Need advice...Parks and resorts - How do you spend time?

[Flyerfan]

Forgive me, I could not come up with a better title for this thread.

It is just DH and I and our first trip Home to SSR will be January '08. For this trip we purchased 7-day hoppers, but don't plan on doing parks every day or even all day. I keep telling DH we're doing Disney different from now on, but he doesn't believe me. He thinks we'll be doing the commando-style touring but I want to enjoy the resort more. We will most likely be going once per year and I am wondering how others do it with park tickets. From what I've read on the boards, some don't go to the parks and they enjoy the resort and DTD or the other resorts. I just can't imagine traveling 1100 miles (one way) once per year and not going to any park! I thought of splitting it up. One year do two parks, the next the other two, but I feel like I'll be missing something, Also thought of working the annual pass but we will most likely only be going in January of every year. After so many years, does your attraction to the parks diminish (for those traveling without kids)? Do you enjoy the resort atmosphere more? What if you want to do a park one day?

Need advice....How do you guys do it?

 

[Muushka]

Well, we have been going to WDW at least 2 times a year for 15 years and plenty before that, so we have seen just about everything we want to see. So when we are not using APs (like for the next few years) we will use our 10 day non-exp passes with 6 plusses. We will visit at 6 or 7 day increments and go into the parks 3 times, max and a plus or 2.

We always have to go into MK and Epcot. The other 2 we can rotate. And we will withhold rides to save for next time.

We find that we are enjoying not going into the parks as much as we used to. But my love of hanging around the resorts seems to be growing! And we don't have kiddos.

Good luck!

 

[Donald is #1]

For me, I still did the parks every day, but I found that I did them differently. Since I knew that I would be going back 1-2 times every year, there didn't seem to be any pressure to try to make sure that I did every thing that I could. It took me a couple of days to notice the pattern change. But instead of spending all day at a park (or combination of parks) until closing, I ended up going back to my resort in the mid-afternoon and enjoying my resort for a few hours. Then I tended to head back to one of the parks in the evening.

 

[L8blumr2]

DH is not so interested in the parks, but still enjoys going to Disney. We will dine, shop and see shows (Cirque, HOB) and do other nearby Florida attractions (Kennedy Space Center).

I get to go with my DS's without him and we do the parks!

 

[DVC Mike]

We are going often enough to justify purchasing AP's. We have to hit MK and EP every trip, and usually AK as well. We hit DS the least.

 

[OlderMan]

We haven't been to the parks in almost 6 years....

Our daughters--9 and 10--haven't missed them. They enjoy the pool(s), game room, shuffleboard courts, etc.

PS We live about an hour away from WDW and visit OKW at least twice a year.

FWIW......

 

[kda]

After 25 years of going to Disney almost annually, we definitely do it different now. We really enjoy the resort and really relax. Both of us read books on vacation. DH sleeps in and I might take a nap once in a while. We found we were getting bored doing the same things every year, so sometimes we go 3-4 years without riding Space Mountain or Test Track.

Occasionally we get an AP because we know there will be 2 trips within a year. Otherwise, it's a non-expiry parkhopper that will usually cover us for 2 trips. We often park hop, even if just spending 4-5 hours a day at the parks. We usually eat dinner at a resort or DTD and usually eat lunch at a park or DTD.

It's not unusual for DH and me to prefer different things (ie, pool in the AM vs EE at a park). Sometimes we compromise and sometimes we do separate things. I'll go to the park alone and love to spend time on rides and attractions that DH isn't as interested in. We both compromise, but also feel comfortable enough to speak up when one of us really wants to do something different. It's a win-win situation.

 

[kimberh]

When it is the two of us we start 11:00 or so. It is very leisurely. We don't rush to the rides anymore. We still do our favorites. Dining is much more important than it use to be. I still love being in the parks after dark, so the Fireworks, or nights shows are still a must. We will sleep in the next morning to not be so dog gone tired. We will take a day and try and do something we have never done. Last May, we went over to FT. Wilderness, we had never been there. Sometimes we will go to different resorts to just see what they are like.

When we come with everyone, it is all of it, as fast as we can do it! A whole different trip! I usually pass out on the way home. We have one of these trips every year or so... They still start ahead of us, we catch them at the parks.

We take at least 2 trips a year. I realize people go to Disney Resorts and don't go to the parks, I would feel like I was missing something, but that is me, I have to see the Castle...

