What kind of Disney guest are you?

[Red Wench]

@mergatroid I believe you are the first person I have ever known to live overseas to have an annual pass. It seems like you have a great vacation when you visit.
@Think Tink It is great to have a husband that compromises with you. It seems like your vacations are very nicely planned out.
@cjack300zx Having to get up early for work everyday you do deserve to sleep in on vacation. When you feel it is time you will get to that one rope drop, but remember you are on vacation so don't push it.

 

[mergatroid]

@mergatroid I believe you are the first person I have ever known to live overseas to have an annual pass. It seems like you have a great vacation when you visit..

Yes my wife and I love it. In a 15 day stay we can easily visit Disney on 10 separate days. Having an AP saves parking fees and the AP cover our trip 11 months later. So for 2 holidays we save $500 on parking with an AP and as we go every year, it makes financial sense for us to do that. If AP's ceased or Disney stopped subsidising 14 day passess for UK guests, we'd probably just get 5 or 6 day passes and stay longer each day. But having an AP just means we arrive and leave whenever we want without feeling we've wasted a days ticket cost.

 

[Red Wench]

Yes my wife and I love it. In a 15 day stay we can easily visit Disney on 10 separate days. Having an AP saves parking fees and the AP cover our trip 11 months later. So for 2 holidays we save $500 on parking with an AP and as we go every year, it makes financial sense for us to do that. If AP's ceased or Disney stopped subsidising 14 day passess for UK guests, we'd probably just get 5 or 6 day passes and stay longer each day. But having an AP just means we arrive and leave whenever we want without feeling we've wasted a days ticket cost.

That makes total sense and financial sense as well which is the best sense of all.

 

[ElvisMickey]

Are you one that makes the rope drop and stays in the park or park hops all day until closing or do you come whenever you want to the parks and then go back to your resort to relax and then maybe comeback for dinner in the evening and the fireworks? How do you usually handle your days at Disney or do you mix it up?

I think for those who vacation at WDW and who are staying for an extended period of time like my family does for a week to 10 days or on a rare occasion even 2 weeks we usually mix it up. One day we might do a rope drop and go all day long and then the next day make it a pool and resort day and Disney Springs for dinner.

For Disneyland I guess maybe vacations are shorter and things just might be done different. I have never been to Disneyland California or any of the other Disneyland Parks in the world so I really don't know how long people stay there.

I’m the kind that does a 7:30 breakfast at The Wave, Kona, etc., hits rope drop and is back out the gate to my car 2-3 hours later. As a local, I enjoy the parks for a few hours on a Saturday morning before it gets crazy.

 

[Red Wench]

I’m the kind that does a 7:30 breakfast at The Wave, Kona, etc., hits rope drop and is back out the gate to my car 2-3 hours later. As a local, I enjoy the parks for a few hours on a Saturday morning before it gets crazy.

The luxuries of a local.

 

[winstongator]

I am an early riser and the wife sleeps in late, if I had my way we would do rope drop every day but going with a grumpy wife puts a damper on my day. Our stays are usually 7-10 days so in that time we get to do everything any way

My wife likes to sleep in too, so I’ll head to a park on my own to rope drop, or with one or both my daughters. Last big trip we did one day I went to the parks for rope drop while my wife and daughters did yoga at the resort.

we usually take a mid day break and often do a different park in the evening. I try to stay flexible - plan a little of the day (fp+ and maybe an adr), and stay open the rest of the day. My kids can do either an early morning or late night - we’ve done one Rope drop to close but slept in the next day!

 

[Red Wench]

My wife likes to sleep in too, so I’ll head to a park on my own to rope drop, or with one or both my daughters. Last big trip we did one day I went to the parks for rope drop while my wife and daughters did yoga at the resort.

we usually take a mid day break and often do a different park in the evening. I try to stay flexible - plan a little of the day (fp+ and maybe an adr), and stay open the rest of the day. My kids can do either an early morning or late night - we’ve done one Rope drop to close but slept in the next day!

Nothing wrong with being flexible and also you get to do what you want with the rope drop and your wife gets to sleep in.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

We go to a park in the morning, go back to our hotel mid day, and then go back to a park or Disney Springs.

 

[Red Wench]

We go to a park in the morning, go back to our hotel mid day, and then go back to a park or Disney Springs.

Sounds like a very good plan with a good mid days rest at the resort.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

Love this thread @Red Wench and love all of your positive comments.

 

[Red Wench]

Love this thread @Red Wench and love all of your positive comments.

Thank You

 

[KaliSplash]

We have never stayed more than 8 days and may have only done that once, if we did. Generally, we stay and go to the parks for 5 or 6 days. That may or may not include the day of arrival and the day of departure. Traditionally, we were theme park commandos. We are there at rope drop. We go to early afternoon, we go back to the hotel by mid-afternoon. We go back to a park for dinner and the evening, generally till park closing. But you can only do that about 3 days in a row before you have to take a half day off and sleep in. In more recent years, we may be there at rope drop, but may go back to the hotel right after lunch and return late afternoon and stay into the evening, but not till closing. We are not as young as we used to be.

