Mid-day breaks, how important?

[revdon64]

I'm taking DS7 for a 3 night DCL/6 night WDW trip for his 8th birthday in early January. I've taken my young ones (DD11/DS7/DS5) before and tried to do commando touring only to lose most evenings because of exhaustion (yes the littles, but sometimes mommy and daddy from dealing with the littles). BTW, DS7 doesn't know that mommy and siblings are coming down to surprise him the day before his birthday. Anyway, I've read about how vital mid-day breaks are in the summer and couldn't agree more from my own experience. But, we're traveling in January. We're planning to hop every day and have already booked TS dinners for every night. I know that it really is different for everyone and depends on your kids, but how important have you found it to be to have those same mid-day breaks when it's not as hot and maybe even the pools aren't open?

 

[srwarden1928]

I personally don't bother with midday breaks. It always feels like wasting touring time to me. However, after reading the disboards for years, I am certain that the vast majority of people here swear by their midday breaks. Do what is best for you and your family.

 

[hllb]

The only time we did mid day breaks was when I had 2 ages 5 and 6. Even then, I didn't think it was necessary. We've never gone in the summer, but that trip it was over 100 a couple of days (the first week of May). The last time we went, we had a 2 year old, and an 8 and 9 year old. We had "planned" to take afternoon breaks so the 2 year old could nap. But, every single day, he fell asleep in his stroller before we could leave the park. So, not once did we take a mid-day break. He would nap for 1.5 to 2 hours in his stroller! I was surprised. He did great on that trip - loved every minute of it. He wasn't particularly cranky or anything either, though once we got home he did sleep a lot. That trip was in September/October and it was crazy hot then too (90's at least) and poured for about 45 minutes every afternoon.

 

[pitpat]

When you have shorter hours and no heat issue, they're not as important.

 

[revdon64]

I'd love to not have to take midday breaks, but I'd also love to have my kids finally see some of the nighttime shows, parades, and fireworks. I guess the challenge here might be that there are fewer park hours in January than in June.

 

[ktlm]

It really depends on the energy level of your child. My DD is high energy. By age 7, she had the stamina for open to close without a mid-day break at WDW. Age 6, was her first trip without a stroller, and her stamina was not quite there yet at that point- mid-day breaks never worked for her, but she would wear out in the evenings walking all day and complain about her feet and legs. Before age 6, we did strollers and we went open to close and she would nap in the stroller if she got tired. We tried the mid-day break once at age 2, and it did not work well for her at all. She has a commando personality.

 

[Anabelletoronto]

We are going in 2 weeks with my 6 year old. Originally I had planned to do mid day breaks but I don't want to spend time on the bus.
Instead I plan to do 9-3 on some days and 12/1-8pm on other days. If we find we can do more, we will.

 

[hllb]

It really depends on the energy level of your child. My DD is high energy. By age 7, she had the stamina for open to close without a mid-day break at WDW. Age 6, was her first trip without a stroller, and her stamina was not quite there yet at that point- mid-day breaks never worked for her, but she would wear out in the evenings walking all day and complain about her feet and legs. Before age 6, we did strollers and we went open to close and she would nap in the stroller if she got tired. We tried the mid-day break once at age 2, and it did not work well for her at all. She has a commando personality.

No worries about my 7 year old either. He won't be missing evening activities. He may complain other places about walking too much, but I know from experience, he'll be so wrapped up in Disney that it won't even cross his mind to complain about walking.

 

[hllb]

There is always an option to take a mid-day break in the park too. Find a spot to relax, have a snack, even meander around and look at things without rushing around to the next ride.

 

[piglet1979]

We started out like you and went all day. But we had strollers and my one that was a sleeper would take naps in the stroller. The last 2 trips we did not have strollers and my husband put his foot down and made me do breaks. I love them now that I know what I am doing. We always do RD and stay until lunch (11ish-12ish). We either eat lunch in the park or at the resort. We usually go swimming on our break. I nap at the pool while my husband reads and keeps an eye on the kids. They are great swimmers and old enough that we don't need to be right there. Then we head back to the room clean up and maybe rest some. We head back to the parks for a TS dinner. The dinner maybe in a different park then the morning. Then we stay until the night time show is over.

This works for my husband as he just wants to rest his feet. This is a favorite for my daughter who just wants to swim all the time. It has kept down the little outburst/crankiness from the two of them. They are so much alike. My son and I can go all day and then just drop as soon as we hit the pillow. My husband and daughter also crave to have down time/ alone time even at home.

 

[leahlefler]

We had a 7 and 9 year old when we went to WDW in February 2015. We never took a mid-day break and didn't feel we needed one. We did, however, eat at a table service restaurant for most meals, and that gave us a quiet break/rest.

 

[robinb]

We used to take breaks for our DD, now we take breaks for US! I'm a big proponent of mid-day breaks.

 

[dlavender]

We only take breaks if the crowds start to get to us.

Then they are necessary to chill out some and come back to the madness.

But if the crowds aren't too bad, we keep trucking. Its a lot of effort to leave and get to your room, then come back.

At least for us.

 

[TwinkleKS]

It's totally up to you and what works best for your family. You'll see going through this thread and others that in the end it is pretty evenly matched. We almost never take midday breaks ... that being said, we very rarely do rope drop or stay until closing. If I know I want to stay late to watch fireworks, I just try to show up later in the day. If I know I need to do rope drop for FOP or Jedi Training I may not stay as late. For me it has always seemed kind of a waste of time to go back and forth a lot.

 

[chris benton]

This would just totally depend on what you are doing on your vacation.
We rope drop, and get everything done we want to. During the warmest part of the day, and when the parks are the most crowded, we are in the hotel pool chilling out with no worries about missing anything we'd like to do. At night, leisurely tour, and fireworks. Early to bed, early to rise. Lather, rinse, repeat. No rush for anything, and everything gets done. We WANT to spend time in the pool as a break. Staying at a resort that is walking distance to parks helps a LOT. Not a lot of time is spent traveling.

 

[rer1972]

We are big mid-day break folks. I even did so when we didn't have kiddos. However, I think mid-day breaks can mean a lot of things for different folks. With our daughters (DD5 & DD3) we've actually left the parks, rested/ate/napped, and then came back in the evenings. It worked out pretty well. Heck I've done it with my parents too.

I've done mid-day breaks on adult only trips without leaving the parks. Taking a long lunch and just getting off your feet does wonders. I've done it while hopping as well. Leave one resort, have lunch at the next resort, and after some food and resting start touring that next resort.

 

[mom2rtk]

Our kids were not good nappers. So all a mid-day break did for us was waste time that could have been better spent in the parks. This is something that varies greatly by family.

 

[22Tink]

We rarely leave the parks for mid-day breaks, even when our kids were small. Our idea of a break is a mid afternoon TS meal.

 

[TulipMom]

Our favorite version of the "mid-day break" is to plan a Table Service lunch and take our time. A nice lunch spot can really make you feel removed from the chaos of the park and crowds. If the park you'll be at is only open until 8pm, I'd shoot for a TS lunch and plan to eat QS for dinner. Otherwise, your plan of doing a TS dinner is a nice way to get a break on 9-10pm nights, too.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

You might not need it in January.