How many hours do you actually spend in the parks?

[Skiton]

The "how many days" post got me thinking about this. We're heading out on Tuesday and will have 5 day park hoppers. I'm feeling sort of guilty because it seems like I read about all these people who are in the parks from open to close, really taking advantage of all DL has to offer. But we don't. We'll be there for EMH every day, and probably the kids will last until around 1:00 or 2:00 and then we'll be done. We'll head back to the hotel, probably swim for a couple of hours, shower, check out some stores in DTD, head to dinner, and then turn in early. We won't do fireworks or WOC or PTN because there is just no way my kids would be able to stay up that late and still be ready to go for EMH, and I feel like we accomplish SO MUCH in that hour. Plus it keeps them on schedule and they don't get grumpy.

So when you go, how many hours is a "day" for you? What time do you get there? What time do you leave? Do you take an extended break in the afternoon? I'm feeling guilty because we're spending all this money on park tickets and only using them for six or seven hours a day. But then again, we're spending all this money to stay at the DLH and not taking advantage of that great pool seems criminal, too. Same with not stopping for a drink and nibbles at Trader Sam's, and any number of other things.

Someone remind me that this is a VACATION, not a marathon, and it's OK for us to do what's fun and what works for us!

 

[nikkislaght]

it depends on many things for us.. this year we were going to do open to shut.. but never made it once.. on different days we left at different times. mostly back in hotel no later than 8pm. we started later in the day too.. and just really took our time and had fun and it was relaxing in ways that it hadn't been before. your vacation , so it shouldn't matter what anyone else does or thinks.. if it works for you.. then it works for you..

Have a great trip

 

[corinne76]

I say do what works best for your family. Why keep them there all day if they're going to miserable and cranky?

We managed to get there pretty early, and go until dinner. We stayed late one night, and that was for the PTN parade, which we did the BB dining package for. The fireworks were cancelled that night so we missed it, but the only reason we would have stayed for it was because we were already there. We did not stay for the fireworks any other night on our trip, because it was just too late.

WE considered taking an break mid-day, but this was during spring break. We knew if walked about to the hotel (PVI, right across the street) we would likely NOT want to battle the bag check line again later. So instead, we went til about dinner, some nights eating in park, a couple nights grabbing food and eating in the room. But, my kids probably could have ended earlier, as they started to get whiny and a little tired about 4pm-ish

 

[Nut_Meg]

I agree, you just have to do what works for your family. On our last trip, we were at the park from 1pm-10pm on the first day, 8am-10pm on the second day, and shut it down on the third day (early entry at 7am-midnight). Plus a day in between at Universal. And let me tell you, our feet were in agony by the end. Swollen and covered in blisters. It was absolutely exhausting, but we were fueled by pure Disney adrenaline. Everyone in our family was over 18, though. I would definitely NOT recommend doing this with children. I don't know how old your kids are but unless they're teenagers I think spending all day in the parks would actually be way less enjoyable for them. You don't want to look back on the trip and have memories of tears and temper tantrums, and I think that's what would happen if you tried to push yourselves too hard. Plus you have 5 days, which is a lot. We got to see everything we wanted to in those 3 fast-paced days, so I think you could probably do it all in 5 leisurely days. Especially if you take advantage of EMH. It's amazing how much you can get done by noon if you start first thing. It's too bad you can't catch PTN or WOC, but it's totally understandable. Again, you don't want to push your kids past their limits. At the very least, I would definitely recommend checking out the Soundsational Parade that happens in the afternoon. It's not as flashy as PTN, but we had just as much fun at it. It has much more character interaction than PTN. We were lucky enough to snag last-minute seats on the curb and had really fun exchanges with Tigger and Genie. It's a great way to see many of the characters without waiting in long lines for their meet and greets. I think kids would love it. And like you said, DLH is a lot of fun in itself! Awesome pool, and they do movie screenings too!

Bottom line: like you said, it's a vacation, so just concentrate on relaxing and having fun. Don't stress out, and don't feel guilty. You're taking your kids to Disneyland! That's such an amazing gift and I promise you are already their hero for that alone.

