Is 24 days too long?

[burt]

Well finally got some flights for next August but they way it falls means 24 days in florida - just looking for opinions do you think this is too long - We intend first 3 days onsite at universal and then 21 nights at POR with free dining, Im not keen on driving when on holiday so not sure if we will bother with a car. So will i be disneyed out and full of food after 21 days on site, other option is 17 nights - 3 nights universal and 14 POR but taking into account cost of flights the extra week doesnt cost too much more

 

[Neoshoegal]

Go for it! I think I could easily spend more than a month at Disney alone! Although, I would probably not be able to do it August, I can't stand the heat and humidity, but that's just me.
Lucky you!

 

[paulh]

the only problems i would have would be,making all the adrs and being too full.go for it
we have always enjoyed our 21 night stays,and would have had more nights if it worked out
Paulh

 

[Tarzan]

We're staying at Disney for 35 nights and I know I won't get bored. We only have the dining plan for 21 nights, but choosing ADRs for that was hard enough. I think you'll love staying for 24 nights, go for it

 

[burt]

Thanks for your opinions , We know August probably not the best time to go but because of childrens school we dont have much choice, so thought 21 nights will give us plenty down time for the kids to enjoy the pool and not have to rush around everywhere. the adr is the one thing im not really looking forward to doing, only eaten on site a couple of times before so not sure where to book but im sure i can get plenty information from here, maybe 21 buffets at crystal palace lol, the kids would love that!!

 

[paulh]

Thanks for your opinions , We know August probably not the best time to go but because of childrens school we dont have much choice, so thought 21 nights will give us plenty down time for the kids to enjoy the pool and not have to rush around everywhere. the adr is the one thing im not really looking forward to doing, only eaten on site a couple of times before so not sure where to book but im sure i can get plenty information from here, maybe 21 buffets at crystal palace lol, the kids would love that!!

think as your on the dis,planning will come easy to you(i plan meals each year for 10 people from 3 familys)
Would check out the resterant/ddp parts of these boards for help and info
My only advice would be too do a few 2TS meals.that way wouldnt overface you too much
Did the ddp in the old days when it was appitizer/entree/desert/tip all included
And for 14 nights was hell of a lot of food
Paulhh

 

[UKDEB]

The longer the better for me. I could happily go for 3 months at a time. To be honest, I'd be very unlikely to want to spend 3 consecutive weeks onsite at Disney, particularly not at one resort, but that's not to say it's the worst thing I can imagine, either.

 

[binkytell]

hi, we just got back from doing ddp for 2 weeks for first time.

it is some amount of food, we are all big eaters but by 2nd week
we were all sickened by the thought of havin to go to dinner again lol

we ended up leaving 9 snacks and 13 counter service meals... wot a waste.

 

[darthtatty]

sounds like heaven to me.
it will give you a chance to slow down a bit and appreciate everything.
id love to go for that long.

is it possible to hire a car for a few days in the middle of the trip just in case you fancy venturing further afield?
or you might have time to check out the bus routes etc.

im sure youll fill the time easily? if not im offering

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Have been a few times in August but it's a bit too hot for Julie and Joshua so we stick with Easter from now on.

Can only comment on our own circumstances and on the holidays we have had but having been for 3 weeks in the past I don't think 24 nights is too long but I would say between 2/3 weeks (in our circumstances) is ideal length of time. Josh is ready for home by then.
Unfortunatley we are unable to go for longer than 14 nights now due to school holiday dates etc, but to be honest that kind of suits us, though a couple of nights on top of that would be nice.

24 nights I would definitely do a split stay, and as I don't feel I could stay in hotels for that long personally I would do a villa/on site type of holiday.
Just to give you variation in accomodation. A villa is ideal for relaxing and gives you privacy and all that extra room, makes a great contrast to an on-site hotel.
If it were us going for that length of time I would definitely look at getting away from Orlando for a while, I am sure we would plan a few days on the coast somewhere, I just don't think we could spend all that time in one place.
Staying on site for the whole holiday would be way too much Disney overload for me.

We also enjoy the other parks such as Sea World and Universal just as much as the Disney one's so you have plenty of time to do these too.

If it were us we would probably stay a few nights on site then have a few days at a coastal resort , maybe go back to Naples or Fort Lauderdale and then back to Orlando in a villa.
Like you say the Universal hotels are definitely worth considering, they look very special places to stay.

There is so much more to Florida than the parks and we have been fortunate to travel around most of the state over the years, it's great to go to other places too....though naturally that's your decision, not mine!

 

[disneyholic family]

Well finally got some flights for next August but they way it falls means 24 days in florida - just looking for opinions do you think this is too long - We intend first 3 days onsite at universal and then 21 nights at POR with free dining, Im not keen on driving when on holiday so not sure if we will bother with a car. So will i be disneyed out and full of food after 21 days on site, other option is 17 nights - 3 nights universal and 14 POR but taking into account cost of flights the extra week doesnt cost too much more

we've done more than 21 days onsite before....there is NO SUCH THING as too much time at WDW as far as we're concerned...

one question - i thought that next year, the free dining at POR is only counter service (2 counter services meals and 2 snacks per person per day)...
i thought that you have to be either at the OKW, SSR or one of the deluxe resorts to get the regular free dining (with table service)...

 

[nibbo]

I asked the same question a couple of years ago as we were thinking of going for 3 weeks. Everyone said to go for it as 3 weeks could never be too long, and they were right. After spending 3 weeks there last christmas I could never do a 2 week holiday there again. The extra week gives you so much more time to relax and enjoy things. We spent some daytimes by the pool and went to the parks in the evenings instead when they had the EMH on.
It was nice also knowing that you still had 2 weeks left after you had been there a week where normally on a 2 week holiday you'd be half way through it by then
Go for it, you won't regret it.

