What does a relaxing Disney World vacation look like?

[Alucard84]

Need tips and tricks on gearing down in Disney World. It's been two years since we stepped foot in the parks. We're excited, but we're also wore down from work and life. We want to adjust our expectations, slow down, and enjoy our time. I'm just looking for some suggestions and experiences from people who have done the same. Thanks.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We always have hoppers and our daily routine is to arrive before opening, do our favorite E-rides in the morning that get long lines, enjoy a lounge lunch/drinks (AK-Nomad Lounge, DHS-Brown Derby or Baseline Taphouse, MK-Geyser Point at WL, Epcot- so many QS to choose from but Spice Road is our favorite...) Return to the resort to relax (maybe some water sports, pool/sea Raycers) then head out in the evening for a table service meal and possibly a few attractions if lines are short. We avoid the parks mid-day when crowds are the greatest.

We might hit DS for a meal or a signature dinner at one of the resorts. C'mon, get Flying Fish open soon!

 

[fla4fun]

Well, the first thing I do is limit my in park time because I find the crowds and lines kind of stressful. I enjoy the parks, but I also enjoy resort time. Depending on how long your trip is, you might schedule a down day for just hanging out at the pool and maybe DS for dinner. If your trip is short, plan a sleep in day with some morning pool time before heading to a park. Know going into it that you won’t be able to do everything so you will just do the highlights or your favorites. Spending time with your favorite rides and meals is like comfort food for the soul.

 

[LiveLifeLoud]

We do a longer trip (8-10 nights) with park hoppers. This gives us more down time.

We then mix up our days so they aren’t all go go go. We do 4 rope drop days (one for each park) and do a midday break by the pool then back to the parks. Some days we sleep in, get room service or a TS breakfast close by and then hit a park. Other days we hit the pool in the morning then a park in the evening.

We book TS meals to relax. Some signature since they seem to be more relaxed. We take time to just experience the park so some days we are in the park we don’t always ride a ride, especially evenings in Epcot. We take in the sights. Exploring WS. People watching while having a snack or drink. This doesn’t call for us to be on the go.

We did all of this last trip and felt pretty good coming home. Not completely exhausted like previous trips.

 

[hello starshine]

I don't have any tips but I'm looking forward to reading because we were having the same conversation last night. We've usually go-go-go trippers and don't really like pools, but this past year has worn us down too. We can't wait to go back but I think I different kind of trip will be needed however I don't even know where to start! Just wanted to give you some solidarity.

 

[disneyseniors]

We are seniors, so we have slowed down a bit. We love to just wander the parks, especially AK, and take in the sights and architecture at Disney. Their extra touches are amazing! We have been many times, so if we miss an attraction, it is ok. We do like a previous poster, that is, we rope drop each park the first 4 days, do all the attractions we love, then just wing it from there. It's easy to get caught up in the hurry, hurry, attitude. I hope you have a great, restful, stress free time.

 

[StuckInKS]

We used to be go-go-go people, but after going 1-2 times a year since 2009 and 2 extended stays in FL during winter months with APs, we are much more relaxed about it now. We usually sleep in until 10am, get breakfast and hang around the resort until hitting the parks between 1pm-3pm. We eat lunch or get a snack when we arrive and then walk around the park until we find a ride with a reasonable wait time. We might have time for 1-2 more rides, then have a sit down meal for dinner (when on the dining plan) and then hit as many rides as we can 1-2 hours before closing when most people have went home/back to their resort. When we are on a longer trip, we also like to take time to visit other resorts and just walk around.

 

[TammyLynn33]

We are booked for Christmas . We were last there dec 2019 for a MVMCP and April 2019 for a week.
Christmas is so busy and we have full intentions on going in the ams and if there are no fastpasses leaving when it’s not fun anymore busy . Older kids 19,15 may stay but I will take the two littles to the hotel and hopefully it will be warm enough to swim or maybe mini golf. I’m just not into the go until we drop anymore. We know we won’t get everything done and we are all okay with it .

 

[snappy]

We really slowed down after we tried club level at Gran Destino. They need to bring it back!

 

[dizneegirl]

Just did it. We tend to get up whenever we wake up, head to a park, and check wait times. If something we'd like to ride has a lower wait time, we head off in that direction, and then tend to circle the park from there, getting in a line if we feel like it, skipping one if we don't. We wander and look around.

We also had annual passes, so we hopped to Epcot every evening to graze at the Flower & Garden food booths for dinner and drinks. We have our favorite places we like to get a drink and sit down to people watch, so we tend to do that, too. We didn't feel the need to ride everything, but did ride everything we wanted.

I will say, we both found it much more relaxing not to have to worry about pre-scheduled FPs, and being at a certain place at a certain time. That alone seemed to be more relaxing.

