What's a 10-12 day itinerary look like?

[ebenmax]

Being a new member, I am fascinated (and jealous ) by those of you who have enough points to stay at Disney for 10, 12, 14 day stints. But what I was wondering was what do you do for all 12 days? I know there is PLENTY to do, but how do you split up you time? Is there a park visit everyday? Are there several "lazy" relaxing days? Do you ever go off (oh no!!) property for other activities?

I am not asking for a day by day schedule. . .just some ideas of how you spend those glorious days!!

Thanks -

Ellen

 

[Lady V]

well, we usually do long trips in the summer (10-12 days) and shorter in Jan
(7-8 days). For our longer we do a lot of pool hopping, sleeping in, we only hit the parks for about 1 or 2 hours a day (PAP's), just relaxing!, we go just for maginc hour some nights and watch the nighttime shows,.
after that we usually spend a few days at one of the US/IOA hotels for those parks. it is wonderful and relaxing.

 

[Treacle44]

Being from the UK, we usually go for 14 nights, but this time we're going for 20 nights as I can quite honestly say 14 nights aren't enough for us! We usually do a couple of parks in two days, then have a rest day, lazing round the pool, going for a walk etc, having lunch at another onsite hotel. Maybe a water park in between two parks days, some shopping, the time soon goes!

 

[Granny]

But what I was wondering was what do you do for all 12 days? I know there is PLENTY to do, but how do you split up you time? Is there a park visit everyday? Are there several "lazy" relaxing days? Do you ever go off (oh no!!) property for other activities?

I am not asking for a day by day schedule. . .just some ideas of how you spend those glorious days!!

Ellen...as others have said, buying DVC has completely changed our WDW visiting itineraries.

We are a family of four including two teenage daughters. We tend to make very little in the way of schedules. If we are moving slowly in the morning, we sleep in. We sometimes split up as some would like to sit at the pool while others want to go for a walk or into a park for a little while.

Yes, we do go offsite every trip to Sea World and often to Busch Gardens. We did the Universal thing for a couple of years but found the experience not to our laid back tastes.

We usually go 9-12 days, and make few ADRs (summer visits). It's amazing how relaxing a WDW can be when you have very few time commitments!

 

[castleri]

We did 12 days between Christmas and Jan 4 this year and it was a blend of activities. The first 5 days some of us did parks 4 days, some 2 and then two golfing with some pool time, 1 day shopping at the outlet mall, DTD and at the pool. then 2 went home and 2 stayed offsite to save points which gave us another 4 nights at Disney starting NYE. The two days offsite were really only one as we checked back in at 8am on NYE. The one true day off site we went to Typhoon Lagoon, DTD and Walmart before going back to the hotel. NYE was from park opening to 1 something at MK. Next day was check out some of the resorts day with dinner at DTD. The last two were park days and pool days depending on the person. We really have a much more relaxed approach since we go more often and also each person may decide to do something on their own at times. We have also gone to the West Coast for a couple of days to visit friends and enjoy the gulf beaches - usually to save those weekend points. We have done some of the tours the last couple of trips and really enjoyed them also. On one trip I just went from one DVC resort to another to check them out. We have also been known to go to another park every couple of years.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We usually take two 7-14 day trips each year. Like Granny said, we really don't do much of a schedule other than our ADRs and any specific tours or shows. We often will have guests for 5 days of the trip, so that is spent mostly in the parks. Our park touring tends to be early morning until mid afternoon. Then we take a break, go to DTD, sit at the villa, hot tub it, go off-site to the outlets or sometimes even take a side trip to the gulf coast or the space coast. The norm, though, is to go to a park at least a part of each day. Heck, sometimes all we do is go to a park for a specific attraction. We might head over to AK just to do an early morning safari follwed by the Nemo show or maybe the coaster. We often have a sit down meal at one of the sit downs in the parks at either 11 or 2. That means we can do something light in the villa for our evening meal. Evenings, we will often head over to Epcot, MGM, or MK to do see fireworks shows or parades. Sometimes we'll just sit nd watch the musical fountain, or during the holidays, just sit and watch and listen to the Lights of Winter. Lots of details that we really enjoy at all the parks.

 

[starbox]

We go to Vero Beach in the middle!

 

[WOW]

As other have said for long trips.....DVC does change the way you vacation. We like to do lazy days, but we always make time for the parks, as we still love going to them and all of our special rides and shows. Somehow, we never tire of our special places. We love the long times as it takes us a few days to detox our stress. Gotta love the DVC

 

[abk96]

This July we are staying for 10 days because we've been there during that time of year as non DVC members and pretty much felt like we were going to die from the heat and exhaustion. Now that we are members our July trip is looking very different. We are only going to the parks at night, for EMH, and plan on sleeping in everyday and then hitting the pool.

Then for our Nov. trip we are staying 7 days and we'll do the parks a little bit more and hopefully see some Christmas things.

We know we'll be back again soon so there's no rush.

 

[ebenmax]

Thank you so much for all of your replies!! At this point, we are only dreaming of a vacation this long, but we are teachers so we have the summer schedule for one. . .just not the points yet!!

