"Laid back" WDW?

[jrandall]

We are in the middle of a laid back trip! Staying at AKL certainly helps because there are so many activities for the kids. We have not done the parks except MK at and after Wishes and very late AK (6-8). This is when I love FP+ and crowded park days. We just pop in to the parks after everyone leaves and enjoy the scenery off the balcony all day, maybe a couple hours at the pool to cool down as well.

We will be staying at AKL too so I am trying to plan for time at the hotel too!

 

[RustManFan]

In my opinion, tickets are too expensive to do short days. We like to get as much in as we can on a park day and then have days designated as "off" days for other things. One trip my sister and I spent that day going to Kennedy Space Center. Enjoyed the ride (we had my car since we always take the auto train when she is along) and the tour at the facility was amazing. Much time to relax and look at stuff at our own pace.

Just me and my adult DS going in fall 2016 but I haven't been since 2009 and he hasn't been since 2000. We will be busy catching up with all that is new but still take at least 1 off day to go to FW (love Trails End), do some resort hopping perhaps, and maybe rent one of those small boats for Seven Seas Lagoon. DTD is a must and we will travel back and forth in relaxing style via boat since we will be staying at POR.

Most of our vacations at WDW, DL or elsewhere require a rest and another vacation when we return home. I am always concerned that it is the last time that I will visit somewhere. Boy, I have to plan another trip to Great Britain!!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

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[thisismyusername]

I was given no other choice but to slow down our commando style touring after no one (but me) enjoyed the challenge of conquering everything at Disney in one trip. I have found that the easiest way to appease myself (who is definitely FOMO and commando driven!) and my family (who is let's-sleep-until-10-and-then-go-to-the-pool!) is to make sure we compromise: If they'll give me a few early mornings (not necessarily rope drops, but close to it, and not every morning), I'll get them out of there around lunch time to spend the afternoon at the pool and let them pick what we do in the evening, whether it be return to the park, keep on swimming, do something else, etc. We pepper in at least one unscheduled day, as well as a few late starts in the park (thank you FP+!) so that we're also not waking up at the crack of dawn every day and rushing to the park.

Granted, we have gone to Disney a lot the past 3 years, so we no longer sweat getting on every ride since we know we'll be back, or that the attraction just isn't worth the wait (or that it will have a shorter wait time later in the day).

Also, take time to do some of the things that you don't necessarily think about doing at Disney. One of our favorite moments was renting bikes at WL and driving them through FW (not very expensive, either!) and my kids absolutely love renting the little speedboats and driving those, too! We are DVC members, so we have also enjoyed taking advantage of some of the community hall activities, like shuffleboard or corn hole. I have found that those little experiences keep me happy since I feel like we're still doing something, but they also keep my family happy because they're not park activities, which require crazy scheduling, waiting in a long line or waiting for a bus, or getting up at the crack of dawn.

At this point, pretty much the only thing I won't tolerate during a trip to Disney is my kids playing video games (which they use on the plane) or their phones during downtime when we could be doing other things. If the weather's bad and we really don't feel like schlepping through a wet park, well, then I don't mind letting them get an hour in of video games while I go and workout or do something else...

It's important to remember that it's vacation: It should be enjoyable for everyone. And if everyone tries to keep in mind what everyone's tolerances are to activities (within reason, of course) and compromise a little, you can have a relaxing and enjoyable time at Disney!

 

[RustManFan]

You can also have a very laid back day at AK. Spend lots of time checking out the carvings on the Tree of Life. Take lots of time watching animals on the trails and talk to CMs if any are around. Enjoy the shows (Flights of Wonder and FOTLK come to mind). Have a relaxing meal at Flame Tree BBQ...

No rides other than safari!

 

[ttintagel]

