We are going August 14-24. I was thinking about taking pool breaks every day. I was thinking about going for rope drop every day, having lunch ADR at 12 then leaving to go back to our hotel which is 10 minutes off site and going back for dinner and more rides around 5. I was wondering if this is a good idea. Is it too much of a hassle to leave and come back? Would 2 days at each park be enough with the daily breaks? Especially MK and EP?
I don’t like midday breaks. But everyone is different. By the time I factor in walking to the exit, time it takes to get to hotel, and time it takes to get back - it’s a lot of time. That 10 min off site location is only factoring drive time - not walking time, or time to get to the TTC for example.
My last trip was 10 days with 8 days in the park. I did the first 4 days RD and left the parks around dinner time, went to bed early. the last 4 days, we hung at the hotel and did leisurely mornings with time at the pool and then headed to the parks after lunch and stayed until after the nighttime entertainment. It was a decent enough time at the parks. We did 1 full day RD AK (pre ROL), 1 day at HS (without SW attractions, starting at lunch, thru Fantasmic), 2 days EP, 4 days MK ( not consecutive - We LOVE MK).
I always take a break mid day and return to the resort. The only thing you will have to keep an eye out for are daily thunder storms. They can come in quickly!
We’re going to be there in August as well, and I have a plan to be back at the hotel for break/swim/nap nearly every day. I’m also anticipating that it will be humid as heck and my lungs are going to need me to get out of the “breathing through a wet towel” feeling that comes with it as much as my DD(16) is going to want to do the break. It increases my odds of getting her to RD if she knows we’re coming back for a nap and chill time.
If you are going in August, take a mid-day break. You will be really happy you did.
We love the breaks mid-day. Makes such a difference in how we enjoy our vacation. We used to go, go, go all day long thinking we had to do it all and we would come home happy but exhausted from our vacation. We changed that a few years back and it is great. We go early and arrive back for lunch or after lunch at parks. Usually rest/nap/swim at pools for a few hours then shower and head back to parks for dinner feeling refreshed, relaxed and ready to go.
YES. In mid August you will get heat like walking on the sun’s surface mid-day, combined with short frequent rain/thunderstorms in the afternoon, and peak crowds. So it’s a great time of day to unwind at the hotel, swim, recharge, and be set for a nice evening. We find that if we have supper at the park then we’re not really ready to leave the hotel again until closer to 6 pm to not feel rushed. And because there are often same-day reservations, we usually don’t make an evening ADR ahead of time: either pick up something that’s been cancelled last minute (we’ve gotten CP, SAI, Coral Reef, Boma that way), or do QS in the evening.
As an adult touring solo or with my DW, I never take mid-day breaks. My trips rarely have more than 4 or 5 park days, and I can’t afford to lose any touring time. And I only go between November and May. That being said, if someone held me at gun point and forced me to go in August, my mid-day breaks would likely be from about 11:00 to 6:00. I live in FL and I really have difficulty in finding words to describe WDW mid day in August. The only comparison I can think of is to drive to your local mall on the hottest day of the year and spend 8 hours walking around the parking lot, allowing yourself a couple of 3 or 4 minute breaks each hour inside.
I tried doing 1-5pm breaks each day in Nov. The break was a wonderful time but we could have used another hour or so. Felt like we did not get enough down time. Maybe try making your lunch a little earlier or dinner a tad later.