Pro's and Con's of mid-day breaks?

[Lovetherodent]

I can't go EMH 7am park open to EMH 11:00pm+ park close without a break. To those of you who can, well I grovel at your feet! I like EMH because for that hour and maybe 1 or 2 after, you can get a lot done. And in the evening? The later it is, the shorter the lines.

Pros: 1. Get away from the crush of people and the sensory overload to recharge a bit. 2. The pool! 3. Time to enjoy the resort 4. Nap (if you can sleep in Disney)
Cons: They're really time consuming if you're not going to RD; you lost prime touring time as it is.

 

[Epcot242]

A break is totally necessary. My wife and I tend to do rope drop every day and usually have a lunch reservation planned, in addition to dinner. It's really essential for us to head out about an hour or so after lunch for us to maintain our stamina. Even if it's just sitting by the pool reading or taking a quick nap or even just being back at the resort doing whatever, it's a break from the crush of the crowds and the heat. We find we don't really feel like we're missing anything if we take a mid-day break.

 

[kniquy]

make the decision to go all day vs take a few hours back at the resort.

A lot has to do with your energy level. One thing that happens at disney is the Disney adrenaline. This kicks in and helps you keep going all day. Our last trip was with our at the time 9 yo twin boys. I planned for afternoon breaks because i figured they would need a break, but out of 6 days we only took one afternoon break. We park hopped, did rope drop and saw evening entertainment every night. Of course when we came back we were tired, but it was worth it for all the fun we had.

Our upcoming trip will be with the boys who are 12 now and 4DD- we have definitely planned for rope drop and leaving the park by 1 for a break or by 3pm - leaving for the day with just dinner plans and early bed.

You can certainly plan for afternoon breaks (so plan your FP or any ADR to be done by 1 or 2pm -- then back to the resort for a nap or pool time, then return to the parks for a couple hours in the later evening. Evening time at the parks is different so you do want to make time to experience that. If by the afternoon you are going good then just stay at the park, if you need the break, take it -- while you are on the bus back to the resort just use the MDE app to select a later evening FP time. Planning ADR for TS meals helps provide a break of at least an hour and a half, which is sometimes all you need to rejuvenate.

There are ways to plan breaks from the parks without using up all the time going back to your resort -- so if at MK you could plan a dinner or lunch at one of the monorail resorts, AK park -- you can plan an early dinner at one of the AK resort restaurants. Epcot -- well there are so many restaurants there that i wouldn't want to leave there. and HS as of right now can be done arriving later (12 or 1ish) and still getting to most of what it has to offer (after TS land opens that will likely be a different story)

It also depends on how long your trip is -- 4-5 days we would be going all day for those 4-5 days straight. 7+ days you could plan a sort of rest or 1/2 park day in the middle.

 

[JETSDAD]

Our favourite time in the parks is morning and evening. Afternoon gets busy and hot so we prefer take a break then. Whether we nap, have a swim, or just chill a bit, having that break then allows us to go to whichever park is staying open the latest and still be up for RD the next morning.

 

[nkereina]

I'm sure I'm repeating things, but just speaking from my perspective. When we travel, it's just DH and I (no kids) and we usually take mid-day breaks.

Pros:
-Rest time to re-charge yourself, and your phone!
-Shower & change clothes mid-day. Helps you get out the door faster in the morning since you aren't showering then, and lets you put on fresh clothes because chances are good they could be sweaty or even wet from certain rides or rain
-Allows more time to use the pool
-Good opportunity to take advantage of hopper passes - visit a different park at night after your break
-I can get away with going bagless or bringing a small bag, because I know we'll be back at the resort in a few hours. Don't feel the need to bring as much for any scenario, since we won't be out all day.

Cons:
-Time consuming. We allow 1 hour to travel back to the resort, 2-3 hours for the break, and another hour to head back to the park. If we have a dinner ADR at night, it doesn't leave a ton of time for park touring at night.
-Can be difficult to schedule FPs or even lunch ADRs. Timing everything right to take a worthwhile break can be tough.

Those are all the cons that come to mind. Biggest one is just the time part of it. Some parks like DHS and AK we can do straight through with no break, finishing everything up around like 2-3pm. But MK and Epcot are break parks for us.

 

[Moliphino]

We never go back to the resort during the day (I am not a relaxing vacation type of person, being in the hotel when I could be doing something drives me nuts). We do spend an hour or two in a bar/lounge (Nomad Lounge, Trader Sam's, La Cava, Brown Derby Lounge, Hangar Bar, etc.) when we want to slow down, or do something like the American Adventure or Carousel of Progress.

