Is this relaxing enough for ya?

robndani

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Jan 22, 2014
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Hi! My DH wants a more relaxing trip this October. Disclaimer: We have 5 year old twins.

We're staying at AKL.

Does this sound like a good basic plan...

Sat - Arrive / Hang out, possibly go to AK
Sun - Hang out / Swim, MK for MNSSHP
Mon - Hang out / Swim, Epcot for F&W
Tue - Pool hopping or maybe water park (never been) / DTD for dinner
Wed - Epcot / Resort to swim & have dinner
Thur - AK / Resort to swim & have dinner
Fri - MK / Dinner at resort
Sat - whatever until our late flight

Hopefully it's a good mix of relaxing and fun! Thanks for any opinions!
 
This looks super relaxing, but I have a couple thoughts...

I noticed the first 4 days you do "hang out" then park. Why not switch back and forth? Like Sat hang out/park then Sun park then hang out?

Also, pool hopping isn't really a thing you can do. Depends on the time of day/year, but CM's have been scanning MB's to make sure you're actually a guest at the hotel you're trying to swim at. That said, you could do a jaunt around the monorail to check out the different hotels and properties.
 
You can pool hop if you are DVC.

I would do early morning followed by evening the next day, not the other way around.
 

Would never work for me because I like to be on the go when I'm at Disney. But if relaxing, while still have some park time to enjoy was your goal, then I think you nailed it. Have fun!
 
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It doesn't really look relaxing to me, but I guess it depends on what your definition of relaxing is.:)

I think I would schedule in a whole free day (or two) of just hanging at the resort to up the relaxation factor. In other words, two days of just NOTHING on the schedule. I think AKL is such a nice resort, it's a great place to have those types of days.
 
I would be bored to death spending that much time sitting by the pool (not to mention sunburned and in pain, even with lots of sunblock). But if your kids love to swim, it sounds like it would be a great plan. If I were buying five days of park tickets, I'd want to spend the better part of those days in the park.
 
Ok.. Here's the thing... I LOVE Walt Disney World... But it's NEVER a relaxing trip. Fun definitely! Relaxing? No. I always get home feeling like a need a vacation from my vacation.. But it's ok though. It validates my yearly trips to Cancun where I do nothing but relax by the water with drink in hand.
 
This looks super relaxing, but I have a couple thoughts...

I noticed the first 4 days you do "hang out" then park. Why not switch back and forth? Like Sat hang out/park then Sun park then hang out?

Also, pool hopping isn't really a thing you can do. Depends on the time of day/year, but CM's have been scanning MB's to make sure you're actually a guest at the hotel you're trying to swim at. That said, you could do a jaunt around the monorail to check out the different hotels and properties.

I was thinking that, but then we'd end up at a park late, then early the next day. Also, my DH would like to golf early in the am a few times. We are DVC, so there are some pools we can "hop" to.

I think with FP+ it's a good plan.

I agree. I think that's the key!

It doesn't really look relaxing to me, but I guess it depends on what your definition of relaxing is.:)

I think I would schedule in a whole free day (or two) of just hanging at the resort to up the relaxation factor. In other words, two days of just NOTHING on the schedule. I think AKL is such a nice resort, it's a great place to have those types of days.

For us, this is relaxing, lol! There IS so much to do at AKL we could probably spend an extra day there. It's the lure of Food & Wine that's the problem ;)

I would be bored to death spending that much time sitting by the pool (not to mention sunburned and in pain, even with lots of sunblock). But if your kids love to swim, it sounds like it would be a great plan. If I were buying five days of park tickets, I'd want to spend the better part of those days in the park.

We have APs and usually get 2-3 trips out of them, so that's not an issue for us. Sitting by the pool is fine with all of us... especially because it's already cold in NJ in October.

You guys are always so helpful! Thanks!
 
Do you think your kids will enjoy this plan? My kids love to swim as much as most kids, but I think the allure of all the rides and things to do would cause them to not want to swim everyday. When we are at Disney they usually swim for an hour or so and then are ready to move and maybe not even swim the next day; so me that many days of sitting by the pool would seem like time wasted. But I realize every family moves at their own pace, :)
 
Hi! My DH wants a more relaxing trip this October. Disclaimer: We have 5 year old twins.

