Talk to me about afternoon breaks...

[elaine amj]

Sometimes we like the breaks, sometimes we prefer to go all day. I usually plan on breaks and then see what the family wants to do.

It's super nice to lay down in a comfy bed in a quiet, dim, air conditioned room. I don't usually let my kids nap on breaks because they stay grumpy forever after waking up. But DH and I have a nice snooze while the kids watch TV.

DH in particular really, really likes the breaks and time for a real nap. one trip, the kids and I hung out in Innoventions while DH went back to Pop to nap. He rejoined us a couple of hours later.

I plan at least 3 hour breaks (preferably 4 hours) to allow for ample travel time and about 1 hour of actual "laying down in bed". On hot days, sometimes that cool shower and fresh clothes is all we need!

 

[Tomh]

Yes, this is leaving me more undecided than before, lol. I will admit, I'm leaning more towards just staying in park, as basically what I'm getting is:

- If we're at the back of the park it'll take about 15-20 minutes to walk to the front
- Then we need to plan on another 15-20 minutes to get back to our car
- Then another 15-20 minutes to drive back to the house

So basically, we've just killed an hour to go back to the house for a 3 hour break, and then have to turn around and do it all over again, except this time we'll be much farther back in the parking lot. And of course the kids will be up late, which I'm not sure how that will go over trying to RD the next morning.

Now... my next question is, on the two late nights we have planned (one at MK for Wishes, one at HS for Fantasmic)... I'm wondering if we shouldn't just arrive in the afternoon and stay through, make use of FP, our DAS card, and indoor/air conditioned attractions, until evening?

I would expect that the 15 to 20 minute ride to your house is optimistic too, depending some on traffic, but yes, 20 minutes to walk to park entrance. At MK you then ride either the monorail or ferry back to the TTC which is going to take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes of your time depending on if you have to wait for a train / ferry, then you have to walk to the tram stop, and wait for a tram, and take the tram to the actual parking lot, then drive to house, and unload there. It is a lot of time spent getting from point a to point b, perhaps as much as two hours of your "break" will be burned in transit.

There are a few ways to tackle Disney World, you have to figure what works best for you. You can do Rope Drop, long mid day break, and then close the park every day. You can just do the whole day at the park, and schedule in a non park day or two when necessary. You can arrive later in the day, use FP+ to get some stuff done, and enjoy the evening hours in the park, and don't worry about rope drop. Personally, I've done one and two, never tried three. One, sometimes we still do it, but usually we find ways to take a break in the park, and stick with two.

When DS was younger, he was good for passing out in his stroller, so we didn't have to worry about him napping, or getting overly tired and cranky, he took care of his own needs quite nicely.

MK is a big park, lots to see and do there. It is very rare that we don't just stay from opening until closing, but your kid(s) will be the deciding factor there. For DHS . . . unless there are real thrill seekers in your family, DHS is a quick park to tour. We skip ToT, and only as of last year started doing RnRC. The only BIG draw in DHS for us is TSMM, and F. We are able to hit TSMM first thing, and pretty much everything else is a show, or walk on, so I would say as long as you don't have to do ToT, RnRC, and TSMM, you can certainly arrive late. If someone in the group absolutely has to do ToT and RnRC . . . then you probably need to get there early to get those two done. However, you could probably hit both of those, and TsMM before 12, and have a significant mid day break, returning say 7:00 or so to hit Star Tours, and then F!

 

[Lucius Best]

Now... my next question is, on the two late nights we have planned (one at MK for Wishes, one at HS for Fantasmic)... I'm wondering if we shouldn't just arrive in the afternoon and stay through, make use of FP, our DAS card, and indoor/air conditioned attractions, until evening?

That's a big advantage of FP+, you can get to a park in the afternoon and have 3 FPs in hand, and taking the morning off would minimize the travel time. For me it might also depend on how many other days we had in the park, because it's tough to give up that prime rope-drop time when crowds are lowest.

 

[ELSA711]

It was more tiring to us to do afternoon breaks. We are more the 10-7 crowd with an air conditioned lunch venue around 1pm

 

[glassslippergirl]

Yes, this is leaving me more undecided than before, lol. I will admit, I'm leaning more towards just staying in park, as basically what I'm getting is:

- If we're at the back of the park it'll take about 15-20 minutes to walk to the front
- Then we need to plan on another 15-20 minutes to get back to our car
- Then another 15-20 minutes to drive back to the house

So basically, we've just killed an hour to go back to the house for a 3 hour break, and then have to turn around and do it all over again, except this time we'll be much farther back in the parking lot. And of course the kids will be up late, which I'm not sure how that will go over trying to RD the next morning.

Now... my next question is, on the two late nights we have planned (one at MK for Wishes, one at HS for Fantasmic)... I'm wondering if we shouldn't just arrive in the afternoon and stay through, make use of FP, our DAS card, and indoor/air conditioned attractions, until evening?

