Too Rushed Offsite...!?

[Emme]

We stayed offsite last April at Windsor Palms and really enjoyed it. We had a 3 bed/bath for 4 of us. It was beautiful. My 80 year old mom was with us and she got her room downstairs with her own bath...perfect.

We are AP holders and are going again this March. We will be there only 6 nights. Mom really wants to stay here again. The only problem we felt was that we were too rushed.
Get up, get showered, dress, drive to the parks, park, head in, tour, eat lunch, go back to house, redress and maybe shower again, head back to the parks or hotels for dinner, come home, sleep...

Now before you all say "Every Disney vacation is hectic...lol" there is a difference than staying onsite.

Can you PLEASE give me any hints/tips/suggestions on how to slow down and make it a bit more relaxing. I am literally exhausted by the end of the week. We have been going to Disney for years but lately it's seems worse (maybe I'm just getting older...lol). It's like we try to get every ounce out of evrey park and meal (commando touring). Any remedy to take it just a bit easier? THANKS!!!

 

[kty]

Vacations at parks can be hectic, but, maybe if you did not go back to your place during the middle of the day? I know many people do this, but once we are out, we stay out. Cuts down on alot of running. it takes a while to get through the parks, to the car (or bus) and to the room. Then, you need to reverse it all to get back to the parks.

 

[spiceycat]

4 of you - what are their ages?

some of it might be you are taking your elderly mother with your child. that is not always a good situation. yes your mother is there to baby sit.
but there are things your mother can't do - that maybe your child wants to do. not saying don't take your mother - took mind every year until she went in the nursing home.

just remember the age different and different wants. If you are between these two - yes it is hard.

one year took my niece and my mother at the same time - NEVER again.

how much help is your spouse? if he is leaving everything to you - then again you are in the middle.

next time slow down. don't try to do everything - or be everything to everyone one.

you need some time alone. make sure you get it. even if it means hiring an outside baby sitter.

you can't see everything or do everything that WDW has in a week. So don't even try it. just do the 5 top things at every wdw theme park on everyone list. that is all. then go back to the villa and appreciate it.

take time to smell the roses and see the little things that Disney does so well.

on the things list - make certain everyone understands that only 5 things per park. yes you can see others (if YOU want too) after this. but those 5 things first.

also might let your husband go to the parks by himself if he is the problem.

this is definitely easier onsite than offsite. but you, your mom and your child can just stay in the villa and enjoy it.

 

[disneystacy]

Vacations at parks can be hectic, but, maybe if you did not go back to your place during the middle of the day? I know many people do this, but once we are out, we stay out. Cuts down on alot of running. it takes a while to get through the parks, to the car (or bus) and to the room. Then, you need to reverse it all to get back to the parks.

I agree. We stay offsite and once we are out, we stay out. We book our restaurants (lunch, dinner) in the park we are in that day and save other restaurants (in hotels) for days we are taking a break from the parks. We also break up the trip by having a few non park non crazy days.

 

[Emme]

It' me, DH, son (20), and mom (80) No, MOM comes along beacuse we luv her...lol. No babysitter needed. She kept up with us really well, she's amazing. My husband is also GREAT!! Whatever I want to do he's right there.

It's really no one person that's a problem. It was just so much rushing around for everyone. Just race from one place to another. I would love to just try a different approach after 10 years of fast paced touring but not sure how to go about it.

 

[davinakb]

We book our restaurants (lunch, dinner) in the park we are in that day and save other restaurants (in hotels) for days we are taking a break from the parks. We also break up the trip by having a few non park non crazy days.

We try to just avoid cramming too much into one day. If we plan a pool/shopping day out of the parks, that is the night we do a resort dinner (makes it easier to change). We also try to avoid special trips, so if we are doing SW we swing by the Premium outlets either before/after. If doing a MK party, that is pool or shopping day or relax at home day. Plus we've been a lot so we don't rush to the parks to go open-to-close; we keep our own pace and enjoy doing whatever we can. FWIW.

 

[FayeW]

We stay offsite, and don't feel rushed at all, but we tend to stay out for the day. If we go back to the condo in the afternoon we stay at least a few hours and unwind, and either have supper in the condo or at Golden Corral or something.

