RD, Break, Character Meal at 5pm in park with Night-time entertainment

[HatboxHaint]

That in a nutshell is the schedule I'm rolling with on my next trip. Anyone else do something similar?

Why?
RD is the best time in the park.
Afternoons are too hot and crowded and kids like pools.
Character Meals are cheaper at Breakfast, but we are not big breakfast eaters and sometimes they backfire and you lose time in the parks first thing. It's awful starting the day stuffed to the gills and making a run for the attractions.

 

[GoneWDWCrazy]

I'm glad you posted this. I'm doing this at HS on 6/10, and I was worried I was wasting a park hopper opportunity for that day. This makes me feel better

 

[HatboxHaint]

I don't feel like you have to park hop everyday but in my case I will mostly do that but I will have a midday break between parks.

 

[Shelbizzles]

That's pretty much what I plan doing. Prolly not every day. We just try to see how we are feeling. If we are tired we go back. If not we stay. So I feel like being flexible is key. I plan EVERYTHING before we go but if we don't feel like doing something then we don't. We rearrange and do what we want. I feel like some people lose their minds if they don't stick to their schedule but It really makes the vacation so much more enjoyable to do what ya want

 

[Nancyg56]

We do not always RD< but we do try to get out of the parks in the afternoons and enjoy the resort. We head back out later for dinner, sometimes in a park, sometimes not. If we have a hopper we will use it but do nto feel the need to "max" the value.

One of ou favorite meals was CP in the MK at dinnertime. We loved that break before getting ready to see all the evening entertainment, and the character interaction just enhanced how being in the Magic Kingdom feels.

 

[tinkerbella16]

This is how we do it each trip, and each day (without kids). We like to do RD, spend the morning doing the park, and head back to the resort around 12:30-1pm to swim/nap/relax and recharge for the evenings in the park. We always have park hoppers, so we can have the choice of going to a different park in the evenings if we want to. I like having that option.

Our first full day is MK - we have an appointment for my niece to get her first haircut right when they open at 9am, then we will stay and do whatever we can until we leave midday to rest at the resort, and then we have a BOG dinner ADR at 6pm, and we will enjoy the park at night. This is the kind of plan I am trying to stick to, and is not any different than how we've always done things on our trips. It has always worked out. We just can't do the whole open-close thing. I really don't like being in the park when it's at its most crowded and hottest.

 

[Aliceacc]

For the most part, that's our MO.

We don't have too many character meals, and the 2 we do have are breakfast-- 8 am at Crystal Palace, and 10:30 breakfast/brunch at Tusker House.

But we take a break every day. It's important, even with teens.