 

[Red Wench]

We have never stayed more than 8 days and may have only done that once, if we did. Generally, we stay and go to the parks for 5 or 6 days. That may or may not include the day of arrival and the day of departure. Traditionally, we were theme park commandos. We are there at rope drop. We go to early afternoon, we go back to the hotel by mid-afternoon. We go back to a park for dinner and the evening, generally till park closing. But you can only do that about 3 days in a row before you have to take a half day off and sleep in. In more recent years, we may be there at rope drop, but may go back to the hotel right after lunch and return late afternoon and stay into the evening, but not till closing. We are not as young as we used to be.

It seems like what I am reading in most of these great posts is everyone are in touch with what there bodies can do and cannot do. They pace themselves and make for themselves a great vacation. That is exactly what I see in your post.

 

[eliza61nyc]

So unfortunately in real life someone always had to be up at 4am to go or get ready for work, lol so getting up early for rope drop was never going to happen. Vacations really are the only time we try hard not to be on a schedule.
We've never been park commandos, we generally try to do 1 or 2 favorites then every thing else we consider gravy.


We also go in late August/ early September and it's still Africa hot. So a lot of time is spent at the resort pools. That's why I laugh when people say all you do is shower and sleep in the rooms. NOT!

In the beginning we used to go for 10 days, now with the kids semi grown and having their own lives we tend to go 5-6 days.

Although they already said that next year we have to make up for this year's cancelled trip

 

[Red Wench]

So unfortunately in real life someone always had to be up at 4am to go or get ready for work, lol so getting up early for rope drop was never going to happen. Vacations really are the only time we try hard not to be on a schedule.
We've never been park commandos, we generally try to do 1 or 2 favorites then every thing else we consider gravy.


We also go in late August/ early September and it's still Africa hot. So a lot of time is spent at the resort pools. That's why I laugh when people say all you do is shower and sleep in the rooms. NOT!

In the beginning we used to go for 10 days, now with the kids semi grown and having their own lives we tend to go 5-6 days.

Although they already said that next year we have to make up for this year's cancelled trip

I can totally understand your feelings on a vacation is for relaxation, especially since someone had to get up for work at 4 am. Add to that the heat of midday can be horrible. I am glad though that you and your family have found what worked for you and you all have had great WDW trips. Maybe next year you can have a 12 day vacation.

 

[Parker in NYC]

We are park people with a day for pool and Disney Springs. Pre-COVID-19 life:

MK: Earliest Crystal Palace ressie. Too full to walk. Irritable and not drinking enough water. Counter service. Slight meltdown. Pushing on through with PeopleMover and CoP. Renewed by Tropical Serenade. Happy again. Sleepy Hollow, etc. and nighttime fireworks.

Epcot: Get there when we get there. Enjoy.

AK: Rope drop. Feel invigorated throughout the day. When all else fails, Nomad Lounge and a walk through Pandora. Dinner at AKL.

DS: Rope drop and ROTR wishes. Morning of whatever happens. Brown Derby lunch. Cranky afternoon. Not drinking enough water. Snack and drink tour. Gorgeous nighttime stroll.

Every trip we plan to take an afternoon break. Those afternoon breaks never come.

 

[Red Wench]

We are park people with a day for pool and Disney Springs. Pre-COVID-19 life:

MK: Earliest Crystal Palace ressie. Too full to walk. Irritable and not drinking enough water. Counter service. Slight meltdown. Pushing on through with PeopleMover and CoP. Renewed by Tropical Serenade. Happy again. Sleepy Hollow, etc. and nighttime fireworks.

Epcot: Get there when we get there. Enjoy.

AK: Rope drop. Feel invigorated throughout the day. When all else fails, Nomad Lounge and a walk through Pandora. Dinner at AKL.

DS: Rope drop and ROTR wishes. Morning of whatever happens. Brown Derby lunch. Cranky afternoon. Not drinking enough water. Snack and drink tour. Gorgeous nighttime stroll.

Every trip we plan to take an afternoon break. Those afternoon breaks never come.

I love how you explain your days at each park. I think a recurring theme is to stay hydrated and you won't become cranky. It seems like you have a great plan down, but drink drink drink that water.

 

[wdwhoneymooner]

Before kids: stayed about a week and did parks mostly from rope drop to close

Kids were young (1 - 11) and paper FP: rope drop, stayed until about 2 then back to resort/hotel to relax a bit and most of the time went back for dinner some attractions or went to DTD.

Teen kids and MDE: leave resort around 11:30ish or later and stay until whenever......Sometimes DW and DD will leave to go back to resort around 5ish and DS and I will stay later (most of the time he will stay until park close) and I’ll head back to the room around 9:30ish. We usually have a scheduled day off from the parks in the middle of our stay for shopping/relaxing.

 

[BigDlover]

Rope drop to close lol. Every day.

I don't park hop. It's wasted money for me bc there's enough to do in each park to stay an entire day. Plus when I go to Orlando, I usually hit up other parks as well so most times I just do one day in each park each trip. Last trip was different, I did 7 straight days in Disney, but again there was enough to stay in one park per day.

 

[Benjamin_Nicholas]

Wake up at 10.
Get picked up at noon to start touring.
End 6-8 hours later, if that long.

In a perfect world, I'd be back at Markham's for an early evening cocktail and a bar snack.