Is 9 days at WDW too long?

[Jen cook]

we are trying to figure out our trip today. We are planning on going mid-June and our kids will be 18,14,7. We originally were just going to do 8 days/7 park days but that seems like no time for rest or to enjoy the resorts. We are coming from the west coast and this is our first WDW trip.

We are staying at the dolphin on the costco pkg.

So, is 7 park days enough plus two rest/resort days? Or should we do 8 park days since it’s only $50 more?

Are the water parks worth going to?

We will have two travel days.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

I personally would stay the extra day. Have you asked your kids what they want to do? Water parks would be fun in June but if they wanted to do extra park days then I’d do that. Your kids aren’t young either - do you really think you need two rest days?

 

[Jen cook]

[GALLERY=]thank you! Our 14 year old daughter has sensory issues so we will watch her closely. That is a good point though.[/GALLERY]

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

[GALLERY=]thank you! Our 14 year old daughter has sensory issues so we will watch her closely. That is a good point though.[/GALLERY]

That makes sense then. I was just asking out of curiosity since you’re traveling from the West Coast and it’s your first trip. Lots of folks on here like having rest days.

 

[Arielfan98]

In general, there is a lot to see and do on the Walt Disney World property. Given this is your first trip, I definitely think it is worth your while to add an extra day. A lot of families prefer rest/pool days at the resorts and it gives you the opportunity to explore other fun resorts such as Animal Kingdom Lodge which have animals to look at. I enjoyed the water parks, but not enough to want to do them more than every 5 years. It depends on your family's general liking to water parks. I recommend checking out YouTube videos to get a feel for them. Keep in mind it is impossible to do everything in one trip, so take your time and enjoy. Good luck!

 

[Stefani P.]

I'd do the extra day. My family had 7 park days last trip (it had been 10 yrs since our last visit).
We still didn't squeeze in all we wanted to do!! So an extra day or two would have been great.
Have fun!

 

[CogsworthTN]

Yes add the extra day. We usually plan a trip that ranges 8-10 days. Disney has so much to offer and see.

 

[bluezy]

we are trying to figure out our trip today. We are planning on going mid-June and our kids will be 18,14,7. We originally were just going to do 8 days/7 park days but that seems like no time for rest or to enjoy the resorts. We are coming from the west coast and this is our first WDW trip.

We are staying at the dolphin on the costco pkg.

So, is 7 park days enough plus two rest/resort days? Or should we do 8 park days since it’s only $50 more?

Are the water parks worth going to?

We will have two travel days.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I agree with the others -- add the extra day and have park tickets for every day because like you mentioned, it's a minimal cost adder. We usually do an 8 day stay (though we leave for home early in the morning on the 8th day to I don't usually count that as a day) and 7 park days. We do rope drop at least 4 times during those 7 days and sleep in on a few of the days. Our sleep-in days are usually very casual days. We make FP reservations for one of the parks for late afternoon or early evening and only spend 2-3 hour in the park. The rest of the day is spent swimming, visiting a new resort for lunch, and just hanging out at our resort. But we really like to still spend a little time in a park on those days. We always used to plan for a complete down day (no parks) but we always ended up feeling like we wanted to spend at least a little time in a park those days so we used to just go to a night time show those days. Now with being able to schedule FPs ahead of time, we schedule 3 and then sometimes stay for the night time show. It's still a very relaxing day as we get to sleep in, and we have zero rushing around.

 

[sherlockmiles]

LOL - you can't have too much chocolate or too much disney!

 

[Jen cook]

Ok, booked it! We are going June 16-26. 8 park days one rest day and one day at a water park, and two travel days!

I’ve reaerved lunch at Be our guest. Now trying to figure out the rest of our dining.

Thank you for all your help and suggestions!!!

 

[Stefani P.]

Have a magical time!!!

 

[VicarJT]

Excellent! Enjoy your trip. We always get the extra days on our park tickets, and we've never regretted it.

 

[HopperFan]

[GALLERY=]thank you! Our 14 year old daughter has sensory issues so we will watch her closely. That is a good point though.[/GALLERY]

Ok, booked it! We are going June 16-26. 8 park days one rest day and one day at a water park, and two travel days!

I’ve reaerved lunch at Be our guest. Now trying to figure out the rest of our dining.

Thank you for all your help and suggestions!!!

Since you should have some later hours your dates, I would look at mid day breaks for a couple hours for your DD (but honestly can't hurt anyone in summer heat/humidity). My DS is multiply-handicapped and has sensory/anxiety etc issues. A couple hours in afternoon in cool room with his music or floating in pool can totally refresh him for the evening for us to close the parks. We also find the night ... cooler/darker hours are less sensory times.

I think you'll love the water park option, it can be tiring but relaxing. Plan a few floats around the lazy river to rest up as well.

ENJOY!!

 

[disny_luvr]

Ok, booked it! We are going June 16-26. 8 park days one rest day and one day at a water park, and two travel days!

I’ve reaerved lunch at Be our guest. Now trying to figure out the rest of our dining.

Thank you for all your help and suggestions!!!

I think you made the right decision adding the extra day, especially since this is your first time. We go to Disney a lot, and no amount of time is long enough for me, lol. I’d give a waterpark a try. We love them! BTW, we’ll be there June 18th-28th. Have fun!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Take as many days as you can. I like to really absorb the theming and atmosphere of the parks and take time to enjoy and notice the details. We usually do 10 park days during a 12 night trip.and a water park would be great for a summer trip.

 

[Maryelizabeth]

Can't ever have too many days at Disney That's my philosophy ! Lol

 

[LovesTimone]

You might find that the kids will want to go to the water park more than once... We our DD's were around this age, we would go to the water park for half day and hit the park in the evening during the summer the parks are open a lot later so still plenty of time in the parks. A couple of times we did rope drop and once the parks got to crowded and hot as the devil, we would head back to the resort change and hit the water park till closing, then just chill out at the resort, or play mini golf, or explore a different resort and have QS meal there for dinner...

 

[NH-to-FL]

Since you are staying at the Dolphin, which is in walking distance of two parks, I would suggest adding the extra day. When DW and I would stay at the Boardwalk we would always find ourselves wandering over to Epcot in the evenings. Even during one of our "rest days". The Epcot resort area is, in my opinion, the best location to stay in WDW.

 

[happymommy]

That's not too long at all.

My longest vacation was last summer, 30 nights on Oahu.

Longest Disney trip was 15 nights, just me and the kids, a few years ago. It was awesome. We had 10 day park hoppers, and then hung out a lot, stayed at 2 off site Marriott condos.

 

[a742246]

The Dolphin is a nice resort, great pools, miniature golf, great relaxing atmosphere. That said go for the extra day!

PS if you have a chose between BOG lunch or dinner ressie go for the dinner. Food is much better!