How many hours a day do you spend in the parks?

[LuluLovesDisney]

Hi, guys!

Just wondering how many hours people spend in the parks each day (on average).

How much time do you spend each day relaxing, swimming, doing other non-park activities?

How much time do you spend sleeping?

Just wondering how we compare, lol!

Thanks!

 

[Donald is #1]

I have to admit that I am a park junkie. I spend all day in the parks and I usually stay until closing. Even when I go to Animal Kingdom, I usually head to EPCOT after AK closes. I really need to spend more time enjoying my resort. But even though I vow each trip to spend mroe time at my resort relaxing, I somehow end up at the parks all day & evening. Maybe this next trip?

 

[DISNEYLOVER70]

we are there at rope drop, and we don't leave until they close

We only get to go every few years, so we all want to get in all we can. We figure we can rest by our pool at home! The only time that we haven't stayed until closing was Animal Kingdom, wasn't enough to keep us there/interested and Epcot, the kids just weren't into it that year.

So I guess we are "all day park people"

 

[DisneyDadof3]

Hi, guys!

Just wondering how many hours people spend in the parks each day (on average).

How much time do you spend each day relaxing, swimming, doing other non-park activities?

How much time do you spend sleeping?

Just wondering how we compare, lol!

Thanks!

We usually get theer 1/2 hour before opening (or more if we have a breakfast scheduled) and sometimes leave at closing, but usually more in the 8:00-9:00 range. Sometimes we hop in the afternoon or only use the morning or evening time and use the other for rest. Generally though - at least 8 hours and often more.

 

[GarrettJD]

We arrive at opening and stay 4-5 hours, then take an afternoon break of 2-3 hours, then return to the parks until close. So, depending on park hours, I'd say 9 to 11 hours per day. We don't do any off days, and we always park hop on our Animal Kingdom day so we can go to a park that is open later in the evening.

 

[aristocat]

We always arrive for the opening so we can ride all the popular rides without any waits... then park hop in the afternoon and stay till close. I love park hopping and changing it up halfway thru the day

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We arrive when it opens,leave a little after lunch for about 3 hours so the kids can take a break and then we return after dinner and stay until closing.

 

[Donald is #1]

I should also admit that I have never done an early opening morning. Even though most of my trips have been on-site, I have always chosen to go to a park that wasn't early opening so that the crowds would be less.

 

[BeckWhy]

A lot!

Umm, well it's been varying on the past trips. So in 2002, we would go to the parks about 10 or 11 am.. go back to the hotel at about 3 pm or so, then go back to the parks til close.

In 2004, we were at the parks for EMH and there til close. It was a pain. Too much stress.

This upcoming trip I plan on being at the parks about 10 am. As for how long we stay or if we take a break during the day to go back to the hotel is unknown right now.

 

[Safari Queen]

Back when we visited with our children, it was commando all the way. We arrived around 9 and stayed until closing, racing around to see everything. Now, when it's just me and DH, we usually sleep late and plan a limited number of related activities each day. For instance, we might sleep 'til 9ish, laze around reading for a while, have a late breakfast, visit the 180/360 movies in Canada, France, and China, sit and people watch for a while, then have dinner in an EPCOT restaurant. Then we might catch a movies at DTD. Or we rent a boat at the Contemporary after lunch, take in a few attractions in MK, then find a great spot for Spectromagic and fireworks. One of us goes for food and we sit, read, chat, and munch until Spectromagic. When our granddaughter (and her parents) are there, its all about her, but she's not able to go all day yet, so we're generally in a park in the morning, take a break, return for a few attractions, then dinner. As her stamina improves, I expect a modified commando style will return!

 

[dislovr]

ok ill admit...im a little spoiled at the age of 21 i've been to disney well over 30 times and i have 3 trips planned in the next 12 months. even though i never get sick of disney when im there i don't feel the need to have to do anything. if i do go to the parks any particular day i usually do as i feel or want to. usually its either a morning or an evening for 3-4 hours. rarely ever both and if it is its usually just to go back to see the fireworks. there are even days when i don't go to the park at all. i like to relax, enjoy the resort, swimm and catch some rays. and besides were leaving july 8th...its too hott to go all comando and run yourself ragged. come on guys its vacation your not supposed to need a vacation when you come home from you vacation.

my advice is to set a comfortable pace and just enjoy yourself...disney isn't going anywhere!

 

[MinMouse]

When we first started going to WDW with kids we would go off season and pretty much be able to stay all day Rope drop til Closing. But the parks always closed pretty early. We've had the chance to visit the parks when they are in full swing recently (summer and spring break trips). We tend to go for rope drop and return to the hotel after lunch for a swim. Go back to a park in the evening to ride/walk around/get dessert in France/see Fantasmic,etc. So I would say it really varies. We keep trying to have a relaxing trip and ironically enough I think our most relaxing was on Spring Break in 2005. I guess we didn't have high expectations for riding a lot of rides then (due to the crowds) and we had an AP so we felt like we could go into the parks whenever we wanted and not worry about "wasting an entry day" with just a few hours in the park. On our most recent trip earlier this month my parents lasted longer in the park than my family! They stayed rope drop til close. We headed back to the hotel by 6!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

At Epcot, on EMH night, we were there from 8:30 until 10:00 when Illuminations ended. We were beat from a long day in the sun and decided not to stay the extra three hours.

