Theme Parks or Resort Hotel?

[duffdo]

What do you guys do at WDW? Do you ever spend the day using the hotel's facilities or would you prefer to jump on a bus to a theme park?

Normally at WDW, I get up early and am straight to a theme park for the entire day and don't get "home" until late. My last couple of trips I have been compelled to spend more time at my resort using their facilities, such as boat/bicycle rental, carriage rides and obviously pools/hot tubs. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed my breaks from the theme parks although I couldn't help feeling I was wasting my theme park pass that I had paid so much for!

Do you guys see the hotel merely as somewhere to sleep, or as I am coming to think of it, part of the holiday itself?

 

[Holstar]

I think it really depends upon your touring style and the makeup of your group.

For us and our upcoming trip, we intend to get up early, hit the parks for rope drop and come back mid afternoon (3/4pm-ish) to relax by the pool for a couple of hours, before going back out for dinner and maybe some EMH, depending upon which parks are open late.

If it were just my OH and I, and not with three children, we'd probably try and tough it out and just do the parks all day - but we'd be stressed and burnt out by the end of two weeks!

For us, a break is necessary, whether its a day by the pool or a couple of afternoons a week, the break is nice and stops us going home thinking we need another holiday! Its definitely more than just a place to sleep for us and I don't feel bad chilling by the pool for a day!

 

[chmurf]

For us, the resort hotel is part of our package. One could argue that paying for park tickets and not going is a waste of money, but I could argue that paying for a resort hotel and not using the ammenities is an equal waste of money. I'd be staying offsite it it were only to have a bed to go back to.

We consider that going to the parks is just one of the many activities offered on property.
Park tickets cost a lot. But breaks at the hotel is what allow us to better enjoy our time in the parks.

We couldn't do 3 straight weeks in the parks, day in, day out. That would be a nightmare. So taking breaks at the hotel is not a waste of time. For us, thinking in terms of "wasting theme park pass time" would amount to thinking in term of "why sleep, it's wasted time"

If you want to use a device, you need to allow it to recharge. Same for the human body. We couldn't do the parks if we didn't take the breaks. Of course we're going for 3 weeks at a time, so it allows us to take it slow and it requires more time off.

But the resort hotel is a big part of our disney holidays, it's even the biggest part. Parks are a thing to do during our trip, not the main objective.

 

[2Tiggies]

For us, the resort hotel is part of our package. One could argue that paying for park tickets and not going is a waste of money, but I could argue that paying for a resort hotel and not using the ammenities is an equal waste of money. I'd be staying offsite it it were only to have a bed to go back to.

It took us two trips before I became wise to this fact. The $15 per person per day we were paying to spend 12-16 hours at a park paled by comparison to what we were paying for a resort that we effectively used as a dorm room. I have not photos from in or around our resort from those trips. Not one! We were never there unless we were in the shower or sound asleep

Although we don't schedule any rest days away from the parks, I make sure that at least every other day, we return to the resort between parks if hopping and have at least one full evening and one full morning there during our trips. This year while at BLT we have planned extra chill out time so we can enjoy being there.

Of course needs change too. Initially I thought we were just doing a once off, then second trip when I got home and booked the following year without even getting our luggage upstairs, straight off the plane and home from the airport ..... I realized that we do not need to spend every waking hour in the parks.

Also, booking a resort with aspects you enjoy makes you want to spend some time there. We fell in love with POFQ in 2010 and actually wanted to break from the parks on many days just to go back and be there for a while, enjoying the atmosphere and decor.

 

[Elise79]

Once you have done the parks once you can feel like you have more time to enjoy the resort.

We stay at DVC resorts so have use of a community hall and DD loves going and doing some of the craft projects in there. We also enjoy being by the pools or just hanging out in the room balcony with some snacks & drinks.

We usually spend a few hours each day in a park leaving by lunch times to enjoy some rest or just do something else. We usually head back to watch the fireworks of an evening unless we head to Celebration for dinner then it will be late before we get back and we just head home

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We always plan to spend time where we are staying. When at CSR we loved te pool area and toasting marshmallows in the early evening. We also came back one night to walk round the lake and have pizza and a drink at the bar

Even if we stay offsite we like to go to the Boardwalk and rent a surrey bike, or get a sea racer or pontoon from FW, it's all part of our holiday

 

[BudgieMama]

We're planning on spending our first evening and our final day at our resort (we're only there 7 nights)- really don't want to miss it!

 

[wayneg]

We tend to goto a park for opening and stay til just after lunch, around 2pm. Then back to our hotel for chill time, that might be in the pool, internet time, sleep etc. Then meal and back into a park in the evening. Its one of the reasons we prefer staying at LBV rather than Idrive or further away, nice and easy to come and go a couple of times a day.

 

[crabbie1]

I think our holidays have changed. I think it is important to have a break and only last night we were looking at wilderness lodge and saying "we never saw that and we never did that".
Some of the resorts have so much to see and do and I need some relaxation time as well as DD having her pool time.
Everybody has their own opinions but as Cmurf said we pay a lot for our disney stays as we do for our park tickets.