Not Taking A Break = Crazy?

[Raidra]

The two trips we've taken with kids have been in March and January. Both times we had 10 days in the parks, and the last time we spread it out over two weeks and didn't do parks on Saturday and Sunday. That's what we'll be doing this trip - Mon-Fri in parks, Sat/Sun off, Mon-Fri in parks. But we'll be going in September, and we're not exactly fans of heat and humidity.

Our past trips, we always went back to the resort in the afternoon. To me, though, it felt like a waste of time. Nobody ever napped.

I'm thinking this time that maybe we would skip going back to the resort and try to find air conditioned places to rest in the parks.. and leave most nights before 8pm (we'd do MSEP/Wishes and MNSSHP once each, and Illuminations on a Friday). Our ADRs will have a fair number of last-breakfast-seatings and lunches, and we'll also be park-hopping so I know we can just hang out on the monorail for a while. I've got a few spots in mind for where we can relax, and attractions that I know will be like a rest. But I thought I'd ask if anyone has any non-obvious spots to rest and relax, or things to keep the kids entertained while resting. Would it be weird to get a snack at an air-conditioned CS place and just let the kids color for a while, as long as tables aren't in demand?

I've got the 'obvious' break stuff down, but I'm wondering if there are less obvious ways to rest (in air conditioning) that I might not know about.

Thanks!

 

[Alesia]

Most people here think it's crazy not to take a break, but honestly, we find it much more tiring than just staying in the park all day.

There are plenty of places to rest for a few minutes in the parks.

 

[DSLRuser]

we find each park has 3 separate personalities.

Morning, afternoon, and night.

We will either go for the morning, then go back to the resort for the afternoon, before returning for the night.

Or skip the morning, take in the parks for mid day, and go back to the resport at night.

Doing the parks for 12-16 hours a day just wipes everyone out.

 

[JRawkSteady]

I've never taken an afternoon rest for just that reason. However, the last time I went with kids is when I was a kid myself. It's just me and my fiancee. So as long as you think they can handle it, I think you should absolutely just stay all day at the parks. Travel time alone, going back to the hotel to just sit around, seems like such a waste.

 

[JanaDee]

Honestly, we didn't take breaks so much to rest, but to get away from the constant stimulation of the parks.

The constant noise, the people, the smells, sometimes just got to be too much. Walking around our resort (where it was quiet!) or hanging by the pool for an hour or 2 refreshed us enough to get us ready for an evening at either a park or DTD.

 

[bella2117]

i don't think its crazy. When we needed to have some downtime we would just take a break in the park by shopping in the air conditioning or just grabbing a bite to eat and sitting to people watch. my husband and i were surprised by how well the kids did.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I don't think it's crazy to not take a break. We didn't on our 2 trips last year, when DD was 8 months and 15 months. She napped very well in her stroller (almost better than she did at home at that point sometimes!), which allowed us to enjoy some of the adult rides with rider swap when she was sleeping (giving us more time to do her rides and experiences when she was awake).

We brought Frogg Toggs into the park to help keep her cool throughout the day, as well as going into AC'd attractions/meals as needed, we brought everything she'd need for food/drink/changing and such, and she was good for the day. We are blessed (lucky!) to have a very go with the flow baby - she has always been that way - but we found that the breaks weren't necessary to keep her well rested.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Breaks never worked for us. We either go early and come back when everyone is tired, whenever that is. If we are planning on a later night, then we go to the parks in the afternoon sometime.

 

[kay1864]

On MK days, we do take afternoon breaks, and use that time for waterparks, then back in the evenings for Sorcerers.

At EP, HS, or AK, we use RideMax to optimize our afternoon time, then go offsite for dinner, then DisneyQuest in the evening.

 

[lazer]

We don't take breaks back at the rooms, and we travel with two young kids...crazy

We see shows in the AC, ride the train through the entire park, grab a snack and sit in the AC, sit through the 45 minutes of the Ellen ride at Epcot . Totally doable!

 

[smitch425]

Outside of going back to the resort to change into MNSSHP costumes, we don't take breaks. On MNSSHP days, we hit DHS at park opening (the kids literally got to turn on the turn style machines one year), and go back and change clothes and don't go to bed until 2am. Some people need breaks, and some don't. We are not "break people". Do what works best for you.

 

[PoohsFan1]

You could always ride some of the longer rides in order to take a rest. For instance when you are in Epcot you can go on Ellen's Energy since it is a 45 minute ride, you can also ride the TTA a couple of times and go see CoP. Even though this is outside, we like to either stake out a spot somewhere down Main Street with an ice cream cone or head over to the the Confectionery and get a sweet treat then head into the little nook where you can sit and listen to the sounds of the piano lessons and tap dancing lessons. At DHS we like to take in some of the shows there because we are off our feet and being entertained at the same time. Make sure you make some TS ADRs especially for around lunchtime (but I think you said you are already doing that), this will allow you to rest your feet in an AC building while enjoying some food.

