Happy New Year! Every January, families everywhere start planning their vacations and so this week the Parenting Panel tackled one of the basic questions for any vacation: How long is the ideal trip?
Mary Kraemer is an avid Disney fan and travel consultant with CruisingCo/MouseEarVacations who loves to travel with her husband and children to Disney destinations as often as possible! Mary writes:
I think the ideal length of time for a Disney trip depends on the destination! Because we live 400 miles away from Disneyland and across the country from Walt Disney World, a visit to the parks requires some planning, especially now that my twins are in high school and we are more constrained by school schedules. That said, our windows of opportunity to go on vacation are dictated by days off from school.
We have had annual passes to Disneyland for many years and are able to visit three or four times a year. We have a somewhat casual approach to our visits because we know that if we miss an attraction on one visit, we’ll see it again on another one. Still, we find ourselves up early to get into the park at opening as often as possible because we’ve found that the first few hours of the day have the lightest crowds. And if we have a ‘must see’ attraction on that trip, we take care of it right away. Because we drive the 400 miles to Disneyland, we like to visit for at least a 3-day weekend, but if we have 4 or 5 days, that’s even better.
Walt Disney World is absolutely huge in comparison with Disneyland, and for us, we feel like we need at least a week for a visit there to even scratch the surface of everything the World has to offer, and when we leave, we are sad that there was much left undone. We have a far more commando approach to our visits to the World because of the size and scope of the destination. I always have a spreadsheet for our travel dates with the park hours (including Extra Magic Hours), pre-arranged dining reservations, and our days are far more structured than our visits to Disneyland.
There are exceptions to every rule, and in the past year, I have had a couple exceptions on WDW trips, which were only three or four days long, and not with my entire family but only one of my children. Last year, my oldest daughter and I participated in the Princess Half Marathon with our cousins, and we spent only one day visiting the parks; a few months later, my son and I visited for a Star Wars weekend and had two park days. On these occasions, we definitely had to be selective about our choices.
Which is more ideal? To me, visiting with my entire family is the best, although being able to ‘treat’ a specific child with a trip is truly a special gift.
For a Disney cruise vacation, we really like 7-night itineraries because it gives us a great balance of time to enjoy activities on the ship as well as on shore. We are trying out our first 5-night cruise onboard the Disney Dream in June, as part of a family reunion, and are feeling pretty happy with the choice of the most possible days on the Dream, especially considering we’ll get two days at Castaway Cay!
Chris, also known as GusMan, is always planning his next family trip to Walt Disney World and loves to help others plan their trips as well through sharing his experiences. Chris writes:
Like many other vacation-planning variables, the question about how long to visit Walt Disney World seems to come up often especially for those who are new to Disney vacations. The problem is that I do not believe there is a clear-cut answer. Contributing factors such as budget, when you want to vacation, and your touring style all help form the answer that is right for your family. While it is easy to say that planning is key to getting the biggest bang for your vacation dollar and each vacation day, the reality is that it does take some trial and error to figure out what is ideal for your family. For me, this was especially the case since I never really valued a family vacation until I started to going to Walt Disney World.
I think in many cases, the shortest answer to the “how many days” question is the best: Plan the longest, most complete trip that you can reasonably afford. That may sound like a generic answer, but in reality, it is an answer that includes budgeting time for your length of stay, your vacation finances, and the activities that you want to do while there. This train of thought does give you a lot of flexibility while trying to stay within a certain budget. For example, at times, we would choose a less-expensive hotel and stay longer while other times, we would treat ourselves to a deluxe resort by cutting a day off the schedule. Keep in mind different parts of your vacation budget such as food, travel, and souvenirs as by working with these items can actually help you afford an extra day at the parks.
Additionally, there are times when we feel that two shorter trips are more beneficial than one longer trip. Granted, this can be a little more pricey, but if you consider available vacation time, school vacation days, and whether you vacation during the on-peak or off-peak months, your planning may lead you to multiple trips. Consider going during December when the whole resort is decorated for Christmas. Plan for some time at the Food and Wine festival, or even the Flower and Garden festival. Depending on your plans, these special events may be just the excuse to split your annual vacation in half.
