Is 7 days at WDW too long?

[MinMou]

I made the mistake of telling DH that we would go for 9 days, but since our first day is the day we fly in, and our last day will just be breakfast at Ohana before picking up a rental car, we really only have 7 full days.

I figured 2 days of MK, 1 in Epcot, 1 in HS, 1 in AK, 1 day to just relax and go to DS, and 1 more day to go back to one park. We have one son who will be 4, so we won't be doing most of the more popular rides since he won't be tall enough.

DH's head is spinning, and he is asking why we can't just go for 4 days? (Because I don't want us to feel rushed.) Why do we need to go to all 4 parks? (Because there is something our son will love in every park.)

He is a bit worried about the money involved, but I said I would pay for it out of money that I am saving just for this.

I figured we would go back to WDW when DS is tall enough to ride everything, but right now he is at the age where he thinks the characters are real, so I wanted him to visit before that magic rubs off.

So is a week too much?

 

[TexasPrincess1]

I like your plan! It makes sense to me. There is plenty to do. We are going 10 days (11 nights with 2 travel days), and I wish we could stay even longer.

 

[kimj88]

I definitely think that that is not too much time. Even with that amount of time there will be so many things you won't get to. Plus you don't want to rush around like crazy, you need some downtime, it is a vacation after all, some relaxing is warranted. Plus with the little ones, they do tire quickly a lot of the times. My boys, 6 and 12, are scaredy cats about the rides so we don't ride a lot of the big ones but we still go for 7-10 days when we go and have plenty to do.

 

[Aliceacc]

I think you husband is imagining 7 full days at Six Flags.

WDW is totally different. For starters, the resorts are vacations in and of themselves. There's a lot to see and do in each of the WDW resorts.

Our vacations tend to be 8 days; this week we're arriving at about noon on a Wednesday and our return flight leaves at 8 pm the next Wednesday. And it's not a moment too long. I would happily spend more time there if we could swing it financially.

Have you decided on a resort?

Oh, and you mention picking up a rental car as you leave. If that's what you meant, then fine. But if you meant "returning", you may want to rethink your plan. We've never found the need to have a rental car if we were staying on Disney property; Disney transportation is fine.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

There is so much to see and do so I do not think it is too long. It is an expensive trip so I want to do a big, long trip and then come back in 2-3 years when my kids are older. They will be 3 and 5 when we go and will not be tall enough for every ride, but I also want to go when it is magical with the characters.

We are going for 9 days, but due to flight times, we are not going to the parks on arrival or departure days. I bought a 6 day park pass. My plan is MK 3 days, Epcot 1, HS 1, and AK 1. I have one day planned as a resort/pool day and then to go to Disney Springs later in the afternoon and for dinner.

 

[MinMou]

I think we are on the same wavelength, Princess Minnie. Hmmmm. Maybe my avatar has something to do with it?

Aliceacc, I really want to stay at the Contemporary, but if I can't save enough money, then I will have to set my sight elsewhere. And yes, I was planning to get a rental car to go somewhere else in Florida (we have family on both coasts), not to return to WDW.

Thank you to everyone who has answered so far. At least I know that in the World of DIS, I am not crazy.

 

[Shanti]

I made the mistake of telling DH that we would go for 9 days, but since our first day is the day we fly in, and our last day will just be breakfast at Ohana before picking up a rental car, we really only have 7 full days.

I figured 2 days of MK, 1 in Epcot, 1 in HS, 1 in AK, 1 day to just relax and go to DS, and 1 more day to go back to one park. We have one son who will be 4, so we won't be doing most of the more popular rides since he won't be tall enough.

DH's head is spinning, and he is asking why we can't just go for 4 days? (Because I don't want us to feel rushed.) Why do we need to go to all 4 parks? (Because there is something our son will love in every park.)

He is a bit worried about the money involved, but I said I would pay for it out of money that I am saving just for this.