I think that your feeling of being rushed is, quite simply, because you are rushing. If you need to adjust your touring style to fit the needs of an elderly mother and/or young children then so be it. Either start your mornings later so you don't have to take the mid-day break, and schedule your big meal at a later lunch so you have some time to rest and unwind in the restaurant, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon/evening.

Another option is to head out at your regular time in the morning, still schedule your big meal for lunch, and then head back to the townhouse late afternoon and have a light dinner in there before going back to the parks. That sounds like it would give you a few hours of "down time" at the condo.

 

[Brian Noble]

I've stayed in Glenbrook (up 27 in Clermont), in Windsor Hills, and OKW.

Glenbrook "felt" far. Windsor Hills and OKW "felt" very similar, but even when we stay onsite, we typically drive everywhere but MK. So, I'm not sure it's the offsite vs. onsite difference. But, the "morning/break/evening" routine can become pretty tiring after a while. We like to intersperse those days with "3/4 days"---rope drop through mid-afternoon, and then be back at the villa for the evening, or sleep in and lounge around, and go to the park mid-day through the evening.

Those 3/4 days really help break up the "death march" feeling that you often get.

 

[HeatherC]

I can understand you wanting to not rush around all week. That's not a fun way to come home from a vacation.

We stay offsite ourselves because I think we would feel more rushed if we were at Disney all the time.

What we have found works well for us is to add a couple extra days on to our trip. Since the hotels and condos are so cheap in Orlando, this has been easy for us to do. Our average stay is about 9 or 10 days. We take a week vacation and then add both weekends on to it. This is also because we have to pay airfare for 5 so it makes it worth it since we can't take more frequent shorter trips.

By staying a few extra days, we don't feel like we need to be at the parks every day. First day we hang out at the resort pool, get some groceries, maybe do a nice dinner and then hit a park the next day.

We usually stay most of the day, but don't come back to the hotel in the middle. Sometimes we do a character lunch to break up the day and give us all a break from touring. If we decide to do fireworks, the next day we sleep in and just hang out and do things other than a park. Like shopping at the outlets or mini-golf.

We also don't do the parks more than 2 days in a row. We just get too tired and the kids are asking for a break.

Another thing we do to still get that Disney fix but not get overwhelmed by racing around is do go to Downtown Disney or the Boardwalk for dinner one night that we haven't been to the parks. Or we've also done Chef Mickey's on our arrival night or on a non park day.

By doing these things, we have always had an awesome time, felt like we've seen everything we wanted to and come home rested and refreshed.

Hope some of these ideas may help you!

 

[superwy]

We stayed offsite for several years at a house in Emerald Island Resort. We would head out in the morning, do one park, then drive back mid-afternoon to relax, swim in the pool or hot tub, shower, and head back to another park (usually Epcot). We were visiting in January so it was pretty slow and easy to park at the World. I thought it was actually far less rushed than when we stayed on site last year, but now that my kids are older (5 and 3) I am guessing I would feel more like you do. We've tried to have the attitude that Disney will always be there and we'll try to do the things we like most and try something new, but whatever we miss we miss. Vacations are such a personal thing and everyone needs to find their own bliss.

We are staying at the Hyatt Grand Cypress for my husband's conference this December and I have been struggling, thinking we might miss being on site. But, we are planning to try Sea World for at least a day this year and will have a car, so I think it will be just fine in the end. We'll know soon enough. Enjoy your vacation!

Kim

 

[KayR]

Unless we are staying for evenings entertainment, we will go to the parks early and leave around 3 or 4 pm. Go back to our home and then swim until its time for dinner. Sometimes we will go out for dinner or just order a delivery or cook something quick.

We also don't try to do everything in the parks - just pick our favorite things to do.

We don't feel as though we need to stay at the parks all day - in fact I think it is much more relaxing if we don't.

Sometimes dinner is at a Disney hotel restaurant or in Downtown Disney. It is a great way to have a more relaxed Disney experience after finishing at the theme parks.

-Kay

 

[kilee]

We also do not do a split day at the parks if we're staying offsite. We love renting the villa's and pool homes. However, we do it mostly in the off season. When the park hours are shorts, less crowded, and cooler. This means we'll stay all day, which reduces a lot of the commuting time.