 

[abja09]

We love our midday breaks! We are here now and I’m sitting on the balcony of our room at the Boardwalk before we head to MK tonight. We usually get to the park about 9am and leave by 1pm. Then we head back out about 4-5pm for dinner and a few more rides. I don’t think I have ever spent a full day in the parks. We always like to go back to the room midday to relax a bit and get away from the afternoon crowds. We do come to WDW often so feel no need to over do it in the parks.

 

[JennyDrake]

I'm VERY PRO midday break. Been going 20+ years

• You avoid peak crowds
• You avoid the hottest time of day
• You can be an adult and still nap
• Midday swims at resort=almost empty pools
• Everyone remains on speaking terms
• You and your spouse still like each other at the end of vacation!

 

[shanew21]

Depends on your hotel. If you're taking a mid-day break from MK but you're staying at AKL, it may not make sense. Meanwhile if you're staying at Wilderness Lodge, it makes a lot more sense.

However open and close are the least crowded times in the park, so it definitely makes sense to be in the park during those times.

 

[DisneyFive]

We've toured 5 times with no afternoon breaks (7-9 night trips each, on property), and one time with afternoon breaks every day. (9 nights on property).

Park hours and dining dictate if we do afternoon breaks. Our first 5 trips were during late september when park hours are super short, like 5pm for AK, 8pm for HS and 9pm for EP and MK. With such short hours, afternoon breaks were not very feasible, so we used lunch and then table service dinners for our recuperation time each day, with dinner typically at the early side like 5pm. We were tired, but not crazy tired. We would still go back and swim at the resort pools after shutting down the parks sometimes. The key was to sleep in a couple of days, like the 3rd and 6th or something like that. With the ability to prebook FP's now, that makes sleeping in much more attractive.

When we went this last time park hours were much later since it was early August. AK = 11pm, HS = 9:30, EP = 9, and MK = 11. That left us plenty of time to head back to the resort each day, which was great. We napped, missed the afternoon rain and the super busy hot part of the day.

So we can do both, but if the park hours are right, we will take the breaks. We felt much more rested overall.

Dan

 

[acwsmom]

When we get up early and plan to stay late, we usually prefer to take a mid-day break. It's nice to take a break from the heat and crowds and gives us a chance to nap or relax in the pool. Then again, we usually stay onsite so it makes it much easier to do that. The downside it that, sometimes, we get too lazy to go back for the rest of the evening. It's just a little too tempting not to go back when you're tired from walking the past few days and are sitting in a pool relaxing and dreading getting dressed again and heading back to the parks!

 

[AFwifelife]

We have always toured Disney with midday breaks (unless it was just a day trip). For us, it's beneficial for everyone's happiness and energy level. We are also park hoppers so when we go back out, it's to a different park and scenery so that also refreshes us.

 

[elcmum]

A little background - DH and I are going in May for our first trip since we were kids. We're both super excited, and planning to rope drop the days that we are there, but I'm worried that we might burn out. We're sort of battling this need to see everything we can during the time we are there (we've already accepted we won't see everything), and whether we should take some time out mid-day to take a break/nap.

I'm wondering if people could give me feedback about what helps them make the decision to go all day vs take a few hours back at the resort. Our FP's for each day end around lunch time, and we have ADR for later in the evening each day excluding AK when we are going to leave the park before dinner to head to Disney Springs for The Void.

Can you tell we're less than 30 days away and I'm starting to panic that I've planned terribly?

When I was younger I could go to a park and spend all day and evening and not have an issue. I realised when I was in my late-30s that I don't have the energy and stamina to go all day, and end up being a very cranky person in the evening when I'm surrounded by crowds.

The last trip I took with DS we ended up bailing on parks in the late afternoon and relaxing in the room in the evening. I realised after that trip that I felt like I missed out on fun evening entertainment so the next trip we are going for the morning, relaxing in the afternoon at the pool or taking a nap, and heading back for the evening. It's the only way I can mentally rationalize keeping my sanity and not burning out.

So, don't feel bad for thinking this. It's actually the smart thing to do. I think you're going to have a great time with some downtime while the parks are busy and temps are rising.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Our first trip doing midday breaks was August 2011. It opened up a whole new world for us. It made our vacation 100 times better and we refuse to do it any other way now.