One of the reasons I asked this question was to be able to convince DH that there is PLENTY to do for 10-14 days. He loves WDW but I just like to have some answers for when he questions my plans for the future.

Here's to future summers of 10-14 days in WDW!!

Ellen

 

[Snookies]

In the past 15 years, we have taken trips as short as 3 days/2 nights and as long as 17 days/16 nights. Because of school and activity commitments, our trips have gotten shorter and we now usually take one 9-10 day trip each year. This is somewhat of a compromise because DW prefers shorter trips, while I prefer longer trips. On our longer trips, we've always done several non-park activities like kids' activities at the Grand Floridian, renting boats and bikes, taking tours like the Family Magic Tour or the AquaSeas Tour, and going to WDW's dinner shows. We also spend a lot of time off property for shopping, dining, and other attractions like Discovery Cove, Seaworld, Universal, etc. As our daughter has gotten older (and we now take her friends along, lol), we also spend a lot of time hanging out at the water parks, pools, community halls, DD, and/or DisneyQuest. IMO, the advantage of a longer trip is that you can do many of these things while not feeling any pressure to be in a park all the time. I also think that when we have APs, we're also more relaxed because we go to a park for a specific parade or show without feeling like we're wasting a day's admission. For example, on our last trip, we hit AK in the morning, rode Expedition Everest 3 times in a row and left to go to Typhoon Lagoon. Prior to DVC, I was the world's worst Type A Theme Park Commando. After DVC, I have swung to almost the opposite extreme. If DW had known that was going to happen, we would have bought DVC much earlier than we did.

The following is off topic, but also IMO, if you have an age-appropriate daughter, the best special experience at WDW is the My Disney Girl party at the Grand Floridian. I know it is very expensive, but I thought it was worth every penny. The cast go out of their way to make it a magical experience. And don't be concerned that your child may be too old because DD went when she was 8 and again when she was 9 and I think she appreciated it more because of her age. In fact, it was the one thing she specifically asked to do on our trip last Fall.

 

[tink2020]

We're going for 10 days... next week! I'll do a full trip report, I think, but here's the general idea for most days:

Up early (we always are anyway) -- parks or relax at SAB

Park, tour, etc in the am, early afternoon

Hotel, Boardwalk, DTD, nap, etc for a few hours each afternoon

Evening in a park (parades, shows, etc) or relaxing or playing mini-golf, etc.

Repeat


I'm very much a commando tourer, and my DH is, well, just plain lazy If you read my january report, you know I don't do well with downtime, but we'll see how this works. I call it, "scheduled down time"... but I left plenty of options to fill up that time if necessary, while DH stays and sleeps by the pool

 

[BroganMc]

After years of 7 days a year over Spring Break, we planned our first 14 day trip October '05. Got some AP's and never looked back. (One of the best advantages of an AP when you have an offsite timeshare is the free parking. That alone saves us about $100 a trip.)

Next month we're going for 15 days: split withe 7 days at our Marriott timeshare and 8 days at Disney. I still do an itinerary but it's filled with a lot of half days, resort days, down days and whatever days. I always try to plan something new as well as our repeated favorites. Trouble is now we have so many favorites it's hard not to overbook ourselves.

Right now I just have two days planned for us. One day were going to Cindy's Castle for breakfast (because my dad's never eaten that and the food is marvelous). Another day we have tickets to La Nouba (something we've never done).

We'll also get back for some of our favorites which include:
- high tea at the Grand Floridian (great in Springtime)
- an afternoon at AKL and dinner at Boma's (or Jiko's this time for something new)
- a character breakfast somewhere (Cape May the last two times, but now we're thinking Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace)
- drinks at that little bar in MGM on the way to the cart stunt show (great in hot weather)
- an afternoon strolling the Boardwalk
- an afternoon of miniature golf at Fantasia Gardens (50% off with our APs)
- movies at DTD (Spiderman 3 is on our wish list this year)
- sleeping late and waking up to the pool

Our first stop has become a bit of a Spring tradition for my dad. He's 75 years young and a bit of a fuddy duddy in the cold months. But as soon as it gets warm he insists on going to the Magic Kingdom barber shop and getting a mohawk haircut. Yes, a real spikey (and salt-n-pepper) mohawk. It's his delayed childhood rebellion. He'll go the summer and fall with that hairdo. Now everyone recognizes him that way alone and thinks something's wrong if he has his long winter hair.

As far as offsite excursions go, we do Seaworld a day at least once a year (we go Spring and Fall) and we'll do some grocery shopping when we arrive. We keep saying we'll go back to Universal but never feel like it's Disney enough for us. And some day we'll get back to Kennedy Space Center.

Mostly in a long trip with AP's you remove all guilt about a short day in a park or waiting 3 hours to ride Soarin' again. You have time to do your laundry, surf the web, recharge your mp3 player, and go out for long leisurely strolls of other resorts. The CMs are so chatty and friendly at a resort around mid-day. It makes the whole vacation seem like a visit to a second home.