 

[kikiq]

We went early August and decided to enjoy our stay at the Poly. We also toured SSR and AKV that trip. We spent the afternoon at both resorts, wandering and talking to people. My dh could easily see himself playing tennis, taking morning walks around the lake and sitting out on the balcony at SSR. No kids this trip, just the two of us, getting up when we wanted, sometimes am at a park, in the afternoon, we were in the pool or under an umbrella on the Poly beach, but it could have been easily on a SSR balcony, then dinner in the park or DTD. We decided that SSR fit our family's vacation habits being able to jog/walk the lake/resort, tennis and golf, LOTS of places just to sit and enjoy the grounds and our DDs wanted to be close to DTD.

We bought non expiring park hoppers. Spent several evenings in Epcot listening to concerts, didn't ride any rides, just strolled and watched the entertainment. We sort of treated the parks the way we treat DLR. We usually go to DLR at least twice a month on a Friday evening...have dinner, maybe watch a parade, always watch the fireworks, and sometimes leave without riding a ride.

Came home to Ca and closed the deal at DLR couple weeks ago. We are planning an extended family gathering at OKW or SSR/AKL next summer.

 

[rigsby25]

Last year we bought an annual pass with the 100.00 discount and went down four times for shorter trips (3-4 days) to take advantage of the pass. We did a lot of exploring and when we take the big trip with relatives, we can show them different things - like the boat trip from Epcot to MGM. We never knew that existed until we started exploring. We visit different hotels and different restaurants. Now that we are going less, we purchased one annual pass for me for discounts on DDE, etc. and will be buying 10-day park hoppers no expiration for other members of the family. I agree that we tend to go to one park in the morning, come back and go in the pool and take a nap perhaps, and then go back in the evening. And there is no drive to wake up early unless we want to go to an extra magic hour. We can sleep late, go in the pool, and then go to a park. You probably could skip the park hopper part, but we like the luxury of going where we want when we want.

 

[newholidayx2]

I still put aside one morn for each park (except a few wks ago DS & I didnt go into AK). The other mornings I usually do a tour. This Nov I put aside the morn after my 50th to just chill on Stormalong Bays lazy river after waking up w/out an alarm.
The afternoons are spent in EpCot - usually right in front of Off Kilter!

 

[WDWLVR]

We usually hit the parks early in the morning when they aren't as crowded. By lunch time when the crowds are getting heavier we leave and head back to the resort. We may grab lunch before leaving a park or may do it at one of the hotels (Kona Cafe is a favorite after visiting the Magic Kingdom). We'll then chill at the resort the rest of the afternoon. We'll go back to the parks in the evening.

Depending on the time of year and what we are doing we may change things up. For example after spending a late night at MVMCP we'll sleep in the next day.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've been to WDW about 15 times since '99, and owned DVC since '03. I always have an AP in hand because I travel down about twice a year, and the DVC discount makes it a good deal for me. Yes, I do the parks each trip but I do them differently now. I try to get to a park early in the day, hang out for a few hours and then head back to the resort. Swim, read, just chill. Then, sometimes I head to DTD or to a park for a few hrs that night.
No more commando for me...it's vacation, I know I'll be going back again. There just isn't the same feeling of 'gotta do it now or I'll miss out' anymore. And that's nice. Much more like a true vacation.

 

[JimMIA]

For me, I still did the parks every day, but I found that I did them differently. Since I knew that I would be going back 1-2 times every year, there didn't seem to be any pressure to try to make sure that I did every thing that I could. It took me a couple of days to notice the pattern change. But instead of spending all day at a park (or combination of parks) until closing, I ended up going back to my resort in the mid-afternoon and enjoying my resort for a few hours. Then I tended to head back to one of the parks in the evening.

That's exactly where we are right now, although I think we'll evolve into doing something other than WDW parks more and more. We'll certainly spend more time at the resort pool, miniature golf, etc. And since we won't be using DDP anymore, we'll probably check out Universal and Sea World.

We usually do 5-night (Sun-Thurs) trips, and I can see us eventually only going to parks 3 days, maybe 2 on some trips. Our pattern will also depend on whether we go two times a year or one. We're only going once in 2007 (we went in May and that's it for this year). We may also start alternating -- one WDW trip, one Vero trip, etc.

 

[Anthony1971]

We take 6-9 night trips and go to the parks 4 times. The other days we enjoy the pool DTD maybe Disney quest... We always find something that passes the day very quickly sometimes faster than being in a theme park. We buy 10 non exipireing passes.. you can trade your 7 day ones in for these if yous expire even at the end of the trip but it will be a 10 day from the first day of use so if you used 5 days you will than have 5 days left with the upgrade. We go in HOT HOT HOT HOT HUMID HUMID September most years so the parks are empty so in 4 days we can go on everything twice or more. Did I mention there is a high risk of huricanes in September as well

 

[jimmacmn]

When DW and I go we usually have friends with us so we still do it semi-commando. However, we do manage to play golf a couple of times per trip as well. We usually buy APs because we plan our trips so we get 2 in within a 12 month period. For example, we went last December and bought AP and an Annual Golf Membership. We are going back in October so both will be good for that stay also. Our next planned trip will be in Dec '08 so we'll probably get new APs then

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have been members for 10 years, and we usually do at least one trip a year, and often 2-3.

