronado Springs for 3 weeks then 1 week in Boardwalk. If we do the final week then it will probably be at AKL. I do take on board what has been said about getting sick of eating in restaurants though. I am going to start looking into renting DVC points, at least for some of the trip. I don’t like driving in the US, and my husband can’t drive, due to epilepsy, so it really needs to be onsite.

People coming from the UK usually stay for 14 days, and we tend to take long holidays (usually 4 weeks at a time), so being away from home for that long isn’t a concern. It’s just whether it will be too long at Disney. However, in the 4 weeks we are definitely staying we don’t have any plans to go off-site, but the extra week would allow us to go to NASA/Cape Canaveral, which my husband would love to do.

The weather is an issue, absolutely, though we spend a month in Australia most summers (ie January) so that kind of oppressive heat is not totally foreign to us. It is a consideration though.

I appreciate all the replies and suggestions, and hope that this answers some of the questions. Thank you.

 

[Tylerxxo]

It would be for me. I love disney, I have an AP, but honestly could not handle 5 weeks at Disney lol. Period. Take this opportunity to explore all that central FL has. We have GREAT beaches that are close. Honeymoon Island (one of my favorites). Beautiful beach, hiking trails, and a ferry boat that takes you to another island near by. There is also little restaurants, showers, and bathrooms on the island. Famous Daytona beach and Cocoa beach are great as well. Daytona is cool because you can drive the car onto the beach and park it there for the day. Various malls in the area. Florida mall (of course) and Millenia mall, which is a gorgeous and elegant ($$$$$) mall, lol. Take advantage of the nearby theme parks like Universal and Seaworld. We have a lot of kayaking and paddle boarding to do here with a load of springs to explore. You can research a ton of different companies that shuttle you to the head of a spring and let you rent kayaks for a really good price for the day. Weeki Wachee is one of my tops springs to kayak and swim in. The water temperate is at a constant 70F degree-ish year round. Crystal clear. Almost every time I see a manatee in there (yes, while you're swimming in the spring they are next to you). If you have the chance you can take a 2 hour drive up to Saint Augustine. Very old spanish and historical town on the ocean. There is a downtown, ghost tours, a fortress, and a bunch of small pubs and restaurants. Check out International drive. It's a fun strip with a ton to do. We have the Orlando eye there. You will have a FANTASTIC time during your Disney vacation.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

It would be for me. I love disney, I have an AP, but honestly could not handle 5 weeks at Disney lol. Period. Take this opportunity to explore all that central FL has. We have GREAT beaches that are close. Honeymoon Island (one of my favorites). Beautiful beach, hiking trails, and a ferry boat that takes you to another island near by. There is also little restaurants, showers, and bathrooms on the island. Famous Daytona beach and Cocoa beach are great as well. Daytona is cool because you can drive the car onto the beach and park it there for the day. Various malls in the area. Florida mall (of course) and Millenia mall, which is a gorgeous and elegant ($$$$$) mall, lol. Take advantage of the nearby theme parks like Universal and Seaworld. We have a lot of kayaking and paddle boarding to do here with a load of springs to explore. You can research a ton of different companies that shuttle you to the head of a spring and let you rent kayaks for a really good price for the day. Weeki Wachee is one of my tops springs to kayak and swim in. The water temperate is at a constant 70F degree-ish year round. Crystal clear. Almost every time I see a manatee in there (yes, while you're swimming in the spring they are next to you). If you have the chance you can take a 2 hour drive up to Saint Augustine. Very old spanish and historical town on the ocean. There is a downtown, ghost tours, a fortress, and a bunch of small pubs and restaurants. Check out International drive. It's a fun strip with a ton to do. We have the Orlando eye there. You will have a FANTASTIC time during your Disney vacation.

I want to see manatees! I will look into that - thank you!

 

[Tylerxxo]

I want to see manatees! I will look into that - thank you!

Last time I was there I saw a mom and her baby going up the river. Later down I saw another one go under my kayak who surfaced and let someone else pet her so cool.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

Last time I was there I saw a mom and her baby going up the river. Later down I saw another one go under my kayak who surfaced and let someone else pet her so cool.

That sounds incredible!

 

[lugnut33]

We were fortunate enough to do 11 days at Animal Kingdom Kidani Village one time and it was awesome. Keep in mind, we did not go to the parks every day. Some days we'd just go later in the evening. Spent a lot of time around the pool, but we also went to the beach a couple of times. New Smyrna Beach is fantastic.