 

[holden]

A relaxing trip means (to me)...

No pressure to ride/see any particular attractions - just enjoy what you can
Enjoying quiet sit down meals for dinner
Hanging by the pool and sipping a cocktail
Sleeping in some days
Not letting things bother me (like line cutters, rude guests, etc.)

 

[lindsroc]

I've been a bunch of times and its never been relaxing lol. Fun.... but never relaxing.

 

[mindeola]

I have really enjoyed the way these times have made me slow down at Disney! I went in October, December, and March. headed back in May. Buy less tickets than days, then you have to have some downtime! We have had a lot of fun exploring other resort via the skyliner. We have still rope dropped opening and then just cut our day short and enjoyed our resort in the evenings. It has been nice and very different!

 

[Marthasor]

Sleep in, eat mostly QS (or book at TS on the fly), spend half-days in the parks and leave evenings free, have no more than 2 "must-do's" per park, (if it's in the budget) book a resort that is closest to the parks we'll visit (for us, this typically means a resort in the EP area).

 

[Timandalicia]

Need tips and tricks on gearing down in Disney World. It's been two years since we stepped foot in the parks. We're excited, but we're also wore down from work and life. We want to adjust our expectations, slow down, and enjoy our time. I'm just looking for some suggestions and experiences from people who have done the same. Thanks.

Well it depends how long you are going for and what you all want to accomplish but did you ever do a no rides day at Magic Kingdom? Go to Tom Sawyer island. Eat ice cream on the lawn. Sit in front of the castle. Get pics you’ve always wanted to get but were too busy rushing to the next fastpass that you didn’t have time. Shop without limited time. Have a sit down meal without worrying about how long it will take. Maybe peoplemover doesn’t count as a ride in this scenario.

 

[TeKa21]

Stay off site
Don’t use alarm clocks to wake up
Enter parks after lunch
Ride just a handful of things
Stroll around checking out little details
No dining reservations
Leave when you feel like it

 

[loves to dive]

Just did it. We tend to get up whenever we wake up, head to a park, and check wait times. If something we'd like to ride has a lower wait time, we head off in that direction, and then tend to circle the park from there, getting in a line if we feel like it, skipping one if we don't. We wander and look around.

We also had annual passes, so we hopped to Epcot every evening to graze at the Flower & Garden food booths for dinner and drinks. We have our favorite places we like to get a drink and sit down to people watch, so we tend to do that, too. We didn't feel the need to ride everything, but did ride everything we wanted.

I will say, we both found it much more relaxing not to have to worry about pre-scheduled FPs, and being at a certain place at a certain time. That alone seemed to be more relaxing.

This is what we always do, even in the days when FP was operating we rarely used it because we didn't want to be on a schedule. We also didn't book ADRs in advance, just day of while walking around. I usually have an AP but even if I didn't we have always had PHs, the ability to book a restaurant in another park is great. Any time a festival is going on that is where we tend to get the majority of our meals, slipping in an occasional TS here and there just for variety. We also love to sit and sip a refreshing adult beverage and just take in the details of the place. One time we were sitting on a bench facing Italy in Epcot and I just sort of asked my son wonder who those knights are or what they represent? Before I knew it he was on his phone looking it up, found them and it started a long conversation about them. We also like to sit and people watch and make up long back stories about them. I can not stress how relaxing an afternoon in the hot tub at the pool while sipping a refreshing adult beverage can be.

 

[AnnaS]

We go often. We try not to make too many ADRs - even when Fast Passes were around - we made them but did not necessarily stick to them.

We like to spend time at the resort/pool. We like to hop to other resorts for lunch or dinner. Stroll at DS - meal/entertainment/dessert. Same goes for strolling around Crescent Lake - meal, dessert, Boardwalk entertainment.

Many times we leave before the fireworks - or we take our time leaving after the fireworks. We are usually not in a "rush" to have to be anywhere. Disney transportation - observe, enjoy being in the bubble. It is so much more relaxing when you are not on a schedule every day of your trip.

 

[808blessing]

I am a minute by minute maximizer.
I do want to relax this year even though I will do rope drop everyday. We will go back to hotel afternoon and return in early evening. Table service once a day. Aim for a few awesome must do rides in the morning and whatever meandering the rest of the day. One day off in the middle will be super relaxing except we are driving to Kennedy so maybe not. We might do a horse ride on the last morning. This is as relaxed as I can get. Lol

 

[bdiddy]

I don’t think you can have a truly relaxing trip unless you are there for at least a week minimum. Ten days is ideal. But definitely a hopper and lots of resort time and it can be such a different trip. I’ve also done the 4 parks in 2 days thing with my BFF for our 40th birthday girls trip and that was also a blast. One of the reasons I love Disney so much is that it can be whatever kind of trip you want it to be - at any age.