 

[Gymbomom]

We have gone for up to three weeks at a time. I say our favorite is around two weeks. We split our stays in different DVC resorts. We hang out at the pools during the nice days (Dec- Jan stays) and go to the parks when it is cooler. We always go with a big group....around 12 - 20 family members, and we love the family time. We rarely leave Disney except a trip quick for groceries...

Because of the expense of travel for a family party so big...we would rather go every other year......for 3 weeks then every year for ten days.....

 

[Gymbomom]

Thank you so much for all of your replies!! At this point, we are only dreaming of a vacation this long, but we are teachers so we have the summer schedule for one. . .just not the points yet!!

One of the reasons I asked this question was to be able to convince DH that there is PLENTY to do for 10-14 days. He loves WDW but I just like to have some answers for when he questions my plans for the future.

Here's to future summers of 10-14 days in WDW!!

Ellen

I have to say....my husband "married" into a Disney family.....

He did not understand the need for the LONG vacations just at Disney....

BUT, when we have gone for shorter, he would much prefer the longer vacations, over the frequent, shorter vacations.

You will always have your favorites you want to do every time......when you have more days to cover them....you just don;t feel rushed to cover everything.....

 

[DVCLiz]

We're going for two weeks this summer. The first 3 nights will be at a Seaworld area hotel, then 5 nights at BCV, then 2 nights onsite at Universal, and then 4 nights at VWL. We've never stayed this long before, but had some extra developer points to use, which made the VWL part possible, and we had already decided to try Universal this trip, so that's what we are doing in the "middle" weekend. And, because we had such a great time doing it last year, we're going back to do Discovery Cove (and then Seaworld) the first weekend.

So far, it's worked out that we do something "extra" about every 2nd or 3rd DVC trip. When we drive down, use our annual passes/10 day non-expiring hopper tickets, and stay at DVC, a trip is really pretty inexpensive. Some summers we do that, and others we splurge like this summer with the extras.

On this trip, I can tell we will use our Disney time to unwind, and spend less time in the Disney parks, because we'll be going, going, going on the weekends. I like the plan of a previous poster, who said they would sleep in and relax during the day, and hit the EMH parks at night. That's probably what we'll be doing, too -with 2 teen daughers, I think my days of getting them up early are in the past!!!

 

[mmmcq]

We actually bought into DVC because we were able to experience a 10 day stay - but offsite thru a different timeshare owned by my in-laws. It was so different from our previous trips to WDW in that we were relaxed, we didn't feel the need to over schedule our days, we had fun in the sun by the pool and we got to visit other Orlando sites like Sea World.

We purchased enough points initially to be able to do 7-10 days every other year in a 1BR and then once we had a 3rd child and our older children became teens we added on points so that we can do the same with a 2BR.

Our vacations (just back from 7 days at HH) are usually never for less than 7 days now at WDW - or elsewhere for that matter. It's honestly just too much work for me to pack and plan for 5 people for shorter stays. I need the 7-10 days. I was not at all ready to leave HH on Friday - just as the weather was warming up and I was so relaxed. But I also like getting home a day or so the girls have to get back to school - or we are too stressed and then the benefits of the vacation evaporate.

But to take these longer vacations we can't go to WDW every year. With the airfare, the park passes and the meals......it's still just too much of a budget buster. And with the points that I just used at HH we'll be short on points for a year or so - but it was worth the two DVC trips we've taken in the past 6 months. We have so many great memories of the giggling trio.

So we likely won't be back till 2009 - but it will be a long trip for sure!

When we're at WDW now we don't get up at the crack of dawn (we let the teens sleep) and we only stay at a park for 2-3 hours. We do a few rides and then we head back to the pool or another activity and then head to Epcot for dinner. We spend most of our night there walking around. We find it so relaxing. Two years ago we ventured off for two days at Universal, but my teens weren't thrilled so I don't feel any pressure to hurry back there.

Go Sox. Unbelievable sweep of the Yankees.......

 

[Granny]

One of the reasons I asked this question was to be able to convince DH that there is PLENTY to do for 10-14 days. He loves WDW but I just like to have some answers for when he questions my plans for the future.

I should have noted that one thing we have done is to rent bicycles/boats during our stays. We enjoy touring around a bit on them and probably wouldn't do this if on a short trip with little time for the parks.

Same thing with other activities such as miniature golf, etc. Those are things that take up some time and we probably wouldn't do them on a shorter trip.

 

[MermaidJan]

The most important thing that DVC has allow us to do on our vacation is relax. We no longer feel the need to do WDW commando style. I know that I will be back soon and that I can enjoy the attractions that didn't fit in our last trip. We go to WDW for two (2) 7 day trip and at least one (1) 4 day a year.

We usually start our planning by deciding what we really have to see. Fireworks, our favorite attractions, favorite restaurants and new restaurants that we want to try.

We go the park most every morning before it gets to crowd then head to one of the DVC pools. We pool hop a lot. Some afternoons are spend walking around the other hotels just enjoying the whole Disney experience. The grounds everywhere you go are lovely. The evenings, we do a nice dinner then watch fireworks. If we are still looking to have some fun it is off to DTD or the Boardwalk to enjoy the entertainers or maybe ESPN to watch a game.