I figured we would go back to WDW when DS is tall enough to ride everything, but right now he is at the age where he thinks the characters are real, so I wanted him to visit before that magic rubs off.

So is a week too much?

I actually share your husband's perspective. Not that 7 days is "too long" for a Disney trip in general, of course. But for such a young child, I would do a shorter trip and focus on the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. It will keep him from getting overwhelmed and exhausted, if you limit the trip to a shorter number of days and only two different parks, with two days spent at MK. Hollywood Studios and Epcot have so little for such a young child that I just wouldn't bother at this time.

If your husband has money concerns I would take them seriously, and put the extra money that you originally alotted for a 7-9 day trip towards a big trip when your son is older and able to ride all of the rides.

This trip can be short and sweet, all about the magic. The next trip can be long and joyfully exhausting, all about squeezing the fun out of each of the four parks.

 

[ELSA711]

Not to long IMO, we are going for 16 days next June and so excited! 12 days on site, 2 days off site and 2 travel days.

 

[sullyfam]

We do 8 days altogether, arrival day, 6 days at the parks and departure day. We have done this for the past 3 trips and found it works well for our family. We get park hoppers and visit all 4 parks and don't usually plan an "off" day in between although we do afternoon breaks every day for pool time/down time.

There is so much to see and do at WDW that I think you will find that even with a 9 day trip planned, you won't get to do it all. I think a week (give a take a day or two) is the perfect amount of time as you get the full Disney experience but don't completely exhaust yourself and it leaves you wanting to come back for more!

 

[Mousemommy1]

No, it's not too long. Our regular trips are 11 days long.

 

[tami82]

For your first time there I don't think 7 days is too much. The first time I went with my dh and kids we went for 5 nights and although we got a lot done I would have loved to stay an extra two nights. We had stayed at Nickelodeon for two nights before going to Disney and while I'm glad we went for the kids I really wished I planned it out better and just went straight to Disney. it had cost around the same amount of money for each place but Disney had free dining. As far as the money since you are contributing that is great. I too told my dh that I would pay for food this trip since we aren't doing free dining this time and staying at the more expensive Poly. I have been saving for a year for my part of the trip and it's worth every penny.

 

[MinMou]

...

This trip can be short and sweet, all about the magic. The next trip can be long and joyfully exhausting, all about squeezing the fun out of each of the four parks.

I see all of your points, and if we hadn't done a 3 day trip to Disneyland last year, I wouldn't want to spend money on a trip where we didn't know how our boy would react. But after that trip and a 2 day trip to Legoland, I think we are prepared to know when it's time to leave the park to avoid a meltdown. In fact that's why I wanted an extra day to go to back to a park, to do the things we had to skip to accommodate a rest time, nap or whatever. But I will give your comments a lot of thought, since you bring up things I really should consider.

As we get closer to the trip, I will be adjusting plans to work with how our son develops, since children are changing constantly, and with how the parks change over the next year as well. Hollywood Studios is a good example. RIght now, he really enjoys the Disney Jr characters, so if we went to today, that would be a must do. But if he isn't into Disney Jr - or Star Wars! - next year, then bypassing HS is more likely.

 

[mm1971]

IMO 7 days is not too many. If I may make a suggestion. How about get park tickets for 5 days and then add the remaining 1 or 2 days if you still feel that you want the 7 days in the parks. You can save the $$ up front if you decide 5 is enough and if you want the extra days, add them there. Best of both worlds and you both get your way.

It is different for every family. If your son likes Star Wars, then I would say a visit to all 4 parks would be fine. If not, there is not enough at HS for a 4 year old in my opinion. Definitely 2 days at MK and 1 at AK and Epcot. That is 4-5 days in the parks. Have fun!

 

[lennyd]

I dont think its to long on the 7th day your going to wish it was longer

 

[MinMou]

IMO 7 days is not too many. If I may make a suggestion. How about get park tickets for 5 days and then add the remaining 1 or 2 days if you still feel that you want the 7 days in the parks. You can save the $$ up front if you decide 5 is enough and if you want the extra days, add them there. Best of both worlds and you both get your way.