I should add, one of the great things about Kidani Village is it doesn't feel like a Disney park. Yes, it's completely Disney due to the theming, but it feels like you're isolated from the parks. It's a nice peaceful bubble and the pace is slow.

 

[lugnut33]

That sounds incredible!

It is illegal in Florida to touch manatees, even though they are absolutely adorable and you just want to hug them. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/touch-a-manatee-spend-six-months-in-jail-24670630/

 

[ArielSparrow]

I suppose too long would be 24 hours after death, because then your body would start decomposing.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

It is illegal in Florida to touch manatees, even though they are absolutely adorable and you just want to hug them. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/touch-a-manatee-spend-six-months-in-jail-24670630/

That’s good to know, thank you. Is it illegal to take one home with me, if it jumps into my bag voluntarily? In all seriousness, they are incredible animals and I would love to see them in the wild!

I think I could spend most of the extra week just looking at the animals if we stayed at AKL. It looks like such an unique hotel and I can definitely imagine that it wouldn’t feel like being in the middle of a theme park in the middle of a city. Of all the hotels, this is the one that draws me the most, which is another reason for wanting to stay for the extra week.

 

[FortForever]

To date, two weeks is our longest stay. I would love to stay five weeks. We usually stay in our camper at Fort Wilderness, and that gives us our own yard and private space outdoors. Not 100% sure that I would like to do a resort room for five weeks, but I'd sure be willing to give it a try!

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

That’s good to know, thank you. Is it illegal to take one home with me, if it jumps into my bag voluntarily? In all seriousness, they are incredible animals and I would love to see them in the wild!

I think I could spend most of the extra week just looking at the animals if we stayed at AKL. It looks like such an unique hotel and I can definitely imagine that it wouldn’t feel like being in the middle of a theme park in the middle of a city. Of all the hotels, this is the one that draws me the most, which is another reason for wanting to stay for the extra week.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge is simply magnificent. Just walking into the lobby is breathtaking.. A very peaceful resort and absolutely gorgeous at night.

The Boardwalk is another great resort and the location can't be beat...you can walk right into the World Showcase!

I think a lot of people missed where you said you would rather not drive off-site. Personally, although Florida features a lot of great destinations, I would take comfort that you are staying in the fairest one of all...Walt Disney World.

P.S. The main pool at Coronado Springs is splendid.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I would die. I bleed Disney but I’d be going crazy after a week. Our last trip was 7 days and by 6 I was exhausted and over stimulated, wanted to sleep in my own bed. This time we only have 5 park days so I’m hoping to enjoy them all! I can’t justify paying for more Disney days that I won’t enjoy. Even if you broke that trip up into beach, Disney, space center, universal, with relaxing time built in, I’d still be ready to go home by the end of the second week, but everyone is different!

 

[purplejam]

Hi - another visitor from the uk here
We have stayed in Florida for 5 and a half weeks a couple of times.

The first time we had 2 weeks away from Disney enjoying the wonderful beaches that are there. Then we stayed for 24 days at Saratoga Springs. I think we are spoilt with the tickets available (although I recognise it’s purely a tool for Disney to keep guests with them rather than going elsewhere) I think the offer that year was a 21 day park ticket for the price of a 14 day pass - therefore I didn’t feel that we had to go everyday - or didn’t worry if we only went to the parks for our fast passes or meals - it certainly took the pressure off trying to cram everything in and made for a very relaxed holiday. However we have been lots of times and therefore can be more selective about what we do.

This summer we had another 5 and a half week trip but this time only spent 14 days at Disney this again was good and I loved the other 3 weeks travelling round and staying in several different places.

I love Florida and like to go for as long as possible - compensation for the long flight lol

We are only managing 3 weeks this summer and we are only having 7 days at the parks

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

The Animal Kingdom Lodge is simply magnificent. Just walking into the lobby is breathtaking.. A very peaceful resort and absolutely gorgeous at night.

The Boardwalk is another great resort and the location can't be beat...you can walk right into the World Showcase!

I think a lot of people missed where you said you would rather not drive off-site. Personally, although Florida features a lot of great destinations, I would take comfort that you are staying in the fairest one of all...Walt Disney World.

P.S. The main pool at Coronado Springs is splendid.

Thanks so much - I’m really pleased to hear that about the hotels! I cannot imagine anything more amazing than waking up to all that wildlife outside.

