Is 5 days enough??

[diarmuid]

Hello folks,

My mother (64) myself (38) and my son (10) are booked into the Wilderness Lodge for 6 nights from December 10-16th. We won't arrive until late on the 10th and have to leave by noon on the 16th. So basically we have 5 full days at Disneyworld. I know that we won't be able to see and do everything, which is fine I just don't want to be so rushed that we can't enjoy it... I am debating adding another night onto the trip so we have 6 full days. Any advice would be helpfull...

 

[Luv4Disney]

Hello folks,

My mother (64) myself (38) and my son (10) are booked into the Wilderness Lodge for 6 nights from December 10-16th. We won't arrive until late on the 10th and have to leave by noon on the 16th. So basically we have 5 full days at Disneyworld. I know that we won't be able to see and do everything, which is fine I just don't want to be so rushed that we can't enjoy it... I am debating adding another night onto the trip so we have 6 full days. Any advice would be helpfull...

It's hard to say. We're doing a 6 day trip in 10 days (yay) and we feel it's short because we're used to an 11 day trip. However, when we were in high school, we did go on trips that were 4 days. 6 days for this trip (I'm a planner!) gives us enough time to do all the parks once, two extra days (we have a very early flight going and a late flight coming back) to hit whatever else we want to do. It also gives us time to do PI and Jellyrolls. No waterparks since it's cooler. So if you think you can do it in 5 days, go for it, otherwise, maybe tack on that extra day. HTH!

 

[cinderkelli]

My friends and I went for five days and six nights last spring and we had a great time. I think it is just long enough to hit the highlights. We took one day for each park, then the fifth day we spent parkhopping to redo our favorites or catch up on whatever we had missed.

If you have never been before I am afraid you will be left wanting, but if it isn't your first time in a long time, if you plan well you will be able to see a lot of stuff. Although not even close to everything.

 

[minnierocks]

I agree that 5 full days is enough to hit the highlights...but if you can swing the extra day...do it!
I guarantee you won't regret it!!!

 

[Mickeygolf]

I'm assuming this is your first trip, which would make a difference. During this time of year I think with good planning you should be fine with 5 full days for the parks. We've made many trips that were 7 days, but 2 days were travel non park and another day at Sea World ( that was grandpa's idea) and we felt like we had pleny of time to get tons done without being rushed.

Good planning and the right state of mind and you'll be fine.

 

[mom2ee]

i don't think 365 days would be enough!!!! however, you are going at an historically slower time of year and therefore should not have large crowds to deal with...enjoy and know that you will NEVER see/do EVERYTHING just enjoy being at disney

 

[willis37862]

YOu can have a ton of fun in five days, four days even one day if thats what you have to work with. I suggest buying one of the travel guides ( I like the unofficial disney world guide book) and going through and picking the things you just CAN'T miss. Then a list of the things you would really like to see and go from there. We find that for us one day at MGM is enough where we want two days at the other parks. But everyones tastes are different. I hope you all have a great time, I'm sure you will .

 

[jess20k]

If it is your first time, then I usually recommend to people that you go at least 7 days, but it is not to say that you still cannot have a great time. Hey, 5 days is definately better than none. Just be sure to plan ahead as much as possible. The best way is of course the Dis! If needed, you could also purchase a book, such as the Unofficial Guide, or Birnbaum's. That is the tough part, not being able to do everything, but hey, that happens to me even though I have been there so many times, and usually go for 7 nights.

The key is to plan as much as you can! Have a great time!!!!

 

[prestonsmomma]

You are going the same days that we are. See you there. Actually this trip is plenty long enough for us. We go sort of commando anyway and are exhausted by the time we leave to go home.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We often only go for 5 days. More recently, we are sometimes inclined to go to Orlando for seven days, but we still usually only do five Disney park days.
It is plenty of time to see each of the parks, and be satisfied. On the other hand, if you are into WDW, you'll - almost - always want another day. If you are slightly troubled by dealing with crowds, lines, public restrooms, crowds, loud kids, poor parenting skills, lines, and crowds...five days can be more than enough.

You won't see EVERYTHING, but that's part of the fun. You'd have to stay for a LONG time to see EVERYTHING there is to see at WDW, so that's the beauty of the genius behind it - there's always something new to see, especially if you stay at different resorts each trip. By the time you get back around to staying at your original resort, it's most likely been updated. On our last trip, we happened to be at the Living Seas (er, now the Seas with Nemo) when they were feeding the fish. In all my trips to WDW, I had never seen that before! Now someone who was staying there for a month might eb able to plan to be at the Seas at just the right time, but most people won't go to that extreme.

I'm guessing that pretty much everyone who goes to WDW, must in some way, pick and choose which things they want to see, and what they are willing to skip. everyone has to pick where they want to dine, for example. You'd have to be ther ea LONG time to dine at every restaurant on property in one trip.

You won't really know what you're missing, so you can't really miss it if you don't know about it.

 

[The Mick]

5 full days...

Day 1: Magic Kingdom. EPCOT is my favorite park, but there's no better way to kick off a Disney trip than at MK. It is special. Make sure you hit Mickey's Philharmagic. IMO, it's the best ride in MK. Stay for Spectromagic and Wishes to end the night.

Day 2: EPCOT. Hit the highlights of Future World (fastpasses for Soarin, hit Test Track, Mission Space, Turtle Talk w/Crush, then see where you are with time) in the morning and early afternoon. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to roam World Showcase at your leisure. I'd plan on getting to WS no later than 3:00 pm, spending the rest of the evening there to eat, roam the countries and watch Illuminations. Taking your time here is critical in getting everything you want out of World Showcase.

Day 3: AK. If you've never been here before, get fastpasses for Everest first thing, and hit just about everything you can. You should be able to see everything here in a day without really rushing (Kilimanjaro Safari, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Pagnani trail, Dinosaur, Tough To Be a Bug, Festival of the Lion King, Flights of Wonder and Kali River Rapids - if you want to get wet).

Day 4: MGM. This is another 1-day park if you've never seen it. Rock & Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Indy Jones, Lights-Cameras-Action, Great Movie Ride, One Man's Dream, Star Tours, Muppet 3-D...and DON'T MISS FANTASMIC...trust me.

Day 5: EPCOT/MK. You might want to reserve this day for after you've had one day in all 4 parks, and decide which one(s) you'd like to re-visit and see something you didn't see before, or want to see again. EPCOT and MK almost always require at least a day and a half if you haven't been there before (or been in a long time), so you could make a day out of hitting both of these again (and it's easy to do that since they're both connected by the monorail).

5 days should be enough - and also make sure to check the closing times in order to get the most out of each day.