So am I doing it all wrong?

[Karin1984]

The only way to find out if you're "doing it wrong" is to try something else. Don't go by what we or your friend thinks what's best. You have to try once or twice for yourself how a different style of touring works for your family. Maybe you love it, maybe you hate it. Only then you can say if your current style can be improved or that it is already perfect.

 

[mab2012]

Personally, I am in the camp of "no way am I spending that much on tickets for only a few hours of park time". But this reminds me of my first term in university residence. We were math/science majors, so when it came to getting up for early classes, lots of people liked to apply logic along the lines of "I am paying X dollars for this class, so I'm going to get up and go". My roommate took a slightly different angle; her response was "well I am paying Y dollars to stay in residence, so I'm staying in bed!" .

Of course, she did fail all her classes that term, so not sure the reasoning was all that sound.

 

[Oswin]

You're not getting in a lot of park time but if you and your family like what you're doing, it doesn't matter how others do their trips! I generally go at many points throughout the year but my extended trips are always July 1-10. We usually get there at some point in the AM (usually not rope drop though) and stay until about noon, then head back to the resort to swim and nap until 4 or 5 when we head out to the park. We generally have a dinner ADR and close out whichever park is open late that night. Most nights we just end up closing out MK when it's open until Midnight or 1am. I hate just staying in the hotel room to hang out, but we usually stay at Poly so it's easy to head to Trader Sam's or go to Captain Cooks if I want to stay up but not have to be in a park or stay in the room.

 

[Disneylover99]

You might be doing it wrong. From reading your post, it seems to me, that you might like to try something different.
Try rope drop. Try closing out the MK one night. Change it up a bit. Then you can be sure of what you like/don't like.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

There is no "doing it wrong" if you are enjoying your vacation... That being said we would never vacation like that. I wouldn't compare vacations if it works for you.

 

[mrzrich]

What you are doing seems to work for you. If you are looking to tweak things, I have 2 suggestions. Table service breakfast at 9:15 is wasting the least crowded coolest time of touring. Is there anyway to have a snack in the room? Perhaps grab one the night before so its there while you get ready. Then take advantage of the short early day lines and lower temperatures. Eat a later breakfast at 10:30.

You said that you never go to the night time entertainment because DH hates the mass exodus. My advice? Watch the show. Then after the show, find a bench. Sit. Let the mass exodus happen. Then walk out of a nearly empty park. Sometimes MK is open after the Fireworks. Thise are some of the most pleasant hours to tour.

 

[Trap]

are you having fun the way you are doing it. if so keep it that way if not try some new things but do not stress about it just go have fun it is your vacation

 

[Nancyg56]

I don't know if you are doing it wrong. I know that on our August trips we spend a lot more time at the resort, skip most TS breakfasts and plan TS lunch, and have a later TS dinner. It is HOT.

OP- if this works for your why worry what someone else thinks. It sounds like for your family, DIsney is the destination but not the focus of the vacation. My family is soimwhat the same. WE choose DIsney as our destination, do nt stress if we get our "money's worth" out of tickets, and enjoy the resort and dining while on site. I will say that if I wondered if my family was in a rut, I would change it up to see if we experienced more and still relaxed. I woudl plan RD at parks, and eat breakfast later. I would plan more evenings in the parks, and plan dining around the parks, not the parks around dining. WHo knows, you may like a little change.

 

[brockash]

Hi all,

Have you ever compared Disney trips with a friend or colleague and they had a completely different touring strategy and wondered if you were doing it all wrong?

So here's our deal, DH and I have been to WDW with our kids (who are now 8 and 11) about 8 times over the years. Our routine is usually the same;

-Travel time - Always mid August - Always stay on site - Usually do deluxe dining
- Character breakfast at 9:00 - 9:15
- After breakfast maybe an hour at the park - but usually gets so dang hot we hightail it back to
the resort pool (NOTE : DH and DS are very, very heat sensitive so I don't want to burn them out)
- Hang out at the pool till 3/3:30, go in and shower up for dinner (lunch poolside, i'll pick up a quick service meal and bring to the pool)
- Usually have a 5:15 dining ADR
- Go to the park for 2 hours or so after dinner
- Head back to hotel around 8ish, Go to the game room or community hall in the hotel
- If we have a theme park room watch fireworks from balcony (DH hates the mass exodous from a park after the fireworks are over)
- Kids love to hang out in the hotel room and stay up late - hence why we are not up for EMH


We usually only go August due to our schedules. I would love to do early morning at the park, we did a PPO Crystal palace breakfast once and I loved walking down main street without the crowds, but the kids always have fun playing in the hotel room and stay up late. I would have to wake them up early - which DH feels is very un-vacation like. I always think it's important to swim once a day - I like to make memories at the resort swimming (and did I mention how hot it is in August ). But I recently talked to a colleague of mine who had her kids (who are younger then mine) at rope drop every morning of their trip and I was wondering to myself - am I doing this all wrong!?!

