What to do with mid-day break?

[pigletgirl]

We are very much mid day break people. It gives us the chance to regroup by taking a swim, putting some fresh clothes on, and getting off our feet. It makes our evenings/nights much more pleasant.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We leave the park around 12-1230 when it starts to get full. The heat isn't what bothers me. It's the crowds.

We get to the room by 1-130. Pool by 130-2. Go back by 4. Dressed by 5 and back in the park by 530-6 with FP+ in the pm park.

We only have 4 days like this. RD, midday break, pm park. The other 4 days are sleep in, pool time, late starts and shutting the park down with PM EMH.

We don't do naps but the kids love the pool. When DS was younger the stimulation was too much for him so midday breaks stuck with us.

Also what I've learned is to not have dinner ADRs on the days we do midday breaks. The kids don't like it since it cuts into the last few hours of park time so we get QS dinners those days with breakfast or lunch ADRs. Last trip there was tons of whining when we had to go to dinner.

 

[cakebaker]

Another reason midday breaks for us are a must is we like to do both rope drop and park closings. Even before we had a child in the mix, it exhausted us to try and stay from open to close- making the next day unbearable. With the now 3 yr old along, who doesn't tolerate heat at all, we definitely have to break. He's great a night- can stay up with the best of them, but the heat of the day is a killer for him and he just has to have a couple of hours to completely cool down and rest or we're in trouble. This was lesson learned on our August trip last year.

But they don't work for everyone. I admire those that can last open to close day after day!

 

[22Tink]

Everyone's preferences are different but we aren't break-takers. We'd also be like "Now what?" We just love to be in the parks!! We usually schedule a late lunch or early supper and take our time eating. Sitting to watch a couple of shows is a nice break as well. I just find going back to the room more of a hassle than staying at the parks.

 

[Daddee]

my DD14 and I are commando park go'ers. I know my kid isnt good with heat and crowds. I'm ok to a point. So I'm preaching that we are not killing ourselves on this trip. we will pace ourselves. and if we get beat down. we will head back to the room and crash out. or play resort roulette and go explore. I am actually looking forward to this. I hope I can keep my word tho.

 

[lahobbs4]

I remember taking the BEST nap ever as a teen at the Hall of Presidents

 

[awalker1015]

We would do RD at park #1. Leave around 1 and go back to the resort to swim or relax in the room. Head back to next park around 5 and have dinner either along the way at a resort or at the parks.

Two days this last trip we toured the MK resorts during our break. We really enjoyed this and it did allow us to recharge.

 

[Tomh]

We have tried mid day breaks. For the most part, we get back to the room, and everyone is like OK . . . what now. No one gets any measurable amount of rest, we return to the park every bit as tired as we would have been had we just stayed there in the first place, and the mid - day break amounts to a mid - day waste of our time.

A nice long CS meal works well, as do long rides / shows with air conditioning, shops, sitting down to have a cold drink while waiting for the afternoon parade, bonus if you are in the shade. Extra bonus if you have a mister bottle, and / or a towel to wipe the sweat away. We manage to do rope drop to park closing pretty much every day, and do so in the end of August.

 

[greentea]

I'm not good at midday breaks. I don't really like swimming, and prepping/changing/swimming/drying off/changing combined with traveling to and from the resort just feels like an ordeal to me. I also don't like sitting around by the pool. I'm not even good at taking rest days -- I end up sitting around thinking I could be doing something fun right now (even if I could probably use the break!) I can't nap unless I'm completely exhausted, and when I nap it's for 2+ hours. I prefer finding something quieter and cooler to do for a bit if I'm tired of being on the go in the sun. Eating lunch and finding somewhere to sit, wandering through a shop, going to the aquarium to watch the manatees. Some people really like pool breaks, some don't. If you aren't sure whether you'll need a break, just plan to be flexible and see how things go.

 

[villainj]

Our midday break consists of shows and lunch. We don't leave the parks because we probably wouldn't go back(too much hassle). Plus we really are good a just trekking through the day and getting the most bang for our buck!