On MK EMH we arrived in the late afternoon and stayed as late as 1am - again, exhausted from whatever we had done earlier in the day.

If we went back to the resort for a break it wasn't longer than 1/2 hour to and hour, long enough to shower, change and refill the refillable mug before heading back out for the evening. Sometimes we had a little time to cool off in the pool, but it was rare.

The most time we spent by the pool was on the last night and the morning of departure. We had pretty much seen it all by then and could relax before going home.

 

[Thinktinknpixiedust]

Hey there neighbor!!! We are in the same boat! We are there at open and then we are the stragglers leaving! We always say we are going to spend more time in our resort, but we never do. We only keep adding days to our trips in hopes that we can build in more down time... but it never happens! last year it was 9 days, this year is 14 days. We'll see!

P.S you don't have a whole lot of time to lay around the pool at home either... the weather here doesn't cooperate with us sun lovers!

we are there at rope drop, and we don't leave until they close

We only get to go every few years, so we all want to get in all we can. We figure we can rest by our pool at home! The only time that we haven't stayed until closing was Animal Kingdom, wasn't enough to keep us there/interested and Epcot, the kids just weren't into it that year.

So I guess we are "all day park people"

 

[DisneyFan06]

I say - if you dont have kids, I am all for spending all day at the parks. I dont have kids so I spend all day all the parks from opening until they close.

Now, if I had kids I think a break may be needed!

 

[bubba73]

I don't know if anyone else has done this but last week while I was there, I got to the parks one day at 8 am using the EMH and park hoppers, I didn't get back to the room until after 2 am. I believe that comes to a total of 18 hours in one day. I was able to hit all 4 parks in one day. What a blast!!

 

[rajay320]

I don't know if anyone else has done this but last week while I was there, I got to the parks one day at 8 am using the EMH and park hoppers, I didn't get back to the room until after 2 am. I believe that comes to a total of 18 hours in one day. I was able to hit all 4 parks in one day. What a blast!!

Wow!!

If it's just me and dd we are there from rope drop until closing time. Sometimes we park hop and sometimes we take a couple hour break...but sometimes we don't.
Now if PartyPooper (aka dh) is with us it is MUCH less because he refuses to get up early, always wants to take a break, and insists on leaving the parks well before closing. (This is why we leave him behind as much as possible!)

 

[va32h]

All of them?

Seriously, though, it is very hard for me to be at WDW, and know the parks are open, and not be at them.

Some members of my family really get annoyed with me, because even if I don't say it, the look on my face clearly says "get dressed/eat faster/quit piddling around".

Our older two kids (10 and 6) are like me. Our bodies acquire some kind of Disney-metabolism that allows us to operate on just a few hours of sleep, and go go go in the parks all day. My husband and our youngest child (almost 3) require a slower pace.

We do one park per day. For AK, we stay all day - we love that park, and with it's limited hours, we just don't feel there is time to go and come back.

For MGM, we stay until the parade. We can get through that park fairly quickly, because we divide into two groups (thrill seekers and non thrill seekers) and meet up for the Indy show and parade. This year we will have to make time for the Lights, Motors, Parade. Since we are going at Xmas time this year, we probably eat dinner outside the park and come back for the Osborne Lights.

MK is two days, using EMH when possible, and leaving the park between noon-ish and 4pm.

Epcot is one day, until dinnertime - one adult might take the older kids back at night for Illuminations while the other one stays with the toddler.

Ever since they got rid of the length of stay passes (that allowed park-hopping) we have stuck to one park per day. I just can't stomach paying $40 per person just to hop!

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

You guys are hysterical!

I am usually like this, too! I *have* to be there at rope drop and I *have* to be there for fireworks, etc. so it's usually all day. However, when I stayed at the Poly it was more convenient to take an afternoon break.

Now, one time DBF and I drove from Sarasota where we were staying for a 2 day trip. We were up at 3 am, drove down, got in MK by opening, enjoyed MK, then went to dinner at 'Ohana and back in MK until parade and fireworks. We got to Pop after midnight, and still swam. I don't think we went to be until 3 or 4 and then got up at 6! We went to Epcot for am EMH and then got to the Studios in the afternoon. We didn't leave for the drive home until close to 1 am and didn't get back to Sarasota until 3:30.

And I posted this because I was thinking how since I'm going for 2 weeks this time, we really should slow down, relax, etc. And you guys are as bad as we are, lol! I love it!

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

We usually get to the parks a little before opening. We take a break after lunch. Usually we get back to the room by 1:30 or 2 pm and nap. We leave the room around 5 pm depending on our dining plans. We stay until the park we are in closes so we get back to the room between 9:30 and 11 pm. Then we sleep and start over the next day!