Is 9 days and 8 nights enough time?

[zdesiree]

Hi:

I'll be going to Disney on Nov. 29 - Dec. 07 and I was wondering if 9 days and 8 nights will be enough. We want to go to WDW, Epcot, MGM, Sea World and Universal. I was thinking of going to downtown disney the first day since I will be arriving in the afternoon and maybe Pleasure Island in other night. I'm traveling with my husband, our three kids (3, 4 and 6) my mother, grandmother and mother in law. Any suggestions will be appreciated!! Thanks

 

[Daxx]

For your first day, might I suggest a character meal? Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary is a great way to kick off your vacation. It's really a great way to get into the Disney spirit. Since it's a WDW resort, you won't have to worry about park admission. This is always my family's favorite way to start off a Disney trip. Depending on your arrival, you can do lunch or dinner. You can pick up autograph books at DTD or at your resort before your meal. The kids will love seeing their favorite characters before they even hit WDW!

We love to hit the pool on our first day, too -- depending on our arrival time. It's so refreshing after the plane ride! And, we tend to neglect the pool during our vacation -- only swimming at night.

DTD and Pleasure Island are both great fun. Remember, don't overdo or stay up too late on the first night. You'll want to get plenty of sleep -- you'll need lots of energy for the fun of your first day!

You asked if 9 days is enough for all you want to do -- in my opinion, no. But, that's just me. There is never enough time!!! I could be there for three months and still not have enough time! Ha!Ha! Honestly, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time. I see that you don't have Animal Kingdom on your list. Don't miss the Kilimanjaro Safari and the Lion King show -- both are spectacular. You don't have to spend an entire day at AK. We've found that we can do AK in half a day, hitting what we only want to see/do.

Have a great time!

 

[zdesiree]

Thanks you so much for your advice. The last time I went to WDW I was a kid and now I'm going with my kids. I'm definitely including Animal Kingdom now.

 

[uva185]

No matter how long you stay you will never have enough time to do everything. There is so much to do at Disney besides the parks themselves. The longest I have stayed is 7 days, i didnt get to do everything I wanted to, and I didn't leave Disney property the entire week!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Disney is so big, I don't think you will ever be able to see it all in one trip. You are going for a longer time than most people do. Enjoy and see as much as you can.

 

[newholidayx2]

DS & I are going for 14nights this Aug - We're only doing the Disney parks
Im planning on (3) 1/2days at all the parks except EpCot - EpCot Im planning on (5) 1/2 days
rest of the time will be the Pop, WL, BCV, BW & Poly pools

(if we had more time we'd fit in Typhoon Lagoon & Disney Quest)

 

[MagicKingdom05]

zdesiree,

I'm going 10 days/9 nights starting this Friday and figured with 2 days at the parks, it would leave me with 2 days to either go back and do something I really like or for resort days.

 

[Ilovestitch]

How long are you spending at SeaWorld & Universal? I was going to say 9 days was enough if you were just at WDW, but adding Universal and Seaworld gives you less than a week at Disney.

 

[dzneelvr]

Our normal trip with DS and DD is 10 days/9 nights and we do not go off Disney. I personally don't think you can hit what you want at WDW if you're going off site for 2 major days but Hey, that's what future trips are for..... Don't stress that you can't get to something. Just take one day per park, throw in DTD your first day (we do that too since it's a "partial" day) make a reservation at, say, Rainforest Cafe; shop around and just inhale the Disney magic; get settled at your resort, swim, and relax. Then second day, begin your rotation through each Park (we pre determine the order based on where we made our dining PSs; but MK and MGM are always in the first 2 days. )
We usually do MGM and MK 2-3 times; EPCOT twice; AK once...you get the picture.
You may do each park once, then let your kids pick their fave to do again. You'll then have say goodbye to WDW to head out to Sea World and Universal. I will be interested to hear your comparison to the WDW and off WDW sites. You may decide then on your next trip to do more of something and less of another.
No matter what--have a wonderful family vacation. no regrets.

 

[sanibelover]

It is not long enough to do everything. You could stay for a very long time and not do everything. You would also be broke long before you did everything............

I do think it is long enough for your kids. They are young and Disney is very overwhelming. I think that after 8 nights you will be ready to leave. I know there are a lot of people here that feel differently, but Disney with small kids is a lot of work. That doesn't mean that you won't be ready to head right back for another vacation, but I think you will be ready for a break after 9 days.......

 

[zdesiree]

I was thinking of 1 day each one and in the night, if my kids are ok, maybe I can go and see illuminations at Epcot or Pleasure Island with my husband.