 

[AirForce Wife]

We plan to take a break on our Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios day. We plan on doing water rides before we break, that way if we want to change clothes/shoes, we can. The hotel we are staying at includes "dinner" so we are going back to the hotel having dinner (to save money) and relaxing for a little bit before we head back.

 

[pigletgirl]

We have tried mid day breaks. For the most part, we get back to the room, and everyone is like OK . . . what now. No one gets any measurable amount of rest, we return to the park every bit as tired as we would have been had we just stayed there in the first place, and the mid - day break amounts to a mid - day waste of our time.

A nice long CS meal works well, as do long rides / shows with air conditioning, shops, sitting down to have a cold drink while waiting for the afternoon parade, bonus if you are in the shade. Extra bonus if you have a mister bottle, and / or a towel to wipe the sweat away. We manage to do rope drop to park closing pretty much every day, and do so in the end of August.

That's impressive! The one day we spent a full day in the parks last fall, we were just wasted. It also could of been because it was a Saturday in MK. Who knows. But we love to spend time by the pool and put our feet up.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We usually go to Disney in October and don't take mid-day breaks. However, this year we are going in August which will be much hotter and much more crowded than we are used to. My DH & DD (17) tend to think we can tour like we do in October but I'm going to assume that is not the case. I'm including several possible break points in our daily itineraries. That way if we get too overwhelmed and do need to leave the park for a mid-day break I will have a plan.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I grab a drink and then nap usually. For my teens sometimes my oldest will watch a movie using headphones on the portable DVD player we bring or both will play video games on their nintendo 3DS systems.
A few times they went to the arcade and played games but my DD15 said she needs to put her feet up so she prefers to stay in the room and either read, play nintendo 3DS or watch a movie or TV.

Neither of my kids really like the pools anymore. My oldest who we used to call a fish said they are too crowded and not deep enough for him.

Lately though, they've slept in and not gone to the parks until 11am or noon so they don't take a break - they just power straight through. Me - I get there around rope drop and go back to the room for a nap just as they are getting to the parks.

 

[MataHari22]

i don't leave the parks to take a break either. I am not really a swimmer and do not like to sunbathe. I am not a nap taker, I actually feel 10x worse if I even do manage to fall asleep, and I will usually wake up with a rip roaring headache.

My "breaks" are taken at the park. I take a very long time to eat, so I am off my feet for an hour to an hour and a half to eat a meal. So a TS meal in air conditioning is nice. If I need a cat nap, there's Hall of Presidents, Ellen's Energy..... Etc. I also am more relaxed with my touring style and don't try and cram too much in. Alternating attractions with shows breaks up the day. To me, it seems like such a waste of time to travel back and forth to the resort for breaks, but that's just me. I say go with whatever is best for you and your family.

 

[denise5374]

We generally go in August and have taken midday breaks, go to the pool, get a cold beverage and relax. Shower and then head out to dinner about 5pm. The midday shower feels fantastic and recharges us for the night.

This time we are going in June and plan to follow the same routine.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

We "go all day" but take a longer lunch (1 hour usually) and spend the hottest part of the day in air-conditioned attractions. And we do this all day for all 10 days of our trips (mostly in June and August). We don't have small children in our party, but even when we did, we would take this same approach. To us, it takes so much time to get back to the resort/back to the parks, even using Disney transportation that it isn't worth it.

Although we stayed at BWV last trip (and are splitting our days at BWV/BLT in 8 days!), and so taking an hour break or so and then walking back to the park sounds much better.

 

[nkereina]

Whether it's hot or cool out, we always take midday breaks and we are two adults. We usually hit the park at rope drop, and leave around 12-12:30 which is the most crowded time of day and the hottest as well. We do like to go in the pool, but even lounging in the room watching tv for 30 mins is a nice break. When it's hot, we also use our midday break to shower and change because our clothes are usually damp with sweat and moisture from the humidity. We usually go back to park around 4-5 and spend the evening there.

 

[itchin2go]

As others have said, we read, watch tv, catch up on emails or (in my daughter's case, social media), make phone calls, have a snack, maybe go the pool. Just VEG really. You want mindless relaxation. We don't stay multiple people in one room though, so we have room to spread out. Last year, we rented a movie one day.

 

[larryz]

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