9 nights and 8 park days at Disney too much ? Please read.

SpykeYs

Active Member
Hi,

I am planning a trip (already bought) for this upcoming March 5th to 14th with my wife and 2 kids (3 and 5). My scheduled is meticulously planned but my wife is now challenging it. (which I do appreciate btw).

I am an experienced Disney traveler as I had the opportunity to visit Disney World ~10 times. My last trip is this past August with my oldest (11 years old). My wife has been once and is not necessarily a big Disney fan.

The big question is : Is 8 park days (basically each days minus arrival and departures) too much ? I did not plan for "rest days" per say as staying at the resort all day is not an option for us. My reasoning behind purchasing 8 park days is yes we can rest as much as we want, but let's perhaps go to a site for a few hours in the evening or morning. But at least let's give us the option to have access to a Disney park every day. What are your thoughts about that ?

Something she also mentioned is the kids will most likely be bored after 8 days at Disney. (I think she is wrong). She is now looking to perhaps go Disney 6 days and use the two other days for activities outside of Disney. On the opposite, i'm looking to spend all time at Disney to remain in Disney ecosystem but also for the opportunity to do everything at our own pace. I'm worried if we start adding things outside of Disney we may be creating a too much rigid schedule.

Thoughts ?
 

HoustonHorn

Premium Member
Hi,

I am planning a trip (already bought) for this upcoming March 5th to 14th with my wife and 2 kids (3 and 5). My scheduled is meticulously planned but my wife is now challenging it. (which I do appreciate btw).

I am an experienced Disney traveler as I had the opportunity to visit Disney World ~10 times. My last trip is this past August with my oldest (11 years old). My wife has been once and is not necessarily a big Disney fan.

The big question is : Is 8 park days (basically each days minus arrival and departures) too much ? I did not plan for "rest days" per say as staying at the resort all day is not an option for us. My reasoning behind purchasing 8 park days is yes we can rest as much as we want, but let's perhaps go to a site for a few hours in the evening or morning. But at least let's give us the option to have access to a Disney park every day. What are your thoughts about that ?

Something she also mentioned is the kids will most likely be bored after 8 days at Disney. (I think she is wrong). She is now looking to perhaps go Disney 6 days and use the two other days for activities outside of Disney. On the opposite, i'm looking to spend all time at Disney to remain in Disney ecosystem but also for the opportunity to do everything at our own pace. I'm worried if we start adding things outside of Disney we may be creating a too much rigid schedule.

Thoughts ?
You have given yourself options, which is great! If something comes up (unexpected illness, etc), you can pivot.

Also, with the ability to go every day, you can just decide to leave if you sense a meltdown coming on.

I do not think your kids will get bored, even if they've been before. But you will have the chance to re-ride their favorites on another day before you leave.

Have fun!
 
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JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Looking at the ages of your two (3 & 5 ) I’d kind of agree with your wife. Looking across the 4 parks total, how much is there that will keep your youngsters occupied enough. You are limited on attractions they can go on. Expecting them to hold out late hours is pushing them past what’s reasonable. The 11 yo is more up to doing a lot. The height restrictions alone cuts you off of many things. How much patience will they have in long lines?
As someone who loves Dis, I hate to say don’t go but my DS was 8 on his first trip and we found it limited on how much he could do or even wanted to do ( not many thrill rides and HM was too scary).
I’m sure there will be many parents who will disagree with me and say they did so much with their young kids, but it’s is my take on it by what friends who’ve gone with their very young kids have said. Close to 90 o/o tell me they wish they had waited til the kids were a bit older and could do more and get the most value of their money spent.
 
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NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
So I'm one of those parents that regularly did 10-day stays with our young kids. We also did Uni. and SeaWorld (once but never again). We started taking our kids when when they were quite young (first DS was 15mo, when 2nd DS came along, he was 4wk and 1st DS 2.5). We tended to have my mom with us though. Our boys loved the pools, water parks, both ended up being quite tall for their ages so they could ride more when they were still fairly young. Our 1st DS rode Soarin when he was 2.5 and loved it! Tom Sawyer's Island was a blessing to let them run around and burn off energy. Our kids never got bored and we always and a little backpack with activity books and things to keep them occupied during lines. Our philosophy about going so long (and still is) is that we can take our time and not feel as if we have to "do/see" everything. We can sleep in, have character breakfasts/meals (back in the day). I get antsy and feel like when we do 7-days that we're "missing" something, despite years of coming, still.
 