We're staying at AKL.

Does this sound like a good basic plan...

Sat - Arrive / Hang out, possibly go to AK
Sun - Hang out / Swim, MK for MNSSHP
Mon - Hang out / Swim, Epcot for F&W
Tue - Pool hopping or maybe water park (never been) / DTD for dinner
Wed - Epcot / Resort to swim & have dinner
Thur - AK / Resort to swim & have dinner
Fri - MK / Dinner at resort
Sat - whatever until our late flight

Hopefully it's a good mix of relaxing and fun! Thanks for any opinions!

Hey, really if you like it.............its a great plan. As for me...........when we do WDW we maybe take two 1/3 days at the pool. Again for me :teeth: I'm spending a bunch of money to go to WDW so I'm going to max out my time with something beyond hanging out (but there's nothing wrong with that...:o..if that's what you want to do).

For example, during our last trip we took a 1/2 day and did the Segway tour at Fort Wilderness............which turned out to be very relaxing :-)...........really! Now that won't really work for a 5 year old.........but a visit to Port Orleans and a bike tour or boat excursion could be fun for the twins. Then your doing something AT Disney. But hey, this is your trip.............you should do it as you see fit. :D

Wishing you a wonderful vacation with your family!!!!pixiedust:

Doug :goofy:
 
Different things work for different families. I can't imagine that working or being relaxing for me, because my kids would be bugging to go to the parks all morning -- so there would go to the relaxation part for me ;) . For us, early mornings-early afternoon park days work and then relaxing the rest of the day by the pool and winging it in the evening. But we are early birds and DH doesn't golf, so that's what works for us. If you are planning what you think works best, then I say go for it.


Enjoy!
 
Ok.. Here's the thing... I LOVE Walt Disney World... But it's NEVER a relaxing trip. Fun definitely! Relaxing? No. I always get home feeling like a need a vacation from my vacation.. But it's ok though. It validates my yearly trips to Cancun where I do nothing but relax by the water with drink in hand.
Just came home from Cancun...couldn't agree with you more! :beach::drinking1
 
We stayed at AKL in January and aimed for a relaxing trip. We have a 2yo and 10mo, so for us it was key to take it slow.

We had 9 full days, so had a little bit more flexibility, but we did set aside to full days for relaxing at the hotel (Day 4 and Day 8). On those days, we relaxed in the morning, and then I took our 2yo to AK in the afternoon for 2-3 hours (as it closed at 5). So my wife was able to "relax" back at the hotel, and I did not feel like I was totally wasting days. It worked out well for us. And you can actually accomplish a lot in the last couple of hours of the day at AK.

I like your idea of eating at the resort for dinner most nights. With two small kids, eating meals in the parks can be some of the most stressful times on a trip. We learned on our last trip that we would much rather eat in our room than try and get our kids to sit still for an hour. I think that alone will help make your trip more relaxing. We will always do one or two sit down meals in a trip, but we did eight on our last trip. It took time away from attractions and did not allow us to be flexible with our plans, which is key if your aim is to have a "relaxing" trip.

Shawn
 
I think 2 things are precluding you from having a relaxing trip...two 5 year olds and being at Disney World. ;)
 
Seeing that you are DVC and don't have the limitations of paying for park days, I think your plan works. If it was me, I would do park time in the morning and then go back to swim at AKL. No reason to fight the crowds when you can get in, do a couple hours of touring and then go back to the pools for some relaxation. Alternatively, I would do a park day then an off day, rinse and repeat.
 
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OP, I think your plan sounds amazing! Exactly the kind of trip we love. We've been to Disney close to 20 times now, my kids are now teens (15 & 13), and my DH likes more relaxing and golf, less parks. It's one of the reasons we love Disney. There's tons to do if you want to, but also a wide array of ways to relax and have fun outside of the theme parks.

We have a similar plan for our Oct. trip. Some golf mornings, pool time, MNSSHP, lots of food and wine time, and about a half day at the other two parks.
 

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