Those that take afternoon breaks-what times?

[jrandall]

Ok so there are lots of posts about going back to the hotel for breaks but what I specifically would like to know is about what time do you normally go back if you do these afternoon breaks. Then, if you decide to go back to the parks what time do you go back to the park? I'm thinking a break like this is going to take a lot of time so I'm still debating if i should just try it or just plan for a shorter day without going back to the park. Thanks everyone!!

 

[Shmily01]

We drive so we don't have to wait on buses and such. We don't do breaks on AK days and sometimes not on HS days. But for Epcot and MK, we get there at rope drop and leave right around lunch (noonish). We usually head back to the park around 3 or 4. We don't have small kids so they don't usually nap so for us it's to get out of the heat and swim and rest.

 

[Belle612]

We usually get to the parks around 10AM, stay until 2 or 3PM, and then return again around 6 or 7PM when we typically have dinner reservations. We use the break to nap, go to the pool or just relax in the room so we can stay in the parks until closing...this is especially important when MK is open until midnight or later!

 

[starsweeper]

My kids (8, 8, 4 & 3) have mainly given up naps at WDW, so we go at RD and stay until 4-5pm, dinner and bedtime as usual.

When we did breaks, we usually arrived for RD, left the park at 1pm, took a nap/went to pool/did laundry at resort until 4-5pm, back to the park by 5-6pm (DH returned with toddlers for bed at 7-8pm while the older kids and I closed the park).

 

[Xennia]

I make sure to get up early. I'm at Disney. I can't sleep anyhow. I try to be at the parks by rope drop. If not as early as I can get there. I usually ride all rides I wanted by 11 sometimes noon. Then I get back to the room, eat my yummy packed lunch, put on my suit head to the pool for 30 min to hour. Back to the room. Nap for an hour. Then head back to the parks.

Depending on magic hours and how late the park is open is how I plan my days.

I find it so relaxing so break it up. I am not a person who can go all day with crowds and then make it till night. I need a break.

 

[Masonmj84]

We're early risers. Usually either do a pre-park opening character breakfast or otherwise arrive at least 30-40 minutes before RD.

Usually head back to the resort between 1 and 2 pm (we split between different resorts so we're always very close to the park we're visiting on a given day).

Don't return to the park until after dinner (7 pm ish). We focus on low-key stuff in the evenings (for example, if in Epcot, we may walk around World Showcase and go to one of the movies in Canada, France, or China).

 

[AuntNi]

Like Xennia, I cannot make it from rope drop through late-night without a break. I'm like a three-year-old - I get overstimulated and need some quiet time. Last trip, we went from rope drop until 2:30p or so. Drove back to condo (10 mins) and either swam or relaxed in the A/C. Ate dinner in the condo then headed back to park from 6pm until after the fireworks.

Basically, the time we leave the parks coincides with the time all the napless toddlers whining and parents yelling at nap-deprived toddlers reaches a crescendo!

 

[Hootch]

It depends on the crowds to some degree. If there is an 8 AM EMH, we will leave 11:30 or so (or eat around that time and leave). Add an hour for 9 AM days. We usually return 5:30-6:00 if park closing is 11 or later

 

[ZoZo]

One thing to keep in mind is the time of year you're traveling. If you go during a time when the parks are open late (summer, spring break, late December), then an afternoon break might make sense. Especially in the weather is really hot and humid! Afternoons are the hottest part of the day in the summer, and getting away from the heat, humidity, and crowds is smart. Go to the parks early, take a break after lunch, then go back late afternoon till the parks close.

If you go during a slower time, when the parks close fairly early in the evening, afternoon breaks might not make sense for you. I usually go in either October or February. Park hours are shorter, with AK closing at 5:00 pm, and the other parks usually closing between 7:00 and 9:00 pm (except for those with an evening EMH). If you take a long break in the afternoon, it really eats into your available park time.

Here's my "math." Say a park is only open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. That's 10 available hours of park time if you stay from open to close. If you take a break, it can take 30 to 45 minutes just to get back to your resort if you're taking Disney transportation (or potentially longer if you're staying at a non-WDW hotel). Count on another 30 to 45 minutes to get back to the park, and you're talking about a potential of an hour and a half just for travel time. Add in a break for an hour or two, and you'd be taking about ~3.5 hours for your break. If you only have 10 hours of available park time, you've eaten up about a third of your potential park time for a break. Not so great, right?

So when I see the advice of "take an afternoon break" here on the DIS, I would say that you should take that advice with a grain of salt. Even if you have little kids that are at an age where they nap, I have heard some folks say they try to get them to "stroller nap" or maybe take a break in a nice, air-conditioned restaurant as an alternative to going back to their resort.