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Hcalvert

Well-Known Member
For the last five years, we have been staying two weeks in June. During our Christmas and March trips, we stay only a week. I went during a work trip in early December and went to the parks solo for three days after the convention I was attending. It is what you make of it. We enjoy not having to be in a rush to see or ride everything in a short period of time when we are on a longer trip. We're rope droppers and occassionally participate in the After Hours events. We have a 14yo son, so we may be in a different situation. We take daily breaks from the parks and enjoy the resort we are staying at--which has been BWV for the last few trips. I personally do not miss the grueling all-day park days we used to do when my son was younger. We never go to the parks on arrival/departure day since we drive in from Ohio. We tried it once, but we were so exhausted on arrival day that it was not enjoyable. We have done it when flying in in the morning.
 
Upvote 1

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
My kids were 4 and 6 for their first visit to WDW. That one was 5 nights and 6 days (5 days really, as the first and last were cut in half by travel), and even that was more time than we needed, even with 4-hour nap breaks every afternoon. Of course, that was in the days of legacy FP and full staffing levels, so we spent much less time standing in lines than we would if we attempted the same trip today, but I still think we'd have been looking for other things to do if we'd stayed much longer.

If you haven't bought your tickets yet, maybe consider getting 5 or 6 days worth, and leaving some room in the schedule to go offsite (to Universal, etc.) or just to have a pool/DS day or two. You can always tack on extra days, part-way through the trip, if it looks like additional WDW park visits are in order.
 
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SpykeYs

Active Member
Original Poster
There was some miscommunication between me and my wife. She was under the impression I was scheduling 8 days of park from 8 am to 10 PM. We both don't want water park as we do not feel they will enjoy enough + we have a season pass for a much bigger water park in Canada. We prefer resort pool. We also prefer to stay in the Disney ecosystem as much as possible as we wont have car.

Here is what our schedule looks like. Thoughts ? Remember I am traveling with a 3 (almost 4) and 5. I would guess I have incorporated enough resting period but I'm definitely open for suggestions.


Sunday March 5th: (no park tickets)
-Arrival at All-Star Movies around noon
-Unpack, pool, etc.
- 5 PM dinner at Mediavles Times
- in bed around 9 PM

Monday March 6th (Magic Kingdom)
- Purchase Genie+
- Arrival ~8:30
- Dinner at BoG 5:05 PM
- Leave park after BoG
- Going to bed early

Tuesday March 7th (Animal Kingdom)
- Arrival ~8:30
- Departure ~3-4 PM
- Dinner TBD
- Pool and going to bed early

Wednesday March 8th (Hollywood Studios)
- Purchase Genie+
- Arrival ~8:00
- Leaving around noon for resort pools + nap
- Back at 4 PM
- Dinner Hollywood and Vine 5 PM (with Fantasmic! package)
- Fantasmic! at 8:30 PM
- back to hotel after Fantasmic!

Thursday March 9th (Magic Kingdom)
- Purchase Genie+
- 8 AM Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table
- Leaving around noon-1PM for resort pools + nap
- Back around 5 PM for evening + Fireworks
- back to hotel after fireworks

Friday March 10th (Epcot)
- Purchase Genie+ (stacking)
- Pool at resorts in the morning
- Late arrival (~Noon-1PM)
- Dinner at Space 220 16:50
- Fireworks at 9 PM
- back to hotel after fireworks

Saturday March 11th (HS)
- Purchase Genie+ (stacking)
- Late Arrival (11AM-NOON)
- Sci-Fi 15:45 (Fantsmic! Package)
- Fantasmic! at 8:30 PM
- back to hotel after Fantasmic!

Sunday March 12th (AK or EPCOT) -- Based on kids preference
- Late Arrival (10-11 AM)
- Disney Springs at 3 PM for Cirque Du Soleil show at 4 PM
- T-Rex after Cirque Show (~6 PM)
- Shopping + back to hotel.

Monday March 13th (Magic Kingim) -- LAST DAY
- Purchase Genie +
- Rest back to hotel at 1 PM if necessary
- Back to MK for evening + fireworks
 
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Ghostdog

Well-Known Member
With the age of your kids, definitely schedule daily downtime at the pool. Treat the kids to snacks and frozen drinks poolside; they will LOVE it! Even a short nap in the room for everyone is a gift you won’t regret giving yourself. The down time will give all of you time to relax and reset for the second half of the day.
 
