Is it possible to have a relaxing vacation

[4mygrls]

if you are doing a 7 day vacation? We will be going with an 8 yr old and 6yr old. We are familiar with Disney world. But all of our other trips we always were wiped out afterwords. I don't want that to happen this time. So, we are doing the 6 night, 7day trip. Is it possible to see all of the parks and be able to relax at times too? How many days is the best to go for?

 

[Micca]

Welcome to the Dis Because WDW has so many attractions and activities my hunch is that few families spend a great deal of time relaxing there(especially with children). However, the longer the stay, the better. Maybe you could build in to your schedule some non-park time. The time of year you are going makes a big difference to. Have fun

 

[vatmark]

We went for 6 nights/7 days back at the end of Oct into early nov with our 7 year old and 9 year old. It was a great vacation and I didn't feel like we needed a vacation after the vacation. We used Tour Guide Mike. His basic philosphy is to see the best of the best and have a relaxing vacation. We got to see and do everything we wanted and never felt over tired. So yes it is possible

Annie

 

[LegoMom3]

Well, you have to start by realizing that you will never see everything! Prioritize what you think are "must-see/do" attractions, parks, etc.. We are going for the same number of days/nights as you on our next trip, and we will be building in "down" time; not neccesarily to do absolutely nothing, but just to take it at a slower pace. We might go to a water park, do mini golf, or just enjoy our resort (in our case, Fort Wilderness). I'd love to stay longer but budget and DH's vacation-time allotment just won't allow it! But we will do as much as we can in the time we have. I agree, you shouldn't end a vacation and be more tired than when you started! But there's no doubt that WDW can do that to a person. Pace yourself and just don't try to do it all....You've got to leave reason to return real soon!

 

[Sarahsal]

No, IMHO.

 

[cobbler]

If you want to see and do everything then probably not. What we started to do last year is take a one day non park day and relax at the pool, enjoy the resort and do some fun other activities.

 

[daisyduck123]

We always seem to have the perfect vacation & we go for 8 days.
We never feel "rushed" or "wiped out".

I guess it is all in how you approach the vacation.

We never try to "do it all". Maybe because we know that we'll be going back again. (Going next Saturday for 8 days, & then again in May).

 

[Goofy4]

No, IMHO.

That was my first thought.

Consider building in a rain-day. If it does rain, use it. If it doesn't, pretend it is

 

[Tinkerbellmom33]

We're trying this too. We definitley will be going to the parks, but since we've been there before, we're going to enjoy the hotel pool etc. this time. We'll be staying in the home away from home this time so we make a point of enjoying the hotel. Since it's in the oardwalk area, I'm hoping to relax and see what's around there since we've never made it there in the past. We will be getting park hoppers, this way we can go where we want and leave when we want. I hope it works! We usually go "commando" and plan to spend the day in the parks. This time around I made all ADR's in resorts and not in the parks. That way we have to leave. We'll see what we want and play the parks by ear. We planned the first four days a little and after that we'll decide how we feel.

 

[minkydog]

with or without the kids you have to plan for down days. Down days are spent at the pool, shopping at DTD, eating in a resort--anything but running around in a park. the last time we went commando, my then10yo woke up on the 5th day begging me to let her just stay in bed. She was exhausted. So we skipped AK, went to the pool and hung out at FW all day. We had a blast and it was just the right amount of rest &y relaxation.

 

[Jasminetigger]

We usually go for 8 nights and 7 days. You have to relaize, like most people are mentioning, you are not going to see it all. Get some of the guide books or my favorite Tourguide Mike, and do some planning on what you really want to see. We usually always take a break mid-day for some down time at the reosrt. We go swimming, relax, hang out. We always have one non-park day. Usually on our non-park day we do a character breakfast. But we don't do it super early, like we would have to if we were going to a park. We usually will go to MK at night on our non-park day. But usually just to see Spectormagic and the fireworks.(So I guess our non-park day is really just a 3/4 non-park day). By not going to the parks on the day we want to see the parade and fireworks, I find we are mch more relaxed and can enjoy it more and not be so tired.

 

[Got Quattro?]

The reason I go to WDW so much, is it is the only vacation where I know I can get relaxed. I dont have to worry about food, if my hotel is going to be clean. Will I get boarded. I dont even have to drive a car all week.

