so just had long dicussion with dh about October trip. he was thrilled with money i “saved” renting dvc points, but when i said it had been 2.5 years, he said is that all. so i asked would he rather not go he said no, but id rather have more down time than park time…so gots to replan…yikes. more adrs and pool time and less park time…sigh. game on
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so help me folks. i already think i have quite a bit of down time. need to rethink
What do your plans look like, generally? Are you RDing? Closing anything down? Breaks in the afternoon? What about a few QS instead of ADRs? You said you’re renting DVC, do you have a kitchen for, say breakfasts a few days?
I prefer to go with downtime from about 9 pm until 7am.
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I was just telling my DH that our 2.5 days in July would look VERY different if it were my trip. But I realize that making DH and DD happy means a much happier trip for me too, and a higher likelihood of coming back sooner.
Working through my touring plans I am having to come to grips with the idea that this might mean way different touring while in the parks too. Hitting things once and not twice, even though I am sure I could pick up later in the day FPP for the 2nd ride.
So “down time” may even mean a more laid back park style. Tough to wrap one’s head around!
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Do you need to be together all the time that you are there? Could he maybe go back to the resort and enjoy some pool time, while you stay in the parks for an extra hour?
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This was my first thought! Let him sleep in while you go to the parks, go back to the room after dinner while you stay in the parks…
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This is exactly how we do it.
We (usually) have breakfast in the villa first. Then the FPs will be booked for around 10:30 onwards. Anyone wanting to head off early can do so, and we’ll meet before our first FP.
After about 3 hours in a park, DH is often ready to have a break, so he will head back to the villa. At some point the youngest, who has sensory issues and doesn’t really do many rides, either goes off and wanders the park we’re in or will also head back. The eldest and I are usually the last ones standing.
If we have an ADR, we meet up then. If not, we will already have made a plan that says “We’ll have dinner at 7pm back at the villa”. Or “Let’s meet back or text at 5pm and decide what people want to do”.
I can recall one day out of twelve last time that we all stayed all day. We arrived at DHS around 11am and stayed until after Fantasmic , having also seen the Star Wars show earlier - it was the day Carrie Fisher passed, and that show was hugely emotional.
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only rope dropping 2 days and not even on emh days. no emh evenings
one day no parks at all
yes breakfast in the room every morning. i feel like its a pretty chill trip, but i may need more chill time, maybe even out of the bubble…gasp
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I have to say, my plan has evolved to be be pretty chill, just looking back over the years I know there’ll be less crabbiness overall this way.
The majority of our days have a late start. Only two days are RD to park close and those have a mid-day break. We have one day with no parks. The way I’ve arranged it is the starts get later and later, then there’s a whole day off and then back to early start.
There’s no reason why you can’t go do your own thing, I certainly plan to. My family is a bunch of night owls and I’m the early bird. If you’re at a deluxe resort you can easily go somewhere on your own without a lot of travel delay, and then he can catch up later or go back sooner.
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i guess after 33 years, we don’t have to be together the whole trip but i really like the guys company 
maybe some more chill time and possibly some apart time. gotta get in as many splash mountain rides as i can…so since we will be at BLT, he can bail while i ride one more time or 5
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that’s a good idea on adding in an extra day off in case…for me too. my brain is still about 30 years behind the rest of me
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What if you add in evenings, but only do rides you want. Use the time to walk around and soak up the atmosphere. What are your evening plans otherwise? If you’re like my DH and me, we tend to be homebodies, so the idea of going out is a change. WDW doesn’t have to be a whirlwind.
Also, maybe schedule some time on the bike trails or golfing or mini-golfing? Shopping? Just plan to enjoy the bubble, not just the rides. That might help you plan.
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yea, i feel like I have those sorta things planned, but bike thing is a good idea. i think what i really need to do is cut out some of the rides i planned more than once and leave the parks earlier or areive later. The latest park night i have planned at this point is for HEA, because one thing i do know is DH likes to see that in park at least once. only planning on 2 TS adrs at night and hopefully cali grill brunch our last day. Thanks for suggestions of non park but still in bubble. First day is 4 hours of park and then get QS and picnic at poly beach and HEA. need to sprinkle in more of those kinda days
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note to self…don’t write a long response and accidentally delete. yes more non park time and i like the bike idea
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I think the minigolf sounds like a blast. We haven’t done that in years but it’s always fun. Also bowling at Splitsville!
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yeah bowling looks fun
Some more suggestions…
The Void at DS
Boat hire of some sort, kayaking at FW
Try out some of the resort lounges, such as Victoria Falls @ AKL or Sanaa @ Kidani
Jelly rolls on the Boardwalk
Yeah Bob @ POR or the Scat Cats @ POFQ
Carriage rides at FW or POR, or the Hay Wagon at FW
Bike rentals at various resorts or the Surrey Bikes at Boardwalk, possibly WL(?)
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What are your kids ages?
My wife is not a big Disney fan like me and my young teenagers. She also doesn’t like getting up for RDs. So our compromise is that I take the kids and RD and then she meets us for lunch at the park. I usually make an ADR for lunch because I like the break from the crowds and knowing I have a guaranteed seat. I save my FPs for right after lunch back to back so she can ride the headliners with us.
Having teenagers there is no issue going to the parks as a solo parent, but if you had little ones I understand how this would not work.
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