 

[WhispyPixie]

We are usually at the parks by 8:30..stay until 2ish..head back...pool/take a nap/shower/chill and are back at parks by 6:30...it works for us!

 

[cakebaker]

We are at a park opening every morning- usually take our break around noon and eat lunch in the park before leaving or stop around 11 and eat at our resort. The time we return to an afternoon park varies somewhat but generally we go to a different park in the afternoon around 5-6, depending on where we're going to eat dinner. Earlier if we're eating at the park, later if we're eating at the resort. We stay at the evening park until close.

If there's an emh evening, we'll head to that park for our evening park, but usually go back later that 5-6 depending on how late it's open.

 

[lustergirl]

I get there early around 9am, staying for awhile until around 2pm, head back to my room for a rest, then hit another park around 5pm.

 

[Belle61513]

We try to do rope drop (or close to it) most days. We're back at the hotel napping or swimming around 2-5 and on our way back to whatever park/restaurant around 5-6; depending on how late the next park is open.

I find it really helps us accomplish everything we want to without getting burned out.

 

[dobtia]

When we go to AK or DHS we normally don't take a break. We get done around 4 or 5 and then use the evening for swimming, DTD, touring resorts and the such. That is unless we are doing Fantasmic.

MK and EPCOT we are rope drop people. Get there before 9 and go until 12:30 or so. Rest from 1 to 4 ish and then head back for meal and evening time. EPCOT can be divided into two separate days like many do.

We are not park hoppers.

 

[sweetnjmom]

We get to a park at rope drop and stay until noon or so on days we take a break. My 5-1/2 year old son does NOT nap (and he didn't nap at age 4, during our last trip) but he loved the time in the pool in afternoon. We will not take afternoon breaks on our main MK day or our AK day, but the rest of the days we'll be park hopping--one park in the AM and another in the late afternoon/evening.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

The length and type of break we take depends on the time of year. In December, it was nice and cool and just the bus ride while park hopping was generally enough of a break.

If it's in the summer and it's hotter than a frying pan, we'll usually tour from RD to 11:30, stop for lunch, then go back to the resort for a swim and maybe some downtime, and then head back to the park around 6:00.

 

[karpy111]

Usually do rope drop till around 1-2 depending on if we eat lunch there or at the resort. Then go back let the kids swim and nap. Then to dinner around 5:30 - 6 and back in the park by 7 ish. A park like AK we just stay all day since we only go there one day.

 

[Bete]

Naps have always allowed us to get more park hours in per day overall. If it didn't we wouldn't take naps. For this to work for us it meant getting to the park at rope drop including extra magic hour times. We would have lunch at the park anywhere from 11 am to noon. After lunch we would return to the resort for the nap. Most of the time the naps were two hours long with a few of them going for three hours. Then, we returned to the park around 4 pm to 5 pm and enjoyed the park until 11 pm or midnight.

For Animal Kingdom Park we never took a nap. The park hours are not long enough there.

 

[tcherjen]

For us it is rope drop, then we leave around noon or so. We relax till later in the evening and usually go to a different park.

 

[Masonmj84]

One thing to keep in mind is the time of year you're traveling. If you go during a time when the parks are open late (summer, spring break, late December), then an afternoon break might make sense. Especially in the weather is really hot and humid!
If you go during a slower time, when the parks close fairly early in the evening, afternoon breaks might not make sense for you. I usually go in either October or February. Park hours are shorter, with AK closing at 5:00 pm, and the other parks usually closing between 7:00 and 9:00 pm (except for those with an evening EMH). If you take a long break in the afternoon, it really eats into your available park time.

I think this is good advice if you value maximizing park time, especially if you are staying off-site or relying on Disney bus transportation.

However, as some posters have noted, some people need a break from the parks, especially when the crowd levels ramp up (even during relatively slower times, the parks tend to get pretty crowded by early afternoon). I typically go during relatively slower times and, like some of the previous posters, I tend to feel overstimulated by 1-2 pm. I just get "parked out" (even if the weather is fantastic).

If I were to stay in the park during the rest of the afternoon, I may be maximizing my park time, but I would not be maximizing my vacation enjoyment. For me, that afternoon time is best spent relaxing back at the resort. But for others, that time may be best spent in a park.

In sum, I think personal preference matters just as much as any of the other factors discussed on this thread (time of year/park schedules/weather, kids' ages, proximity of your hotel to the parks, etc.).