Story of my life! 
1 Like
I tend to schedule out everything for “best case energy levels” just because I would rather have everything planned and then cut back as necessary than have more energy than anticipated and no plan to do anything with it!
We did 9 park days in a row with my 4 kids this February. And I did 8 park days in a row in late July with 4 kids by myself. No rest days. And it was fine. I actually think I’d go nuts with a full rest day with everyone on top of one another in the room.
In February, we did a few RD-mid-afternoon days, a few lunch-close days, etc. Never RD-close. In July I had 3-4 hour breaks built into every afternoon mainly because I was concerned about the heat. And you are correct - most days it was the kids crying uncle and wanting a break before I was ready!
1 Like
I just glanced at the first half of your plans. I think they look pretty good. One thing to consider is adding breaks every few steps. 15 minutes or so. You may not need all of that time but that allows for stopping to take pictures, grabbing a Mickey Bar, going to the restroom, stopping in the souvenirs shops that are at the end of a lot of major rides, etc. Your TP as it is simply assumes you are going directly from one attraction to the next without pause and in my experience with touring with kids it never goes that efficiently.
1 Like
I will use this term going forward!! Yes, I would rather over-schedule now and if we need to drop an attraction or two, so be it.
4 Likes
Yes, I was aware of this when creating the plans. Will try to mitigate by the following:
- Set walking speed to very relaxed (we can walk fast if need to)
- Taking bathroom breaks before/during/after lunch
- Staying in the park xxx minutes longer
- Dropping an attraction (although this is the last option )
The thing is that I just do not know WHEN we decide we need a break, so it’s hard to schedule for this…
2 Likes
The not knowing when is tricky. Have you read many trip reports? I always find those super helpful just reading everyone’s actual experience…I’ll link mine…they are both pretty long so read as little or as much as you think is helpful. 
Our February report (Our February Trip Report) will likely have similar weather to what you’ll experience in late January and my July report (Trip Report 7/26-8/3 - 4 kids + me!) includes my niece who is close in age to your oldest and may help more with the “how will the kids handle everything” sense of the trip. Milder February weather made it much easier to hang out in the parks for long periods of time. In July the heat was oppressive and we needed breaks.
The point of putting in a 15 min break every few steps as @DeepInTheHeartofTexas suggested is that over the course of the day, you’ll stay on track without having to know exactly when you will actually break. Setting the speed to very relaxed will account for quick stops like bathroom breaks.
3 Likes
Thanks, I love reading trip reports. Nice way to end a day and relax, but can be very informative, that’s true. Recall your trip report from this summer, but will gladly read February (this was before I joined the forum).
1 Like
Thank you for re-assurance!
1 Like
No problem. You’ll be fine!
This is how I use them too. If I’ve got 4 rides and a break scheduled over two hours, it doesn’t really matter what order those happen in. The important thing is that breaks are inevitable. Long bathroom lines, a character spontaneously appearing right where you are, a sudden need for funnel cakes…
Building that time into the plan will prevent the need to rush meals, or race from ride to ride, or land in your own worst case scenario and skip something. It’s just more calm and pleasant.
3 Likes
This is my kind of touring! “Sleep when you’re dead” and all that!
2 Likes
Rest days don’t have to be boring days. Our rest days were filled with seeing resorts other than our own, going to non park restaurants, and things like the (Xmas) gingerbread house at the GF. Some of my favorite days were “down days.”
If you are traveling between resorts and going to non-park restaurants, then does it really feel like a rest day? I am working a rest day into my plan for our next trip, but then I started thinking that running around to Disney Springs and other resorts is essentially no different than doing a day at the parks. What am I missing? So now I’m thinking we will just hang out at the pool and our resort all day and maybe go to Disney Spring for dinner.
To me, doing other stuff around Disney is a rest day b/c that endless walking around a park and standing up so much isn’t part of the deal. It is more restful to sleep in and do things at an easier pace.
1 Like
I haven’t gotten to read through all your plans so maybe you have done this.
But maybe for a “rest” day in the park you just start a little later plan to see some shows that day have an ADR. So just a slower pace break day but still in the parks.
Days closer to the end of our trip are more on a slower side. No rope drops per se, but planning to arrive around opening time for the most part.
I agree, ADRs for lunch can serve as a mini breaks, without travelling to resort and back. Will have some shows scheduled too, especially on HS days. 
1 Like
Having a day where you don’t have a schedule of adr’s and fpp’s can be very different energy wise. I feel like trying to stick to a plan for 10 to 14 days straight can be tiresome (and even though I know this we dont take a rest day unless the trip is at least 10 or more days haha).
Our trips are typically 4.5 days. The most I have ever done is 8 days. We are considering making it 5.5 days next time to have a down time day. I can definitely see how on a 10+ day trip that a break from the parks day is needed.
I think your plans look pretty good and you will be fine. We have only ever gone for 8 days or less but our’s were similiar to your’s and we were fine. I will say it helps a lot you are going in January! The heat of summer helps in the exhaustion factor. Last time I went in January it was around the 22nd of the month and it was amazing! The temperatures REALLY factor in to how quickly you get worn down!
1 Like