Rest Breaks?

[vhoffman]

Many times I've seen the advice to take a break in the afternoon while at the parks. Usually one is advised to return to their hotel, have a swim, nap, light lunch, then return restored for round two. We went to WDW our first trip last April and didn't feel the need for an afternoon break. (we are two adults and two 6-year olds). We just didn't feel we could justify so much time going back and forth (we stayed at the polynesian, but it still took almost an hour to get there and back from Epcot, maybe 45 min. back and forth to MK). The parks closed early then, MK closing at 7 pm. We wanted to see what we came for, not spend our time napping like old people! Wouldn't it be better to take a break of sorts in the park, such as a nice sit-down meal, or a show? To actually return to your hotel, swim, shower, nap, eat and return to the action would take at least 3-4 hours. Plus, my dh would be out of the notion of returning after his "break". Such a break would eat up half the day and the parks would be close to closing when we'd return.

Just curious--how many actually take such breaks and do they really think they're worth it? I think better to do like we did last time. We slept in until about 9 am (after all, this is an vacation), arrived at the parks about 10:30--11 am, saw what we wanted to see, and returned to our hotel around 8 pm. We usually ate dinner in the park. We got to bed around 10 pm, so were well-rested for the next day. IMO, that's better than getting up at the crack of dawn, rushing to be the first in line, have whiny, cranky kids about 10 am, whine through the next hour or so, then return to the hotel for a break, then try to drag whiny, cranky kids and disinterested dh back to the parks for round two.

 

[CaipiraBob]

When our kids were 3 and 5, we would go ner opening and stay until around noon. We'd returned to let the kids nap and then either return to a nearby park or do stuff around the resorts. 4-6 hours a day for the kids seemed more than enough time taking into account we're local and stay for 3-4 days at a time if not a week.

It really depends on how the weather is and how your kids are doing. Our kids no longer need naps in the afternoon. The next time we'll have to play it by ear and see how they hold up. The first sign of "Grumpy" possessing my child and we'll be out of there for a break...

 

[trracers]

I think alot of depends on when you go. I also go at "slow" times when the park closes early, so we don't do much of the "go back and rest thing". If I was there again in May or summertime when the parks are open late and it was horribly hot, I would take the break.

 

[FloridaCat]

It should be based on time of year as in April the humidity has not kicked in and little people can go longer. During late June through end of August our temps and humidity goes off the chart and then I think a break is required, especially for little people.. As a gage, if you are totaly worn out at around 1:00 PM, a break should be considered as from that point the temp and humidity continues to increase until around 4:00 PM. Wonder why you never see anyone working on road improvements during the day if Florida? It is done at night.

This is why, of many, reasons the park hours are increased. If nothing else, grab a Mickey Bar and find some shade and cool your jets. It is also during this time it is better to hit the counter type diners and eat light. A big sit down meal during the day is going to increase your fatigue. We save our big meal until the end of the day; if that does not work then we just snack.

 

[jkovick]

I think a lot also depends on your touring style. Part of our trips are touring parks, seeing the sights. The other half of our trip is being leisurely and resting. We have found that we can cover alot of the attractions we want to see in the first few hours. We then take a break from the parks and have a leisurely meal or a dip in the pool or even take a nap(all things our crazy schedules don't allow ordinarily). We then hit the parks again for a couple of hours before closing. I think it all depends on your family.

 

[DrTomorrow]

As an 'old napper' at the advanced age of 42, (is Matlock on yet?) I'm an advocate of the afternoon breaks. Of course, DW and I are up at 7 every morning (I can sleep in at home - this is WDW!) and off to the parks as early as we can. So by 12 or 1 we're ready for a break - not necessarily a nap, but a dip in the pool, a cool drink and some AC; we like to enjoy the resort we're staying at. After an hour or two, we're re-energized and off to another park.

One thing I've noticed for DW and I (and I've talked to others who have agreed): WDW is an overstimulating place. There's far too much to take in here; more to do than can ever be done. And after 3-5 hours of rapid-fire attractions, we get what we call "the staggers" - where we are staggering from ride to ride, overloaded and not really in the Magic mood anymore. So we find that a break does wonders.

Of course, YMMV - you know what works best for you.

 

[grinningghost]

It's really a personal thing. For me, a break is necessary. I have MS and poop out quickly, especially in the heat. I find that a nice midday swim or short nap revives me and makes me ready to continue having fun. If I keep on going without stopping, I'm usually getting cranky by 3:00 and just want to collapse. Besides, I pay a good buck for the use of my hotel pool, I might as well swim in it.

 

[HairyAriel]

Sleeping until 9am each morning is your rest break. Most people who go back to the hotel for a swim or to break up the day have already been at the parks for early entries or lined up for park openings before you are even out of bed. Why dont you just arrange for a noon wake up call and be done with it. Also, whiny,cranky kids are usually just following the example they live with.

 

[nataliesdaddy]

as to the take a break thing - I would think it is a function of the heat, the crowds, and your personal tempermant, what time of year you go - I think many people assume also that the person is traveling with children. Our last trip was june 8-15. It was by my standard blazing hot -

If you are going during a downntime of the year when crowds are minmal or non existant then hanging all day is not a problem as you could do everything at a very liesurely pace and get a great deal done - the trip I did when I was twenty one with my ex was like that - the park was almost empty - very casual days - never had any need to return to room... did rides, shows, lunch and dinner at the parks

This last trip though by 2pm everyday my daughter wanted to return to the hotel to have snacks or go swimming anyway. There was no set "we have to go for a nap". I let my daughter lead in that respect. If she wanted to leave we left - if she wanted to stay we stayed. we were up early though every morning - by showing up early and then leaving and returning or not returning I am pretty sure we were able to cram more things into day then people who arrived at 11 or so accomplished all day. Summer hours mind you - by being there early we had 5 to 8 rides done before lunch - we averaged 12 activities a day and that even though we left at around 2 everyday.

Is it possible to take break times at the park? sure... we did that our last day - we had no resort hotel to return to so we took breaks sitting in shaded places, on benches, getting something to eat. etc - and it was a pleasant day also.

 

[kashkdz]

I dunno my DW and I are in our early 30's and when we've taken our DS8 and DD5 before we woke up around 7:00, and were eating a PS breakfast around 8:30. We only returned to our hotel (whether onsite/offsite), only at the end of the day which usually was around 9-10:00pm (maybe slightly earlier to eat dinner at our hotel). We've been to Disney many times, and maybe because we often go in November, but I've never felt it necessary (or time efficient) to return to the hotel, nor does my DW. I guess if the kids start complaining and carrying on, that's a different story. Are we just in Disney commando mode of what ??!!! But if the kids don't seem to mind, we have yet to return to take a mid-day nap. And yes, I agree if I did take a nap, I would probably not be able to return to the parks for that day.

 

[Cindy'sCastle]

This last trip we took a break every day around 1 or 2, then went back around 5. It worked great for us honeymooners. But a few years ago when I brought my DD (around 6 at the time), on our last day I didn't want to waste any time going back to the room but she needed a break. So we hopped on board the monorail and took a long break just riding around. We just never got off and rode it for around an hour. It was cool (A/C) and my DD took a little nap. We just enjoyed the ride.

 

[FloridaCat]

That was a cool idea.