I will be taking our family for our first trip to Disney World Dec 9-14. We have been to DL MANY times and always stay on property. We usually take a break at Disneyland, as our hotel is usually a 15 minute walk. We will go to the room for about an hour or 2 and then back to the park. We are gone at the most 2.5 hours, but usually it is only an hour and a half.
I am having trouble scheduling 4 hours for a break in my touring plans for Disney World (estimating 1 hour each way for travel to CBR and a 2 hour break). When we are there, the hours are limited and we will not be contending with the heat. My sons will be 12 and 13 at the time of our trip, so I won’t have little ones to contend with, however we are coming from the west coast and are hoping to RD each morning. What are your thoughts? Break or no break?
I would plan a break if you wanted resort time, or maybe want to take a swim. If you do not I may hop out of the park and visit some resorts and maybe grab something to eat (the deluxe resorts at Christmas are attractions on their own).
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It is tough to do a full midday break with the shorter hours in December. We usually plan some early departure days (2-3pm back to resort) and late arrival (noonish) days rather than a full 4hr break. With your older kids breaking for a sit down meal(1-1.5 hrs) might be enough to get refreshed! With longer trips you have the flexibility of combining a couple of options.
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I’m always an advocate for breaks. You’re right that getting to/from your hotel isn’t as easy as in DLR, but an hour transportation time is overestimating how long it’ll take you to get back and forth. I’m assuming you’ll be taking Disney transportation, so the longest you’ll likely wait for a bus is 20 minutes (I’ve occasionally had longer waits, but that is rare), travel time is about 15 minutes, and walk time from your room to the bus stop and from the bus to the park might be 10 minutes at the most, so I’d look at 45 minutes as your worst case scenario to travel time.
If you’re at MK on a day when it closes early and not planning to hop to another park later at night, then you might get a break of sorts having a leisurely lunch at one of the monorail resorts or Wilderness Lodge. Sometimes just being off your feet and just sitting for a little while will energize folks for a little while. I prefer RD with a break back at the hotel, but you’ll have to see what works best for your group!
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As an adult with no kids who almost always goes during the cooler months, I virtually never take a mid day break. I typically have a relaxing TS lunch, and that is all I need.
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Thank you all for your input. Most of my TS ADR are for lunch. I am thinking I will extend the time frame allotted for those reservations and our “rest” will be our lunch time. I am also planning on using the friendship boats to park hop between EP and HS, so that can serve as respite as well. Just incase, I will make sure I am flexible in my planning so that if we are exhausted we can take a break. Maybe I will do two sets of TP, one with a break daily and one without. I am off over the summer, so I have the time, LOL!
Given your kids’ ages and the shorter hours, I wouldn’t do a break. I agree with the others that suggest a longer sit-down lunch to recharge.
My suggestion for coming from the west coast is to, if possible, try to switch to east coast time a few days before your trip. You may feel a little foolish getting up early and going to bed early, but it will make the transition much easier.
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We are winter travelers and don’t have a mid-day break unless the park is open until 10. That was usually just at MK. You should still try to give your self some rest or down time if going open to close. There are places to relax inside the parks. The UG lists some rest areas in the back few pages. A late lunch or early dinner TS may be much appreciated. You could also go to the nearest resort and sit in the lobby on a cozy chair. Some attractions can be planned as times to cool off and rest, too. (Such as Ellen, France movie, Pixar short films, CoP, HoP)
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Perhaps take a resort break every other day. Cut down on burn out and still have days where you run through to closing.
Less chance if needing a brea if its a party night at mk and you are bot going. You would be leaving between 5 and 6 anyway.
And as mentiones do not miss out on the resorts at christmas. They are amazing. I only got to do a handful but i am so hapoy i did. Loved Wilderness Lodge. And the life sized gingerbread house at mk is fantastic.
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