Opinions! Afternoon Break?

[paula70]

You are all the reason I love this DIS board! I truly appreciate all the valuable opinions you have given! So here is what i'm thinking...We have 2 days planned in MK, one being an EMH. On the EMH morning, we have 12:15 ADR's at CRT. My guess is we should have most of our attractions done well before that. SO, i think I will plan on leaving the park soon after that and take a break at the hotel (It is also our first full day in WDW, up early the day before for flights!)(Hope it is warm enough to swim a little...we're from WI, so it doesnt need to be real warm!) then go back at dinner time, refreshed and ready for spectromagic or fireworks. Our second day at MK.(they are not consecutive!) I think we want to see the aft. parade and we have 5:10 ADR at CP w/ Pooh, so maybe hit the attractions in the morning again and then have a quiet afternoon break in the park and sit and enjoy the parade. We do ahve 1 full night off (the day we're at AK) and will park hop one day from MGM to Epcot for a dinner at GG, so that should give us a break in between as well. Still working on our Epcot full day, but i really feel like it makes sense, like you all said, to just "wing it" and take the clues from the kids! YOU ALL ARE AWESOME...THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Paula!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Well, I think it depends on your kids. My dd7.5 on our last trip had a hard time with the mid-break thing. We were staying at Beach Club. We were there in May 2005. We would do a park at opening then, after lunch go back to the resort to swim and relax and then, plan an evening in another park. Well all that walking back and forth just killed her. Plus, I were doing the parks early in the morning and then staying late at night to watch the shows. Well, she didn't get enough sleep. Now, my other dd4 had no problems but she basically got to nap whenever she wanted because she was in the stroller. I think, it is much easier to take a mid-day break if you are staying at a Monorail resort. Next time I think we are going to try taking a full day break instead of a mid-day break. However, next time we are going at Christmas time so the heat type weather won't be an issue.

 

[GPALANGE]

We went for our first time in Oct, kids 9, 7 & 5, the 5 & 7 yr old needed the break and it kept them from being cranky and tired at night. We stayed on site but drove to the parks ourselves so it was no problem hopping back in our van and leaving after lunch. I think we had a great trip because the kids were never cranky, we also go up early everyday and hit the parks first thing, by lunch we were all tired and ready for a break...plus it was sooooo hot

 

[daisax]

To me, doing two 4 hour "sessions" with a 2 hr break in between permits you to do more in those 8 hrs than you would do in 10 hours straight, purely because of increased energy and alertness levels.

Overstimulation is not just for kids -- there's such a relief even as an adult to closing the hotel room door behind you, placing a wakeup call, pouring a cool drink, and putting your burning feet up on the bed and closing your eyes.

Doing this each day eliminates the 4th day phenomenon where you finally take a break and by then you need it so badly nobody wants to get dressed and go out again.

Plus you get the fun of starting a whole "new" Disney day!

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

My DD (age 22) and me (49) took a rest all but 2 days of our 6 days at WDW the week before Christmas this year. The first day we didn't think we would need to go back so we tried to just take a break from the action by touring the quieter hotels but when you are up early for openings and you don't get back to the room until 11 pm, you need a rest! (At least we did!)
We both appreciated the break and a couple of days we rested for 2 hrs or more. It does take time to go back to the hotel but most of the time our connections were good for the busses. After resting, changing clothes and re-packing the back pack - we started out fresh and we loved it.

It works better for us to rest in the afternoons but each family is different.

 

[Disney5Mom]

We always take a long afternoon break. We have a swim and everyone lies down for an hour or two. I first took my 5 kids (then 5-14) to Disneyworld 14 years ago and we still follow this pattern. We just take the Disney buses to our resort. It feels like a whole new day starting after a rest. We like to go to EMH in the morning and switch to a different park around noon anyway.

 

[The Sweetness]

When dd14 was a tot, she never had trouble falling asleep when tired (twice with hot dog in hand, half eaten LOL). Next trip, Im staying onsite (also a fan of ASMO was there way back when they opened it)If Ariel has trouble resting me or DH can take her back for a nap. Also, dh or I can get back to the room right after an early dinner to bathe her and get her to bed

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Breaks are great in the summer. The crowds are big and the parks are open late.

We have been a few times in Feb (Jan, too) and it is easier to keep the kids going because there are fewer long lines and the weather is nice. The parks close much earlier too, MK at 7pm or so. That makes breaks a waste of time.

Also your kids are at an age where they should be able to go in those conditions without getting too tired.

Have a great trip! The ones we took during that time of the year are my favorites

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

We've never gone in the summer. We went this Nov with a 3 yo 7 yo and 9mos. We didn't take any breaks and really it was no problem.They all had a stroller but my 3yo didn't even nap. We took lunch breaks, snack breaks but that was it. No meltdowns either!

 

[cyndibelle]

nope we never go back to the hotel...me,hubby,dd8,ds6...even when they were a bit smaller we never did...if we got tired we would take a break at the park..sit down have a frozen lemonade or something and just take in the views.....i see alot of kids in strollers or on the side of the street there waiting for parades knocked out...mine have done that...

