Afternoon breaks or no?

[J&J]

We are going for the first time next week and I had planned (in my head) to take an afternoon break from the parks each day, but now questioning how realistic that is? It's myself, hubby and our 6 yr old. We are staying at CBR so the afternoon breaks from HS and Epcot will be easier right?

MK - getting there for early entry, ride the rides, leave for break then be back for Crystal Palace dinner at 6:30PM then fireworks

HS - might be doing a late arrival here because of breakfast reservations but still... even if we get there at 11am, there is no way my 6 yr old will handle being there until 9:30pm for Fantasmic... so break here as well?

Animal Kingdom - no breaks here as park closes early so we will be there for early entry and just leave when were done

MK#2 - its a party day (that we are not attending) so we will get there around 10am probably and power through for our CRT res at 5:45PM

EPCOT - early entry, ride some rides, lunch somewhere, hotel break for the afternoon and be back at some point in the evening ish for Luminous

I guess now that I am writing it all out it's just our first MK day that might be tight on time if want to take a break? We do have Park Hoppers if that helps...

Any thoughts or insights are appreciated

With a young child good for an afternoon rest so much for them. We always did that with our kids calmer kids.

 

[Aron1012]

We love afternoon breaks and especially having lunch at the pool. Adults can order a drink and the food while the kids swim away. Once the food arrives they can eat then resume swimming (we don't respect the wait 45 mins after eating rule). Often we do a nap to wait out the inevitable FL afternoon thundershower and then back to the park about 6:00 for a few rides, dinner, and maybe fireworks.

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to Disney mainly because it is hard to find that perfect balance between exhaustion and making as many memories as possible. But sounds like you have a great trip planned, so just enjoy!!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

As I previously stated, we have always done midday breaks. In July my DD18 went with a friend and got the 4 park summer ticket special. They decided they would skip midday breaks to maximize time.

Well they did it for MK and they were beat down. The heat was a lot on them. Next day they took a midday break on their Epcot day. They left early their AK day and then did a full day at DHS. She said she realized how much time midday breaks take but they are essential.

We go for 8-10 days so we have the time to play with. If I were going on a short trip I would probably skip them too.

 

[Mousetopia]

We are going for the first time next week and I had planned (in my head) to take an afternoon break from the parks each day, but now questioning how realistic that is? It's myself, hubby and our 6 yr old. We are staying at CBR so the afternoon breaks from HS and Epcot will be easier right?

MK - getting there for early entry, ride the rides, leave for break then be back for Crystal Palace dinner at 6:30PM then fireworks

HS - might be doing a late arrival here because of breakfast reservations but still... even if we get there at 11am, there is no way my 6 yr old will handle being there until 9:30pm for Fantasmic... so break here as well?

Animal Kingdom - no breaks here as park closes early so we will be there for early entry and just leave when were done

MK#2 - its a party day (that we are not attending) so we will get there around 10am probably and power through for our CRT res at 5:45PM

EPCOT - early entry, ride some rides, lunch somewhere, hotel break for the afternoon and be back at some point in the evening ish for Luminous

I guess now that I am writing it all out it's just our first MK day that might be tight on time if want to take a break? We do have Park Hoppers if that helps...

Any thoughts or insights are appreciated

I love to do that..in theory. It does eat up the time. I have started taking mid day breaks for a nice long break right in the parks or close by.
some ideas
from MK head to the Poly for lunch, Dole Whip and quiet time shoes off! on the beach!

Epcot has ooodles of hideaways.
sit by waterfall in Canada at the back. Japan, China, UK all have LOVELY quiet gardens.

..Then on a longer trip half way through the trip a whole day at the resort for a break

 

[gottalovepluto]

MK#2 - its a party day (that we are not attending) so we will get there around 10am probably and power through for our CRT res at 5:45PM

You’re losing valuable time not rope dropping on a party day. Those first couple hours are very low crowds. I would rope drop and try to get CRT for a late lunch. To me those first couple morning hours are more valuable than 1pm-5pm especially after 4pm when party crowd mix-in starts. Take a break after lunch and then hit another park that night, maybe dinner in EP.

 

[lovethattink]

It has been so hot and humid lately. I live in Florida. Will your 6 year old be using a stroller? Do you live in a hot climate?

WDW is huge and there is a lot of walking.

I walk a couple miles every morning. The temps are comfortable to me until about 10am. I come back from my walks very sweaty.

Take advantage of air conditioned attractions, stores, and restaurants.

Be sure to hydrate and stay hydrated. You can get ice tap water at many counter service restaurants. Just be aware that Florida water has a hint of sulfur and chlorine in the taste.

