How many days is 'do-able' to do WDW

[Lambert808]

I know, I know, there are just not enough days, right
But realistically, a family of 3 (one then 8yo) -

1)How many days would be 'nice' to see WDW for the first time? We are wanting to hit just WDW - nothing outside - and stay on-site.

2)How many days there until you want a non-park day just to relax around your resort?

 

[Dismom63]

A week always seems to work well!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We like 6 full day at WDW. We arrive one evening, stay the next 6 days and leave the morning of the next day. We do a 5 day hopper, with a day off somewhere in the middle. On the day off we might resort hop, do a dinner show or DD. We never leave site even on this day. We would like more time but with a budget, this works pretty well.


Jordan's mom

 

[gopherit]

With younger kids, we found 4 to 5 full days worked well (2 days in park, day off; 2 days in park). With kids aged 8 and up, the interests change -- suddenly the water parks, DQuest, and Universal seem attractive. ANd yet an 8 yr old can get mighty tired hoofing it around the park all day. A day off can be a real Godsend! Our trips have progressed from 5 days to 9 days... our next trip will be 13 days, and we STILL haven't even told our kids about Universal! THere's just too much to do in WDW to even attempt it! We are, however, hitting both water parks and DQ, plus 5 or 6 days of parks. THat's 9 days of action, and about 4 days of pools/resorts, etc. spread somewhere inbetween all the fun. I will be curious to see if our kids (ages 9,8, and 4 for this trip) think the trip is STILL too short, or juuuust right this time.

 

[beattyfamily]

We've done 3 full and two half days on our first Disney trip (it was land/sea package) and it was NOT enough!

We've since done 4 full days, 5 full days, and 6 full days and the 6 full days (with one day of rest at the resort) was WONDERFUL!!

There is SO much to see and do that it's so hard to fit it all in.

fyi...we have 2 DD ages 4 and 7.

 

[Lambert808]

Thanks so much everyone! I feel more comfortable about my choices now

 

[luvthatduke]

Hi Sherry,

I read your note at the bottom that you're planning your first trip for 12/04 - I am going with DH and DS in November, and I am a rookie who is having a BLAST planning our trip.
I hope you have fun, too!

Anyway, check out all the DIS forums offered, there are lots of them and all are very helpful.

There are tons of Disney websites with even more info, too. www.mousesavers.com is a biggie - make sure to check it out.
www.themouseforless.com is a good one for budgets, too.
www.allearsnet.com is another one, and there are lots more.

But, the DIS has been phenomenal in helping me plan everything from scratch, the people here are great and I am totally addicted to checking out the forums nightly!

I also bought the Unofficial Guide To WDW and it's been a big help, too.

We're going for a long vacation (about 2 weeks)
and I cannot wait!
DS will be 21 months, and it's going to be our first
"trip of a lifetime" as a family.

Have fun planning, and enjoy the magic

 

[Lambert808]

luvthatduke - thanks for the info and links I am having fun planning! Just can't wait to get some reservations!!

 

[lentesta]

Hi Sherry,

I second gopherit's "two days on, one day off" idea. It's difficult to get up early morning after morning after morning. Even if you sleep in and relax around the pool until late afternoon, that would definitely help in keeping everyone stress-free. I'd spend that late afternoon at Epcot in World Showcase

That would mean a minimum of five days to see all four parks, but six is preferable (2 at the Magic Kingdom, 1.5 at Epcot, 1 each at the Studios and Animal Kingdom, with 0.5 days off).

Luvthatduke's recommendation of Mousesavers and AllEarsNet is also a good idea.

luvthatduke, thanks for recommending the Unofficial Guide. I have you in my office pool.

Sincerely,

Len Testa

 

[newholiday]

We find that when we go to WDW to "DO" WDW it takes us 5 days - basically 1 for ea park and 1 to do favorites.
This Oct we're just "touching" the parks w/2days & MNSSHP cos we're also taking 2 days for Universal & IOA and a day for SeaWorld and a day for Kennedy.
But we know if we dont go back in 05 (cruise) we will be back in 06. We were last in WDW 02.

 

[indyanna]

My vote is 5 days. We stayed 7 last October and were zombies on the last day. Good thing three of our days were free or I would've felt like I wasted my money that last day. We even paced ourselves pretty well.

 

[my3princes]

Bump
We do disney with 3 ds's. It takes a full 2 days to do the MK, 2 for Epcot, 1 for MGM and 1 for AK. We also plan a full day at the water parks. It is best to have a day off somewhere during your stay so as not to feel rushed. We usually go for 11 or 12 days and take our time. No one feels that they missed anything and it feels like we have a vacation not a marathon.