Too long of a stay?

[esmee1sttip]

DDs are requesting a 2 week stay at WDW. I notice tickets for the parks are only for 10 days (except for AP).
* Has anyone else stayed for that time period?
* If so, what was your general itinerary?

We will be staying in August 2016 (I know, hot!) and I imagine we will be incorporating frequent breaks. My children are older (they will both be teens by the time we go to WDW) but they are not fans of a lot of heat. I need some feedback on those that have gone for longer time periods so that I know if this is reasonable or just crazy. Thanks in advance!

 

[NinaBella]

DDs are requesting a 2 week stay at WDW. I notice tickets for the parks are only for 10 days (except for AP).
* Has anyone else stayed for that time period?
* If so, what was your general itinerary?

We will be staying in August 2016 (I know, hot!) and I imagine we will be incorporating frequent breaks. My children are older (they will both be teens by the time we go to WDW) but they are not fans of a lot of heat. I need some feedback on those that have gone for longer time periods so that I know if this is reasonable or just crazy. Thanks in advance!

I think a 10-day park ticket goes well with a 14-day (2 week) stay. You will not want to be in the park every day. On the non-park days you can go to DTD, the outlets, hang by the hotel pool, movies, etc. I think if you tried to his the parks 14-days in a row you will become dehydrated, sunburned, feet tired or swollen, etc. If you think you can hit the parks all 14-days, you could also add in Universal Studios.

 

[zianha]

I agree with NinaBella! You won't want to be in the parks all 14 days. You could even look at tickets for less than 10 days and maybe add water park tickets. There's so much more to do than the parks! You could also play miniature golf, there's Splitsville in Downtown Disney (which will be called Disney Springs in the future). It's also fun to resort hop to see the all the different Disney resorts. Check out stuff like Boardwalk's games and Surrey bikes. You can easily fill 2 weeks without being at the parks the entire time!

 

[tzolkin]

All of our previous trips have been at least 11 nights.

Park hoppers are a must for us. The long stay plus ability to hop allows for a great deal of flexibility. I usually plan one part of each day (ex. Morning EMH at AK on Monday, dinner at Epcot on Tuesday, etc) and then just do whatever we are in the mood for (like after a morning at MK maybe we feel like taking the monorail to Epcot or maybe the kids want to go swim and relax at the resort and head to HS later in the evening).

More days means more breaks and less pressure to "fit it all in". On day 4 you don't feel guilty leaving MK at 10:30am to escape the heat because you know there are still 6 more park days you can return and ride the things you missed. On a shorter trip, I may feel obligated to stay at MK all day if we only have one day there.

For our last two week trip (also in the august heat) our itinerary was nice dinner and no parks on arrival day, 5 park days, took the weekend off (MIL got a room at our resort for two nights, so we had some nice meals, spent time at the pool, went to DTD, and watched the outdoor movies at the resort), then went 5 more park days, slept in and left around noon on the last day. Most days we would do rope drop (usually EMH), leave the park by around 11, relax at the resort (maybe nap or swim), and then go to a different park (often staying out late for pm EMH). Some days we went to 3 parks in a day.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Upgrade to WPF&M tickets & you'll have something to do every day. Especially with teens...in August.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I think 14 days would start feeling more like a chore or inconvenience than a vacation.

 

[Crystal824]

I would get the WP&M feature on your 10 day ticket if you are into Waterparks. In the alternative, you could visit Universal or Sea World in addition to Disney. Orlando has so many things to do. You definitely won't be bored.

 

[Minnesota!]

I think 14 days would start feeling more like a chore or inconvenience than a vacation.

Not even close! It feels like a true vacation...so much time to just be relaxed. You can sleep in, lounge, stroll, pool time, take in a movie/bowling/mini golf/resort hopping/people watching etc. without feeling like you are missing out on something.

We love doing 2 weeks in August. The heat is amazing..forces you to slow down, anyway, but it really (at least for us) rejuvenates us.

 

[GatorMama]

The only way I'd do a fourteen day trip was if I did NOT have parks planned for everyday! I think Id skip the hopper option but add WP&M. The you can decide if you want to do RD with EMH or go to the park with the lesser crowds after sleeping in. I'd plan to spend several days doing the pool or DTD or eating at resort table service restaurants.

 

[kuhltiffany]

I love the idea of going for that long, we always feel rushed and never spend enough time out of the parks. So many things to discover, the activities at Fort Wilderness, DTD, pools at the resort, etc. My only worry would be accommodation-wise. I'd need some space, we tend to get one room and for a 2 week stay that would be too close quarters for me!

 

[glassslippergirl]

My only worry would be accommodation-wise. I'd need some space, we tend to get one room and for a 2 week stay that would be too close quarters for me!

Another option could be a split stay. I can't speak for your teens, but as a teen, I would have brought a boatload of stuff which I may or may not keep organized. Changing hotels would give a change of scenery while also requiring the stuff to be reorganized and getting a fresh start in a fresh room.

 

[HopperFan]

Upgrade to WPF&M tickets & you'll have something to do every day. Especially with teens...in August.

THIS. There is plenty to do in Orlando to keep you busy for a month. Lots of new things opening this summer including the Orlando Eye. But this is the best option to do in August, adding this gives you 10 entries to water parks and more along with your 10 big park days.

 

[DisMom829]

We're doing a 14 day stay end of June beginning of July. I have arrival day as dinner & shopping at DTD, 2 park days, 1 "off" day to go to a waterpark, repeat this pattern, with the exception of one day to go to the outlet malls, departure day is breakfast at Trail's End and head home! We're so excited to do our long stay!

 

[ImDMous]

Too long on vacation at WDW??? I don't understand the question...

 

[esmee1sttip]

Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions! We will definitely be planning on water park days, DTD, hotel day and I know we have to go to Universal for at least 1 day. Gleaned from your posts of helpful hints:
1. Plan on incorporating mid-day breaks
2. Possibly Park hoppers but definitely Water park add on to tickets
3. Universal
4. DTD, dining, resort days off from park
5. Possibly other Florida attractions outside of Disney
6. You can NEVER stay too long at WDW

Too long on vacation at WDW??? I don't understand the question...

I know, what was I thinking?!

 

[indimom]

We took a 14-day trip in 2010. Our kids were 10 and nearly 13.
We got 10 day park hoppers with water parks and more. We had no problem filling all 14 days that way.
Disney Quest was great for DH and the kids. Next time, I'll drop them off and wander DTD.
(I'm not into video games, so I just found it loud, and there was no where to sit while they played.)
We fell in love with the water parks. They were fabulous. As fun as the regular parks, but less stressful/more relaxing.

 

[MidgeD79]

We like to go for 14 days. I like to buy a 6 or 7 day hopper/water park ticket.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm with midge, you probably don't need a 10-day ticket.

 

[michael's mom]

We're going 11 days this August and only getting 7 day hoppers. My kids are still young and the CBR pool is exciting enough for them so we're skipping the WP&M feature this time. Even with 14 days, I don't know that you'd want 10 days in the parks...maybe get a shorter ticket (6-8 days) with the hopper and wpm to give you the most flexibility within your days, also allowing you park free days to do the other fun stuff (or outside of WDW stuff).

 

[married2mm]

Too long on vacation at WDW??? I don't understand the question...

Nor do I.

Last August, we had our longest trip (so far!!)
We had an amazing 21 nights-and only had 1 day without parks.
2 days at universal-and the remaining 18 in our happy place.
Absolutely fabulous.