How Long?

[Misha72683]

We're planning a trip for next October and I'm wondering how long. Originally we were thinking Monday to Sunday and get a 5 day park pass, but I'm wondering if that won't be a long time for my kids, who will be 2.5 and 4. Maybe it would be better to go for 5 days (4 nights) and spend 3 days at the parks and give my kids some time to relax when we get home.

Is a 5 day trip worth it or should I do the full week? This will be our first time going to Disney.

 

[Pipefitr]

I would do the whole week. You could always do short days at the parks then in the middle or end of the day hit the pools. Maybe do rope drop one day and wishes the next. I think Magic Kingdom needs 2 days. What ever you decide enjoy your trip!!

 

[North of Mouse]

We're planning a trip for next October and I'm wondering how long. Originally we were thinking Monday to Sunday and get a 5 day park pass, but I'm wondering if that won't be a long time for my kids, who will be 2.5 and 4. Maybe it would be better to go for 5 days (4 nights) and spend 3 days at the parks and give my kids some time to relax when we get home.

Is a 5 day trip worth it or should I do the full week? This will be our first time going to Disney.

Looks like you will be coming a long way, so I say come for the week, do 3-4 park days and relax with other activities in between. The time passes so fast, just four nights would be over in a jiffy!!

 

[Mousemommy1]

We as a family of four prefer 10 nights and do that annually. It allows us to go at a nice pace and take breaks as needed.

Next years trip is only 7 nights though, because we will have an infant in tow and don't know what kind of traveler he will be. I'm already panicking because 7 nights seems so short.

 

[kreckl]

We've found that longer our trip, the more relaxed we are, the more fun we have. There will be sooo much to do, the challenge will be to pace yourself so you aren't all exhausted by day 3. Stay as long as you can!

 

[MandiC]

We did Friday to Friday with 6 park days and honestly it felt like almost too short of an amount of time. We enjoyed our park days and never felt rushed since we had a day for Animal Kingdom, a day for Hollywood Studios, two for Epcot and two for Magic Kingdom. The only thing I wished for in the end is that we had scheduled a day to just stay at the resort somewhere in between. We stayed at POR and there seemed to be a lot to do and see and we just didn't have time.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We try to always do a full week. We also like having a ticket for every day we are there. It allows us the freedom to go at a slower pace and to spend less time in the parks each day, but have the option of going into the parks everyday. It really works best for us. Tickets get cheaper for each day so it cost very little to add on a few days.

 

[uagirl]

We did a Saturday-Friday on our last trip and felt it was too short. We are going back next December and doing a Friday-Saturday. We will have a 5 year old and a 1 year old. We plan on a couple of half days with some resort and DTD time sprinkled in.

 

[nat8199]

We did a Sat-Sat trip last Oct with 2 2.5yo and a 4yo and it was the perfect amount of time. We got in early enough on the 1st Sat to have lunch at BOG and ride a few rides and then left early the next Sat.

We are planning the exact same schedule for next Sept.

 

[OnThisMagicNight]

I agree with everyone else, the longer the trip, the better - especially with young children. It'll allow you to go at the kids' pace instead of rushing to fit things in. Our first trip with DS2 was a week long and it was good (although honestly another day or 2 would have been even better!) Our second trip was only 4 nights/5 days and it was way too rushed...even a bit stressful. I feel like everything takes a little longer with a 2 year old anyway...between nap times, tantrums about transitioning from one thing to the next, travel time, earlier bedtimes...extra time is always a plus! If your only option was the shorter trip it's still worth it, but I think longer is more enjoyable. I really wished we had more time at the resort pool on our past trip! I also like getting a park ticket for the full week (the cost difference is normally minimal between a 5 day and 7 day ticket), that way if a day doesn't go as planned and you end up leaving a park early you don't feel like it's a waste and there's still another chance to make it up. (For that matter, you can always add on days once you're there too.)

 

[abh413]

We just got back from our first trip. My kids are 3 & 5. We did 5 nights & 4 park days, no hoppers. I'm already planning our next trip.

We need a longer trip with more rest between the parks and maybe a park hopper option. Doing 4 parks in a row was a bit much. We were pretty exhausted by the end of our trip. We did 2 days in MK & wished for 3. We also did AK & HS for 1 day each. The kids wanted more time in the pool.

 

[Disneyaddictz]

Our last family trip in January was 11 days and for the first time we felt like we could stop and smell the roses, I know everyone, every time can't do that long but the key really is equal down time to park time. As much as we love to spend every second in the parks we end up exhausting ourselves silly. 11 days allowed us enough time to enjoy downtime knowing we would still have plenty of park time!
When we lived in Miami we spend many weekends just enjoying fort wilderness and Dtd and those were some of the most relaxing/memorable trips!

 

[tzolkin]

We've found that longer our trip, the more relaxed we are, the more fun we have. There will be sooo much to do, the challenge will be to pace yourself so you aren't all exhausted by day 3. Stay as long as you can!

Our last family trip in January was 11 days and for the first time we felt like we could stop and smell the roses, I know everyone, every time can't do that long but the key really is equal down time to park time. As much as we love to spend every second in the parks we end up exhausting ourselves silly. 11 days allowed us enough time to enjoy downtime knowing we would still have plenty of park time!

Yes to both of these.

We usually stay for around 11 nights and do 10 park days. It may sound crazy, but if we were doing a shorter trip, I would feel a pressure to do the parks from rope drop to close to "get my money's worth". We would do it if that's what our schedules allowed, but it would be a completely different type of vacation. Most people I have met say Disney is a stressful, fast-paced, action-packed vacation. They can't understand how we find it relaxing, but the difference is the length of time.

Our first two trips we really needed the mid-day nap with our kids ages. We did EMH rope drop and then went back to the resort around 11. We went to a different park from around 4-8pm. It seems like so little park time, but it was so relaxing, we had no meltdowns, and we didn't mind leaving the parks because we knew we had plenty of time to go back during the trip for things we missed.

Now, even though my kids are old enough to venture out alone, we still maintain the same relaxed touring style (although we stay out much later at night).

It's really a personality thing. Some extroverts thrive on lots of interaction and stimulation so a short park-centered trip is ideal. But my family needs quiet time to get away from the crowds (and heat). Many on the Dis believe that going back to the resort is a waste of time, but we find even the ride on an empty bus mid-day to be a comforting little break from the noise and people.

 

[Anri]

I agree with everyone, the longer the trip the better. You can relax a little more. We always try to do at least a full week or more. This year we will have 6 full days in the parks. I remember taking a short 3 day trip to Disney World growing up and it just made us all very cranky with the rushing around.

 

[Misha72683]

We'll be coming from Ontario.

My husband is actually worse than my kids and can only last a couple hours without getting cranky.

I just worry that a week in a hotel with the kids will be a lot, but at the same time I want to have the best experience since I've waited my entire life to go to Disney.

 

[kellyjeanie]

We went last October, my kids were 2, 5, and 8. We arrived late Sunday night, did 6 park days with one full rest day on Friday, and flew home the following Monday. I thought it gave us plenty of time without feeling rushed. We hardly spent any time in the room other than sleeping. We were usually up at or near rope drop and crashed by 9-10. With your kids that age I agree that you definitely need at least 2 days in MK. If you have more time to tour, you'll feel better about letting your kids and husband rest.

 

[Jess4WDW]

Time flies when you are in Disney! The longer the stay, the better! We spend all day in the park so by the time we get back to our room, we all just crash