Relax at disney?!

[jessic2422]

My family goes to Disney every year and my husbands biggest complaint is that it is exhausting. My mom and 4 year old will be coming as well. What are your favorite relaxing Disney things to do? We are going in late January so I doubt swimming will be an option.

 

[MissMaryQC]

When I was a squirt my mom always made us take our time. We window shop, sit down to eat a snack, take a long lunch, it wasn't until I got older that I realized she was taking little breaks. It may not be an afternoon at the spa, but it works, and we still do it when we go now.

 

[mediadiva]

My family goes to Disney every year and my husbands biggest complaint is that it is exhausting. My mom and 4 year old will be coming as well. What are your favorite relaxing Disney things to do? We are going in late January so I doubt swimming will be an option.

I think it depends on which resort you stay at if your on property some of them are really lovely to walk around. Some have huge shops, arcade's and some have activities. I like to hang out at the resort some mornings or afternoons, or snuggle in the hotel room and get room service for a nice break.

 

[jessic2422]

We will be staying at the GF which is a life long dream.

 

[JanBlessed]

We like to sit and enjoy meals and snacks (no, we are not overweight ) and people watch if we are sitting at the right place. Downtown Disney strollin' is also relaxing for us. All of this considering you're going in January - since I have also been to WDW during that month.

I also relax on Cinderellas Carousel

 

[texasroni75]

We definitely did a lot more sitting and people watching, and more leisurely meals when we brought my mom along for our trips. She's type who doesn't want anyone fussing over her, so we insisted we all wanted to rest for a bit. Some nights, we brought her back to her room for the night, and then the rest of us went back out to tour the parks some more. Not every minute of the trip has to be everyone doing the same thing at the same time, either - it's ok to split up if some in your group want to slow down.

For me, even just sitting on a bench watching my youngest play at the splash pad at Epcot or Casey Jr soaking station in MK can give me some down-time to regroup.

 

[tchrrx]

My Dh agrees with yours. So, for our next trip,he is planning on booking a couple days at Vero Beach at the end of the week so that we can relax.

 

[elfbo]

We plan in a slow down, non park day, on our trips. We end up doing some shopping at DTD, and mini golf! We also usually spend at least one evening hanging around the resort, and sleeping in late one or two mornings.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I agree with your husband, it can be exhausting. Certainly not a restful vacation. I told my husband the next time we go, I'm slowing it down a bit. He's the type that has to go, go, go. All day and night. And I just can't do it anymore. I plan on having a resort day at the pool and perhaps more than just one day at a water park. Would definitely like to have a spa day. Thought about resort hopping too.

 

[Mainst]

As we say with our 3.5 and 1.5 yr olds- it's a "relocation" rather than relaxation. However, my favorite time to relax is to take a moment to take in the moment. To see how excited the atmosphere is around me.

Try to take in the fact that you are with your 4 yr old and that's totally awesome to have that child.

Back in reality though...I love to get a candy on Main Street and wait for the 3pm parade on the curb in the shade.

Not feeling scheduled to be somewhere and going with where the wind takes you can be less stressful and feel like you add time to your vacation.

Avoid having ADR's overload where you are skipping from meal to meal.

 

[luckyfin]

To keep my DH happy we split up a few times over the course of our vacations. He will separate to get a round of golf in on one of the Disney courses or go to ESPN Zone to watch his beloved Buffalo Bills. It keeps everyone happy and there is absolutely no resentment or hard feelings. It is a vacation, our philosophy is that there should be something for everyone but not necessarily for all.

Food is big on his agenda, also. We make sure to have at least 1 table service restaurant each day, too.

We do stop to smell the roses quite a bit. It is important for us to be able to stop and relax even in the parks. We still somehow manage to get everything done that we want to.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

When my DD's were younger we stayed many times at the FW Cabins. The campground was always a relaxing place for both them and us. They are now in their early 20's and we still make a point to go there to stroll thru. Sometimes we rent bikes . We stop at the store they have and grab some drinks and snacks and sit on their rocking chairs while the world goes by. It is mostly quiet which makes it almost seem you are not at WDW anymore. With a 4 year old you could take in the smores roast with Chip and Dale at dusk or even the movie after. Heck just the adventure of jumping on the monorail from GF to Contemporary(watching 99% of people getting off at MK) then hopping on a boat to the campground is super relaxing.
Enjoy your trip !

 

[DaughteroftheKing]

We are going to stay at POR this year and my dh is excited that they have a place to go fishing there.

Other relaxing ideas:
Sit and watch one of the shows
Do the less "thrilling" attractions like Hall of Presidents, Liberty Bell Cruise, Country Bear Jamboree.
Visit other resorts, browse their lobby/grounds/giftshop

 

[jessic2422]

Thanks everyone! I think he is going to play a round or two of golf which should help his mood tremendously . I am also going to limit our ADR's. that always makes him feel rushed.

 

[LovesTimone]

I would not count out swimming in January, I was there in January and people were swimming at AOA, the pools are heated, not bath water but not frigid. Lots of little ones play in the kiddie area, and parents lounging on the loungers.

There are play ground for the kiddo's at each resort, and some offer a beach like area that the kids can play in and mom and dad and sit and relax along side of them.

You could plan a beach day - Clearwater beach is about 2 hours away with traffic on the gulf coast or Cocoa Beach is on the Atlantic coast maybe the same distance, either would be a great break in the middle of your trip for some relaxing.

You can rent a boat or go fishing, or golfing, lots of options for everyone.

 

[Happyjen27]

Thanks everyone! I think he is going to play a round or two of golf which should help his mood tremendously . I am also going to limit our ADR's. that always makes him feel rushed.

This made the biggest difference between our first non-relaxing trip and our second more relaxing trip.

We still enjoyed many sit down meals, but, we made fewer ADRs to rush to. We didn't do any breakfast ADRs. We still aimed for RD a lot of the time, but the mornings didn't have that compelling feeling of needing to be there for a reservation.

Given your January travel dates (apart from MLK weekend if that's during your trip), you should be able to snag some decent reservations last minute if you decide you want to have a nice meal, especially with the offerings along the monorail route, like The Wave, Kona or even popping over to Epcot on a whim. Just call your concierge and you can have them look for you.

With the advent of FP+, we were also able to sleep in some days. Even if your 4 year old doesn't exactly "sleep in" there is something restful about slowly getting moving for the day.

It's still not as relaxing as other types of vacations, but fewer ADRs and more sleep in days really did make for a more restful "relocation" as a PP put it.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We love the Boardwalk - especially at night. There is always some form of entertainment. We sit and relax. If you don't have an ADR for Beaches and Cream - you can do the walk up ice cream window.

We also love to sit in different hotels lobbies to relax. Especially the GF or the Polynesian.

 

[Mainst]

So glad you mentioned golf. My DH and I have an agreement that he will play 18?holes about 4-5 times. He loves to early. So he will start his day at the gold course at 6am, be back to the rental house by 11am for quick shower, then meet us at the park for lunch. He starts his day out happy and we all get to experience vacation the way we want without giving up family time.

 

[sarahtar]

I could sit and watch the musical fountains at EPCOT all day long. Get a nice drink, prop my feet up. I'd be happy for hours. Next trip we take (not this upcoming one), I have an agreement with the DH that I get to take my knitting and/or a book and have at least an hour on our EPCOT day where he takes all the kids and I can just sit. (The oldest will be 13, so if he wants to sit with me, he will be allowed. The others, not so much.)

 

[jessic2422]

I have a 3 year old, we won't be sitting . We actually went to Disney several times before child and I still made him rush quite a bit. We did drink and eat our way around Epcot hitch is one of his favorite activities.