I'm just wondering what my fellow DIS boarders think of my touring plan. I appreciate any feedback!
Love, Marina xoxox

If it's what you guys enjoy and the way you guys like it, who cares? Honestly, everyone is different, so whatever works best for you is best. For us, I can't imagine ever doing your touring style (we're more about the parks and are always there at rope drop, and only swim a few times at most,) but if it's what you and your family like then that's right for you.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I agree about eating at the prime time of the morning. Especially in August, where mornings are the best, mose reliable part of the day in terms of weather. That would be one easy thing to change up

But on the other hand, if it's a character meal, then you are kind of getting a park experience (meeting characters) while you sit and eat your breakfast. Not a bad plan. I also understand the desire to eat a real breakfast on vacation. Scarfing down a protein bar at the bus stop isn't exactly relaxing lol

Most people I know in real life who go to WDW spend about 4 hours in the park each day and the rest of the day swimming and eating dinner, etc. I'd say you are probably more the norm than the outlier

 

[GillianP1301]

I agree with others who have stated that if you're happy with how your family tours, then it can't be "wrong". We also always travel in August (last week usually) and we also do deluxe dining. We book 3 meals a day and find those meals are en excellent opportunity to rest and cool down and since we have to eat anyway, not a big loss on time. The only part of your plan that I wouldn't be personally comfortable with is the 3 hours of park time. Even with 3 TS meals, we are still getting 6 - 8 park hours each day and on a late closing night, a few more hours than that. But, we don't spend a lot of time at the resort and in the pool, so there's the trade off.

 

[starjazz]

I get the feeling money is not an issue for OP. That may explain why some folks do Disney differently than others. Matter of fact, I feel like it might have a LOT to do with the differences.

 

[My3Princez]

You are only doing it wrong if you aren't having a good time.

Literally every aspect of your plan sounds like pure misery to me, but if it works for your family, then that's what's important.

I do agree with the pp, tho, I would feel like I wasted tons of money on park tickets if I was only going to be in a park 3 hours a day.

Easier to just quote the stuff I was going to say than type it all out myself, lol. Totally agree with all of this.

 

[loves to dive]

As others have said, there is no right or wrong way. Personally I would never, schedule my day down to every minute, get up at oh my god o'clock in the morning to run after a rope or have my meals booked 60 days in advance. But if that floats someone's boat, good for them, it's their vacation. You do what is good for you and your family.

 

[Praying Colonel]

When I have a recurring bad dream it's usually this: I'm going somewhere to have fun and things keep coming up that keep me from going & having the fun I went there for. For example, I'm going to a casino to play poker but can't find the poker room. Or I'm driving from offsite to Magic Kingdom and keep missing the exit. Etc.

That's what OP's OP sounds like to me. They're there at RD but instead of hitting some attractions they're going for an ADR. Then they get done with that and barely get into their park day and now they have to go back for a break. After the break it's time for another ADR. Then after doing a couple of attractions they have to leave so they can get back to their room to watch the fireworks. I'm getting a little anxious just thinking about it.

But that's me. I'm an early-rising, RD, modified-Commando kind of guy. There are people who do their WDW vacation the exact opposite: they're late-rising, easy-going, stay-late kind of people. And they love doing it that way and think the way I like to do it is a nightmare scenario.

You can come up with just about any park touring philosophy and you'll find people on both sides and they all think their way works best. And it does, for them. So who cares? So long as you enjoy your way, you do you.

I will say this:

The only way to find out if you're "doing it wrong" is to try something else. Don't go by what we or your friend thinks what's best. You have to try once or twice for yourself how a different style of touring works for your family. Maybe you love it, maybe you hate it. Only then you can say if your current style can be improved or that it is already perfect.

We've had to change up from our preferred way of touring at times for various reasons, and we almost always end up having a bunch of fun that way, too. So you can try a different way for a day or 2 and see how you like it.

 

[glassslippergirl]

OP, I think that money holds different value for different people. In your case, money holds value on your vacation by buying you leisure time. You choose to spend that leisure time for a few hours in the park and for the bulk of the day in the resort. You also choose to value your money (through the Deluxe Dining Plan) for dining experiences. Are your children asking for more time in the parks? Are they complaining that they missed certain rides or experiences? Are they fidgeting through breakfast and dinner because of too much time spent on restaurants? If not, then I don't know why you would think that you may be touring Disney "wrong."

 

[AngiTN]

I had the same thoughts. Other than the fact that OP had a conversation with a coworker I'm not sure why they are asking for opinions on their touring style. OP doesn't mention if they are happy, or unhappy, with their current plans.

 

[AngiTN]

Wow, I was kind of surprised how many people were willing to bluntly tell you you ARE doing it wrong. Gotta love the internet. This is why I never ask for feedback.

Well, they did ask. So are folks not supposed to answer their question?
And did anyone truly tell them they did it wrong or did folks tell them that's different than the way we do it?

 

[AllieBoo]

Of course, you should do whatever you and your family enjoy, it's your vacation. That said, your plans would never work for me and my family, lol. We like to spend way more time in the park, and we don't do TS meals or the dining plan. We don't like to get up early everyday while we are on vacation either, so we only plan a few early mornings. This allows us to get to the parks early, do a bunch of rides and then head back to the hotel at lunchtime to swim and relax. On a couple of days, we sleep in, hang out at the resort and don't hit a park until later afternoon.

 

[Pmlocke]

You will never find two people who follow the identical agenda or I like to call it "flight plan" for touring WDW. If you and your family can return from a vacation and say you had a great time, what more do you need to know. I strongly agree with you taking the rest period if the heat of midday. When my kids were younger we had to go to WDW during summer break because we copuldn't take the kids out of school. I hated the heat and humidity and swore that when my wife and I became empty nesters we would never sweat again. We now travel every year in either February of November. Smaller crowds and with a high usually in the upper 70's-no sweat. There is a light at the end of the rainbow and that light is going sans children and finally being able to slow down, enjoy, and traveling when you want-not when the school break allows.