Yes, I think both AK and DHS are good slow-down parks. The attractions are spread out with a lot of stuff to just relax and watch/look at in between.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I should start meditating now....OOOOOOOOOOOOM. I am planning our third trip to the world to take place in just over a year. If I had my way we would be in a park every single second from before rope drop until we are escorted out. My family would be happy to ride two rides and return to stay at the pool for the rest of the day. And night. And the next day. It will be our first trip without a stroller, so I'm thinking daily breaks or late starts or early returns every day will be required, and force me into trying to relax. Of course, when we are at the resort I just pace off the time until we can get back to the parks. OOOOOOOOOOM.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I have to be honest, after 16 family vacations to WDW in 15 years I STILL have to remind myself to take things easy there sometimes. Some things we do that that help us be more laid back. YMMV:
* Don't get park hoppers. When we have hoppers we find our thoughts being tugged toward what we could be doing elsewhere, or trying to cram more into the day than we should. One park per day helps us to "enjoy the now" and be much more zen about the whole enterprise.
* Arrive at park opening (or close to it). Even though I don't schedule FP+s until 11am or later, it helps to be in the parks early to do some rides with low crowds. However, we try to avoid a manufactured sense of urgency about being somewhere before rope drop. If a bus is slow or we are just a little pokey and don't get around until 20-30 minutes after park opening, well that is all well and good too.
* Schedule FP+s for mid day. As alluded to above, mid day FP+s help us miss large queues. If we get extra FP+s later that is great, but if not we are still going to have an awesome time in the parks. After all, there is always Carousel of Progress! (or in a total pinch, Downtown Disney)
* Let the kids stay in the park a while without Mom and Dad. Our kids are now 18(next week) and 15, so for the last few years they just keep their high-energy selves in the park until closing, while the old people (me and DW) go back to the resort and have a proper rest for the afternoon on most park days. This empowers the teens and helps everyone have a good frame of mind throughout the vacation
* Schedule some TS meals. If this can be part of the budget, it really helps the mood of the whole vacation. At TS meals we take our sweet time fueling up, telling stories, making plans, and just generally strengthening bonds of family love in a somewhat relaxed setting. Eating as a family around the table as often as possible is a priority for us at home, so why wouldn't it be while at WDW?

 

[DisneyDoc5]

For us, we have skipped the dining plan, I only scheduled 2-3 ADRs for a week long trip, and this made our visit feel very laid back by not having an ADR to get to everyday. We are counter service as needed. My family loved this pace.

 

[edk35]

My most laid back trip was a 2 week trip years ago. We just got back on Easter Sunday and we were there for 9 park days and we went to the parks every day. LOL We did slow down our last 2 days but when the weather is nice we like to stay longer in the parks. When we go in the summer, it is easier to do a more laid back pool in the afternoon approach.

 

[fla4fun]

I think FP+ helps out a lot when it comes to a laid back trip. You plan your favorite three attractions ahead of time, and then you can sleep in or leave the parks early, knowing that you have visiting the "must do" attractions for your family. Before, you pretty much had to be at the park at rope drop to have a chance at getting FP for some of the most popular rides, and then those return times could be late in the day.

I agree that the longer your trip is, the easier it is to do a laid back visit. I spent 10 days at POFQ last month, and only went to the parks five days. I went to DTD one day, and the other four days I relaxed at the resort.

Some of it will depend on how you vacation in general. Some people go go go no matter where they are on vacation. If they are at the beach, they will be the ones renting watercraft and sports equipment. At theme parks they arrive at open and stay through close. If you are a family that vacations like that, it's going to be very difficult for you to have a low key Disney trip. I have some family like that. I prefer to sleep in, spend maybe 6-7 hours in the parks, and then back to the resort to relax and get a good nights sleep. It's hard for us to vacation together because they get antsy if they aren't constantly on the go, and I get cranky if I don't get enough sleep and down time.

 

[avic77]

You said you have been twice before, use that experience. You know what is a "MUST see hit" and what is a "Skip it Flop"!
With my family I know DHS is ok to skip. We like it ok but no one will have a melt down if we miss it so I scratched it off completely. We love Food and Wine in Epcot so I made sure we added extra time there. If your kids can spend all day playing in the resort pool, plan for it.
I do suggest getting a day or 2 less on your tickets then what you will be there for (staying 7 days get 5 day tickets staying 4 days get 3 day tickets). It forces you to take a day off...no upgrading or adding either!

