is 12 days too long

[philliesflyers]

We went last year for 8 days for the 1st time with kids and really had no relaxing days. Next year we are planning on going again. My kids will be 8 and 5. Besides the parks, including waterpark, we want to go to sea world and kennedy. I would like a day or two for pool, fishing , golf, etc.

Any suggestions.

Thanks ,

Amy

 

[Jenny-momof3]

We went for 16 days this summer! I could've stayed another week but the kids and my dh were getting burnt out. We did 10 days last summer and that seemed a bit short. So I think 12 days would be just perfect for us!

 

[KimiCoconuts]

We are going for 15 days because 10 days was too short last year. We have built in relaxation days to hang out at our resort or go to DD and Disneyquest etc. Basically we are avoiding parks on three weekends.

I think that you will be fine and not regret it at all.

 

[Kim1964]

I think 12 days is good as long as you actually take the time to relax. We did 11 days last year and 10 this year and we had resort days to sleep in and hang at the pool. It worked well and we didn't leave the World utterly exhausted. Next year will be another 10 day trip and I am planning on at least 2 resort days.

 

[solar]

we did 15 days in July...(part off-site/part on-site)

we greatly appreciated down time for swimming or just lazy days around DTD between busier days

it was enough time to do tons of stuff and not feel rushed, but also long enough that it had me craving home-cooked food again.

I wasn't tired of the parks and activity, but i was growing tired of eating in restaurants! Who even KNEW THAT could happen, ha - but after 2 weeks straight..it happened to me!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We just got back from 14 days and we could have stayed another month. The only thing was that I too would like to have had some home cooked meals. Other than that we are probably going to plan a month long trip next time. It was so nice not to feel like you had to rush at all. We had a lot of pool time and we still saw everything we wanted to at the parks.

 

[RF536]

We did 16 nights at Fort Wilderness July '08. and still could have spent more time our kids were 5 and 7 at the time. We did 10 days in the parks and the rest were spend at waterparks, DD, DisneyQuest and just hanging out relaxing. We planned it so we were in the parks 2 days and then out 1 day, of course I think we did change it once or twice due to evening EMH that kept us up later than we had planned.

The trick is to make sure that you take advantage of the extra days to relax and recharge.

 

[liznboys]

Not too long!!! Our longest trip so far was 12 days. It was a split stay with 6 nights at POFQ and 6 at AKL. We could have stayed longer!! That trip was before we started staying in DVC resorts, and I will say it is even better staying there for a long time if you have a full kitchen and washer/dryer in your room. But it's doable and still great even without those things.

 

[liznboys]

We just got back from 14 days and we could have stayed another month. The only thing was that I too would like to have had some home cooked meals. Other than that we are probably going to plan a month long trip next time. It was so nice not to feel like you had to rush at all. We had a lot of pool time and we still saw everything we wanted to at the parks.

A whole month!!! Wow, you lucky lady!! That is great!

 

[CLR4321]

Nope, not for me!!! I would live there if I could!

 

[disneydreamersx4]

Oh wow, I never knew people stay longer than 7 days!
NExt time we would like to do Sea World and Kennedy also, it does seem like a lot to cram into 7 days. It would be nice to have at least 10 days, but don't know if we can because of school schedule and we prefer to go in November.

live there

 

[LiveLaughLoveDisney]

With all you are doing it sounds just right. Some people stay a month every year and dont think that is long enough. lol

 

[*Toadstool*]

Goodness. I wish we could go for 12 days. DH says we can only stay for 5.
Do you people have second jobs to afford Disney??

 

[ehrn]

I think that is ideal, you get to do all you want but still have the potential to come home rested! Awesome. I don't think I could stay that long in a value though, though they are great...I agree w/the pps who want laundry and a home cooked meal. A villa would be ideal, or a FW cabin(if only they had a w/d,lol) but a real fridge to be able to use up leftovers or get some lunch fixings, that kind of thing would really be good. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT into cooking on vacation, but 10d of eating every meal on property could get mighty expensive, boring and calorie dense, lol. But if you are doing those other things, you'll have a car?? So a grocery run would be easy. Plus, we found some nice off-site dining last time and can't wait to go back to one place in particular--Mimi's Cafe, up by Millenia Mall area.
Lucky you!!!!
PS--haven't done Seaworld but love KSC. There are so many things I would try if time permitted--Gatorland is on my list too.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

A whole month!!! Wow, you lucky lady!! That is great!

It helps that DH loves it as much as I do.

Nope, not for me!!! I would live there if I could!

AMEN!

Goodness. I wish we could go for 12 days. DH says we can only stay for 5.
Do you people have second jobs to afford Disney??

We just save and search for the deals. Last trip we got the buy 4 get 3 free deal. So we did 14 days but only paid for 8 nights of resort. We did the dining plan which is cheaper for us than buying meals but did buy parkhoppers which are a must for us. I also found an amazing deal on airfare. So overall it wasn't too bad.

 

[DawnM]

No! 12 days is great. I would make all of our trips 2 weeks if DH would agree. We did it once and even though he golfed he felt it was too long.

Normally we do 10 days.....one week plus a long weekend.

We leave next Thursday!

Dawn

 

[MickeyMom2Boys]

We were there for 16 days last May and it wasn't long enough!! Now that my son is in school, we will be going back to 1 week trips - I'm not sure how I'll adjust! I'm really going to miss the 2 weeks we had this year. It gave us time to chill out and enjoy the resorts and the pools and relax a bit. There is so much to do and see there. It's hard to fit it all in in 1 week.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

Stayed 2 weeks in June. We did stay in a condo though with washer/dryer/kitchen,etc. Besides one day at the beach, we did the parks or DTD just about every day! Of course I could live there forever, but like some others have said, it seems to be too long for some of the kiddos/dh's. Since my dh/kids (all but my dd..she's more like me!!) did get a bit burned out, I definitely don't want to stay that long again because they may not want to go back as soon!!!!!!

I think they would have been happier with a few more non-park days. I did kind of let loose towards the end and just let everybody sleep in and call the shots on what we were going to do for the day. They enjoyed those days that they were able to sleep in and hang out at the pool or golf and then only go to the parks at night. I think the key to a long,successful vacation is to let everyone voice their opinons in deciding what to do and to always be willing to change plans if burnout sets in!!!

 

[Colleen27]

12 days was a little too long for us. By the last couple days, the kids were missing their dogs and their own beds, and they were anxious to get home and tell their friends & grandparents all about the trip. That's the biggest reason we decided to break up Disney and Universal/Sea World into two trips - I'd want at least 12 days and preferably 2 weeks to do everything and still have some downtime, and I know the kids don't like being away that long at a stretch.

Our next trip is 8 nights/9 days, and I'm hoping that hits the sweet spot of long enough to fit in all the must-dos and still have time to relax without being such a long trip that the kids actually want to go home. We don't plan anything for arrival/departure days and will have two free days during the trip for waterparks/hanging out at the resort/going to a park without a plan, so I'm thinking that will be a good balance between busy days and more restful days.