Disney + RELAXED VACATION for us.

 

[tmt martins]

You should NEVER I repeat NEVER associate Disney with the word Vacation .

It's a Magical Journey or Trip or maybe even Destination .

But OH NO never a vacation.

 

[Cass]

Yes it is possible.

But first you have to accept the fact that you won't be able to do everything... there are things you have to miss and sacrifice.

Next, be prepared to do half days at the parks. (ie) Get up and relax at your resort pool and don't hit the parks until lunch time or, get up and do the parks first and finish for the day around 3 -4pm, spend the afternoon/evening at the pool and a good family dinner, maybe an early night and a good sleep.

With that strategy of half days I have had great relaxing vacations, but there were times when I had to be strict with myself and DD, (ie) wanting to go on a another ride (on one we just did) or wanting to get in a long line up (70 minutes ) there is a point you have to say "nope" and get back to your plan.

I have come home feeling like I had a real vacation, not exhausted and wiped out from being on the go every day.

 

[pezpam]

Our average trip is about 8 days and we've always had a relaxing time. As others have said, the key is to not try to see and do everything - it's impossible anyway. I find that keeping to DDs schedule and not going commando makes things infinitely more relaxed and fun - we've always had a blast at WDW with plenty of park time and I've never had to deal with an overtired child, which is a luxury unto itself. lol

 

[luv2nascar]

we haven't been to disney enough times yet to relax. We have to way too much fun staying up late and riding rides and eating park junk food. We can relax when we get home. Is it possible to relax at disney yes, will we relax Heck no.

 

[WDWMom]

It is possible because we do it. But I think it gets easier with time. We are Vacation Club members so we know the next trip isn't that far off. Leaving something fresh for " the next trip " began to be part of the fun. On the plane ride home we would make a list of all the things that we wanted to do next time. Sometimes that was because we enjoyed something so much that we wanted to do it again, and other times we remembered that we hadn't gotten to something on this particular trip.

We usually do a 9 day/8 night trip, and always spend at least two days doing water parks/ pool hopping and the kids enjoy those days more than our "park " days. If it is especially busy at the parks they will often ask if they can just go back to the hotel and swim. The kids seem to enjoy those early mornings and evenings at the parks while the " days " get too long. Take a break, there are alot of fun things to do in the world that cost absolutely nothing. and after 15 some trip in 13 years we still have " things " to do on our list, even things we have never yet done.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

If you're all early risers, it's easy to get a nice, relaxing vacation in one week. I did it, and during the busiest time of the year, no less!

Plan on hitting the parks at opening, and leaving by noon. That is my best stategy, it works no matter what time of year you go. You'll get all the best of the best rides in, and have the entire remainder of the day for relaxing.

During busy times, make sure you have your ADRs in order. You can always drop one or two if you decide you don't want to keep them.

Leave 1 or 2 days open for other possibilities...water parks, mini golf, resort hopping, pool lounging, DTD shopping...whatever you like. Book ADRs and Cirque or HDDR/Luau for those days.

I never recommend the sleep-in, start late strategy for busy times of the year, though. You will always hit massive crowds coming into the parks late, who are planning on staying for the evening EMH/parade/fireworks. Massive crowds ALWAYS lead to stress, no matter how patient you are. You will see the worst of humanity in these crowds. Avoid them if possible, to preserve your serenity.

That being said, at slow times of the year, if you are sleep-in kind of people, make use of any late EMH being offered. I hear you can get lots of park time in at the tail end of these hours (I've never tried it myself, so this is only hearsay).

 

[ougrad86]

I'm building down time at WS at Epcot. Strolling around, sitting and relaxing. We'll probably rush through AK and MGM, and maybe a day and a half for MK. One more day for FW, and then relax at WS for a couple of days. We have six full days, and two half days. I have plans to stop for lunch and have a TS dinner for almost every day. And we're not going on every ride or seeing every show or parade. We have a list of the ones we want to see, and not worry about the others.
And if we start feeling fried, it is time to stop and smell the roses...I'm already thinking about future visits !

 

[dixiedizfan]

We've gone to WDW four different times, for seven nights each. Each time continues to be the LEAST relaxing vacation we've ever had ... walking and walking, waiting in lines, hustling to get where you need to be, staying up later in order to watch fireworks, and more walking ... but still our favorite place to be!