Need advice- Break or no break?

[jd019]

DH, ds5, ds2, and myself are doing to Disney World the last week of August. This is our first trip with kids. We are staying at POR and spending a full day at each park, so four days total. I wanted to take a midday break to swim and nap. DH thinks it will be too much of a hassle to leave the park, go to the hotel, and then return. I know it will be hot. We have fans, cool towels, etc. but we are not heat people. What would you do or what have you done?
Thanks

 

[GaBelle]

My advice would be to have a break. The sun and humidity will drain you guys, especially the little ones.
Otherwise you may have meltdowns and end up leaving earlier than you wanted anyway.

 

[scoutie]

No question.....take a break.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

We always go last week in August and always take a break. Park hours are usually extended so it's very refreshing to go back to the park in the evening after swimming, naps, etc. My DD8 and we will go back for a break midday...the adults need it just as bad as the little ones..at least in my family

 

[Nettester]

The youngest my kids were when we went was 4 and 6. The "break" would have been too much back and forth for us. We are "rope drop" people, and we would commando tour until about 2-3 pm, and then go back to the hotel. Never made it back to the parks! Kids preferred to be swimming, and quite honestly, we were all pretty tired, and just spent the evenings enjoying the resorts. Oh we had great intentions to go back for fireworks, etc. We just never made it. Still we had a great vacay and did everything we wanted to do. Also it was spring break week, very hot and very crowded that trip.

 

[sb682]

It is too hot and stormy on August afternoons to not take a break. I was born and raised in Florida and the weather is still too much for me in the early afternoons. On top of that, that's when crowds are at their peaks inside the parks, meaning the longest lines and the busiest streets and stores. And when the afternoon downpour hits, everyone runs for the nearest indoor attraction or shop.

We do rope drop, especially because DS is an early riser and we'd just be watching cartoons in the hotel room otherwise. We tour until around 11:30, then eat lunch, and maybe stop to buy a souvenir on the way out of the park. If the weather is nice when we go back to the resort, we go swimming, but if not, DS takes a nap and DH and I watch some TV. We change clothes and come back after 4 or 5, ride some more rides, eat dinner, ride a few more rides and go back to the room around 8:30 or 9.

 

[jd019]

Thanks everyone! This is very reassuring. I will make DH read it
I'm thinking break is the way to go!

 

[katyjeka]

I think it depends on the park for starters. I understand the desire to do as much as u can but a trip can be wonderful if you don't see it all. I would pick your must do attractions and get them done before lunch. We love breaks and return in the late afternoon to experience what we can. For our family, fireworks can not be missed so we plan accordingly. We've made a lot of wonderful memories at our resort throughout the years and I love the escape from the crowds. With every trip we learn something new and watch as families struggle to squeeze everything in. We may be the exception but in our house crowds and heat make for some cranky kids. When our kids are cranky so are mom and dad. Afternoon breaks recharge everyone and make for much happier evening touring. Have a great trip.

 

[lizzyb]

My advice would be to have a break. The sun and humidity will drain you guys, especially the little ones.
Otherwise you may have meltdowns and end up leaving earlier than you wanted anyway.

I agree!

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I'll be there the same week, and I would not be going if my DW didn't promise we could take the break with our 3yo. We will RD, ride till 2, three hours back at the resort, 5ish dinner, then any evening activities.

 

[ezed62]

Break is key. You don't realize how much it recharges batteries.

 

[Aliceacc]

Play it by ear. Once you get to the point where someone would rather be in the pool than the park, it's your cue.

For us, that means a break every afternoon. And my youngest child is 11.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

The only park I might think twice about is Animal Kingdom. It closes so early that it's not really feasible to head back after a break. That one, I'd just do straight through and leave whenever you're ready.

 

[pixiemama91]

We always want to take a break in the day but it doesn't always work out the way we want. Travel time to and from the parks always takes more time than we expect ( should be used to it now) and then throwing in lunch somewhere gives us less time back at the resort and in the pool. I think I need to give up on trying to plan a break and maybe just work our days differently. I think the next time that we go I may just plan some days where we spend time at the pool during the day and then go into the park later in the afternoon and some days where we go to the parks in the morning but may not go back to the pool. I will have to see what I can work out.

 

[mommymanda]

We've only gone once before, that was with DD who was 4 at the time.

This August we are heading back with DD now 11 and our 5 and 3year old sons in tow. I want breaks, but do remember last time that we were so busy that it couldn't happen. We stayed at POP that round and it was a long bus ride from the parks. We would have missed so many park activities. DD was a pretty calm child and luckily there were limited meltdowns. What happened for us is she slept through most suppers.

This time we are staying Beach Club and my plan is to leave the park early a couple days to hang at the resort to rest or play in the pool. Parks like Animal Kingdom and Hollywood studios doesn't have enough to keep my kids focused all day anyhow.

I also rented a stroller even though my youngest hasn't used one for years. I figure if one of the boys is tired enough they can curl up in it.

I'm also the only morning person in our house of five so I already know we won't be on the road and at a park until after 10am most days. Hoping those ideas will help us avoid meltdowns.

 

[msmama]

We are another family that doesn't do breaks, but we don't do full days. We go as long as we can (usually leaving between 2 and 5 after an early dinner) and then spend the evenings at the resort. Once we get in our bathing suits, there's no going back to the parks for us!

Yes, it means we miss some of the evening things, but thats okay with us (for longer trips we usually do a later day where we pool in the morning and then head to parks after lunch and do them in the afternoon/evening).

Personally, though, I would never force a break. If everyone is happy and wants to stay, that's what I'd do.

 

[TWK]

Last time we went, it was in August, and it was 5 days in the parks, the kids were 4.5 and 1.5 and I was pregnant. We went back to the hotel for "naps" twice. It was a huge waste of time. They were way too excited to sleep or rest... it was only stressful. It was way to hot to go to the pool, so we didn't want to do that either. I think it easily wastes 2 hours of time to go back to the room. The rest of the days, we just did stuff until the kids got tired (or it rained) and then when that happened, we found a sheltered or even air conditioned place, and just sat and rested for a while.

 

[abinormal]

I'm planning to leave it kind of flexible. I think I'll plan our mornings out, and leave room for a break, a nap in the park, or going back for the day, as needed.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

Another alternative we use quite a bit is making our largest meal of the day at mid-day. We usually do one sit-down meal a day and sometimes it's nice to take a break around 1:00, get into the air-conditioning, and have a relaxing meal. Might even be out of the park at a nearby resort. But just having that time to sit and slow down would be enough to have us ready to go again. You're also out of the heat at the worst part of the day!

 

[amym2]

We have had success with alternating break and no break days. We never break on our first park day because we're all too excited to sleep. We are more likely to break on MK and EP days so we can go back for the evening entertainment. DHS and AK days we stay until mid-afternoon and then go back to the resort for the rest of the day.