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Ghostdog

Well-Known Member
My previous post was being typed as you posted with your schedule. Looks like you have pool/nap already scheduled.

Great itinerary; have a wonderful trip.
 
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CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
There was some miscommunication between me and my wife. She was under the impression I was scheduling 8 days of park from 8 am to 10 PM. We both don't want water park as we do not feel they will enjoy enough + we have a season pass for a much bigger water park in Canada. We prefer resort pool. We also prefer to stay in the Disney ecosystem as much as possible as we wont have car.

Here is what our schedule looks like. Thoughts ? Remember I am traveling with a 3 (almost 4) and 5. I would guess I have incorporated enough resting period but I'm definitely open for suggestions.


Sunday March 5th: (no park tickets)
-Arrival at All-Star Movies around noon
-Unpack, pool, etc.
- 5 PM dinner at Mediavles Times
- in bed around 9 PM

Monday March 6th (Magic Kingdom)
- Purchase Genie+
- Arrival ~8:30
- Dinner at BoG 5:05 PM
- Leave park after BoG
- Going to bed early

Tuesday March 7th (Animal Kingdom)
- Arrival ~8:30
- Departure ~3-4 PM
- Dinner TBD
- Pool and going to bed early

Wednesday March 8th (Hollywood Studios)
- Purchase Genie+
- Arrival ~8:00
- Leaving around noon for resort pools + nap
- Back at 4 PM
- Dinner Hollywood and Vine 5 PM (with Fantasmic! package)
- Fantasmic! at 8:30 PM
- back to hotel after Fantasmic!

Thursday March 9th (Magic Kingdom)
- Purchase Genie+
- 8 AM Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table
- Leaving around noon-1PM for resort pools + nap
- Back around 5 PM for evening + Fireworks
- back to hotel after fireworks

Friday March 10th (Epcot)
- Purchase Genie+ (stacking)
- Pool at resorts in the morning
- Late arrival (~Noon-1PM)
- Dinner at Space 220 16:50
- Fireworks at 9 PM
- back to hotel after fireworks

Saturday March 11th (HS)
- Purchase Genie+ (stacking)
- Late Arrival (11AM-NOON)
- Sci-Fi 15:45 (Fantsmic! Package)
- Fantasmic! at 8:30 PM
- back to hotel after Fantasmic!

Sunday March 12th (AK or EPCOT) -- Based on kids preference
- Late Arrival (10-11 AM)
- Disney Springs at 3 PM for Cirque Du Soleil show at 4 PM
- T-Rex after Cirque Show (~6 PM)
- Shopping + back to hotel.

Monday March 13th (Magic Kingim) -- LAST DAY
- Purchase Genie +
- Rest back to hotel at 1 PM if necessary
- Back to MK for evening + fireworks
For my kids (8, 5, and 2) this would be way too many late nights. If they go to bed early, they're up at 6am. If they stay up late... they're still up at 6am.

You'd get a lot more mileage out of your park time if you rope dropped every day, and skipped fireworks and Fantasmic until they were older.

You're also arriving at the parks way too late. If the park opens at 8am for normal guests, that means 7:30am for resort guests, and you want to be there no later than 7:00.

That extra half hour in the morning is worth two hours later in the afternoon.

I totally agree with your over-arching philosophy though... Do some park time every day, with lots of resting sprinkled in, rather than going hardcore open-to-close some days and then having other days where you do nothing at all.
 
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RememberWhen

Well-Known Member
I think your plans look great. I just got back from 7 days, just me and my 20month old. I would have happily stayed another week. We were not bored and there were lots of things we didn’t do.
My advice would be to be flexible. Everything takes forever. The days you’re planning to leave at 12 and come back for 4 might be hard. I found leaving and coming back was harder than I expected.
Leave time for bathroom breaks, snacks, and just playing. The kids might want to spend some time on the play areas in the parks. It’s a nice chance to rest adult feet too.
 
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KaliSplash

Well-Known Member
I once plotted 3 full weeks at WDW with no repeating. (I never did it, btw). I don't think they kids will get bored. I think your schedule looks fine. There appears to be plenty of rest time built in. I think you will have a wonderful Trip! My one concern is your wife. If she is not a Disney fan, she could become bored after about day 4.
 