IDK, I guess our family has to have breaks even if we aren't going back for a nap (which we hardly ever do unless we are really tired). Instead, we like to head back to just relax in the room to cool off and watch tv or I like to head out to our balcony and just sit and listen to the sounds outside. Another thing we like to do while relaxing is go down to the pool midday and while the kids are busy playing, DH and I are relaxing on a shay chair with a fruity adult drink in hand. We have tried to go from morning until night without a break but we have found that we are more cranky and tired when we don't get our break, and for our upcoming trip we are going to be there at a really busy time (the end of May/beginning of June), therefore the breaks will be a necessity so we can keep our sanity with dealing with the crowds . Our family has been to WDW so many times that we now don't have to be in the parks every waking hour, instead we enjoy our resort just as much as the parks. But of course every family is different. Good luck and most importantly have a wonderful trip

Editing to add: OP, do I think that you are crazy for not taking naps? Of course not, I just wouldn't do it .

 

[surferdave]

Some of my favorite memories are from days that went from EMH rope drop to near park closing. But usually those days meant that the next day would NOT be that way, and we would generally sleep in. Even if your family has more endurance than mine (a likely possibility ) be wary of cumulative fatigue from several days with no breaks.

This may not be as easy with more than one child, but we often stop right where we are and take a break if we are comfortable and our daughter has found something that entertains her. A good example is the play area with video games in the exit area of Mission Space. Of course, this takes flexibility and may not be possible if you stick to a rigid touring plan.

 

[wiigirl]

Most people here think it's crazy not to take a break, but honestly, we find it much more tiring than just staying in the park all day.

There are plenty of places to rest for a few minutes in the parks.

 

[drew64]

We don't nap - no young kids, but do hit RD/ AM EMH thne like to leav epark around 12 when it is gettign crowded, go to hotel, hit the pool, sit in the sun, and then hit a different park around 4-5 for the evening.

 

[HM]

We do take breaks, but it's usually to sit by the pool and read a book and catch some sunshine. Of when we stayed at BWV during Christmas, it was to watch TV and work on a puzzle we did that week. It's good to get off our feet for awhile and enjoy the resort a bit. No one has ever napped at WDW.

What I wouldn't do is take two days off from the parks in a row. What do you do on Sat/Sun if you aren't in the parks? Do you visit a waterpark, shop at DTD, go somewhere else? Getting a break during each day we're at WDW, allows us to be in the parks each day of our trip and not get sore feet and weary.

 

[TreeSapp]

We typically do 9am-midnight kind of days (2 to 3 days is a normal trip). We sometimes take breaks and sometimes don't.

If we drive down early (6am) on a Saturday, then we take a break at 3:00p to check into our offsite hotel and grab some offsite lunch.

Sometimes we'll break at 6:00-7:00 for an offsite dinner in the parks are open very late (1am)

But more often, our breaks are just sitting for 20+ minutes in the shows (Energy adventure, American adventure, HoP, CoP, lights motors action, Indy, flights of wonder, etc.

We don't tend to get over stimulated by touring, but being able to sit down for a good while is great!

Edit: I forgot to add we're two 30-something adults with no kids

 

[bastos]

We always said that you needed time off after a Disney vacation. We have taken breaks in the park with success - and gone back to hotels with less success. It may really depend on your location - and willingness to slow down in parks, as well. Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, or even waiting in a long line could be a break - if that is the way you look at it.

One of the worst breaks we had was when our then 8 year old knew our fast pass time for Space Mountain was approaching, and we ended up 'stuck' in Downtown Disney.

Sometimes relaxing can be more stressful. Sometimes touring can be relaxing. Just don't push yourself. It's very easy to take a break from Magic Kingdom to take a nap in the Contemporary. More difficult if you're staying in All-Star Movies.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Only you know what your family is capable of.

We used to take breaks after lunch because we go in the summer and our children were still young (say, under 10). But it's not worth it for us now.

 

[drdrowsy]

One of our main motivations for staying on-site when we were there last month was that we'd be able to take our 1 1/2 and 4 year old back to the hotel for afternoon breaks. In the end though, we found getting back and forth to the hotel an extra time each day was a huge hassle, what with a stroller and all of the items required by two children, and being around our hotel in the afternoon, while providing a break from the parks, in no way provided a rest for the children, which was what they actually needed.

We found that a much better plan for us was to either go for RD and leave the park early or go a little later in the day and stay later at night.

I liked your idea of taking a day off in the middle of the vacation as well. We didn't do that the last time we were there (7 days straight in the parks), but would definitely consider it next time.