 

[goofy kc]

All said before but I'll add on anyway! We are breakers!! After years of full park days we had a trip where someone was not feeling well so we went back to the room for a nap. Changed our lives! Now we break up our days into before and after break. We are usually onsite and BW and POLY are home for us, so breaks are easy. When we are at AKL we might push trough a little longer to make up for the longer bus ride, but still we break.

Also consider how frequently you go. We go 2-3 times a year so we have a more leisurely approach to touring. Last November we were there 4 nights and went on 7 rides total. Enjoyed relaxing at the resort instead.

 

[Maxwell42]

We normally go for a week or so at a time, so pacing ourselves is important. For planning purposes, I think about each day being broken down into roughly three increments - morning (RD to lunchtime), afternoon (lunch to around 5-6:00pm), and evening/nighttime (after 6:00). We schedule lunch around 11:00-11:30 and dinner between 5:00 and 6:00, so this basically corresponds to our major mealtimes. I'll schedule each day based on being active for two of those three increments - so if we're doing RD and planning an evening activity, then we'll take an afternoon break. Or we might plan to sleep in and spend afternoon and evening in a park; or start early, go through late afternoon, and spend the evening resting at our hotel.

Of course, the plan is flexible - if we're not feeling it, we'll call an audible and adjust on the fly. But that's much easier to do after you have a few visits under your belt and are comfortable with what your options are.

 

[NH-to-FL]

I'm wondering if people could give me feedback about what helps them make the decision to go all day vs take a few hours back at the resort. Our FP's for each day end around lunch time, and we have ADR for later in the evening each day excluding AK when we are going to leave the park before dinner to head to Disney Springs for The Void.

First, to DisBoards!

I will echo previous posters and suggest it is really up to you and your stamina. Are you up and ready to go early in the morning? Up for standing long hours on concrete? And accumulating many miles of walking? Than you are ready to go dawn to dusk.

DW and I are currently senior snowbirds and these days we are definitely half day park goers. Mostly a stamina decision but also enjoying the freedom to come and go when the spirit moves us. Or as I like to say, a daily walk enhanced by Disney.

When we started our Disney vacations many years ago we stayed on site. We would hit the parks at rope drop, usually going to the park with the morning Extra Magic Hour. We would get a lot done in the morning and leave the park either just before or just after lunch depending on whether we we attracted to any of the park's QS choices. Or whenever the crowds got too crazy.

We would head back to the hotel and relax for a few hours. We were on vacation... no need to push too hard. (Of course we knew we would be returning to WDW again.) After a quiet afternoon we would decide what to do in the evening. Time at Disney mixed with the to relax. Worked for us.
Wishing you a visit!

 

[DaniMoon]

For my kids, the pool is a big part of our vacation. They look forward to getting back to the resort and changing into a suit and jumping in the pool. We do try to do rope drop most mornings, and go back to a park in the evening. This is the first trip, the two younger ones will be in double digits, so we might be able to do some late nights (my youngest is not a night owl).

If it was a short trip, I probaby wouldn't take a break, but we go for at least 10 days and we enjoy the down time, otherwise I think we'd be burned out and not feel like a real vacation.

Whatever you decide, you will have a blast!

 

[Cjtigger]

A little background - DH and I are going in May for our first trip since we were kids. We're both super excited, and planning to rope drop the days that we are there, but I'm worried that we might burn out. We're sort of battling this need to see everything we can during the time we are there (we've already accepted we won't see everything), and whether we should take some time out mid-day to take a break/nap.

I'm wondering if people could give me feedback about what helps them make the decision to go all day vs take a few hours back at the resort. Our FP's for each day end around lunch time, and we have ADR for later in the evening each day excluding AK when we are going to leave the park before dinner to head to Disney Springs for The Void.

Can you tell we're less than 30 days away and I'm starting to panic that I've planned terribly?

A perfect day for me is to get an early start. I get up early, go to the cafeteria to get breakfast while hubby gets ready. We do morning fast passes and book a late night dinner. We go back to the room about 3:00 and go back to the parks about 5:30 - 6:00.

Hubby gets refreshed by taking a nap but I get refreshed by taking a shower and putting on a new look. We then stay for late night fireworks or go to Disney Springs for some shopping.

Those couple of hours make all the difference in the world.

 

[Ladyfish77]

We used to be commando park attendees. Go early and go all day & night. Now that the kids are grown, we enjoy the break. My 21 yr old DS likes to swim so going back is important to him, and we usually all head back for a break. I highly recommend rope drop since you get in the popular rides first thing.