Taking a break in the day back to the hotel. Pros and Cons

[LAKid53]

That 1, 3, and 5 year olds will have a major meltdown without a nap. Heck, I need a mid-afternoon break...and we don't get to the parks until 11am most days.

As others have mentioned, it will be hot late June, like upper 80s to low 90s. With high humidity. That mid-afternoon pool break and then a nap is wonderful.

 

[Willmark]

When kids were younger and we stayed further out? No.

Now? Yes. We are always trying to be zigging while everyone else is zagging. We get up early get going, when the 11 AM-ers roll in we stay at the parks till about noon. Then we head back. While the kids swim we have a few drinks at the pool bar.

Head back for early dinner (zigging again) and then stay as long as we feel like it at the evening park.

 

[Trust2deal]

I think your strategy is spot on. Yes - take breaks as you see fit - the kids enjoy the pool as much as the rides and characters. Don't feel the pressure in doing everything every time. We followed your process a number of times when our kids were smaller - and now they are adults, they love Disney and don't get intimidated when they go.

 

[spock8113]

Like the dining plan, there are alot of variables here too. Park/Hotel On or off the monorail system for one.
Little kids, older parents or grand parents. We all know comedian John Pinette's "Disney in August" routine.

Personally, we push through but have tried this: park-hop and go to a sit down restaurant in between.
Or at least find a nice sit-down for some AC and downtime, makes all the difference.
We also like to rest on The PeopleMover(X4), Carousel of Progress, Spaceship Earth or any ride that's long and comfortable.

I find it difficult to wander back to the hotel, especially if you need buses, it breaks my theme park flow so we
forage and rest at the same time.

 

[Minthorne]

Mid day break of course - how else do you get the booze from you room after lunch?!

 

[larryz]

Mid day break of course - how else do you get the booze from you room after lunch?!

Focus on the vay-kay...

 

[Corgi]

Counter-point: I find that a complete day of "nothing" gets boring extremely quickly. By lunch time, everyone is twiddling their thumbs trying to figure out what to do with themselves. Also, you're completely wasting your opportunity to get three FastPasses that day.

Rather than one full day off, I recommend two half-days off. For example, you might consider taking off the morning after IllumiNations or the evening after you do morning EMH.

Wow, really? I don’t think my family hasn’t ever gotten bored at Disney World! Do you have small children? My family does not, which might be why we can spend a whole day relaxing at the pool without getting bored. I think the only catch with taking 2 half days is that then you are paying for 2 full day tickets.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Wow, really? I don’t think my family hasn’t ever gotten bored at Disney World! Do you have small children? My family does not, which might be why we can spend a whole day relaxing at the pool without getting bored. I think the only catch with taking 2 half days is that then you are paying for 2 full day tickets.

We go to the parks for 7 days. The price difference between a six day ticket and a seven day ticket is something like $10. My daughters are 3 years and 6 months but they're not the ones who get bored. They could spend an entire week in the pool and be perfectly happy. I spend 20 minutes at the pool and I'm good for a year. "Relaxing at the pool" has zero appeal to me or my wife. It's hot, you burn, and you don't actually DO anything.

From my perspective, you can go in a pool at pretty much any hotel in the country and it's the same basic thing. You can only ride Space Mountain in a Disney park.

 

[WDWVolFan]

I am going the week of Fathers Day next month to Disney for a full week with my parents and my sisters family and they have five kids. 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10. I am not real enthusiastic about going when it is so hot, but that's they it is going to be.

We have been debating the concept of going back to the hotel (All Star Music) in the middle of the day to take a rest. It theoretically gives you a nice break. However, leaving the park takes energy too. There is a lot of extra walking out of the park to the bus station, through the heat, and then walking to the hotel room, etc. It all takes a lot of extra time.

I am trying to get some opinions for this time of year if that is a sensible idea or not. I know we have two days at magic kingdom (other parks too). I was kind of thinking of suggesting we do an early day, and a late day for these two days. On the early day, we would leave early perhaps around 5 to go back and rest for the remainder of the day. On the other day, we would start out later, perhaps around noon, and stay through the fireworks.

Can anyone talk from experience?

We do that and it all depends on our FPs. If we get them covered before our break or if we get FPs later in the day, we go early to the park and then go rest or go to the pool. It works great.
Also a great time to change shoes, that’s when I go from tennis shoes to flip flops on the days I wore sneakers out to the parks.

 

[KaliSplash]

Always take a break unless you are doing a one-day visit. (even then, it's a good idea to take a long lunch somewhere cool). Yes, you are not getting every possible minute in the park for your hard-earned money. But taking a break, even if you don't take a single nap, is worth it. You are refreshed, whether in the pool or just lying on the bed in the hotel room. This will make the rest of the day more pleasant. (we always plan on at least a 3 hour break, 1 hour to and from and minimum of 2 hours on the bed, in the pool).

This avoids the "check-off" mentality in the parks. Only 3 more attractions in Tomorrowland before we hit Adventureland. It becomes an endurance contest to get your money's worth at the expense of your mental and sometimes physical health.

Take the break. Every full day there that you have access to hotel room

 

[LittleBuford]

I have never taken breaks and don't think I could. I stayed for five full days last year and got up "late" (by which I mean around 8.30/9) on two of those days, but that's as much time away from the parks as I allowed myself. I'm the kind of person who likes to squeeze every second out of my vacations (whether at WDW or elsewhere) and really enjoy the unique high that comes from going at it full-throttle. While I'm sure taking a rest is the healthier option for most, I have no desire to change my approach and would recommend that you do whatever feels right for you.

 

[Raineman]

Three trips to WDW in the last 4 years, the last 2 trips 8 nights, and we have never left mid-day to take a break. DD is not a young child, so there's no issue of having a tired/cranky kid. DW and I are never really tired by mid-day (well, maybe the feet are a little sore by the third day). A few times a day, we make sure to get a drink or a snack, and find a place to sit and relax for a bit, not to mention sitting down for dinner. We are by no means park commandos, and we do park hop a bit, especially when we start the day at DHS, which gives us a bit of time to sit down. Similar to what was on an earlier post, when I want to stay at a resort and enjoy it, I go to an all-inclusive beach resort in the Caribbean; when I am at WDW, I want to enjoy the parks as much as possible.

 

[Think Tink]

My husband and I LOVE our midday breaks. He naps while I relax on the balcony or at the pool. Our next trip in August is 3 days at the beach and 3 days at Disney but I still will take my breaks. It makes me more energized for the fireworks. To each is own though, my sister stayed at the park from open til close some days with a little kid in a stroller. I just prefer to be more slow paced.