We were just there this weekend. It was hot and crowded, and we stayed all day with our DSalmost3. I'm not sure how old your kids are and an not sure how this would work with more than one kid, but we figured that between exiting the park, taking the monorail then the tram (DS's absolute favorite "ride" in all of WDW), then getting in the car and driving to the hotel, then going into the hotel, DS would be moved around so much and be exposed to so much different stimuli that he would never take a nap. Instead, he just crawled into his stroller or asked to be held when he felt sleepy, and we let him sleep in his stroller for as long as he wanted (which was 3.5 hours on our MK day). As he slept, DH and I nursed a LeFou's Brew, sat and talked under the People Mover, and strolled through some stores. DH is a Floridian who withers in the heat, and he was fine since we had this rest time and were in A/C for a good part of it. DS woke up from his nap and was fine for the evening entertainment though he did fall asleep during the ride back to the hotel.

Your plan to arrive later in the day is a solid one. I'd just follow the kids. If they are awake and excited to go, I'd get going to a park. If they want to sleep or relax at the pool, let them. I've found that there's really no planning for a toddler (again, not sure how old your kids are) at the parks; there's so much going on that their usual schedule flies out the window. Plan your FP's for the early afternoon in case you decide to come later. Then, no matter what, plan a sit-down meal in A/C around 4 or 5-- when it's super humid and the risk of thunderstorms is at its height.

 

[ParrotBill]

I'm curious... do you find it more tiring to be in the park for 8 or 9 hours straight (even if you do find some downtime), or do you find it more tiring to do the go to park/leave, go back/leave? I know DH would prefer not to be in the parks for 8 or 9 hours on end, but wondering how tiring it will be to drive there/back twice.

Also, will there REALLY be that much of a difference in temperature/how it feels between say 2 or 3 pm and 6 or 7 pm?

I agree with sharonabe and the others suggesting ways to take cool breaks without leaving. But, staying in the park all day is harder than driving out and in. Yes, if the sun is out, and if it's during the hot season, and it's humid, there is a huge difference between mid afternoon and evening. Get out of the sun for a couple of hours. You don't have to do the same thing every day. Drive back for a break one day, and go back and stay late but don't do rope drop the next day. Another time, get your break in or near the park, and don't stay as late, so you can make it to rope drop. (Really, only the MK has a good rope drop anyway and once is enough for most.) Get your FP+ reservations so you aren't in a rush to get to attractions first thing.

Here are our favorite cool off places:
MK - Monorail, or any of the MK resort lobbies with quick service lunch (Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary are great for this.)
EPCOT - Impressions de France, The Land
Studios - restaurant or boat to Beach Club and quick service lunch
AK - restaurant

 

[mshanson3121]

Some great input. We have 6 days for parks - so far, we're doing two half days (mornings, both at Animal Kingdom), two days with afternoon breaks (one at HS and one at MK, both because we wanted to have the easy touring of RD, but also want to do the nighttime stuff, so there's no way we can stay through without a break. Also the kids really, REALLY want to do the Jedi Training Academy, and I know we'll have practically no chance of getting them in if we don't arrive until afternoon at HS). Then we had planned a full day a EP and a full day at MK.

Reading all the input, I think we'll just keep the MK day as we had planned (staying 9-3 or 4 or 5...lol, basically whenever they call it quits). That way, we have the option of seeing the parade, and we'll try to make the most of things like Splash Mountain, Casey's splash pad, and indoor rides. I think we'll plan on a nice long break on Tom Sawyers Island, too.

Epcot is the only one I'm not sure on, and (while I know most will be aghast at the idea), we may skip Epcot altogether and instead do a water park, or may just do an evening there, basically focusing on the World Showcase. I wholly agree that Epcot is easily a 2 day park, and there's lots the kids will enjoy, but... it's also a tonne of walking, and it's going to be hot and crowded, and I'm afraid it's going to be much for some members of our group. At the end of the day, it boils down to what they will enjoy the most and what will be easiest on the entire group.

 

[denise5374]

My thoughts on breaks. We always go in the summers and generally in August and have taken breaks every trip. Not every day but most days. Yes it takes time to get back to the room but we find it refreshing to take a quick swim, get a cold beverage and then shower and change clothes. The fresh clothes do wonders for my attitude

This year we are going in June and our group is 4 "parents" and 4 "kids" ages 30,22, 18 and 18 and my schedule is to have breaks every day. We also are eating dinners at 7ish. Some days we are heading back to the parks and some days, Ak and Tl day we will do something else after dinner.

However if the group decides to stay all day in the park, then we will do that.

 

[Ears2YouVlog]

Taking breaks is sooo helpful during summer! Def worth missing a parade. If you can get in a pool for 10 minutes even, do it, then power nap. We like to do rope drop, leave around 12 or 1 and come back around 6 feeling fresh as daisies. Coming just for the afternoon / evening is also a recipe for a great day at the parks!

 

[mshanson3121]

Yeah, I negate everything I said previously - we are NOT spending afternoons in the parks. We'll either do mornings or evenings. Says the mother whose 5 year old has been an utter and total wreck today because of the heat. She's been in misery.

 

[Hootch]

Amazing, it's hotter in Canada than it was today at WDW.