We do still go to the parks a little each day, but not all day, and not commando by any means.

We have felt the DVC annual pass discount is the best deal for us. Even before the discount, we found the AP was the best deal for us. If we were traveling once each year, we would just skew our dates by a week and get two trips on one AP. Since the AP discount came out a few years ago, we have planning 2-3 trips each year and not worrying about the extra cost because of the savings we get on the AP.

 

[bwvBound]

Suggestions:

• Try annual passes one year; plan at least 2 good trips during the AP window: one at the very beginning and another at the very end. Anything in between is a bonus.
• During the "off year" (w/out APs): attend hard-ticket events like Pirate'n'Princess Party, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, etc. Attend the event in costume as you'll have more time to get ready.
• Purchase 10 day Magic-Your-Way with the "No Expire" option. Use them here and there over several years to fill in those times you really need a park day.
• Attend Conferences held in and around the WDW area. There are many to choose from ... some are career oriented and others are "life enrichment" topics.
• Spend one trip simply exploring all the transportation systems. Walk everywhere you can ... ride the boats, the bus, and the monorail. (It is ok to burn up one of your MYW No-Expire park days during this trip. Splurge.)
• Try the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
• Sign up for a golf lesson or simply hit the links. (Check out DVC's golf discounts??)
• Try pool hopping.
• Develop your own list of favorite WDW restaurants. (This should keep you busy for many, many trips!) Skip a park day and apply the $$ instead to a very special dinner.

We attend annually for a conference in January and often visit in December for the Candlelight Processional and Holiday decorations. The conference includes one "after hours" park party during the week and this year we added a hard-ticket event for our extra time after the conference. We also find that just being on the grounds, riding the transportation system and visiting favorite restaurants satisfies our "Disney Fix."

We've gone two years since our last APs ... but we have DVC AP vouchers in hand "just in case."

 

[Flyerfan]

Thank you for all the replies! I'm just trying to get a feel for what others do and how they feel after having many DVC years under the belt. The 10 no-expiry option sounds like a good idea. Can I convert my 7-day park hoppers to non-expiry?

 

[eporter66]

My wife and I started our Disney Vacations back in 1997. This was prior to getting married. I had not been to Disney since 1981, so it was all new for me again. Anyway...the point.

We have never gone Commando through the parks. The issue we have is that the tickets are pretty expensive, so we like to get a lot of use out of them. ***Thanks for the tips on the tickets, we will look into other options next time.*** We also have the good fortune of having had many vacations at Disney and more to come as DVC members. This eliminates the need to have that "see and do everything" mentality when we are on vacation.

We take it very slow, and it is fine with me. We have been buying the three of four day passes depending on how long we will be there. The day we arrive is always a resort day : swimming, relaxing, nice dinner. The travel is not bad, direct flight, approx 3 hours. But, since we are up early to get to the airport, it is a good day to relax at the resort.

We are early risers, and the resorts are just beautifully landscaped. I am a runner to, so I will get up and jog around the resorts very early, I love the peace and quiet that early in the morning. Probably my favorite time at Disney

We now have our 3 and half year old daughter who has already gone to WDW twice. You will not see us dragging a crying exhausted child through the parks. Just not our style. Our plan is to usually get there at the opening and stay until 12:00 or 1:00. Get something for lunch, go back to the resort, put her down for a nap (if needed)and head back later in the evening if she is up for it. Again, we have ridden the rides plenty of times before, so if we miss something, we know we will be back. We stayed at the BWV's last October, and it was nice to not have to fight the crowds and watch the fireworks from the resort. Our daughter loved it.

When we went as a couple, we usually got to the parks early. Come back in the afternoons to do the pool or something a bit more relaxing. We would have a nice dinner somewhere and go back to the parks in the evening. Since we go in the fall, the parks are crowded, but not crazy, so we usually got all the attractions in no problem.

We have also brought golf clubs down and golfed, rented boats, played mini-golf. There are so many great things to do, I am sure you will be fine. If you are a DVC member, you know you will be back often, so plan and make it relaxing for yourself, and dont feel like you have to do everything.

We always hit MK, Epcot (food and wine fest), and this year we are trying to decide if we want to do AK or DS. We might actually do Sea World, we have not been in a few years.

Seems like the DVC'ers do vacations very similiar. One would not think you could have a relaxing WDW vacation, but they really can be!!!

Enjoy