When to schedule a down day?

[L-Harper]

I'm trying to plan {again, uh} which park to do on which day. We will be going for our very first WDW vacation in September for 10 days. I will be traveling with my husband and our two boys, 2 and 4. We are arriving early morning on a Wednesday and leaving late on the next week Friday. Should we schedule two down days? Just one? Which day(s) should be down days? I don't want to over estimate ourselves... Any advice or tips would be VERY helpful! Thanks!

 

[hunter1722]

I have done a few long trips too although never arriving on a Wed. I would say that if you hit MK (thurs), DHS (fri), went to Epcot on the nights (assuming you have hoppers) then went to AK (sat), you could do Sun downtime and then have another downtime afternoon/evening around the following Wed. You can always plan and adjust as you get there and see how everyone's energy levels are holding up.

 

[keypooh90]

We always plan our down day halfway through our trip. On our downday, we do DTD, resort hopping, swimming, maybe play mini golf, etc.

 

[Disneykidsdad]

We call them "mental health days".

 

[Mickey2013]

I think a break day somewhere around Day 3 or 4 is good.

As far as parks on which days try www.wdweasy.com They have reccommended parks for each day based on crowds and such. Great site!

 

[Scrappygrrl]

Weekend are the busiest, so plan a rest day for one of the weekend days, to avoid the largest crowds and lines. Not sure if you need another one if you take your time each day and plan mid-afternoons breaks, etc.

 

[KELLY]

We are doing 10 days. We aren't park comando we get there when we get there we are on the QSDP.
Sat arrive
Sunday Epcot
Monday MK PL reservation for the girls
Tuesday MNSSHP We are just doing DTD and T-rex lunch
Wednesday TL this is sort of our down day don't open til 10am
Thursday AK Tusker house breakfest
Friday HS
Saturday MK Desert Party for the fireworks
Sunday Epcot
Monday Home

 

[murcor]

You and your family will have so much fun!!

10 day vacation, down time is necessary

Our down time days are just hanging at the hotel, swimming etc.

Im guessing I would do two days in a row at MK with your boys. MK is going to be the most popular with the boys at their age.
As the vacation goes on they will be getting tired earlier in the day from the parks.

How many days are you planning on spending in parks?

Have fun

 

[loveysbydesign]

If we are there 10 days or longer we schedule 1-2 down days. It all depends on how hot it will be and how you all handle the heat.

We found that when we go when it is very hot we def. need more down time and usually a mid-day break(except for MK day).
You can always add 1 day to your ticket if you decide to want to do more park days then you had originally planned. On our last trip we planned 7 park days, 1 SW day and 1 rest day, but opted to only do 6 park days and took 2 break days, 1 to sit around the pool house and relax and one day we drove to Clearwater Beach. It was a great relaxing day even though we had to drive there!

 

[akl-fan]

I would take a down day after 3 days and with kids that young I would be breaking for nap/pool time each afternoon in the heat of the day.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I wouldn't schedule a whole day or two for a down day. Keep in mind that even on your 'down' day you are going to need to find a way to keep that 2 and 4 yr old entertained and even the best parents can only take so long in the tiny value rooms with thier kids and not much to play with before you go bannanas! Keep in mind your kids will KNOW by then all the fun things they could be doing instead, don't know if the 2 yr old can talk but out DS at 4 drove us nuts wanting to go do this and that instead of just chilling.

I would pick 2 half days as down days, one sleep in, swim, chill in the room, etc and the other come back during your mid day break and don't go back out that evening. Rest and relax.

I would rather have a 2-3 hour break everyday than a whole down day, I think that is more beneficial, espically the time you are going, Sept is still hotter than the surface of the sun most days so the daily break is awesome. With the price of tickets for that 9th or 10th day you could just go eat lunch and ride both the 2 yr old and 4 yr olds favorite ride and still get your money's worth for that day.

 

[AnnieEMT]

We call them "mental health days".

same thing for us!

We'll be going for 7 days in September, and we'll be doing 2 days off from the parks in that time - totally necessary!

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

we just got back and i dunno if it was just that particular week, but it was super hot and humid. we needed a break every day. it was so hot in the middle of the day all we wanted was our super cold villa or to be under water. we went to a waterpark or the pool almost every day in the afternoon... then came back and changed for dinner and back to the parks. we didn't go to parks for the first 2 days and just relaxed and were happy we were on vaca. i went to the spa, he went to disneyquest, we explored all of downtown disney without being rushed, went to the pool, went to sleep early, slept in... it was nice!!

 

[Conan the Librarian]

We do down days every 2 to 3 days for a trip. We usually stay for 14 days, so, we get plenty of time in. Down days can be used for: Waterpark, pool day, resort hopping, DTD, or any other activity, encluding a brief visit to a park.

 

[L-Harper]

As of right now I have almost every single day having either a mid-day rest or sleeping in and having a relaxing morning. I have one "down day" that is just dinner at Raglan Road in DTD that evening. I figure we'll sleep in, hang out at Pop Century to swim or whatever, and then explore DTD that night. We would be going to bed early this night too. My plan is to do MK on our arrival day since we're getting in so early in the morning and doing Chef Mickey's for dinner. Our last day we're going to MK in the morning, having lunch at Crystal Palace and our flight doesn't leave until 7:00 in the evening. By the sounds of what everyone is saying, my current "plan" will be very good. Thank you all ofr your replies!

 

[princess aleya]

Our first trip to WDW we were go go go non stop because we wanted to see and do everything. We didn't take much time to enjoy our resort and other things Disney has to offer. So with that being said, this trip we plan on not rushing to the park everyday and taking breaks during the afternoons for swimming etc. Enjoy your trip!!

 

[kevallen]

Since this is your first trip, I would recommend a down day after 72 hours. They say that is the wall for first time visitors. You'll be over-stimulated at every corner, and it is good to take a day to hang out at the pool and rest. With at 10 day trip you'll probably want more than one down day. It makes the rest of the days better because you'll not end up with a bunch of "Grumpys" hanging around you.

 

[kathy884]

We do down days every other day on any trip that is three days or longer.

Last March
Day 1 Sea World (Sea World closed at 7 so had time for evening swim)
Day 2 -- sleep in and 1/2 day at Kennedy Space Center
Day 3 -- MK
Day 4 -- sleep in Titanic attraction and time at resort (swimming and tennis)
Day 5 -- DHS
Day 6 -- time at resort, quick stop back at Sea World to do two favorite coasters before going to airport, and evening flight home

 

[SnipsNSnails]

We will be there 6 full days. Our plan is MK, EP, lazy day with MNSSHP in the evening though we will probably spend a little time at EP that day as we have Le Cellier ressies for lunch, maybe an hour or so in the morning before our 11:30 ressie. Then it's HS, AK, and our last day is a day to hit anything we've missed or want to see again. Dinner is scheduled at CP in MK though.

I guess if it were me I'd have 2 lazy days in there. You'll have plenty of time in the parks.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

I'm taking my best friends for their first trip to the World in December and I promised them one "down day" so our schedule looks something like this:

Sunday: MK/DHS (Fantasmic)
Monday: Epcot
Tuesday: MK (closes at 7 for MVMCP... not attending)
Wednesday: Down day
Thursday: AK/MK (MSEP & Wishes)
Friday: DHS
Saturday: Epcot

On our down day we are renting a pontoon boat and cruising Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon, visiting a couple of resorts to see Christmas decorations and then doing La Nouba that night!