What is your ideal park day/rest day ratio?

[averill94]

That is if you even rest at all!

Our first to trips we needed a vacation after our vacation, this time...
Arriving early Saturday 9/30 leaving Saturday 10/7 afternoon.

I already booked 5 day hoppers but thought to changing to 4 day hoppers with a MNSSHP night. I want to have tons of fun but not be wrecked by 10/1.
Going with DH DS8 DD3 andDM56!

thanks

 

[willis37862]

DH and I like to do 2 days in the park one day off repeating for however long we are there. If we only had four days there would probably just take 1 day off and spend 3 at the parks. I need a day off or I get really cranky and don't enjoy the trip. Yeah I sound like a three year old . It's just that I get physically tired and mentally tired. We like to sleep in on our days off, have a nice breakfast. We like the two mini-golf courses they have and I love to walk around DTD.Also enjoy exploring the different disney resorts. That way it's a day off but we are still having Disney fun.

 

[bleeps]

We try, on an average 8 or 9 day trip, to have one day in the middle that's pretty open. Then we stagger early-start days with late-start days (trying to be sure than a late morning follows after a late night). Overall we aim to have just a couple of crazy go-go-go days, pace ourselves other days, and have one rest in the middle....

 

[ffugitive]

We are set for a whopping 11 day jaunt in May - the first and last are travel, so I suppose they don't count so much (but can be as exhausting as the parks). Anyway, I don't think you need to necessarily have days "off" - you just need a few mellow days. For example, on two days, we are going to the movies and/or hanging by the pool during the day, but we are going to a park for dinner and fireworks (and maybe a ride or two) at night. Another day, we are going to chill on the beach at Typhoon Lagoon. Under the new ticketing system, after 4 or 5 days, the marginal cost of extra days is so little, it is not financially difficult to have the option of hitting a park in the evening just for an hour or so. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

 

[DisneyGirl83]

I know I'm in the minority here but I take the relaxation to the maximum. Its my one yearly vacation so not only do I want to go to the parks but I need to unwind from the whole year. So this year Dbf and I will be at OKW for 16 days and are actually only doing parks 4 or 5 of those days. One day we have the backstage magic tour planned so thats a full day also. This leaves us plenty of days to just be lazy by the pool, go visit the other resorts and enjoy lots of downtime in our favorite place. There's nothing like a relaxing Disney vacation...

 

[willis37862]

I know I'm in the minority here but I take the relaxation to the maximum. Its my one yearly vacation so not only do I want to go to the parks but I need to unwind from the whole year. So this year Dbf and I will be at OKW for 16 days and are actually only doing parks 4 or 5 of those days. One day we have the backstage magic tour planned so thats a full day also. This leaves us plenty of days to just be lazy by the pool, go visit the other resorts and enjoy lots of downtime in our favorite place. There's nothing like a relaxing Disney vacation...

I'm soooooooo jealous. 16 days

 

[momof2disprincesses]

We were like you the first few trips ... had to do all and see all.

Well, now we've done that and we like to "enjoy" the slower pace. So, we typically now only do 2-3 park days/trip. Last Aug. we bought 10 day park hoppers with no expiration and they have lasted us 2 trips so far and we still have 5 park and 3 plus days left on them!

Going in Dec. (Dec. 25-Jan. 2) and we plan to only do 3 park days and maybe 1 waterpark day in a 9 day trip because we know it will be crazy busy at the holidays and we really only want to see the holiday stuff. That will probably be our most relaxing trip yet

We call our "off" days pool days. On those days, we like to sleep in, eat a nice breakfast and then lay by the pool all afternoon and resort hop or enjoy DTD at night. Those tend to be our favorite days.

 

[bazzanoid]

Going for 14 days....

what's a rest day?

We've got four disney parks, two disney water parks, discovery cove, two universal parks, busch gardens, seaworld AND shopping to do... our rest is the plane trip home!!!!!!

 

[averill94]

bazzanoid

I love your plan!

 

[disneynewbee]

We will be going for 13 nights and we have planned 2 lazy days. On the other days we will do MK twice, MGM twice, Epcot twice, Animal Kingdom once, A water park once (weather permitting and not sure which one), Sea world twice and the other day will be up for debate when we get there. On the two lazy days we will do the pool (again that is weather permitting), check out the hotels, DTD, boardwalk, the campfire with chip and dale and movie and anything else we come across.

 

[ImagineEar]

I vote for keeping the 5 day hopper and......

Make your "Rest Day" a leisurley tour of World Showcase... Stop and smell the roses, it has so many wonderful nooks and cranies to explore that most people just rush right by. WS does not open untill 11am - so sleep in a bit and plan to get there in time for nice lunch - then - Tour "the World" by stopping in each country to see the shows, like the Candy Lady in Japan , the Beatles cover band The British Invasion in the UK and the acrobats in China. Then head back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and a nice shower before a late dinner.

If you pick up an entertainment guide at the park entrance you can plan your afternoon so that you can arrive at each country at show time. Or if you want to do it in advance check Steve Soares link to the live Entertainment before you leave. I'll post the link below

http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

 

[mommykds]

Last Oct we were at Disney for 10 days & we only had one rest day. We got up late, ate lunch, swam & then did MNSSHP that night. Well that was no enough of a rest because we were all pooped out by the 7th day.

This August we will be there for 10 days & I have 2 planned days of rest.

Park days 1,2,3
Rest, pool, check out resort & boardwalk day 4
Park days 5,6,7,
Rest day 8
Park 9,10,11 (departure day)

 

[Ellajoan]

I'm in the minority here, but we do a rest day following each park day. We have three little ones and they just can't handle 2 days in a row, and it give our legs and feet a day off. I must say that we try to infuse some "disney magic" (disney mini golf, boardwalk, character meal, or DTD) into our "off" days, and I enjoy those as much or more as our park days.

 

[pedro2112]

I think a lot of it depends on how one does his/her days. If you are in the park all day, then yes, you'll need a break sooner or later (especially with little ones). On our upcoming 8 night trip, we'll be at a park just about every day. However, we will only be at a park from sunup to sundown on one day... the rest of the days our afternoons are open for relaxing, napping, swimming, etc. If you pace yourself during the day, then you won't get tired out and can enjoy yourself more. You certainly won't need to take "off days."

 

[golden1]

I don't like to just sit around at a resort at Disney. I'd get bored and antsy sitting around all day. I would rather just go every day but at a more relaxed pace. We are going during a slow and cool season so we don't have to always go full speed ahead. I find that is the heat and the crowds that make me tired, not the length of time in the park. The last few trips I took to Disney were in the fall and even though they were shorter, I got to see more and relax more than on the longer trips I have taken in the summer.

Basically I am planning two half days (morning or evening) at the major parks (MK, Epcot) and 3/4 days at the smaller parks (AK, MGM) which means about 8am to about 3pm. My kids are little and I don't want to push them too fast anyways.

 

[jennyl772003]

We never take a rest day! We don't commando tour either, so it works out for us. I just can't stand the thought of being in WDW and not going to a park!

We usually sleep in a little bit, then go to the parks. In the afternoon, we go back to our room, shower change, rest, etc. Then we go back to the park, eat dinner, etc. Then in the evening, we swim at the resort, maybe do DD and just generally relax.

We never really have a plan either. We do what we feel up to at any given time. It might not be the "get the most out of your vacation" plan, but it works for us!