occasional long trips or more frequent short trips?

[ozliz]

what is your preference, work commitments/restrictions aside, do you prefer more frequent short breaks or less frequent long trips?

I am at a real dilemma myself and would love everyone's thoughts whether it is for Disney trips or other breaks closer to home if you are like me and a long, expensive flight away from Disney.

I am also debating trying to budget for an extra shorter (still long because of how long it takes to get there but with fewer extra days in the area on the side) WDW visit on a stricter budget versus the long WDW trip with more comfort options but would require waiting longer to save.

 

[OKW Lover]

Before retiring I did a combination of the two. Typically a one-week visit in early December with a few long-weekend trips to bridge the gap between the long visits. Being DVC members and having an AP made this easy.

 

[quagmire0]

We are naturally restricted by budget (especially airfare) and calendar (my wife is a teacher). But, all things considered, I'd prefer long, less frequent trips. The reason being is that when you go every two years or so, there's usually something new. If I went every year or multiple times I year, I feel like I'd really get bored. Also, distance makes the heart grow fonder for the things that are the same at the parks. A longer trip also lets you 'soak it in' more - you're not feeling rushed or feeling like you need to cram everything in as much.

 

[loves to dive]

When we were going every other year we usually did 7 nights/8 days. For the last 2 years I've gone twice a year, F&G and F&W and have been going for either 4 nights/5 days or 5 nights/6 days. It's a little over 7 hours drive so in theory I could go for shorter trips but I would just feel too rushed.

 

[gap2368]

what is your preference, work commitments/restrictions aside, do you prefer more frequent short breaks or less frequent long trips?

I am at a real dilemma myself and would love everyone's thoughts whether it is for Disney trips or other breaks closer to home if you are like me and a long, expensive flight away from Disney.

I am also debating trying to budget for an extra shorter (still long because of how long it takes to get there but with fewer extra days in the area on the side) WDW visit on a stricter budget versus the long WDW trip with more comfort options but would require waiting longer to save.

being an AP and living about 4 hours away this year I have taken

3 6 days trips
1 7 day trip but that was for a conference so did not go to the park until some times after 8
3 3 day trips

for me I like the 6 day trips with a short trip in between 6 days is the longest I like bing there ( but I would live there if I could and have no problem with it) but 6 days feel right I can go slow and get every thing I want to do done

3 days I feel rushed what park do you leave out

 

[dja14]

We go every few years, usually for two weeks. We drive but live about 14 hours away (no stops, so really longer ) We have thought about flying but by the time we drive 3 hours to the airport and do security,etc we just figure driving is just as well, especially for family of five.

It takes us a while to save up enough for a comfortable trip (and this varies per person I know) and it takes our family a bit when we arrive to feel comfortable in a new place. Most of the family does not do well in crowds so we can go at rope drop and stay til 2-3 and leave for the day, relax in evening. We also stay offsite, either in a large suite but prefer a condo or house.We get a 10 day basic ticket, so our per day cost is not so bad (considering) and we eat in about half the time.

When we can drive a couple hours we go places for 2-3 nights but it seems like for this drive and cost, we might as well wait a bit and spend a tiny more and have a lot more trip

 

[kollerbear]

When I was a kid we went about every four years as a family and I honestly loved it-- we went for about 10-12 days and drove, and it was always such a big deal. Now my folks have DVC and I find myself going once every 1-2 years for about 6 days. If I'm going every year like that I think I need to be going with different people on different trips (e.g. my sister, my mom, my husband) to make each one feel special (or at different times of the year). When our first child is born I think my husband has agreed that once every 3 years will be tolerable for him (he's not a big fan!)--but you can bet they'll be in the 8-10 day range at that point.

 

[nursejackie]

As we come from England we go for 16-17 nights once a year. The flights are expensive and the Disney tickets available to British people makes a longer stay once a year more economical (well, as economical as a WDW trip can be!).

 

[andiraye]

Definitely longer less frequent trips. Going frequently would take some of the magic out of it for me. And I love the ability to relax my way through it. When I was a kid we did 3-4 day trips every couple of years. Very exhausting! This year we did a 6 day trip and it was amazing. We saw so much but also left feeling relaxed. We've now gone two years in a row and I think need to take a year or two off (though my kids disagree!).

