Growing up, I have always been a “week long Disney World vacation” kinda gal.
Since moving to GA, we’re only 6.5 hours a way from the World. I was debating taking a short weekend trip and doing two days at MK at the end of August.
Is it worth it to scratch the Disney itch, or am I just going to be kicking myself when we leave?
Also - we wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel as my sister lives in the area.
Whether you stay a couple days or a week, it’s always difficult to leave Disney.
All I can say is if I was only 6.5 hours away from WDW or DLR and had a place to stay for free, I’d be getting an AP and making several weekend trips a year. 
Now to get DH on board! That’s always the tricky part lol
I wish you the best in convincing him to go. I’m glad my DW likes Disney almost as much as I do.
When I bought my last AP I planned two one-week stays and three long weekends. I must admit that it was rather depressing finding the DME envelope on my door after my first night ( I flew down on SW points) but I was able to do quick trips for a specific purpose. I did a Food and Wine / MNSSHP weekend ( stay at BW). I did a Flower abdGrden weekend ( stay at BC) and I did a MVMCP weekend ( stay at WL). I found between bounce back and AP rates I could stay at many great resorts and get my disney fix!
What’s bounce back? I’ve gone back and forth with getting an AP. I don’t want to become desensitized to the magic! I also don’t want my DD to get bored with it. Granted, she’s only 2 but I foresee MANY Disney trips in her future.
PrincipalTinker are you a DVC member also?
He does like it… he’s just the more practical one! If it was up to me I’d blow all our money on vacations.
I also live in GA. It is about a 4 hour trip for me. We try to take weekend visits when we have a long weekend… That allows us two full days at the parks and a travel day. We usually arrive on Friday evening, go to parks Saturday and Sunday, and travel home on Monday. These trips are really enjoyable for us. We get our Disney fix, but we aren’t so exhausted when we are done. If you are willing to travel late Sunday night, you could do it in a regular weekend. It is hard leaving so soon, but we also know that we will be back soon since we live so close. I would recommend giving it a try.
Thanks! I really want to! Where in GA are you? We’re north of Atlanta. Google Maps says 6.5 hours, I’d like to get that around 5 haha
I am in Jesup, GA… about 70 miles south of Savannah. We only live about an hour and a half from the Florida line :). It is a really easy trip for us… about 30 minutes on highway 341, then I-95 to I-4. Not a bad trip at all.
The only other downside to weekend trips is that they are more expensive than going for a week - you don’t get to take advantage of discounts for multi day tickets that kick in around 4 days. But… we have found that it is worth it :). We did it three times last year.
Do you have an annual pass? I’m wondering if it would be worth it if we went that route.
I do not have an annual pass. The third trip we didn’t any of the parks. We took advantage of the activities at the resorts (we stay at Ft.Wilderness), Downtown Disney, and the water parks. It was actually a great trip. We should probably look at doing the annual pass, but we really didn’t anticipate doing three trips in a year… It would probably be worth it if you plan on doing multiple trips. I would suggest doing your first trip and seeing how it goes. I believe you can convert your tickets to an annual pass while you are there if you decide that you will be doing it more often… not sure about that so you probably want to double check. We just haven’t been able to pull the trigger on that one yet.
Do you always stay on property? My other internal Disney struggle is joining DVC.
Yes, we do stay on property. We have an RV, so it is pretty cost-effective for us to stay at Ft. Wilderness. We also find that it is very convenient to use Disney transportation (sometimes…depending on where we are going - love the boat to the Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary, and the Wilderness Lodge) and love the extra magic morning hours. We also just like the extra “magic” of staying on property. However, if I had a free place to stay, I might take advantage of that!
I would much rather stay on property myself. My sister is about 5 minutes from the All Star resorts, but she’s young with a roommate. Having me, DH and DD crammed in there is not something I’d want to do all the time!
In all the times I’ve been to Disney I’ve never stayed off property. I don’t think I could do it!
I agree. I don’t think I could do it either. Also, you get better fastpass choices staying on property, as you can make choices 60 days out as opposed to 30. Good luck in deciding!
My drive is about 7 hours (which I hate) and I only go every other year or so. IF I had a free place to stay I might go more often, but even for a 2-day trip, I have to book 3 nights in a hotel, and adding in the gas it’s still a large investment for 2 days. If I was in the 3-4 hour range, I’d probably be there once a month…