Best length of stay

Englebabies

Englebabies

Active Member
We are planning a family trip of 4 adults and 2 children 11 and 9. What would be the best number of days to stay? 7 or 10. Adults are more Disney fans then the two boys. The boys love animals, my youngest is my thrill seeker while the 11 yo is more a laid back water ride kid. We are doing a mini vaca close to home to see how they act as both are ADHD but the 9 yo is Sever while the 11 is almost non-existent. I dont want to push them too hard so that everyone can have a good time. We where originally planning to do 10 days but now I am thinking maybe do a 7 day trip first as this is a first time for most of our party as only two of us have ever been and it was a long time ago. Any advice is appreciated.
 
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Hcalvert

Hcalvert

Well-Known Member
Both of my kids are ADHD and my oldest is Autistic. We have stayed 3-8 nights with no problem. This next trip we are staying 9 nights and split staying between Poly and POR. In November, we are going for a quick trip of 4 nights. In June 2020, we have scheduled 10 nights and will be split staying at BLT and CCV. Plan on some down time if needed and maybe a resort day on a busy day like Saturday and go miniature golfing or resort hopping. We usually get park hoppers, so our plans are flexible. My kids are 8 years apart and as youngest is currently 10 (11 in early July).
 
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K

KaliSplash

Well-Known Member
2 days at the Magic Kingdom. 2 days at Epcot. 1 day at the Studios. 1 day at the Animal Kingdom. 1 day at blizzard beach. 1 day at typhoon lagoon. 1 day at Disney Springs. 1 day of mini-golf.
 
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Smiley/OCD

Smiley/OCD

Well-Known Member
Our first trip was our honeymoon in 1993...did 10 days including UNI for a day. All of our subsequent have been 7. Being this will be your family's first trip, I would say do the 10 days, take your time to decompress and not push it with the kiddos. This way, if one or more are having a bad day, it won't be that much of a loss if you spend the day at your resort and don't go to a park. We are going again in May of 2020...this time we are taking 10 days to REALLY explore without the pressure of constant go,go,go. Whatever you decide, ENJOY IT and don't get overwhelmed...if you don't get to see something, if all goes well, your family will get bitten by the Disney bug, and will return before long. Just do your homework and PLAN the best you can before you go. That's 2/3 of the battle!
 
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C

CLEtoWDW

Well-Known Member
As soon as both of our kids are tall enough for all attractions we will shift our 7 day trips to 10 days. IMO you need 10 day (especially in the summer) in order to truly experience everything and not feel rushed. Personally, I’d like to break up the trip with the first 3 days at a hotel (such as Swan and Dolphin) and the remaining 7 at the Beach Club Villas. Having the kitchen inside the BC will also allow for trips back to the room for lunch which can save some serious money.
As crowds have increased MK has become a 3 day park. FP are necessary for so many attractions that you almost have to split MK into three separate days to get on everything you want. Also, ensuring you hit all nighttime shows you have to space out your schedule so you can have a “sleep in day” after a late night at Fantasmic or HEA.
 
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RustySpork

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
I feel like 8 days is the magic number.

2 days @ MK
2 days @ Epcot
1 day @ AK
1 day @ HS
2 free days, the first probably being arrival day. That gives a day for water parks, Disney Springs, or just hanging out at the hotel.
 
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KCheatle

KCheatle

Well-Known Member
I think it depends on what time of year you are going.

In both September and May, we've stayed 7 nights/8 days, and I would teter between 6-7 nights if we planned another September or May vacay. I remember being ready to go home on the last day. But, at those times it's warm enough to do the water parks, so that extra day in there is nice. Especially if you're going to hit up Uni or something else.

In November, we've been very pleased with 5 nights/6 days. We leave wanting a bit more, but having done everything we wanted to do. It's a bit chilly for the water parks, so we skip those.