As for touring style, we tried to tour “commando style,” trying to hit nearly every attraction, during our first couple trips. To be honest, it can be very exhausting for both adults and children alike. Early morning and late nights make for long days and sooner or later, you will need some real downtime. It’s a common practice among vacationers, but many times, trying to jam in as much as possible is met with a feeling of disappointment if you don’t meet your goals. By creating a reasonable list of “must-do’s” I found that my family and I can have a relaxing vacation and still be able to do everything we want to do. We came to the realization that you will not be able to do “everything” – and that it is ok. After all, it is one of the benefits of a Disney vacation – no matter how often you go, chances are, you have the chance to do something different.
Overall, when it comes to the question of “how many days” its not a matter of answering the question in a matter of days. It becomes an answer that considers our precious time together as a family. Every day away from reality at Walt Disney World is a chance to build memories that last a lifetime.
MousePlanet columnist Chris Barry, his wife Diane, 11-year-old Samantha, and twin 8-year-olds, Casey and Alex, live on Long Island and are all major Disney and Walt Disney World fans. Chris writes:
How long is too long to stay at Walt Disney World? Is there really a good answer to that question? Aren’t all of our trips too short? The reality is that you have to come home sooner or later. Preferably later, but still, all things must come to an end. So, how long is too long and how do you decide? Over the years, we haven’t really answered that question, but we can offer the wisdom of our experience.
We’ve stayed as little as 4 days and as many as 10. They’ve all been different and I can honestly say that there is no preference amongst my family. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our long 10-day trips. You get to totally immerse yourself in the place. We slow down and space out the fun. This works especially well in the scorching hot summer months when the kids…and the adults… need more breaks from the heat. When you have that much extra time, there’s no need to run around and try to cram so much into one day.
Conversely, we’ve also really enjoyed our shorter trips, almost more so than the long ones. It seems that some of our most magical trips have been the short 4-day trips we’ve taken over the years. These have mostly been in the off-season. Instead of taking a whole week, we’ll take the kids out of school on a Friday and Monday or a Thursday and Friday and spend a long weekend down there. This gives us the opportunity to catch the Christmas festivities or the Halloween decorations and parties at the Magic Kingdom. It’s also given my wife and I time to escape to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival in the spring. These trips have always been great. It’s just the right dose of pixie dust in the middle of your chaotic life when needed. A short 4-day trip can be just as magical as a long one. We’ve proven that over the years.
The other thing that we’ve proven over the years is that experience breeds contentment when it comes to Walt Disney World. We know what we like. We know what we’ve seen and haven’t seen and what we care to see. As much as we’d enjoy a nice long trip, we know what we can get done in just a few days, and if we don’t see everything, it’s really no worry. We’ve probably seen it before or we’ll catch it the next time we’re there. We’ve removed the pressure and we can casually enjoy the place. When you slow down and soak in all the details that Disney has to offer, the place really comes to life for you.
So that’s my biggest piece of advice when it comes to planning out a trip to Walt Disney World. You could have an amazing trip in 4 days. You can have an amazing trip in 7 or 10 days. Don’t fuss about how many days you need. Fit in what you can in the time you have available, and don’t fret about the rest. 10 trips in a row in as many years and we still haven’t seen or done everything there is to do together. Don’t expect to. The first trip we ever took together was only 4 days. We barely scratched the surface of Walt Disney World and yet, it still stands out as one of the greatest trips out of them all. The point is to enjoy the time you have while you’re there. Whether it’s 2 days or 2 weeks, it’s all magical.
It’s your turn—keep the discussion flowing!
Visit the Parenting on the Parks section of our MousePad discussion board, and share your opinions about this topic or many others (link), or send your suggestions via e-mail (link). Reader-submitted tips might be used in a future article, and you might be selected to participate in an upcoming panel discussion!
