Family of 4 - Current ages are: F38, M44, F14 & F12
Previous trips: 7 days in 2015 and 6 days in 2019
If you could have two trips of 4-5 days, one in 2021, and one in 2023
OR
one trip of 10 days in 2022.
Which would you chose and why?
What led to this? This year’s vacation is already planned (and kinda revolves around a family wedding + a teenager going on a Girl Guide trip to Europe). But as my husband and I started talking about other things we want to do… We want to go back with just the 4 of us (the other trips have been big family reunions), and as we were pricing it out, we realized that … I think particularly for Canadians, the cost of staying a full 10 days is not that much more than staying 6 or 7. The cost of your daily park entrance drops considerably, and no matter how long you stay, you are paying the same air fare.
This August, we met lots of Brits who were staying a full two weeks. But, is there a point where you just get Disney’ed out? Even with afternoon naps and a couple non-park days? Will my husband up and leave me alone with two squabbling teen girls if he’s trapped in the hotel with us for that long? (We usually stay at POR, but would consider vacation points and upgrading to a villa this time).
I would pick the longer trip in 2022 - but short trips stress me out. I always feel like I don’t get enough in - enough time in the park, enough down time/relax time in the resort, etc.
I would do 10 days for sure. I just did an 8 day trip last month, and it felt pretty great, but I think I would have been happy with 2 more days. Shorter trips do not feel like enough time. If you are doing a 5 day trip… 2 of those days are travel days… so you only get 3 FULL days in the park. I always go to the parks on travel days too, but I put less important things on travel days.
I’d recommend at LEAST 1 full day at each park. Preferably at least 2 days for your favorite parks! That just doesn’t leave much room for short trips
Edit: The reason I don’t do longer than 8 days is because I miss our cat too much, and worry about her even though she is well-taken care of. If we did not have a pet, I’d probably do 14 days!
I would do two trips if they were say six months apart, but being spaced out two years I would go for the longer trip. The longest I’ve done was 9 nights at Poly. It was magical, but by the time day 9 rolled around I was ready to go home. We played regular golf, mini golf, parasailed, rented a pontoon - there was plenty to do not including park days. So I don’t think you will get bored of one another on a longer trip.
One trip for 10 days based on cost alone. After 4 days of park tickets the price drops to less than $20 per person / day. Combine that with transportation for two round trip flights and you’ll be saving hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
The beauty of a long trip is you don’t have to “cram it all in”. You can have resort / spa day or take the family to the Kennedy Space Center or other nearby attractions.
For a family trip, I’d definitely go 10 days. We did this last year (and going 9 next trip) and felt like we could take an afternoon/evening off or sleep in a day or two and weren’t missing valuable park time. We weren’t Disneyed out by the end but on our last couple of days we were about done with the crowds and having to wait to do everything (get on bus, order a snack, go to the bathroom, etc.). It was spring break with CL 8s-9s though.
IMO, shorter trips are better saved for more frequent visits, like if you want to go 2x a year–I also took two shorter trips last year only adults so they both have merit.
Cost per day is significantly lower, especially if you count in the airfare.
Because the cost is lower per day, I would not stress too much about ‘having my money worth’. I would take longer breaks and keep slower pace, which would result in more enjoyable vacation.
We just returned from an 11 night stay in WDW and had wonderful time!
This is why I go longer but less often. i prefer the total immersion and catching up on everything new, but then exploring other places until the next trip.
I would do 2 shorter trips. We just went over Thanksgiving and already there is something new we didn’t get to do (RotR). But, we aren’t planning on going back anytime soon, so I just have to wonder about what could be while day dreaming I am on FOP. If I was planning on going back in a few years or so, it wouldn’t really sting as much. Can’t afford to go back right now, but WE WERE JUST THERE and I can’t stand it that I can’t do the new things. Plus, with Tron and MMRR and all the new stuff, I would just want to go back for that. A shorter trip would do that for me.
I would do the one 10 day trip. Everytime we take a short trip I come home feeling exhausted, but still having missed stuff. A long trip allows you to get more done in a more relaxed pace.
Absolutely the longer trip. We were there for 10 nights in October. Never felt like it was too much Disney. Allowed us to repeat favorite attractions, take afternoon breaks every day without feeling like we were missing something. Plus, if staying on property, the 180 + 10 days for ADRs and 60+10 for FPP is a definite advantage.
If you are use to 6 or 7 days on a trip, you will not be happy with just 4 or 5. Do one 10 day trip and take a couple days to visit UOR, especially with the ages of your daughters. Happy planning!
In your situation, I’d probably go for the single longer trip. I personally like trips that are long enough to get settled in and not feel rushed, but I also like to go home before I get too homesick.
I think I’d be in Mickey Heaven if we could travel down a couple of times a year for 3-5day trips, but I’m definitely content with any visits we get to make.
Tough. From a cost perspective 10 days. Other than that I’d go for shorter. We personally burn out and also get the itch to go again which can be cured with shorter trips. If you have serious FOMO a shorter trip might be hard because you can’t do everything.