 

[Congo Queen]

Yes yes, quality not quantity! Have quality hours in the park. The number of the hours depends a lot on the composition of your group. If you have little kids, then you are being a good parent by making sure they both have fun AND get enough rest and are not over stimulated and miserable. I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen toddlers and grade school age kids strung out of their minds at night at Dland b/c parents are trying to get their money's worth. But it winds up being their money's worth of grief b/c it doesn't look like any of them are having fun.

The amount of time my family spends in the park now is way different from when my kids were little. They are 13 and 18 years old now. As Disney veterans they know the value of EMH so they are psyched (yes I have brainwashed them) about getting at 6am so we can be at the gates for 7am EMH. We are in the parks from 7am to 1pmish. Then back to the hotel for swim, nap until 6pm. Then return to the park 6:30pm to 11:30pm. So all together that is 11 hours in the parks. We do that for two days then take a full day off to lounge by the pool then two more days in the parks.

 

[justgrace]

Hmmmm... it definitely depends on the day.

We can go from 8 a.m. rope drop until midnight with no real breaks back at the hotel. All of the walking doesn't bother us (we never noticed how used to walking we were until we were traveling with family. They thought we were crazy with how fast we were walking all over the park and how long we stayed in the parks each day! lol).

I guess we're not as active and moving in the evening, because we stake out a spot for parades, fireworks, and later shows (which is mostly sitting). So we are only walking around the park from 8 a.m. with a break of about a half hour for lunch somewhere in the park until about 5 p.m. Then we sit and wait for the parade, then fireworks and then there is really only a couple hours left of park time, so we get a few rides in before we head back.

On some days if we're tired earlier, we head back to the hotel at around 2 p.m. and then come back to the park at 4-5 p.m. and stay until midnight.

We were traveling with some of my family who has little ones and they weren't able to stay past 9 a.m. after being in the park at rope drop with a break of about 2 hours at the hotel. I think it all depends on if you have the little ones in strollers, naps, etc. If leaving the park early works best for your family, then that's fine!

 

[Imdboss]

We usually do 10-12 hours per day in the park. We typically arrive around 9-10am stay until 1-2pm then go back to hotel for an afternoon nap then head back around 4-5pm and stay until close at 11-midnight. It's all about what works best for your family and what will make for a happy memorable Disneyland experience!

 

[brianerickson]

Generally it fluctuates; when I go during days where the park hours are maxed out, I generally try to top it off at around 13-14 at the absolute max, mostly because the couple times I went the distance, I was so sore the next day that it almost ruined the rest of the trip; I remember that day, two blood blisters on each foot, hobbling something fierce and remembering that I committed what's probably a common rookie mistake of booking too much in too short a time frame; I think I was going from Indiana Jones to try and catch a FastPass window at Tower of Terror near the end of DCA closing? Trying to push your way through a parade when you already can't walk very well probably would've soured the park for any weaker-willed person; I made it though, I'm happy to report

 

[xApril]

My friends and I love Disneyland and while we may end up being exhausted at the end of it, we want to soak in as much time as we can. We pretty much stay all day.

This past trip was a bit better, we had 2 days closing at 9 and the other 2 at 11, so we were able to get a little extra sleep when it closed at 9. We would get to the parks anywhere between 9-11am and stay until the parks closed. We are all young adults though, so we don't have any younger children to worry about. We do make some downtime in the parks, usually taking our time when we eat and just taking in the atmosphere.

 

[avalon451]

We've always taken midday breaks-- rope drop to about 1-2; go back and nap, then it depends on whether we're catching an afternoon show. Often we'll go back around 5 or 6, or after dinner in DTD. Then stay for shows and fireworks. We're usually done after that, though. We've maybe gone on rides once or twice after fireworks, but other than that, we're usually too wiped. I don't think I've ever actually closed the park down at midnight.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We are going for a week next time. I might try what you did. We mostly went for a couple hours in am. Back for nap. Couple hours in afternoon. We have tiny babies.

