Unassigned day -- what should we do?

[NYEmomma]

We'll be visiting 2/21 - 2/28. Flight arrives at 3:45 p.m. so we'll hit DTD on the 21st for dinner & to buy princess dresses for my girls. Flight home leaves at 7:00 p.m. so I figure we'll do DTD for some last minute souvenirs on that day as well.

We're going for non-PH's this time because we never really used them on our last trip. Planning 2 MK days & 1 day each for Epcot, HS & AK. Pool afternoon/evening (if weather permits) on our AK day. That leaves us with one spare day... what should we do?

The 4 adults have a old, unexpired PH that we can use for the spare day but we'd have to buy one for DD (other 2 DD's are under 3). It would be nice to spend the day going back to the parks that DD's enjoyed most but is that worth the cost of the PH tickets?

Advice?

 

[Disneylover99]

Maybe just add a day to your daughter's ticket once you're there? It wouldn't cost much to add an extra day to a six day ticket package if that's what you have. I wouldn't purchase a separate one day park hopper for her.

 

[Itinkso]

If you add on the extra day to your DD's 5-day ticket adding on Park Hopper just to her ticket portion will be less than $60 + the price of the one-day add on.

 

[BlueFairy]

Given the age of your kids, the length of your trip, and the suggestion by your signature that a)the youngest have never been and b)you have never had 3 young children there at once, I cannot recommend enough that you have a down day with no parks or major outings scheduled. Personally I would do 2 of those, but we slow down more on every trip. Sleep in, plan for the pool or a low-stress trip using boats and monorails to enjoy the other resorts, stretch your legs at the Epcot resort area or at Fort Wilderness (such a great place for kids to have some breathing room!). The key is to avoid a schedule and have options with no fixed timeline. If you must plan something, choose a resort character meal for an early dinner.

My 2 cents. You can always add days for your tickets any time before you leave, even the morning that you want to use them.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

You should sleep in and not have anything planned at all!! I can't stress this enough. You will never regret sleeping late and not having a plan. A couple of hours of down time to swim and such is not the same as "not having anything planned". Not having to watch the clock, not having to get everything ready to head somewhere and not having to take the time to get there is absolutely priceless.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[dd50]

You should sleep in and not have anything planned at all!! I can't stress this enough. You will never regret sleeping late and not having a plan. A couple of hours of down time to swim and such is not the same as "not having anything planned". Not having to watch the clock, not having to get everything ready to head somewhere and not having to take the time to get there is absolutely priceless.

Good luck and have fun!

I agree. I always have a day with nothing planned and it works for me.

 

[glassslippergirl]

I would spend the day at Fort Wilderness. There's a lot there the kids will enjoy-- playground, petting zoo, horseback riding, hayride, golf cart rental. You can take the day as jam-packed or as leisurely as you like and head back to the hotel whenever. Save the ph's for when the kids are older.

 

[catherines_mama]

You can play it by ear. If everyone is feeling good and not tired you can ask the kids to pick and hop around all day doing their picks. My kids have loved this in the past bc they feel like they are in charge.

Or you can plan a relax day- I love relax days. Sleep in. get breakfast CS where you are staying or cook if in villa. That way no ADR to get up and rush to.

You can go play putt-putt, rent some water toys, explore Fort Wilderness and in the evening watch some performers at Boardwalk and have dinner at beaches & cream

 

[NewRVLady]

I like the idea of a "down day"=go to WL and rent bikes(or a trolley bike)...ride to Fort Wilderness. Go to the petting zoo and take a pony ride

Go to the Big barn right there and see lots of the horses Disney uses-including the little white horses that pull Cinderellas coach for brides.

Rent a boat at WL-I like this place to rent boats because the lake is so big.


I am not a huge fan of Downtown Disney-one trip there will be enough IMO

 

[SoarinSC]

Resort hopping is always fun. Catch breakfast at Kona Cafe then do the resort monorail loop.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would have that one day wide open. You plan something JIC, and you are likely to try to make it happen. You have a day to do nothing you can play it by ear, relax, resort hop, enjoy the pool, shop, sleep. Whatever you want.

I find that trying to "make the most" out of a WDW trip is counterproductive in the long run.

 

[NYEmomma]

So if we go into our vacation with only having 5 day tickets, it's no problem (and not anymore expensive) to add on the 6th day if we'd like to? If so, I'll probably just do that and play it by ear.

Try as we might, my twins are NOT sleepers-in. Even when they're overtired. Typically that causes them to wake up earlier.

They are both very, very difficult children, not just because they're two of them, lol. Taken on their own they'd still try my patience and parenting skills every single day. So I'm trying to go into the trip as open-minded and flexible as humanly possible (which is completely against my nature!). If we have a late night planned, then I have nothing planned for early the next morning. And most of the days I am planning on heading back to the room for nap time.

 

[BlueFairy]

So if we go into our vacation with only having 5 day tickets, it's no problem (and not anymore expensive) to add on the 6th day if we'd like to? If so, I'll probably just do that and play it by ear.

Try as we might, my twins are NOT sleepers-in. Even when they're overtired. Typically that causes them to wake up earlier.

They are both very, very difficult children, not just because they're two of them, lol. Taken on their own they'd still try my patience and parenting skills every single day. So I'm trying to go into the trip as open-minded and flexible as humanly possible (which is completely against my nature!). If we have a late night planned, then I have nothing planned for early the next morning. And most of the days I am planning on heading back to the room for nap time.

It sounds like you are being pretty realistic, which always helps. My kids are not sleepers-in either. They never slept at WDW at naptime, even though they napped at home. Unfortunately that resulted in the need for more unplanned time. Our motto is now that we manage expectations so that anything extra we accomplish is icing on the cake.

As for the tickets, the child ticket for 5 days with no options added is $302.46. If you upgrade to a 6-day with Park Hopper it's $63.90 for the hopping option and about $11 for the 6th day. That should be the same whether you upgrade now or during your trip (unless WDW raises ticket prices before Feb). You aren't staying longer than 14 days, so you shouldn't have any issues with the ticket expiring. You DO need to be sure and upgrade the ticket before you leave the park on the 5th Day. You cannot add Day 6 if the ticket is all used up. Starting from scratch would cost about $136 for a 1 day PH for a kid.