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Mireille

Premium Member
I don't have kids, so I can't speak to that at all, but I've gone solo a bunch of times and stay 7 nights/8 days. I'm a WDW fan, not a theme park fan, so I only want to spend time on property, I agree with you there. For me it's the perfect length as I'm always ready to get home on my last full day there so I just get to the point where I'm almost full of Disney and I get home and can live in the glow of a full trip without wanting to go back right away. My last trip, I brought my mom with me and she is not a Disney park enthusiast or really a theme park person at all. She did ask if we'd go to Harry Potter land and I had to tell her we wouldn't, but I was paying for everything so I didn't feel too bad :) We did 7 nights/8 days and aside from her heading back to the hotel after lunch on one day while I park hopped, she didn't get sick of it, but she was ready to go when it was time. Looking at your schedule, I think it looks pretty good!
 
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NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
Schedule looks good! I'd be prepared for your kids to likely sleep through Cirque though--we took our kids about that age to see "Mystere" and "O" in Vegas and they slept through it. The heat, combined with all-day activity, then sitting in a nice, dark theatre was too much for them! They were out!😁 But you and your wife will enjoy the show--we loved Drawn to Life when we saw it this summer! And our kids stayed awake (although at 16 and 18, I'd hope so).
 
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DisneyDelirious

Super structures are my specialty!
Premium Member
With the exception of quick trips for MVMCP or MNSSHP all of our WDW trips have been 9-14 days. Over 30 trips of 10 days or more. Our kids haven’t gotten bored. As the kids get older and honestly my wife and I get older we aren’t the park commandos we were but we still go to the parks/ water parks each of the days but departure day. You can slow down and see the little things so many race by. Enjoy the water parks, mini golf, different resorts, look for hidden Mickey’s, etc…
 
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SplashJacket

Well-Known Member
No problem with 8 days at the parks.

Allows you to take it slow and do all you want.

You can chill at the pool somedays, early nights, resort hopping, chill at the boardwalk, have the kids watch a movie on the beach at Yacht, etc.

I love Universal, but I honestly don't recommend it to parties with little kids.

Also, if you're doing multiple days in the parks, you might not necessarily need Genie+, but then again, that's dependent on how much your kids can handle in line (something I am not used to handling).

As others have mentioned, there's also mini-golf and other things to do if you want to remain in the bubble.

I honestly think its hard to get bored at the parks, unless you just hate them.

My brother and I had free 6-month Universal passes that lingered over from our passes pre-covid that we were letting expire since we had already gotten out money's worth, but the pandemic caused Universal to turn our remaining pass into a 6-month pass we could redeem whenever. So my brother and I flew down to Orlando in June 2021 (right after VelociCoaster opened) on $38 Frontier tickets each round-trip, and stayed at our cousin's house that's about 15 minutes from the parks. We did Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for about 10 days straight (we also purchased a ticket to Volcano Bay, which was incredible) and we never got bored. Our cousin was bewildered that the 2-parks never got us bored, but they didn't.

While I don't think Universal is necessarily fit for your family's age range, I really don't think your family will get bored with 8-days spread across 4-parks. Then again, I may just be crazy.

One comment, Hollywood Studios may be better to be one of your flex days (based on kids preferences). Highly recommend Sci-Fi though, environment is great and your kids will love it, so keep that at all costs, but they may like both the non-MK parks more.