Taking a break away from the park takes time. At MK, you never know how long it will take for the next bus to arrive to your resort. And driving you own car from MK takes even longer because you have to be bused or monorailed to the TTC, then tram or walk to the parking lot.

When my kids were young, they never wanted to leave the resort pools. Often when we took a break, we’d spend hours at the pool, then get too tired to go back to a park.

No matter if you leave a park or not, you’re going to need breaks. Breaks from walking, breaks to cool down.

 

[JCornell]

Part of it is knowing your personal style, how often you go etc. so what I'm going to say is what we found works for us.

In our experience, after going for many years, we know that if we go back to our home resort for "a break", we'll talk ourselves out of returning to the park since it's so relaxing and it's not like we'll feel like we missed out on something.

Therefore, for us, a midday break is usually head to a nearby resort to tour it, grab a drink or a snack and chill out in the air conditioning and then head back. For instance, at MK we'll jump on the monorail, usually head to Poly and get a Dole Whip or a drink in Tambu lounge, maybe browse the shops and head back. If we're staying at Poly, maybe we'll boat to Wilderness lodge instead etc.

 

[Bork]

Breaks never worked for us. Wasted a lot of time, kids never rested and everyone was even crankier. Now we prefer to do a late sit-down restaurant (1pm) to rest, get out of the heat and away from crowds. It also works better for us to do 2-3 full park days, then an off day.

 

[loves to dive]

Lots of advise and all of it good. The most important thing is no one knows what is going to be best for your family. As you can see, every family does it different and it is what works for them. You don't say how many days you are going to be there.

I will say, we have been going for over 40 years. Started when there were only 2 parks and my son was a little over 3. We have always stayed on property, always had PHs and always taken a break at some point. He goes now with his own daughter who just turned 3 in April. Said daughter took her 4th trip just last week. I think the first 3 trips they had PHs and sometimes took a break sometimes not, she doesn't sleep in her stroller. They told me last trip that they weren't going to buy hoppers again until she was older because they found that they either just stayed in the same park until early evening or if they went back to the room, went back to that park. They don't do early mornings, she sleeps in so it just doesn't work to get her up too early. They also don't do late evenings, I think they leave around 6 or so. When my son was younger, he liked to go to the pool and we would usually go back to a park for a few hours after supper. As he got older, he still liked to just get out of the crowds for a while.

I think the most important thing is to just gage your family and see how it goes. It is hot and rainy this time of year. Even if you are from a hot place, it is just different. We are from Georgia and still Florida sucks it out of us. Be ready to change plans and know there is no way you are going to "do it all" anyway.

 

[Miffy]

OP, I am just back and it is HOT at WDW, so midday breaks are, for me, a necessity. The heat and humidity are at their worst midday, so it's the perfect time to not be in a park.

I haven't read the entire thread, but I think your initial plan sounds about right. Use Early Entry, do some LLMPs if you can afford them, and stay out of the midday sun!

 

[ahhhshmatthew]

Whether we have our daughter (5YO) with us or not, my wife and I have been / will forever be midday break people. It's hard to know exactly the toll being out in the parks rope drop to close takes on your body until you do it. Once we did it though, we realized how much a break helps. For me, a midday break vastly improves the quality of the time spent in the parks. To us, it's not really "missing" 3-4 hours as much as it is drastically improving the hours spent on either side of that break.

For me personally, I don't even take a nap during the break (nor does our daughter, but wife sometimes does). Just being off our feet, flat on our backs has me feeling like I did in the morning when we come back for the evening. Breaks just help tremendously with hydration, blisters, general soreness, energy levels, potential meltdowns, and more. I find it does require a bit more planning on the frontend, but we love detailing out Disney trips so that's no issue

 

[ilovebassets]

HS and Epcot are great parks for breaking. They're open late, they have specific late-night entertainment that can't be seen during the day, and you are not reliant on any form of Disney transportation unless you want to be. We also find early entry particularly useful at HS.

AK does not stay open late enough to warrant going back and forth, and there is no late night entertainment.

MK in theory would be good for midday breaks, but the logistics of going back and forth are just not worth it unless staying on property with either boat or monorail transportation. With driving, you either have to then deal with a boat or monorail. If you're taking a Disney bus, the amount of time is just too long to make it worth while. We have also had problems using Disney transportation to get there early enough for Early Entry despite being at the bus stop crazy early. So we have given up trying to time MK in general. We by Genie Plus/LLMP and just show up when we want and leave when we want. No going back and forth.