We went in July once and I thought staying longer would be better since it was so crowded. I was 100% wrong. After 9 nights/10 days at WDW in July, I needed a two year hiatus. I will never go back between June-August because I have the luxury of being able to vacation any time of year, but if I were to go back I would do no more than 6-7 nights. Like I tell my husband, I can deal with heat and no crowds (September or early May) or I can deal with crowds and nice temps (November), but I cannot do both heat and crowds. It's too much.
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
It all depends on how you attack the parks, how much you want to accomplish and how much down time you need to fit in. We prefer a longer stay than 10, 10 or shorter doesnt give us all the time we want on a trip... but we fit in a lot of extras. And with the crowds now we find a park day doesnt get us as much as it once did, even with FP+ and arriving early. Knowing your kids better than we do, if you dont think they will benefit from/enjoy a longer stay then go with the 7 days and dont extend it so it becomes a miserable time.
 
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larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Four days five nights. If this is a test, don't lock yourself into a 7- or 10-day experience you might want to bail early on. You can always schedule a longer trip if everything goes well.
 
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Englebabies

Englebabies

Active Member
Original Poster
KCheatle said:
I think it depends on what time of year you are going.

In both September and May, we've stayed 7 nights/8 days, and I would teter between 6-7 nights if we planned another September or May vacay. I remember being ready to go home on the last day. But, at those times it's warm enough to do the water parks, so that extra day in there is nice. Especially if you're going to hit up Uni or something else.

In November, we've been very pleased with 5 nights/6 days. We leave wanting a bit more, but having done everything we wanted to do. It's a bit chilly for the water parks, so we skip those.

We went in July once and I thought staying longer would be better since it was so crowded. I was 100% wrong. After 9 nights/10 days at WDW in July, I needed a two year hiatus. I will never go back between June-August because I have the luxury of being able to vacation any time of year, but if I were to go back I would do no more than 6-7 nights. Like I tell my husband, I can deal with heat and no crowds (September or early May) or I can deal with crowds and nice temps (November), but I cannot do both heat and crowds. It's too much.
Click to expand...
We are going in June between the boys birthdays as a joint present to them. So we are planning park hoppers with water park options
 
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dontknow

dontknow

Member
I think interest(s) (along with finances) play a role in helping to determine number of days.

- Do you want to go to all of the parks? For us, we have been a few times where we never went into Hollywood Studios after our initial visit due to lack of interest. This year, we have a full day at Hollywood Studios planned (new interests).

- Are there enough 'things' to do in the parks you want to go into to do in a single day or do you have so much interest in something where you may want 2+ days?

- Do you want to visit the same attraction more than 1x? When our daughter was into Princess, MK had SOOO much for her that 3 days was barely enough to exhaust MK. For us, AK was mostly done in one 1/2 day. Epcot became more of an interest over time so we now allocate 2 full days.

- Do you want to go to the water parks? We did it 2x, but never again.

- Do you want a 'resort' day to hang and catch a breather? We always build in a day for this since we enjoy the resorts and can really use a break mid-stay.

For us, we generally stay 8 full days (not including travel days) and have found that to be our minimum as well as our maximum. Our balance.

Give consideration to what experiences you are after and can accomplish reasonably over a course of a day. That may help determine # of days.
 
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KCheatle

KCheatle

Well-Known Member
Englebabies said:
We are going in June between the boys birthdays as a joint present to them. So we are planning park hoppers with water park options
Click to expand...

In that case, I'd do this:

Day 1- arrive, relax at hotel
Day 2- MK full day
Day 3 - Epcot full day
Day 4- Late morning, Blizzard Beach, then evening relaxation at Disney Springs, hotel or restaurant at another hotel
Day 4 - Hollywood Studios full day
Day 5 - Animal kingdom full day (possible MK at night- I don't think AK is a full day park, but some would disagree)
Day 6- Late morning, Typhoon lagoon, then evening relaxation (or return for evening to a park)
Day 7 - MK in AM, park hop to Epcot for dinner
Day 8 - Travel home or re-do boys' favorite park/attractions
Day 9- travel home (if you didn't on day 8)
 
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