 

[BraveMom3]

When my children were younger, I felt that going back to the resort was too much work, but now that they are older and probably because we've been so many times, we don't stay in the park all day. We are guilty of dragging into the park around 10:30 or 11:00 in the past, but more recently we've been better about getting there at opening, and this works much, much better. We go at opening, and after about 4 or 5 hours (I can almost set my watch by it!) it's time to get out of there for a while. Everyone's disposition seems to change at about this time! Forget getting them to take a nap, though. We usually go to the pool, ride bikes, or something like that (not much rest for me!), and they are good to go. It's the change of pace/scenery for them more than getting a nap. Even just hanging around the room for an hour or so makes a difference. Then we may venture out somewhere for the evening. BTW, my children are now 12, 9, and 8yo - started taking them to WDW at about 6yo, almost 2yo, and 9 mos.

 

[hygienejean]

We ALWAYs take a break... We were just there this Oct. Our kids are 3 1/2 and 5 1/2. We would usually go back to swim and "try" to get the 3 1/2 yr old to lay down. (Didn't always work!) Sometimes I try to nap too! We have found that our family does better when we take it slow. Otherwise the kids crash and burn around 6:30 to 7:00 and that is no fun.... Have fun planning your vacation!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am a huge park commando - if the parks are open, I want to be there! Unfortunately, DH is NOT a commando. He is actually very high maintenance at the parks, and he whines worse than DS! He has to eat breakfast before we go to the parks, he has to have LOTS of breaks for sodas, which then leads to LOTS of restroom breaks, and he doesn't like to walk too much. If we don't stop to get a drink as soon as he says he wants one he nearly throws a tantrum. It is very difficult for me to tour with him.

In October we took breaks 3 out of 8 days. The first day was MNSSHP, so we went back to the resort about 1:30, ate lunch, took a nap, and headed out to MK about 4:30 for a 5:10 dinner at CP. That was all fine, but by 10 PM DS9 was completely finished and wanted to leave even though he had a nap! The next day we took a break we did the Family Magic Tour at MK in the morning, and when the tour was finished around noon the park was packed. DH was cranky so we went back to the hotel and stayed there until about 5 PM, but I was seething the whole time. The last day we took a break was our last MK day. I ended up sending DH back to the hotel by himself, and DS and I stayed at MK for 2-3 more hours. DS and I had a little break later in the day, then we all went to DTD that evening.

Our next trip is in August, and I am certain we will be taking a break every day. With the heat and the crowds we won't be able to go from 8 or 9 AM until fireworks. With this in mind I made the executive decision to stay at AKL instead of Pop. AKL has things going on around the resort in the afternoon so DH & DS can nap and I can do other things if I don't want to nap. Also, I think going during the school year made it hard for DS to stay up late. We will "practice" staying up late for a week or so leading up to the August trip so maybe he can last later than 10 PM! I think the most important thing we learned was that it is FINE to split up when someone wants to go back to the resort and someone else does not.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[vatmark]

We took breaks everyday when we went back in Oct. We arrived at the parks at opening, did rides with no waits, ate an early lunch, did a few more rides with FP's and then went back to the resort for a break. We still got to do all the stuff that was important to us and we were not worn out. I didn't feel like I needed a vacation after the vacation when we got home.

Annie

 

[melomouse]

Hi -
Wishing you much fun in the planning of your upcoming trip.
Only you know your family, but it's true that the first trip can be so overwhelming that it's hard to anticipate who will need what, when, and what will work for you best. You need to know going in that you will have to return to WDW again and again and that there is so much to enjoy that you need to choose and prioritize each trip.
That said - our first trip to DL was when DD was only 2 and DS was 6. It was a short trip, we ran and burned ourselves thru 10-12 park hours each day. Thank God DD was a great stroller sleeper.
On subsequent trips, DD being 5, DS +4 years, I have found that my family is not geared to commando style touring. I figure one full park day for every two days of vacation.10 days beats 7 days, 7 days beats 3/4. If we want to do nighttime parades and Fantasmic, there is no way we are going to open parks. Sometimes we've taken "breaks" sometimes not. Do not rush anything. It's hard when you've spent so much time and money to realize that the kids love the hotel pool almost as much as a park,but this is what I try to bear in mind. Ap's really helped take the pressure off me, as we could then come and go as we pleased. So did non-expiry tickets for longer than I anticipated we'd need.
I guess my point is that the longer the time you have, the less critical the question of "breaks" becomes.If you think that meltdown time is nearing for anyone in your party, plan to get out of the parks within that hour. JMHO. the parks will be there for years to come. Stop and smell the roses.
melomouse

 

[goofydad621]

In the past we have with the kids butI would say if the parks are open late and depending on what time you start your morning, GO BACK.
If nothing else it will give you a little down time, we almost always go to a different park when we head back out and we always arrive when a park opens, so go back, eat lunch if we haven't already, go for a swim maybe rest or just decompress alitte and then charge hard for round 2 in the afternoon/evening.

Hope this helps Dave

 

[paula70]

I took a good look at our itinerary and have thought long and hard about all the great advice you have all given ! I do think only you can judge your own family. My husband loves the idea of having an afternnon break and since we are from WI , my kids really hope to do some swimming down there. So we have have tentatively scheduled a couple of late days (spectro, wishes and illuminations) with breaks in the afternoon. We also planned one night off in the middle of our trip just for relaxation! Our arrival day(10:20 am) and departure day(5:00pm) are wide open as of now! I think its easy to get caught up in the planning and want to do and see it all, but I think with the touring plans we should be able to see most of what we want and have some "down" time! In case I haven't said it before...THE DIS IS AWESOME! THANKS AGAIN!!!

Paula