Is 12 nights too long?

[tinkerhon]

I didn't read all the responses. We took a 10 day trip in July (never had a trip that long before), and we didn't want to come home.
After this last trip, we have decided that we would rather take a longer WDW trip every four years or so than a shorter one every two-ish years.

Our July trip was nothing short of fantastic. We went to each park at least once; we've never done that before as a family. We also had a few "down days" that allowed us to hang out at the resort (campground), replenish our snacks and drinks from walmart, swim, and just rest and recharge ourselves in the bubble.
We did not feel exhausted, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

we have been doing the same ! We go in July now because of the lil ones school schedules - ( we worried because of the heat, but the last few years, it's been hotter here in NYC than Orlando !) Went for 10 days few years ago, 14 lad year, and going for 19 this year - the planning has been so enjoyable because we are getting 10 day passes and going to do SW and USF, and relax/pool/ Disney Springs/ Hotel ADRS the other days - it's going to be nice not having to run around so much !

 

[GoingSince1990]

Yes. Twelve nights is definitely too long in the sense that you are making me much too jealous.

 

[MudQueen22]

we have been doing the same ! We go in July now because of the lil ones school schedules - ( we worried because of the heat, but the last few years, it's been hotter here in NYC than Orlando !) Went for 10 days few years ago, 14 lad year, and going for 19 this year - the planning has been so enjoyable because we are getting 10 day passes and going to do SW and USF, and relax/pool/ Disney Springs/ Hotel ADRS the other days - it's going to be nice not having to run around so much !

We've also figured out that it cost less to take a longer vacation every 4 years than two shorter vacations every 2 years. Ticket prices get lower per day the more days you purchase at a time, and fuel is the same whether you stay 5 days or 10.

 

[GatesFam]

That would be a great vacation! Make sure to do park hopper. And you can't have too much a good thing when talking about Disney

 

[CoffeeKitten]

We are doing a 12 night trip this May. The plan is very similar to yours. We are doing two park days and then a sort of rest/resort day where we will go to table service restaurants, swim at the resort pool, visit Disney Springs or just do laundry.

When deciding what parks to do I looked at crowd calendars. I would recommend doing that because why go to a park that is crazy busy when you can avoid that? And I see everyone recommending park hoppers but you could save a lot of money if you just stuck to one park per day.

So following crowd calendars our schedule is: MK, HS, rest, Epcot, MK, rest, HS, MK, rest, AK, Epcot.

As you can see, we are doing three days at MK, two at Epcot and HS and only one at AK. My DD is 11 and loves Star Wars and that makes HS a priority. And in your case, you have a lot of time to really finalize your plans depending on the interests of your family.

 

[rcj2000]

We did a 10 night trip for this past Christmas through New Years and I'm so glad we did. We had park hoppers and they really came in handy. We had what I thought was a perfect touring plan that we had to alter a few times last min and it would have been difficult if we didn't have park hoppers. Also, I felt less stressed and pressured to get things done in a certain time frame. You never know what last min ride, restaurant or experience might open while you're there. We did do a park everyday but we didn't spend the whole day at each park. I have done shorter trips too. My shortest was 4 days. I say the longer the better.

 

[bettymae1121]

Wow, I can't believe people are still replying to this post (I started it ages ago)! Anyway you slice it, this is a good problem to have!

Thanks to all the more recent posters for your opinions. I'm playing around with maybe shortening it to 10 nights, partly for budget reasons and partly because it looks like taking a quick 4 night trip in 2021 with a friend and her daughter is a real possibility! Unfortunately we can't get the timing to work out so I can do an annual pass (2021 will be April and 2022 will most likely be June. Nuts!). Right now I'm mainly focused with our DLR trip that is "only" 4 months away now, eek!

As for park hopper vs. non-park hopper - I paid for hoppers on our last trip (2018) and we never hopped. So I'm thinking we'll buy non-hoppers for the 2022 trip BUT if something happens and we want/need to hop, we can pay to upgrade while we're there (that's still a thing, right?). But if it all works out and we don't hop, then that's money saved.