 

[tinker-kyle]

z ...
if you hit the parks every day your kids should fall asleep standing up every night and sleep through earthquakes ... which is just how we like them, eh?

given the ages of your children ... plan for plenty of time in the pool and i would re-think the off site days ... there's alot at universal that they will be too small for and there are mostly shows at seaworld ... your little ones might not apprecaite being dragged from one show to the next.... though it might be awhile before you get back to orlando remember its not going anywhere ...dont forget to add some down time to your plan everyone will be happier for it and you'll be able to take advantage of some of the very few things that dont cost extra $$$ -- the swimming and relaxing -- also most hotels have playgrounds little kids love them better than most of the stuff they see in the parks (go figure)

and while your kids (the grannies too) are comatose in the evenings you and hubby can head back into the parks ... if you too havent fallen asleep

 

[zdesiree]

Great Advice!!!

 

[swilphil]

I would skip Universal, but I think 9 days is just about the right amount of time. Like Tinkerkyle said, Universal rides are geared more for older kids.

 

[step4now]

We've stayed as much as 10 days, and the answer is NO, you cannot see it "all." In fact, the opposite seems to happen. You think you should have time to see it all, so you start racing around try to do everything. I found we got very tired and disappointed trying to do "everything, everyday" ... the trick is time find down-time to relax by the pools, do some character meals, shop at downtown, see a movie, etc. Remember, the kids favorite part will likely be the pools anyway, so pick a hotel you (and they) will love, and spend some time there...don't run from park to park..event to event... you still won't see it all and you'll just feel stressed and rushed.

Enjoy!

Step

 

[Daxx]

You think you should have time to see it all, so you start racing around try to do everything. I found we got very tired and disappointed trying to do "everything, everyday" ... the trick is time find down-time to relax by the pools, do some character meals, shop at downtown, see a movie, etc.

This is such a true statement. You will find that you can easily get sidetracked from just going from point A to point B. You have some people who do Disney commando-style ... with set, meticulous schedules. Great if that works for them ... but what works for us is to each pick some things that "it wouldn't be a Disney trip w/o going to/on ..." then do those things. So, we make sure we accomplish those things (easy goals) and anything else is a bonus!

The best part about WDW is that you never know what the next turn will take. We spent one night in EPCOT's Morocco, talking to Jasmine and Aladdin. Nobody was around, the people were gathering for the the fireworks and we stumbled upon Aladdin and Jasmine in the courtyard all by themselves. DS had a blast talking w/them and I think we were there for a good 1/2 hour with them. That was time where we may have planned on doing something else, but you can't let that moment go by just b/c you have to get to your next location!

Don't kill yourself trying to get everything in ... you'd need more than 9 days to fit it all in.

~Daxx's Wife

 

[Patty106]

I went to disney last august and had 7 full days. We went to all four theme parks, the two water parks , seaworld and universal.......and by the end anytime something moved....the only thought that ran through my mind was.......I think we have been on this ride before.

This year we are taking 8 full days and we are not budgeting off Disney Property.

My advice..........fewer parks is more

Good luck and have fun

 

[zdesiree]

Hey Everybody!!

You guys are great, thanks for all your help. Now we are going to stay one more day so it's gonna be 10 days / 9 nights at the OKW. I have done a lot of thinking of what you guys have been saying and my idea of a vacation is to be relax, I don't want to go commando style, and more when I'm taking my mother, mother in law and grandmother with me, and my kids are small too (DS 4, DS 6, DD 3).

Thanks Again, and keep it coming all that good advice.

Zelma Collazo

 

[my3princes]

I have traveled to Orlando several times with small children. It takes us 2 days to do MK, 1 1/2 for MGM, 2 for Epcot and 1 for Animal Kingdom. The water parks are always a highlight for my boys even when they were very young. We do one water park each trip. The water park day we fit in DTD. So for us to feel like we have "done disney" it takes us 7 1/2 days. We also try to have a late start day to catch up on sleep. Down days are also nice and planning one or two really helps make the vacation run more smoothly. So for us a trip to just do WDW is a minimum of 9 park days. When we do Universal we plan 2 1/2 days and another for Sea World. I think that you would really be pushing the kids or skipping a lot in each of the Disney Parks if you try to do everything in one week. Good Luck with your plans. I would get a good guidebook and look over the attractions and shows at each park. If you find that there is a lot of things that you don't want to do maybe you will move quicker than we do. Keep researching and you will make educated decisions that will be best for your family.

 

[blitzkrieg048]

we are also going to okw around the same time you are for 8 nites. we usually go to dtd our first day there, it's a good way to kick of our vacation. my three ds's( 7,4,2, by the time we go) like to get a toy at the big toy store, this way they have a toy for the week that they can play with for rest times at the resort. i love okw we've been dvc members and own there since 2000. we love the grounds and the laid back atmosphere and the rooms are the largest of all dvc resorts. they also put in a new slide at the pool. the crowds are light that time of the year and make sure to catch mickey's christmas party at the mk, it's a good one. the parade is top notch also. in addition to hitting the parks, try to go to different hotels and check out the christmas decorations. the swan has a huge christmas tree in their lobby. also durinf your stay look for hidden mickey's wherever you go. they're everywhere. they actually have a book out for it, you can pick up a copy at wdw. have a great trip.