We chose CSR largely due to the pool: it looks incredible, and since we will have 5 nieces staying with us during that time, it seemed like an easy way to make them happy!

I know it probably seems silly not to want to drive, but I don’t like driving in the US (on the “wrong” side of the road) so that was one of the biggest draws of staying on site.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

Hi - another visitor from the uk here
We have stayed in Florida for 5 and a half weeks a couple of times.

The first time we had 2 weeks away from Disney enjoying the wonderful beaches that are there. Then we stayed for 24 days at Saratoga Springs. I think we are spoilt with the tickets available (although I recognise it’s purely a tool for Disney to keep guests with them rather than going elsewhere) I think the offer that year was a 21 day park ticket for the price of a 14 day pass - therefore I didn’t feel that we had to go everyday - or didn’t worry if we only went to the parks for our fast passes or meals - it certainly took the pressure off trying to cram everything in and made for a very relaxed holiday. However we have been lots of times and therefore can be more selective about what we do.

This summer we had another 5 and a half week trip but this time only spent 14 days at Disney this again was good and I loved the other 3 weeks travelling round and staying in several different places.

I love Florida and like to go for as long as possible - compensation for the long flight lol

We are only managing 3 weeks this summer and we are only having 7 days at the parks

This is really good to know; thank you. It will actually be significantly cheaper for us to upgrade to an AP, because frustratingly they don’t have a UK ticket for longer than 21 days.

How do you find the driving in Orlando? That seems to be the main sticking point in us not venturing outside of Disney. I don’t drive much at home, just because of where we live, and I’m not keen on driving in the US, but it doesn’t look like there’s much other option if we want to see more of the state.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Thanks so much - I’m really pleased to hear that about the hotels! I cannot imagine anything more amazing than waking up to all that wildlife outside.

We chose CSR largely due to the pool: it looks incredible, and since we will have 5 nieces staying with us during that time, it seemed like an easy way to make them happy!

I know it probably seems silly not to want to drive, but I don’t like driving in the US (on the “wrong” side of the road) so that was one of the biggest draws of staying on site.

I don't think it's silly all! I wouldn't feel comfortable driving in Europe for the same reason.

It's a vacation so do what you feel comfortable with. That's what I love about staying on-site...all the transportation is provided for you.

If you haven't noticed...I'm a really big cheerleader for your plan!

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

I don't think it's silly all! I wouldn't feel comfortable driving in Europe for the same reason.

It's a vacation so do what you feel comfortable with. That's what I love about staying on-site...all the transportation is provided for you.

If you haven't noticed...I'm a really big cheerleader for your plan!

Thank you!

 

[purplejam]

This is really good to know; thank you. It will actually be significantly cheaper for us to upgrade to an AP, because frustratingly they don’t have a UK ticket for longer than 21 days.

How do you find the driving in Orlando? That seems to be the main sticking point in us not venturing outside of Disney. I don’t drive much at home, just because of where we live, and I’m not keen on driving in the US, but it doesn’t look like there’s much other option if we want to see more of the state.

I’d say there is so much more more to Florida than the theme parks and you’re missing out if you don’t explore.
We find the driving ok. As all the cars are automatics you won’t be trying to change gear with the door handle like I tend to do in the rest of Europe ha ha ! We’ve found the road systems fairly easy to navigate. We do tend to stay the first night in the Hyatt at the airport and pick the car up the next morning therefore avoiding driving after a long flight / tired. It also means avoiding driving in the dark till we’ve acclimatised - it’s much easier to find the right route in the daylight and you have chance to get used to the car too without worrying where the headlights are !!

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

I’d say there is so much more more to Florida than the theme parks and you’re missing out if you don’t explore.
We find the driving ok. As all the cars are automatics you won’t be trying to change gear with the door handle like I tend to do in the rest of Europe ha ha ! We’ve found the road systems fairly easy to navigate. We do tend to stay the first night in the Hyatt at the airport and pick the car up the next morning therefore avoiding driving after a long flight / tired. It also means avoiding driving in the dark till we’ve acclimatised - it’s much easier to find the right route in the daylight and you have chance to get used to the car too without worrying where the headlights are !!

This is really helpful, thank you. We could potentially rent a car in WDW for our final week, which should give me a better idea of where I’m going. I would just need to sit on my hand so I didn’t keep trying to change gear! I will give it some thought...