 

[wellesleyprincess]

It's been 5 years since I've done a long trip (I consider 5 nights/6 days the break point between long and short). It's only been in the last year or so that I've felt the itch to do one. I've enjoyed the short trips to get the fix and it's allowed me to go at slower times. I'm planning to do a short race weekend trip (3 nights/4 days) in Fall 2016 (or possibly Spring 2017 if I don't get into the race). After that I think, I'm going to take a break until 2018 and hope to do a week long trip if budget and work time will allow.

 

[Ravishing_Leah_Rude]

Definitely prefer the longer, less frequent trips....for anywhere.
It takes me at least a full day to decompress and get acclimated to my surroundings.

 

[NH-to-FL]

We evolved from medium to longer trips. That gives us time to go slow, relax, and enjoy both Disney and the Florida vacation. After enjoying many yearly 5-6 night visits to the BWI we shifted to an off site villa to have more space at a lower cost for more leisurely 10 to 14 day visits.

But everyone is different. I have friends from where I used to work who take more frequent short trips. Of course as planes fly we are not that far away and airfares from our region are not outrageous, $200-$300 round trip can be found if you are just a bit flexible, making short trips more reasonable.

 

[Accident]

Since I've switched to longer trips I've really started to enjoy it more, found more ways to make the trip lower cost and it's resulted in more frequent trips on the same budget I was going in the past...

I recommend trying it one trip if your not sure. For us, our first was during the fall season which we have never seen, we weren't in a rush even if everyone else was, we started to learn more ways we can save money to make it happen more frequent.. It may not be for everyone but you don't really know until you try it one trip...

 

[ozliz]

Hmm, the long trips seem more popular which is what I am leaning towards. Now just to decide whether I wait and save for longer for more of the comforts and extras (which is what I did on my first trip) or whether I go sooner but still on a long trip and choose more of the cheaper options.

 

[BagOLaughs]

Flying from the UK you've gotta make those long flights worth while. We like to go every other year and stay somewhere nice than go every year and do budget.

 

[Jon84]

We are lucky enough to be able to visit twice next year 1 week then 2 weeks.

As per above, it makes sense to make the trans-atlantic trip and spend longer in the Orlando area, and do it comfortably. 2017 we are doing a 2 week road trip followed by 8 nights at the Grand.

 

[alopez926]

As someone who does shorter trips so we can go once a year, I'd highly recommend the longer trips less frequently! We have loved going every year for 5 days or so, but we come home exhausted....very happy, but tired too. We're taking a few years off and will plan to take a longer trip in 2-3 years. Mama needs some down time on vacation!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

i would do a shorter trip at a deluxe rather than a longer trip at a value. on our last trip it was our longest trip at 8 nights. We split stayed at the GF and AoA. We should have done AoA first. After being spoiled at the Grand Floridian, it felt like roughing it to stay at AoA. From that point on i am no longer going to choose a value resort. We bounce backed for this April for a shorter stay, 6 nights, at the Yacht club. Values are great if you would spend all your time at the parks, but with kids it's nice to stay at the pool and eat at the resort rather than travel all around for dinner like we used to before the kids. If you go shorter and more frequent, then you can likely get a bounce back offer for your next stay and that will save a lot of money. We fly Southwest, and the fares are so cheap. They give you two free checked bags. That makes bringing a bag full of food and water cheap! I told my DH that i hope we can get a bounce back for October when we are there in April. He said we can find some other hotel to spend the day at and go to their pool.... umm where are there hotels that are disney deluxe quality besides disney? I wouldn't switch my deluxe disney resort vacation to go to the local Best Western! DD4 all she did was want to play at the pool, so we are likely skipping the parks and playing at the resort all day or strolling along the Boardwalk, and eating.

 

[Moushe]

We are gravitating more towards short frequent trips. but we are also a 3-4 hour car ride away. We'd probably feel differently if we had to fly there.

 

[Baklava]

Airfare for my family is $2K. Longer, less frequent trips are sort of a necessity.