ETA: Also many of you have suggested not doing the same park two days in a row. We actually did that for our last trip in 2018 and I just felt it was so disjointed, like we'd just be getting in to the groove of something and then it was like "Squirrel!". But that's just me and the way my mind works I think. I like to concentrate on one thing until I'm done (even if its' over the course of a few days), and then move on (the exception being that we will ALWAYS visit MK on the last day of a trip, no matter how often or when we've been to MK earlier in the trip). But I'll certainly take your suggestion to heart and will also consult DH and DD, who of course also get to have a say in all of this! The schedule I outlined in my original post was more of a way for me to "see" that we would have plenty of time in each park, and this far out naturally nothing is yet set in stone.

 

[TTA Rider Matt]

I'd like to chime in and say that 12 nights is a very good number in my opinion. I stayed 12 nights with 10 park days (2 pool days at BCV/DS in evening), and with little kids, we didn't even get to do everything we wanted to. There were some attractions we missed, we didn't do mini-golfing at Fantasia Gardens which we would've liked to do, it actually felt pretty tightly packed at times. Part of it is that this was my first time with my kids, and previous WDW experiences, we are touring like animals lol. We had to dial it back with the little kids, accounting for the time you lose to stroller parking and retrieval, more time with characters than usual, etc. I have told my wife that my minimum WDW stay is 10 days, but 12 is ideal.

 

[Disney93]

We have gone to WDW many times and find 14 days is about right for us, usually 9-11 in our group. I just love not being rushed and having time at our resort just to rest. We have golfed, gone fishing and done several other activities. Resort hopping is always fun, we usually go in early Dec and seeing all the Christmas decorations is wonderful. Just visiting with other guests is a learning experience of its own. Our first trip was only 8 days and it was sun up to sun down, I needed another vacation just to get my strength back and swore I would never do that again.

 

[Anchored]

We booked 14 days once and I left 2 days early (we drove) because I was over it. I think 10 days is enough for me.

 

[Cyberc1978]

Should I ever stay 14 days it would have to be split between WDW and Vero.

 

[tonga]

We typically stay 14-15 nights (15 because flights are often cheaper if we arrive in the evening), and don’t like to have it any shorter. We just had to cancel a trip and are considering making it 3 weeks next time to make up for it

 

[stayathomehero]

Last trip (2017) was a drive from NY, we stayed 14 nights on property with a 10 day ticket and free dining. We had the non park nights smack in the middle...it was fantastic, and we loved it. We wouldn't go back every year for it, and next long trip will be 2023. I wouldn't recommend doing such a trip every year or anything...

 

[BarbLynnM]

We've done a couple of 14 day vacations-one during the Christmas/New Years holidays. I'd have to say that the holiday one was just right, but the other in May seemed a bit long and I was ready to get back on the road home.

In my opinion and experience, 9 days seems just right for me. We're going in June for "only" 6 days, and I'm trying to wrangle himself to take a few more days so we can stay longer (given if there are days available). For whatever reason (I'm spoiled?) 6 days doesn't seem long enough...

 

[WDWTRAVELLER]

Nope 12 is a good number. ( we stay 21 nights) that would be my limit, I think 12 is enough to do all the parks as well to have some down time before you leave.. we use a couple days to do off Disney attractions. old town or just to tour Orlando and Area.

 

[Grumpylarr]

Well, my wife and I are retired. We are Disney Vacation Club members and annual pass holders. Our home is in Michigan and we hate the winter weather so every year on January 1 we pack up the car and head for our other home. The first long stay was three weeks. The next year we stayed four weeks. Long story short, this year we are staying seven weeks! So, no. In my opinion 12 nights is not too long. Enjoy the relaxed pace and the excellent dining options!

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Your trip sounds amazing, if I were you I wouldnt rope drop so much its really nice just getting up and getting to the park when you want to.
Your on vacation!!
We did a little short of two weeks we only did 5 park days. Plus one party night.We also did 3 days at universal and waterpark. On one day we drove to clearwater.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

We did 10 nights at Poly and loved it. We park hopped a fair bit since Magic Kingdom was so close.

 

[Alison S]

I find a vacation that's between 7-10 days (with kids) is a good amount of time. Without kids I can go longer, lol. This applies to pretty much any destination.

For WDW, the first time we went for 5 nights (4 park days), the second for 7 nights (5 park days, 1 KSC day). Next time I'm thinking that I'd like to go for closer to around 10-12 days. Lots of taking it easy, relaxing and non-park activities.

 

[LucieR]

Nope, we’re from U.K. and do 14, just Disney. Still not enough!