 

[Melcatfish]

I think you would have a great time - I would say though maybe do 10 nights at one Disney resort and then 11 nights at a different one - if you go for ones in the same price band it shouldn't alter you cost much at all and it would give you chance to experience another resort. Disney will transfer your luggage for you too.

Mel
x

 

[wayneg]

You won't know until you have done it, Both my Uncle and Brother have a limit of 7 days in Florida(not just Disney) and they want out, we go for 24 or 25 nights every August and its not long enough, this year it was over way too soon but no way would we enjoy so long onsite. Just spent 3 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge which was fantastic but would never stay longer than that, next year cutting it it 2 nights. For us onsite is too busy and too Disney, we love the parks but great to get away to eat and sleep, far more relaxing and enjoyable.
Others could stay in Disney forever, you just have to try it for yourself.

 

[burt]

one question - i thought that next year, the free dining at POR is only counter service (2 counter services meals and 2 snacks per person per day)...
i thought that you have to be either at the OKW, SSR or one of the deluxe resorts to get the regular free dining (with table service)...

We are looking to book with disney uk so we can upgrade to the full dining plan at not to much extra cost


Thanks again for your opinions, we did consider a split stay at 2 resorts but with the free dining it would mean buying 2 lots of tickets which for 5 of ud makes it quite a bit more expensive, We are now considering getting a car and doing 3 days at clearwater or St Petes, then back up for 3 or 4 nights onsite at universal and then finally upto disney for the remainder of our stay, Just a little nervous about the drive to the coast but people assure me driving in florida is not a problem

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We are looking to book with disney uk so we can upgrade to the full dining plan at not to much extra cost


Thanks again for your opinions, we did consider a split stay at 2 resorts but with the free dining it would mean buying 2 lots of tickets which for 5 of ud makes it quite a bit more expensive, We are now considering getting a car and doing 3 days at clearwater or St Petes, then back up for 3 or 4 nights onsite at universal and then finally upto disney for the remainder of our stay, Just a little nervous about the drive to the coast but people assure me driving in florida is not a problem

Hi Burt,

As I said earlier, and it's just my opinion, for that length of time I think it is a great idea getting off to the coast somewhere. It will give a real balance and variation to your holiday that you just won't find if you stay in Orlando.

Driving to Clearwater or St Petes is just under 2 hours or so, most of the route on the freeway. Just get a decent map, follow signs for Tampa and you will be fine, we have driven all over Florida and it really does make for a different type of holiday.
Not least being the fact the beaches on the west coast are brilliant.

Check out the 'Live maps' website which I recommended for Deb's useful links 'sticky' in this forum, it really is excellent and gives overhead real images of all areas of Florida, so you can drive down Clearwater any day you choose!

If you know the address and/or postcode of a hotel, you can view almost Live images so you can see how far it is from the beach etc
we have used it countless times, even to look back on where we stayed on our honeymoon many years ago....aw bless!

 

[nibbo]

Others could stay in Disney forever, you just have to try it for yourself.

I thought 3 weeks in ASM would be right up your street Wayne

As you said, 3 weeks in one place on Disney property is much too much for some people. (not for us!) Everyone's different and have their own tastes. TBH, we're only in our room for sleeping but do enjoy spending days by the pool and just love being wrapped up in the whole Disney atmosphere. We have non Disney days which is good but it's always nice returning back to the Disney hotel for the evening. We're breaking next years holiday up with a short cruise in the middle..... on the Disney Wonder

 

[wayneg]

I thought 3 weeks in ASM would be right up your street Wayne

We're breaking next years holiday up with a short cruise in the middle..... on the Disney Wonder

11 Nights at ASMovies was 11 nights too long

Now I could spend 25 nights on a Disney ship.

 

[wicket2005]

I wouldn't have said it was too long at all. We have stayed in a villa for 3 weeks once and loved the extra time. I would do this all of the time but it isn't fair on the hubbie to use up a lot of his holidays at once.

We have found over the years as more and more new parks opened you do need more time to do each park justice.

We are not into staying at Disney but have not tried it just never fancied being immersed in Disney totally. We have stayed at Universal for two holidays now at the RPR and HRH and loved them both but then we like the Universal parks the best. So I can definitely recommend staying at one of these holidays. We found it so relaxing just being able to walk to the parks and having the FOTL passes meant we didn't have to go at opening times to get straight on the rides.

I would certainly recommend hiring a car just to get out to the other parks, the malls and sample other places to eat. It is a lot quicker to travel around by car on the Disney site compared to using Disney transport too from what I have read.

A coastal break is ideal if you fancy doing that but to be honest there is that much to do in Orlando I could easily keep myself occupied in this area. However, having that extra time does allow you to sample more of what Florida has to offer which is a good thing.

I don't know about driving on the roads because I have never fancied it. My hubbie says it is fine but you do have to concentrate a lot more and watch out for people doing stupid things. We have travelled over to the Kennedy Space Centre and Busch Gardens and both were easy to find.

 

[Nicola2010]

We're staying at Disney for 35 nights and I know I won't get bored. We only have the dining plan for 21 nights, but choosing ADRs for that was hard enough. I think you'll love staying for 24 nights, go for it

wow 35 nights over christmas and new year... i wish i was in your family

i'd love to go at that time of year but it always looks more expensive, even with us having DVC accomodation