4 Days enough???

[jandthardin]

We are planning a 4-day April trip, but are beginning to wonder if that will be long enough... any advice?

 

[GrumpyFan]

It depends. Four days is certainly a good start for a trip to WDW, and you can actually do a lot in that many days. However, the thing to watch for and avoid, is trying to "do it all" that amount of time. Whether you're there for 1 or 10 days, it's never enough to "do it all". So, enjoy however many days you have and save the rest for next time.

 

[Jrabbit910]

I agree w/ the pp... four days u can do alot... It also depends on the time you are going and the crowd levels.. if its going to be crowded the less u are going to do and your going to want to stay there longer... If four days is what your budgeted for its great... but no matter how long I am on vacation its never long enough!!!

 

[Amyg]

That depends of what you want to do and what your style is (commando or relaxed).

This is what we did in July 2006
MK: 2 mornings and 1 eveing (1-1/2 days)
AK: 5 hours
MGM: 2 mornings and 1 evening (1-1/2 days)
Epcot: 2 whole days

We were always at the parks before rope drop and always used FP as mucn as possible. We also used TourGuideMike's schedules to map out which attractions we would go to on which day.

I suppose you could if you just want to do a day at MK and MGM, a half day at AK and 1 1/2 at Epcot if you don't mind missing some things. Remember that Epcot itself it huge and the World Showcase portion doesn't open till (I think) 11 a.m. AND there is lots to see!

Good luck!

 

[Kriii]

Funny, I have been asking myself the same thing! We usually go for a week but since this will be the 5th trip in as many years, I figure we can hit the highlights and skip everything we are less interested in. I agree w/the poster who said not to try and cram everything in and you will have fun. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[skier_pete]

WOW, what a loaded question!

I think the problem with your question is that you want to know if 4 days is enough...but we don't know exactly what you are looking for enough of.

Is 4 days enough to see everything in WDW? Not even close, I would guess about 12 days would let you see most everything of import. (It would take a month to see everything!)
Is 4 days enough to see most of the 4 major theme parks? Nope, that would honestly take about 6 full days (2 for MK, 2 for Epcot, 1 each of AK and DS) and would not leave time for Downtown Disney, the water parks, or enjoying your hotel.
Is 4 days enough to take in the top attractions? Yes, you can probably hit the highlights of WDW in 4 days. For some people, 4 days is more than enough. If you don't like crowds and you don't like lines, 4 days may be plenty.

Like any vacation, you have to budget your time and money as appropriate. If you only have 4 days, be sure to determine what your must sees are. For instance: Do you really care about all 4 parks? Are you all adults and have no interest in the kiddie aspect / meeting characters? Are you with little kids are happy to only see what the little ones will enjoy? Are you staying on site or off?

My answer, as a fairly veteran Dis-er (Though not nearly at the level of a lot of people here.) is 4 days is going to go by awful fast. I would allow yourself a minimum of 6 days, IF you can afford it, and allow yourself a quiet day out of that (maybe just go to the parks in the evening for fireworks and enjoy the pool during the day). Understand that once you get past 4 days, it is only about $3 more per day for your park ticket. But, you still need to pay for hotel and food.

If you can't afford the time or money, stick with the 4 days, spend 1 day in each park, pick the things you most want to see and see them first, then wander around and check out the rest. Unless you are a real late-rising type, try to get to the parks close to opening to take advantage of the shorter lines. Realize that 4 full park days will leave you exhausted. Pick your park days to avoid the worst of the crowds. (Pick up the Unofficial Guide to help you with park plans....I recommend that book for any first timer. Tour Guide Mike, who's popular here, I think is better for people who have been before.)

Hope that helped!
Enjoy!
SkierPete

 

[DLBDS]

I think a week is the best.....and you STILL won't get to see/do it all. Do you intend to go to a park each day? Can you go 4 days straight without a break? We did a whirlwind 4-day trip in June. It was exhausting to say the least....but totally fun.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Due to DH's work schedule and the cost of boarding our dog, we usually only go for 4 and 1/2 days.
We don't take any breaks other than swimming at the resort. You can see alot in that time frame. Just put together a list of what is most important to do and plan your trip around that.