 

[Pyxie]

Whether or not you need an afternoon break comes down to the individual really. I am firmly no break and I like to do open to close. If i need to rest, I'll do an easy inside ride in the AC. My daughter is pretty much the same way.

My husband absolutely needs a break or he'll get tired and cranky. My son is much like him. I often let them leave and take a break while my daughter and I stay in the park. Or they will just leave early for the day and we will stay and close things out.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I do find it more difficult to take a mid day break from MK unless I am staying at an MK resort. One thing you could do is plan your lunch at a monorail resort and find a quiet corner afterwards to relax for an hour or two before going back to MK. Sometimes just being in cool and quiet is all you need to feel refreshed.

This is a great idea. I recommend Wilderness Lodge for lunch and a break. The boat ride over is relaxing and fun. The resort is beautiful. Lunch at Whispering Canyon is good (or just get quick service there). The lobby is very comfortable, but can be noisy. On the 4th floor there is a little area with a fireplace where you can sit. The Boulder Ridge building has its own lobby that has lots of very comfortable seating in various areas and is super quiet. No one will bat an eye if your 6YO naps there even. There are also some Walt train pieces on display that are just great to see.

When mine were 6, a break in a quiet place where they could either nap or just play on a phone for a while would recharge them for the rest of the day. They would not have made it from early entry to fireworks without it. A stroller helps for a day that long too, even if for just a spot to sit while they wait for parade or fireworks to start. Our youngest would nap in what appeared to be the most uncomfortable position in a stroller at WDW even at that age and when he never napped normally. Bring your own umbrella style stroller if you have one so you don't have to rent and return at the park entrances.

Most important thing to remember when you're going with a kid--the point of the vacation is to have fun, not to check things off a to-do list. Better to skip something and take a break to rest than to power through and be miserable. It took us a long time over many trips with our kids to finally learn that lesson, and it's still hard to do, especially since the trip is so expensive.

 

[erinch]

My kids were theme park commandos and wanted to just keep going.
On the flip side, if we went back for breaks, then everyone was crabby and out of sorts when we returned.
So we would go a couple of days at lunch or later—more difficult with the new LL system, but still what we tend to do, even though kids now in 20s and 30s.

When they were little, the mid day naps was many, many round trips between MK and Epcot, Carousel of Progress, Peoplemover, hall of Presidents, Impressions de France when it played during the day, Spaceship Earth and the shows.

Also long lunch TS.

 

[kanerf]

I am on my afternoon break in my DVC room at Boardwalk right now. It is very hot in the parks this week, so I have been coming back from the parks for a few hours before I head out to dinner. I was in Animal Kingdom this morning (early entry) and left around noon. I will be heading back around 3:30 or so to make dinner at Boma. I like doing it this way.

 

[jeankeri]

1st, why do you have hoppers? According to your schedule it doesn't look like you are hopping.

For me taking a break would depend on how much you want to get done. Is this you one and only trip? Will more trips be taken in the future? Breaks take a big chunk of your time away from the parks. Personally, I would try to avoid them and just take a "break" in the park. I like to fit as much in as possible.

I was thinking the exact same thing!
Just there last week, and we did a mid-day break every day but our last. On our last day we got aLL for Guardians because I wanted to make sure we COULD get another ride (lucked out on VQ while on Clamobile before Extra Hours)- so ended up being in EPCOT at 2pm. Wowie-so very very hot. So yes- just avoiding the heat of the day is a game changer. That said, we always went to a different park after our break. Not sure how amped I would have been to return to the same one- made the evening it's own adventure.

 

[Gentry2004]

We did not at that age. My kids needed early bedtimes so we just stayed as long as we could and then left, usually by 5pm if not sooner.

When they were younger and still needed a nap, we'd go back for the nap and then try a few more hours at the park but still not stay until closing. Of course that only worked if they were able to to nap at the hotel.

 

[mefordis]

What if you have lunch at CRT at 12:40pm? Is it worth it to go back to the resort at 2pm - 5pm then back to MK for fireworks from 5:30pm - 9pm?

 

[mefordis]

1st, why do you have hoppers? According to your schedule it doesn't look like you are hopping.

For me taking a break would depend on how much you want to get done. Is this you one and only trip? Will more trips be taken in the future? Breaks take a big chunk of your time away from the parks. Personally, I would try to avoid them and just take a "break" in the park. I like to fit as much in as possible.

Do you think they would remove park hoppers and give a refund if you called them and explained that you didn't need them after all? I'm in the same situation where I hastily bought the park hopper and really do not need it!