I plan to make my fast passes then we will just enjoy wandering around and if something catches our attention we will go do it. I know we will go back in 2017

 

[Nancyg56]

I have to be honest, after 16 family vacations to WDW in 15 years I STILL have to remind myself to take things easy there sometimes. Some things we do that that help us be more laid back. YMMV:
* Don't get park hoppers. When we have hoppers we find our thoughts being tugged toward what we could be doing elsewhere, or trying to cram more into the day than we should. One park per day helps us to "enjoy the now" and be much more zen about the whole enterprise.
* Arrive at park opening (or close to it). Even though I don't schedule FP+s until 11am or later, it helps to be in the parks early to do some rides with low crowds. However, we try to avoid a manufactured sense of urgency about being somewhere before rope drop. If a bus is slow or we are just a little pokey and don't get around until 20-30 minutes after park opening, well that is all well and good too.
* Schedule FP+s for mid day. As alluded to above, mid day FP+s help us miss large queues. If we get extra FP+s later that is great, but if not we are still going to have an awesome time in the parks. After all, there is always Carousel of Progress! (or in a total pinch, Downtown Disney)
* Let the kids stay in the park a while without Mom and Dad. Our kids are now 18(next week) and 15, so for the last few years they just keep their high-energy selves in the park until closing, while the old people (me and DW) go back to the resort and have a proper rest for the afternoon on most park days. This empowers the teens and helps everyone have a good frame of mind throughout the vacation
* Schedule some TS meals. If this can be part of the budget, it really helps the mood of the whole vacation. At TS meals we take our sweet time fueling up, telling stories, making plans, and just generally strengthening bonds of family love in a somewhat relaxed setting. Eating as a family around the table as often as possible is a priority for us at home, so why wouldn't it be while at WDW?

For us, the hopers tend to slow us down. WE have no problems leavign one pak to go back to the resort and swim, relax and kick back because we know we can head back out to catch the evening shows elsewhere if we want to.

We also use the resort as out=r vacation. We committed to this years ago when we planned our families first trip back together since my own children were young. My DH had not given himeself permission to vacation in 11 years, so we made sure that we stayed DEluxe at AKL, and incorporated pool, water sports and meals as the vacation. I love the parks, but there is so much more to a vacation for us.

 

[baldy6060]

I'm liking the suggestions because I'm a commando kinda guy who has a 20 month old. Each trip we wished we had more down time at our resort. I've tried to work in time here & there and even extend our trips but it's never enough. The next time we are hoping to do a split stay. On days we are going to Epcot or DHS we will stay at a nearby resort so we can easily take breaks when necessary. On our 2nd half we will primarily be visiting MK and staying near there. We have plans for a day off, a MVMCP NIGHT only, and a morning at DHS for a few select attractions and returning for the Osborne lights & a ToT visit. Our 2 days at MK will either be half days or we will leave in the afternoon & return after nap. Our problem is Epcot. The baby may have to sleep in his stroller one of our 2 days because we LOVE Epcot & could stroll World Showcase day & night!

 

[senadler]

I think it really depends on how your family likes to vacation and if you are okay with not doing everything on every trip. For us, we know that we will be going back every 1-2 years, and don't feel the need to do everything on every trip. I think the key is that I know the few rides that are the kids absolute must do's, and others they are okay with missing. While I do a lot of advance planning, the plans always take into account we will never spend more than 4-5 hours at a park at one time. For us, that is more relaxing than doing a 10-12 hour day and then taking the day off. I also make sure the kids have a couple of sleep in days, and some afternoons to either swim or just hang around at the hotel. While we do go to a park every day of our trip, we plan the trip around much more than just the parks. I think that helps to make the trip much more relaxing.

 

[Ava]

I think how "laid back" your trip feels has more to do with your mindset than how much time you spend hanging out at the resort or how much you do when you're in the parks. If you're constantly rushing from one attraction to the next, always looking forward to the next thing on the list, you'll never feel laid back. But if you have a flexible plan and go at a comfortable pace for your family, you can do a lot (maybe not everything, but a lot) and still feel relaxed. This is my goal, anyway.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We are (very very) tentatively starting to think about a trip for April 2016. We've been to WDW twice as a family (2012 and 2014). Both trips we did A LOT, almost too much. I felt go-go-go and wanted to see and do everything. If we take this trip next year, I'd really like to try to do it differently. More relaxed, spend more time at the resort (afternoons poolside, perhaps). What are your best tips/tricks to get over that FOMO (fear of missing out) and quenching that little thing inside you that says 'we should see/do as much as we can?'

We're heading to DLR in November, but I think what is helping me most with the FOMO would apply to WDW too. We're going when the park hours there are shorter. It's going to force me to leave the parks earlier (because, well, there's no choice ) - and we'll focus on making the most out of the operating hours. We'll get to bed earlier, get up a bit later, and still have a full park day. I can't wait