For us, we usually only do 1/2 day at AK (sometimes we skip AK and go to DTD instead), don't eat more than 3 TS (the kids and I hate sitting around waiting for food so this is a good compromise between what the kids and I like vs. what DH likes)

We split up the time at the other parks based on our to do lists. There are 4 of us and each person picks 6 things that are important to them to do. (it's been fun watching the things the kids pick change as they get older) Anything we can see after that is extra fun.

Just don't try to do everything or else you'll be too stressed and won't have fun.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

We are planning a 4-day April trip, but are beginning to wonder if that will be long enough... any advice?

That is what we are doing. We will be there Wed, Thur, Fri and Sat of next week and I was figured, we would do disney like this:

Wed: Animal Kingdom
Thur: Epcot and Hollywood Studios
Fri: Morning: Magickingdom, Evening: Epcot
Sat: Magickingdom (Disney's Pirate and Princess Party)

 

[pickles]

For those who haven't been , I would always suggest MK first stop and Epcot next. Then, either of the other 2 places..maybe 1/2 day at each..like am at AK and MGM at pm. Then, whatever days you have left over go back and do the parks you enjoyed the most and missed stuff in.

If you leave the 2 really good ones to last and find you want to spend more time there, you will be frustrated when your plane is ready to go.

For me there is never enough days at Disney...probably why I bought DVC

 

[jandthardin]

WOW! Thanks for all the information.

I know I was a little vague on my question, but I am honestly so overwhelmed at this point that I don't even know what to ask.

Background info:

This will basically be our first trip to Disney ever and we had originally planned on staying April 6th-12th. But after checking flights,etc... it would be much more cost effective to stay April 5th-10th.

This trip would mainly be for my 4 yr old daughters b-day and would be primarily geared around her.

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[bettyann29]

I would personally prefer to do more than 4 days, but I have actually gone for 3 before and had a ball!! 4 days is not bad.. that gives you 1 day in each park and thats definitely a start.. Unless you plan a semi long trip (at least a week) it would probably be hard to do everything anyways.. I've been to WDW 7 times and still havent done everything..

That just means you'll HAVE to go back

 

[Amyg]

WOW! Thanks for all the information.

I know I was a little vague on my question, but I am honestly so overwhelmed at this point that I don't even know what to ask.

Background info:

This will basically be our first trip to Disney ever and we had originally planned on staying April 6th-12th. But after checking flights,etc... it would be much more cost effective to stay April 5th-10th.

This trip would mainly be for my 4 yr old daughters b-day and would be primarily geared around her.

Thanks again for all the info!

In that case you definitely must do MK 2 days since that's where there's a lot of child friendly attractions are. Do AK, then at least the sea portion of Epcot (she'll love Turtle-Talk!). The studios have some fun kiddie things such as Beauty & the Beast and Little Mermaid shows which are fun but I don't recall any kid friendly rides. It might be wise to invest (or even borrow from your local library) a book on the World so that you can get a better idea of what exactly there is to do.

As a side note: Skier_Pete mentioned that TourGuideMike is best for those who have been to WDW before but I tend to disagree.

We were first timers and really didn't know what to expect but TGM has so much information about what rides are like, best times and days to go to each park, reviews on everything (by him and members of his site) best places to sit in attractions and the reasons why he suggests what he does. Because of using his site we were able to see pretty much everything we wanted to with our 9 yr old AND do Downton Disney AND have a lot of relax time. He also has several touring plans and there is one geared to toddlers/small children.

Beware though some people have been confused that the site actually plans out a personal tour for you but it doen't. It actually has all the info you need to lay out your own plans according to your personal needs. If you don't like the site you can always get a full refund as well.

Good Luck!