It is different for every family. If your son likes Star Wars, then I would say a visit to all 4 parks would be fine. If not, there is not enough at HS for a 4 year old in my opinion. Definitely 2 days at MK and 1 at AK and Epcot. That is 4-5 days in the parks. Have fun!

I was planning to get a 6 day pass, but maybe DH will like the idea of only committing to 5 days in the park. I don't think the cost is much different at that length of stay, but definitely something to look at - thanks!

 

[joannamet]

Its not too long but you want plan accordingly and keep your son on his regular schedule as much as possible!!!!

I would get up and have breakfast when you normally do. Always come back to the resort for a rest in the afternoon. Even if he doesn't nap you can turn off the lights and have some quiet time in the room. Plan to spend mornings in the parks and afternoons at the resort. Until DD was 10 we always spent the morning in the park, had lunch there and then went back to the resort. If you go back to the parks in the evening, leave in time to get a bath and get to bed early. I hope your husband isn't a park commando kind of guy because that non-stop style of touring isn't going to work for a young child on a long trip.

You'll be surprised at how little you get to in the parks before you're done for the day so you'll appreciate all of those extra days. I think a longer trip will actually make if more relaxing and fun for all of you!!! Great plan.

 

[Baklava]

We did 10 days and still didn't see everything. We have a list of stuff to do next time.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

7 days is not long at all! In fact I might be with the minority on this but I think it might be too short! LOL I am a total Disney fanatic and it seems every trip we plan I plan it for longer and longer, LOL. We started staying off site, the 1st time we went to Disney was when my older DS was only 3...my hubby had a conference in Tampa so we stayed in Tampa for 3 days during his conference and then moved to Orlando for 4 days and did 1 park each day with park hopper options so if we wanted to do multiple parks in 1 day we could do that. We stayed off site in Orlando as well. The next trip we took to Disney my son was 5 and I believe that trip we stayed off site again and we were in Orlando for about 12-13 days I think...it was somewhere around 2 weeks, but we did everything from Disney to Busch Gardens/Sea World stuff. That trip was a little too long for me actually bc I felt like we were running around everywhere and we weren't experiencing anything. The next trip we decided to do exclusively Disney and we we were there for 7 days and 6 nights at this point my older son was 7 and we also had our younger son who was 8 months at that time and we stayed on site at the Contemporary. It was so much fun! But a lot of work bc we were afraid to keep our infant son in the sun for too long, so my hubby and I spent most of the trip divided, and then my older son got deathly ill while we were there and he literally had to stay in bed for 2 days and after that he still wasn't feeling that well. It was towards the end of the trip but still no one likes to get sick in Disney, lol. We decided we needed to go on a do over trip the following year which was last year, my older son was now 8 and my younger son was 20 months old. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and we added a day so we were there for 8 days and 7 nights and it was seriously the best trip ever! We had to skip Disney this year but are planning on going back next year and this time I have us staying in Disney for 10 days and 9 nights. I added an extra day for a resort day because last year all my kids (and I mean my hubby too, LOL) begged for a break to just hang out at the pool and we just didn't have the time, lol. Anyways like I said my trips to Disney just keep getting longer and longer, LOL...although I think 10 days will be the max for us bc I really can't imagine staying there for longer than 10 days, lol

 

[AshleeH]

We go for 8 days and never ever do a rest day (too much to see and do to waste a park day like that). We also only do AK for a half day - never enough there to occupy my family (we adore the other three parks and we do a half day at AK each trip, but none of us ever want to linger). 4 days would be so insanely stressful because you'd be trying to jam so much into that time - I've always said I'd love to have two weeks there and really enjoy it.

 

[carmelhp]

Uh, no, our last trip was 10 days and too short. I keep trying to make the next stay longer.