Young kid activities at:
Epcot (with varying levels of interest):
  • Frozen
  • Ratatouille
  • BatB sing-along
  • Impressions de France
  • American Adventure
  • The Land
  • Awesome Planet
  • The Seas with Nemo and Friends
  • General Aquarium
  • Three Cabarellos Ride
  • Figment
  • Pixar Shorts Theater
  • Turtle Talk with Crush
  • Harmonious
  • Spaceship Earth
  • Oh Canada!
  • Misc stratosphere (acrobats in China, etc)
HS:
  • MMRR
  • BatB
  • Mickey Shorts Theater
  • Muppets
  • Disney Junior
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Lightning McQueen
  • Disney Junior
  • Fantasmic
  • Star Wars Launch Bay
AK:
  • Nemo Show
  • It's Tough to be a Bug
  • Feathered Friends in Flight
  • Navi River Journey
  • Safari
  • Kali River Rapids
  • Rafiki's Planet Watch
  • Animation thing at Rafiki's
  • The Dinosaur spinner
  • Lion King Show
  • General animal exhibits (there are a lot!), especially the long trails like the one near Kali.
MK
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Tiki Birds
  • Country Bears Jamboree
  • Hall of Presidents
  • Peter Pan
  • Small World
  • Phiharmagic
  • Carousel
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (height dependent)
  • Barnstormer (height dependent)
  • Winnie The Pooh
  • Ariel
  • Dumbo
  • Tons of meet and greets (circus tents, fairytale hall, and enchanted tales with belle)
  • Speedway
  • People Mover
  • Monster's Inc Laugh Floor
  • Tea Cups
  • Carrousel of Progress
  • Tree House
  • Parade
  • Castle show
  • Fireworks
I'm probably forgetting some stuff, but all the stuff above are activities y'all can do as a whole family. Hollywood Studios has the least to do for any age group, Epcot may have less of interest to them, though, so mileage may vary. Magic Kingdom has the most you can all do as a family with little your family can't do together, but in Epcot, everyone who can should absolutely do Guardians, as with Rise in Hollywood Studios, and Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom. Rider swap does burn a lot of time, so if you are planning on short days, with relaxing, etc.

Animal Kingdom is probably the best suited for relaxing and just wandering around, but it all depends on how you and your family like it. The shows are easily the best at the park, they're all worth doing, so if your kids like shows, jackpot.
 
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Loveforwdw

New Member
Just my opinion but Sunday March 12th appears to be a waste of a park ticket. Arriving at 10 or 11 would only leave you about 3-4 hours max of park time. If the kids choose AK by the time you walk in you might only be able to get in 1 attraction and you would have to turn around and head out to make to the show in time.
 
Upvote 1

SpykeYs

Active Member
Original Poster
Hi !
Thank you again for your feedback! I made some minor modifications in order to have the rest time more spread evenly and same things with fireworks. Here is my new schedule:

My big question is would you leave as is or remove 1 disney park day and replace by Seaworld ?

Context:
- We are interested to rest for a few hours here and there but not a full rest day.
- Kids 3 1/2 and 5 1/2
- Extra Disney park = ~100$ where as Seaworld = ~500$ with uber.

I'm leaning towards keep this trip Disney only and next time when they are older perhaps do half Disney and half universal with Seaworld. I have a feeling the extra disney park day would be more or less a rest day (a few hours park and some resort/pool) where as if we go Seaworld it is going to be full day in park.

Sunday March 5th: (no park tickets)
-Arrival at All-Star Movies around noon
-Unpack, pool, etc.
- 5 PM dinner at Mediavles Times
- in bed around 9 PM

Monday March 6th (Magic Kingdom)
- Purchase Genie+
- Arrival ~8:30
- Dinner at BoG 5:05 PM
- Leave park after BoG
- Going to bed early

Tuesday March 7th (Hollywood Studios)
- Purchase Genie+
- Arrival ~8:00
- Leaving around noon for resort pools + nap
- Back at 4 PM
- Dinner Hollywood and Vine 5 PM (with Fantasmic! package)
- Fantasmic! at 8:30 PM
- back to hotel after Fantasmic!

Wednesday March 8th (Animal Kingdom)
- Arrival ~8:30
- Departure ~3-4 PM
- Dinner TBD
- Pool and going to bed early

Thursday March 9th (Magic Kingdom)
- Purchase Genie+
- 8 AM Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table
- Leaving around noon-1PM for resort pools + nap
- Back around 5 PM for evening + Fireworks
- back to hotel after fireworks

Friday March 10th (Epcot)
- Purchase Genie+ (stacking)
- Pool at resorts in the morning
- Late arrival (~Noon-1PM)
- Dinner at Space 220 16:50
- Harmonius at 9 PM
- back to hotel after fireworks

Saturday March 11th (HS)
- Purchase Genie+ (stacking)
- Late Arrival (11AM-NOON)
- Sci-Fi 15:45 (Fantsmic! Package)
- Fantasmic! at 8:30 PM
- back to hotel after Fantasmic!

Sunday March 12th (AK or EPCOT) -- Based on kids preference
- Cellier at 17:00
- Harmonius again (if not tired)

Monday March 13th (Magic Kingim) -- LAST DAY
- Purchase Genie +
- Rest back to hotel at 1 PM if necessary
- Back to MK for evening + fireworks
 
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