Relaxing WdW trip?

[Taratink]

Any advice on how to plan a relaxing trip. We have gone 2 years in a row and we were exhausted the whole time. My kids are now 4 and 5. How do you slow things down with out feeling like your gonna miss something? Our next trip will be off-site ay a 2 br. suite.
Tara

 

[kcarp]

One thing I find that helps; we go for a longer period of time where you’re not rushing every day to cram everything in. I went to Disney for 17 days camping at FW and I felt like I lived there. It was one of the most relaxing trips we had. The key is getting it out of your head that your not going to miss something, and if you do, catch it on your next visit.

Have fun

 

[Taratink]

My husband cannot stand to be away from home more than 6 days. It seems that when we are starting to relax it is time to go home. My Mom might be traveling with us this year so maybe we can get a night off from the kids. That would relax us.

Tara

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

One thing I find that helps; we go for a longer period of time where you’re not rushing every day to cram everything in. I went to Disney for 17 days camping at FW and I felt like I lived there. It was one of the most relaxing trips we had. The key is getting it out of your head that your not going to miss something, and if you do, catch it on your next visit.

Have fun

I was going to say the same thing. Give yourself more time. But if your DH won't take more time, then there is only one thing to do. Don't go in with the expectation that you will see everything and get to do everything.

Make a list of the top 10 rides that each person in the family wants to go on. Then, when you hit that park, make sure to get to all of those rides. Then you can come back to your condo and relax by the pool or something.

Last September we had this spur of the moment trip planned. We were going for one week but were only going to go to Universal one day and the rest was going to be hanging out at the resort. We had won one week at Cypress Pointe Grand villas on Skyauction.

Well, we decided to go for two weeks when I saw an auction come up cheap for Vistana. (My DH is self employed and we homeschool, so this is how we were able to pull this off) So we decided to add MK to our plans.

Now keep in mind, this was TWO WEEKS IN ORLANDO AND ONLY TWO PARK DAYS. Well, Hurricane Frances came in so we weren't able to use the second week that we had won (using that this Dec.......yeeeehaaaaa!!), but we did use the first week and did the two park days, Universal and MK.

I cannot tell you how great this week was. Usually, we were on-site and everyday was a park day. This time we wanted something different and we got it. We had a great time by the pool, we went to some great restaurants and just had a relaxing vacation. And it was only one week, just like you will have. But we really limited what we did, park-wise.

I'm not saying only do two park days, but just know going in, that if you want a WDW vacation AND you want a relaxing vacation, you're going to have to slow the pace down a bit. But you will be happier for it.

Good luck in planning.

 

[fac]

I agree with the previous posters that don't try to do everything.

We went last July and had stayed on-site. It was the first time I had everything planned, we were able to see and do a lot, but I don't feel too relax. My kids are 4 and 6, DH does not like WDW, he went along to entertain us and be the driver.
This past April, we also had a spur of the moment trip, we stayed off-site, we went to Sea World, Busch Garden, Water park and MK for one day, went 2 days to the beach, never tried to be there when the park opened but were there quite early, but all of us have a great time includig DH. I think the following help

a. The weather was good and the lines were short.
b. We ( or I ) didn't try to do everything. Say we had already been to MK last summer, therefore the rides "I wanted" to introduce to DD6, we already tried. For anything that we might miss, we can always do it the next time. Say we have park hopper ticket, I liked to bring them to Epcot after MK, but we only stayed in MK. I liked to get see the Wishes, but we left at dinner time, they got to see the parade. Seriously, they are too young to know what they missed, and I just need to get it out of my head though.

 

[MKCP5]

We are going again in this summer. We are going for 8 days and are planning 3 park days. Each one fun and full of activities, but a day or more off between each. Time to use the beautiful resort we are in, time to hang out together, time to sleep in. I know it is hard, because I too am a go go go person and planner. But it isn't as if you will never see the parks again. Plan to do the 5oth anniversary things that will be gone next time, and a few of your favorites from each park! Have fun!

 

[sanibelover]

I think the most important thing for a relaxing trip is to go at a slow, cooler time of year. The heat really zaps you and jockeying for position all of the time gets old real fast. My husband and I went the week before Thanksgiving week, and it was great as far as crowds go. We weren't even tired when we got back to the room at night becasue we weren't fighting the crowds and heat all day.Of course the other thing for a relaxing trip is to leave the kids with Grandma (like we did!!!). Makes a world of difference......

 

[kalamazoo]

After many WDW trips with the kids what works best for us is this:

We get to MK early. Throughout the morning we grab fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. We ride some rides that don't have a long wait and visit with characters. At some point we'll split up so my ds can go on Haunted Mansion and dd can go on Snow White. We do some of the rides on the other side of the park either right before lunch or after lunch. We eat lunch around 11:30 or a little earlier (it is 1000x less crowded and noisy and much more relaxing). After lunch we usually have some fastpasses due so we do that. Then on the way out we grab a treat for everyone and sit down to eat that and then we leave usually before the parade (though we always see the parade at least once).

At the villa (we always rent a villa if we have the kids with us) we take the kids swimming or let them play. Then we get them cleaned up and they eat supper and watch tv. We put them to bed and have our dinner in peace, watch a little tv and go to bed.

For the rest of the parks we generally try to get there for opening and leave by 3 o'clock or earlier.

Don't bother rushing to get to MGM early unless you want to ride RnR or ToT or shop because there is absolutely nothing else going on until 10 am (I always found that kind of odd). Maybe the times will be different when you go. Anyway, on MGM days we usually go out for breakfast.

We do not wait in line if the stand-by wait time is more than 20 minutes. We don't rush through lunch or eat as we are walking.

All this helps our WDW vacations to be busy but still relatively relaxing.

HTH

 

[f7prez]

We have the luxury of having gone to Disney many times and have seen most everything. We can now go and just do the things we like, and take our time.

What we found that helps us maintain our energy level is to take a day off from the theme parks after a full day of park hopping. We usually buy passes with plus features. After a full day at the Magic Kingdom, we would spend the next day at Blizzard Beach relaxing in the shade. Go down a few water slides and rest some more. Third day we would go to Epcot, fourth day Typhoon lagoon. We think the water parks are just as much fun as the theme parks.

Like others have said before me, slow down and do what you can. Your kids will probably have more fun at a relaxed pace.

 

[HeatherC]

We also usually go for around 10 days. But if that is not possible, we would just do one day "on" and one day "off". Meaning we would go to a theme park one day, hang out the next at the pool and maybe late afternoon visit the boardwalk or downtown disney area. My kids (4,6 and 8) just aren't happy if we go commando style. And since we go so often, I now feel like I can relax and chill a bit more.

HeatherC