How much is there really?

[SweetPeasMom2]

I've seen a lot of people say it's really hard to do one park in a day and really see it all. Now, please keep in mind, I've only been to MK and those were only 1 dayers. So, how much is there exactly? My ideal vacation to WDW would be a Sun-Sun stay. But knowing that may not actually be feasible, if we did say late Fri-Wed stay, would we still be able to get it all in and not feel rushed?

 

[thegrimdwarf]

No, you can not get it all in.

You could stay a month, and probably would still miss some stuff. The parks are HUGE, there is tons to see and do, and you have to keep in mind that there are thousands of other people trying to see and do them at the same time as you. But rather than focusing on getting it all done, decide what's a must-see/do in each park and focus on those, rather than what you're missing. You won't have any fun if you worry about what's still left to see.

 

[SweetPeasMom2]

Do the books that some here recommend give a good idea of all there is to do?

 

[puffkin]

We still haven't seen it all after 11 weeklong trips over 7 years. You might be able to hit all the E-ticket attractions in 4-5 days by carefully using EMH and FP, but not much else.

 

[F1Julie]

We haven't seen it all either, but there are some things we aren't interested in or things we've done once and don't do again. Our trips are usually Wed-Sun with Wed and Sun spent driving and not going to parks. We get 3 day hoppers and manage to see all that we want to see. We did stay for a week once, and that was too long for us. By day 5, I was ready to go. Some people stay for 2 weeks and don't think it is long enough. A good book is the Unofficial Guide to WDW. I think the author takes park touring a little too seriously, but it gives different park strategies to maximize what you see and minimize your wait times.

 

[DawnM]

Depends on when you go. We have gone in early Dec. or mid January and finished all that we wanted to do by 3pm. Then we start over!

If you go in the summer, 80% of your time will be standing in lines.

Dawn

 

[PrincessBelle39]

We did 4 weeks in late November to the day after Christmas. I feel that I missed so much and can't wait to get back to try some different experiences.

 

[yakkin' yeti]

I second the Unofficial Guide recommendation. I was born in Orlando and have taken more trips than I can count, and I haven't seen every attraction. The good new is: You can't see it all -- but you probably wouldn't want to. (Our family can't stand Stitch, the new version of the Tiki Room or the Country Bears, for example. Whereas my son needs at least two spins on Buzz Lightyear for his trip to be complete.) With a little research, you can make sure you don't spend your time waiting in line for something that you won't like.

 

[pyrxtc]

way to much to do in a short trip. We stayed for 10 days in January and still didn't have time to do everything. We ahve been there about 6 times now and still ahven't done everything.

 

[sohappy]

I think that you have to realize that you can't do it all. You have to narrow down what is interesting to you. I knew that we didn't want to see the country bear jamboree or the enchanted Tiki room, so I wasn't disappointed when we didn't see them. We got in *most* of the stuff that we wanted to see in 5 1/2 days, but we didn't come close to seeing it all, for sure.

ETA- my son already started a list of what he wants to see next time that we missed this time- top of the list is "regular" mickey. We saw pirate mickey, hawaiian mickey, explorer mickey and chef mickey, but not regular mickey!

 

[pjynx]

Our first trip (3 years ago), we did all 4 parks, plus the 2 water parks and downtown disney. We were there for 10 days and did not get it all done. And we only have 1 child, so it's not like we were wasting a ton of time between several kids. We also did NOT take breaks every afternoon, so not much time was wasted there either. Of the 10 days, I think we took breaks back at our room only 3 times.

We spent 1 day each at AK, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. And because all those close in the late afternoon, we still had the evenings to do other parks. MK, MGM and Epcot all each got several visits. Throughout the trip, we were constantly on the go and we'd think to ourselves "oh, we can skip this for now, we've still got 7 more days left" and then on the last day we still had tons to do. We could easily have stayed several more days. But since it was our first time ever, we were trying to do everything, even the more laid back things....dumbo, aladin's carpets, pooh's ride, small world, stitch, etc. We're going back next week and will have 9 days and plan to slow down a bit more since there are several things that we can skip this time. We're also hoping to hit Sea World and/or Aquatica instead of the 2 WDW waterparks.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

It depends how old your kids are and whether or not they are big enough for the thrill rides (and if you and DH want to do them anyway even if your kids are too little). It also depends when you go.

If your kids are preschool or early elementary, you probably will want two days at MK. We always spend at least one full day and often parts of many other days at MK. We spend one day at AK (till mid afternoon, then we go somewhere else), one day at DHS (once again until mid-afternoon), and one day at Epcot (although it deserves more time, but my kids are 9 and 5 and the 5 year old doesn't love Epcot yet). So if you have Sat- Wed as park days, you can get a lot done, especially if you go at a quieter time. You won't get everything done or even close, but you can get a lot done.

If your kids are too little to ride many rides or are not interested in the bigger rides (Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror, RnR), you can save some time because those lines can be long. However, with younger kids, you have to be prepared to ride Pooh and Peter Pan 27 times in four days, ride the Carousel until your DD can be on Cinderella's horse, check out Mickey and Minnie's house, get autographs from the princesses, etc. Those can all take more time than you anticipate.

I agree with the Unofficial Guide recommendation. Even if you don't follow the touring plans exactly, there are lots of useful tips, like ride Dumbo first even if the line looks long - it grows exponentially throughout the day.

Best tips I have to maximize your time:

- stay onsite and take advantage of morning Extra Magic Hours
- get to the parks early everyday (by opening time if not before - you can get so much more done in the first few hours)
- consider a Park Hopper (about $50 more per person) so you can keep going on days when you finish a park early
- consider booking a character meal if there is someone your kids HAVE to get hugs and pictures with - they take time, but it isn't more time than eating a meal and hunting that character down for autographs, and it is a nice break
- ride Dumbo first if you are going to ride it at all
- use Fastpass. Get a FP for Pooh or Peter Pan while you are in line for Dumbo, for example
- go when it is less busy, even if you take your kids out of school (if that is an option for you)
- resign yourself to the fact that you will not get it all done and have each person pick a few attractions per park that are must-do's
- plan to come back soon!

There are probably a lot more time-saving tips that others will contribute, but this is what comes to mind right now. Happy planning!