What is Your Ideal Number of Days to Visit Disney?

[Alize Mcfarlin]

We usually do 7 nights 8 days but this time we are adding an extra night . We will be staying at the the new polynesian villas for this trip!

 

[4under4]

We've done 10-12 nights each time, and it seems ideal for us. Plenty of park time, plus pool/down time.

 

[Simba's Girl]

10 days, 2 for travel, rest for parks or whatever- our kids are older though 15,12 & 8. We are usually in a park all 8 days, not all day though

 

[Gumbo4x4]

We'd want 1 full & 1 partial day each in Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, & AK. 1 full day in MK, 2 in EPCOT, and could take or leave DHS. So, around 10 days would be "just right".

 

[njdisneylovr]

365 would probably do it for me. Seriously though, 10 days minimum for us since we need a chill day or two in the mix.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Our shortest trip to Disney World was 6 nights, our longest was 9 nights. Depending on the weather, and your touring style the ideal length of a trip would vary. Where you stay will have an impact as well. If you stay somewhere just to sleep and shower a shorter trip might be okay; but if you’re at a resort with a lot to offer, you’ll want to take time to enjoy it.

All but one of our trips have been in summer due to the school schedule. I’d love to do what some people do and take a week off in October or early November once it cools but we just can’t miss school like that. Ideally 7 or 8 nights has been good. One Saturday to the next one; so I’m not using more than 5 vacation days.

I will say though I was really glad we had the 9 night/10 day trip the year we had it because we had Tropical Storm Debbie come in on day 2 and because our trip was so long, we still had some days left after she finally blew out. We didn’t stop touring during the storm; but having those sunny days at the end was nice because we finally got to enjoy the parks without rain gear and have some pool time. That trip did give us one full day away from the parks where all we had was a dinner reservation. But we have found that for us, taking 2-3 days to tour just a half day worked just as well as a full break day; so we split AK into two half days.

If I could have my dream vacation it would be 6 to 8 days at Disney with a 3-4 night trip on DCL tacked on to the end.

 

[amylevan]

Ideally, 2 days MK, 2 days EP, 1 day HS, 1 day AK and 1 pool day...so 7 days, 8 nights.

We've done less and we've done as many as 12 nights. The 12 night stay we were in our camper, so we were in "our own" beds and I could cook. We didn't do the parks every day, but we did have time to go US and over to the Space Center. It was our most relaxing trip yet, and while I'd love to do it again, taking the camper means 2 travel days each way, and we just can't take the kids out of school for 2 weeks. (And I cannot get my husband south of the Mason Dixon line from about May thru Sept...) 12 nights in a hotel would be too much for us though.

 

[QueenElsa2008]

We went for 7 nights the first time and are booked for 7 more this summer.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I loved our 14 night trip, so this is definitely not one size fits all. When I start trip shopping, I start at 7 days and adjust up or down depending on the budget for the trip.

 

[Crystal824]

10.

 

[tzolkin]

Our past trips have been 11 nights:
Arrival day, 10 days of park hopping, departure day

One trip we did the same length of time, but only got 8 day tickets (that was the maximum with the YES program), so we did a two day break in the middle of the trip.

We have always found the longer trips to be relaxing because we felt that we could take lengthy breaks at the resort, but still have plenty of time in the parks.

This year we are only doing 7 nights (arrival, 6 park days, departure).
I think it should work out and still be relaxing because we are staying in the Epcot resort area (planning to walk a lot) and my kids are old enough that they are planning to spend some time in the parks without DH and I.

 

[emilayyx0]

We're planning another trip for Disney in August/sept and I'm wondering what everyone's number of "ideal" days is to stay at Disney for? We went for 16 das last time. WAY too long. Kids were constantly fighting, we didn't do much of anything and when we tried to cram it in it was a pain. So this time I was figuring 5 days at the parks plus 1-2 down days? Does that sound better? 2 days at MK and 1 day at each additional park. Plus a day at the pools and dtd. Also, is aug/sept a good time to go? low crowds and stuff? We went in oct for Halloween and it was too packed. Thanks!

One week maximum is all you need

 

[MommaBerd]

I agree with a PP who said that it sort of depends on your touring style and the time of year. We are a party of 6, 4 kids ages 5-15 on our last trip + 1 more when my MIL drives over from Daytona Beach. As a family, we have only been in November (between Jersey week and Thanksgiving) and crowds are typically very low. We travel and do DTD on day 1, parks for 7 days, 1 WP/"down" day in the middle, and travel on day 10. I think it is perfect for our family because we've had a great time, and we leave wishing we could have done more. Personally, that's the way I want to end a Disney vacation - with something to look forward to doing "new" on the next trip! But, keep in mind that even with shortened park hours during the week, we have typically been able to do EVERYTHING in the parks (ride-wise) that we wanted to do because of the low crowd levels. And, we had a plan, too.

Also, you mentioned possibly getting APs. If you are willing to do the math and take a little time at Guest Services, you can purchase tickets through UT and then upgrade to AP after you enter the park for a pretty good savings. It is completely "legal" and ethical, you just have to make sure that you know exactly the difference you should be paying. Cheshire Figment has a sticky - I think on the Attractions and Strategies board - that can help with this. Plus, you can do a search of the boards and get more info, I'm sure.

 

[MommaBerd]

Just to follow up on the APs - I just looked at UT, and if you purchased 4 day (or 3+1 day) tickets from them, it is a $38/ticket savings. Once you use your ticket and then upgrade to an AP, you are still realizing a $38/ticket savings (on adult tickets). It's not as much for child AP tickets - I think $18/ticket - because the APs are the same price as adult tickets. But still, savings is savings!

 

[Julylady]

9-10 nights.

 

[DaniMoon]

I think about 10. We do rope drop everyday. Come back to the hotel for down time. My kids are not night owls, so we could spread out the later activities (Electrical Parade, Illuminations, Pirates & Pal cruise). Made for a very relaxing trip. Planning similar length this coming November.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

14 nights was very nice. We were able to take everything slowly and really explore. Other than the last few days, we knew we would be back shortly. I would like to do that again. I'm doing a week this time - flying in on a Saturday and out the next Saturday, and I am already feeling like it is too short!

ETA: LOL - I already responded to this thread a week ago without remembering. I change my answer. 72. 72 nights is perfect. But my boss objects.

 

[saraschoening]

For our up coming trip we are leaving on April 29th (2 days in Seattle), 14 days at WDW and then 3 days at HRH Universal - we will return home on the 19th. We usually do a road trip to DL every summer which averages about 16 days. We love longer trips... when we are driving we are always trying to add in a day here and there.. But that is just our family, everyone is different and that is what makes the world interesting. I think that any amount of time at Disney is worth it.

 

[Pumpkingirl7]

4-5 days is plenty for our family... I can't imagine 2-3 weeks. It takes us 10 hours to drive so we do travel in one day

 

[Lakegirl]

We did 9 nights 10 days in December and it was perfect!!!! Still didn't want yo leave . This year we are doing 7 days in the last week of August . Not happy about how hot it us but we have ap's that we want to make use of before the kids go back to school