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

WOW! Thanks for all the information.

I know I was a little vague on my question, but I am honestly so overwhelmed at this point that I don't even know what to ask.

Background info:

This will basically be our first trip to Disney ever and we had originally planned on staying April 6th-12th. But after checking flights,etc... it would be much more cost effective to stay April 5th-10th.

This trip would mainly be for my 4 yr old daughters b-day and would be primarily geared around her.

Thanks again for all the info!

Hi there and congrats on your trip! Having a 4 yo myself, I think 4 days is a good start. Of course, as all of the previous posters said there is never enough time in WDW. Try to do the things that really interest her and take your time to enjoy it. The look in her eyes will say it all!

My suggestion would be to do MK first (1 day). Walking in and seeing the castle is every little girl's dream

Next I'd do MGM (also 1 day). Lots of things for the younger ones there too (Playhouse Disney, Little Mermaid, etc.)

I'd spend a 1/2 day each at Epcot and AK and leave the last day to go back to where she enjoyed the most.

I hope that helps and wish you the BEST on your Magical vacation!

 

[ajleone]

I would say that the best advice,as has been said, is to accept that you can't get everything done and just enjoy doing what you can. If I only had 4 days I would do 2 at MK ,1 at EPCOT , 1 at AK and save DHS and DTD for another trip. Whatever you choose- have a great trip!!

 

[skier_pete]

OK, I admit I have never used TGM, so that was just my impression of it. I would still recommend one or the other, the DISboards are good, but it's easy to get overwhelmed by the advice from everyone.

I CAN speak from experience on going with a 4 YO. We went 10/06 when DD was 3 1/2 years old, and again 9/07, both times staying at Port Orleans French Quarter. The first trip was only 5 days, 2nd trip was 8. The first trip was a good length for her, we didn't have time to see a lot, but she was actually afraid of a lot of the attractions, especially any dark rides. The shows and the outside rides were much more her speed. After we finished the trip she of course wanted to go back, but when I asked her what her favorite things were, they were "The Pool" and "the coloring" - which meant the coloring table in the food court at the hotel. We had to plan time on the 2nd trip so she could color at the the hotel room!

So here's some more free advice, take it for what it's worth:
1) Don't push her too hard, if she doesn't want to ride something, don't make her.
2) Definitely bring a stroller or rent one, even if she has already outgrown one normally, you won't be sorry. (It made our life SOOO much easier.)
3) Bring a bathing suit or change of clothes and a towel for MK and Epcot, where they have splash fountains. Your daughter will bee-line for them when she sees it. We had to buy a towel the first trip.
4) Use FastPass whenever you can (make sure you understand how it works) and if there is a ride that you both want to try that is too big for her, use the child swap option. (Don't forget to have a little bit of fun for yourself.)

Gotta go
SkierPete
3)

 

[Coconuts]

IMHO, 4 days isn't enough, especially if this is your first trip with DD. We did this last year and the trip was so harried and hectic. The only way to handle it, is to resign yourself to the fact that you won't see everything, and to spend most of your time in MK. Your 4yo will appreciate this park the most. Hope this helps.

 

[jandthardin]

Thanks again for all the advice! I think at this point we have pretty well decided to make sure we have at least 5 full days, if not 6.

This is all a little overwhelming to me!

 

[glitterkittyy]

Don't forget to tell Disney that it's your daughter's birthday. She'll get a special birthday pin and maybe some extra magic!

Enjoy your 1st Disney trip. Plan as much as you can, but remember to have FUN!

 

[bjscheel]

Our first trip was only 3 days! And we stayed offsite! DDs were 3 and 6. We did MK-Epcot-MK. Our shuttle bus had us back to the hotel at 6:30 each night, so we ate, swam, and went to bed. Didn't get too worn out that way. If you were to skip a park I would skip MGM/Hollywood.

Yes, it was short, but it was a great first time. The next time we had 5 days in the parks. In November we will have 6.