We got one lone stretch 4-7 or 8. We did finger at bb. Then 2 rides. We had fam watching babes.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

You vacation like us! We always hit EMH and go until lunchtime. Either eat in the parks or DTD. We then head back to swim for a bit and take a nap. We usually head back out around dinner time and do the parks for a few more hours. We try to make at least one late night to see Fantasmic! (DS6 favorite) but obviously won't be doing that this year. We usually are back in the room by 9ish. Sometimes earlier if the kids want to do night swimming.

As a kid growing up, my family would be there at park open (usually 6 am) to midnight close and I loved it! But going commando doesn't work for my own family. We really leave everything up to our kids. Happy kids = happy parents

Most importantly do what makes your family happy and have a magical time!

 

[sheetz]

I need my afternoon nap, so usually no more than around 10-11 hours if there's a midnight closing.

 

[Pacific Northwest]

All depends on how we feel during the day. Our group of 5 (Me, DW, DD16, DS14, DD5) love the spontaneity of a day at DL (as opposed to the pre-planning needed for a trip to DW). We usually get to the gates about the time they open. Not always though, sometimes we just can't get out the door early. No biggie. It's a vacation. We will stay until after lunch and head back to the hotel (across the street) and hit the pool. Feels good to get the shoes off and spend time in the water. We'll go back around dinner (sometimes in the park, sometimes in DTD). We will stay until we are tired. One adult will go back with the 5 year old right before or after fireworks while the other stays with the teens until we feel "done". Wash, rinse, repeat. We will sometimes let the teens off the leash to do their own thing while mom, dad, and the DD5 do things together. Again, I love taking things as they come rather than following an itinerary and it works for us at DL.

 

[Skiton]

Thanks, everyone. I'm thinking I should make time for the soundsational parade. We do usually see Pixar, on the night we book Cathar Circle. Soundsational would be an easy one before dinner. My kids are 7 and 8, so, I'm sure some people think they ought to have more staying power, but at home they are lights out at 8:00 and we have a time change to factor in. Also, they just aren't good with the parks past a certain point. They burn out. We let them go nuts when we cruise Disney because the time change works in our favor, but they are still nightmares by day 5. These kids NEED their sleep.

 

[Kindermouse]

You absolutely are right in doing what makes for a happy successful trip for the needs of your kids.

When my son was about 6 I tried to do one of those open to close trips since we only had 2 1/2 days. Worst mistake ever. He was tired and cranky, my feet hurt and I was cranky. My cranky make his cranky worst and his cranky made me wish we had stayed home. Never again.

my son has special needs now that he didn't have when he was younger so we actually spend less time in the park than we did when he was little. On our March trip we did rope drop until about one, then we came back around 6 and stayed until no later than 10 (and that was only for the late world of color). Six hours a day on average maybe a little more. for us our goal is to avoid the worst of the crowds. Yours sounds like getting enough rest and staying on your sleep routine. It sounds like a good, success oriented trip to me.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

2-3.... Maybe 4-5 at Epcot during F&W.

MG

 

[tdhickey]

Typically we go for open to close every day, my 5 year old usually lasts until sometime between 9 and 10. The 8 year old on the other hand will last the whole time, so my wife will take my son back to the hotel and I'll stay with my daughter until close.

Usually one day, a weekend day, we'll take a couple hours during the insane line ups and hotel break it. Also, it helps to take a day off in between too, worth the price of another night in the hotel for a sleep in and skipping the busiest day.

 

[McNs]

We always find the parks get too busy and hot to do anything, so take that time to swim back at the hotel. We'll then head back to the parks for a few hours in the early evening. We make the most of quiet times in the parks in the morning, which is tough getting up st 6am for 7am EMH, until you get in to the parks when it all becomes worth it!

If it was just me I would be rope drop to park closing.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Do what's best for your crew! People who open to close are called park commandos for a reason- they're intense & not the majority of vacationers. We do 5 day tickets, EMH to 1-2pm, hotel break, naps, showers, return to park around 7pm-11pm. We are exhausted by day 5! But the kids are much older now so there aren't behavioral issues. When they were younger we were offsite so no EMH, and we took longer breaks and called it quits earlier at night.