Who has stayed over a week?

[Wolf]

We are planning on going back to our home away from home in Nov. 09 and are hoping to stay 14 days. Who has done this and what would you suggest, recommend? Are there any tricks of the trade to making this work well or better? We have done the halloween party before and love it, so we will be doing that again and it will by my mothers birthday as well. Please hook us up with some help and info!!!
Thanks so much!
-Wolf

[tundramom]

The longest we have stayed is 11 days. I really recommend some non-park time. For instance on the day you plan on going to MNSSHP just buy that ticket and spend the day exploring. We spent several hours one day (all right, it was kinda by accident, but sometimes the best surprises are accidental) exploring Fort Wilderness Campground. If you have young ones they have a petting zoo, we liked walking the trails and beach front. There are plenty of extra curricular activities available, bike rental to boat rentals and definitely check out the campfire sing a long and movie some evening.. I highly recommend checking out different resorts, especially the Deluxes. Take one of the guided tours, they range from free (for exmple WL offers a couple) to the theme park experiences.Of course, there is always DTD and PI, mini golfing and the full sized version too! We played the Fantasia course which was cute and would like to try the BB course as well. Try a boat ride from EPCOT to the Boardwalk for a relaxing midday break. There is so much to do that you don't have to burn yourself out in the parks. Have fun! Oh, I almost forgot, if you get a rainy day, take the DVC tour, it's low pressure and they almost always offer you some incentive (we got $100 to spend anyway we wanted) not a bad deal if you were just going to mope around waiting for the rain to stop:mickey:

[Alaska Disney Fan]

We have never spent less than 10 days at the parks. The nice thing about it is that you don't have to rush throught things to feel like you experienced it all. We spend 2 full days at each park (not consecutive), at least 1 full day at a waterpark, and one afternoon/evening at downtown Disney. The nice thing about having so much time is that you don't have to get up early and rush to the parks because you have a second day to hit what you missed, or experience things for a 2nd, 3rd or 4th time. Take some time to explore some of the other resorts, that way if you go back you have a better idea of what the other resorts are like.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I stayed for 2 weeks, and will be staying for 2 weeks again this year.... I only took two days away from the parks.... You do need some down time... As for tickets, I bought an annual pass... I am now a vacation club member do the annual pass makes more sense for me...

[Guya103]

We stay for two weeks every July and love it! We would stay longer if the passes allowed more than 10 days. We simply take our time and know that we will get to do everything again so we don't rush. By the time we leave, everything is completely memorized in our brains!

Try to break up the days with an afternoon swim. Take advantage of table service meals and frequent DTD in the evenings. By doing more than one thing in a day nothing becomes a bore.

We always take time to visit many of the resorts and stroll the grounds. Having a lengthy stay truly allows you to relax and take it all in. There is no need to rush so you can unwind completely!:mickey:

[DizneyFreak2002]

Guya, annual passes allow for more than 2 weeks stay... How often do you go to WDW???

[Guya103]

We live in Mid-Michigan and only go once a year. We would love to go more and would purchase the AP's but, as a family of 6, we can never find the time!

This year there will be seven of us. We are taking my 75 year old mother and she is absolutely thrilled! She hasn't been in over a decade so everything will be new for her.

We will also be going in late August and taking advantage of free dining for the first time! I suppose you could say we are breaking a long list of old habits!

I just hope the hurricanes stay away!:mickey:

[KylesMom]

We typically stay for 15 days each trip (once a year) and it's a real treat to be able to stay for this length of time. We do the parks each day, but allow for down time as well so that we don't get burnt out. Although we do take advantage of early EMH at a few of the parks, we're almost always back to our resort mid-afternoon to swim, relax and imbibe in the magic.

Schedule ADRs so that you have a nice mix of resort & park dining experiences. Enjoy your resort to the fullest. Take a boating excursion around Bay Lake. If all the folks in your group are of age, take a tour. Have a plan, but be prepared to go where the wind (and the whim) takes you. Most of all, just enjoy!!! :mickey:

[crazeedizneefinatic]

The past few trips we have spent 10 days. It feels so relaxed, no rushing. We usually go in September/October. This will be the 2nd time with free dining. I would love to stay longer but my husband only gets 3 weeks vacation and we go other places during the summer too. I would love to be able to stay 14 days and really enjoy the resort with alot of down time. Someday.

[Trixie1822]

we always stay minimum 15 days. Last summer we stayed 3 weeks :cloud9:. All the time in the World. (my family says i'm a bit addict.)

The most important : take your time !:vacation:

Even If you take the time to enjoy a Dole Wip ;)
you will do every ride you want. Even several times for your favorites.

[coloradowendyl]

We usually do 10 days, large part due to the fact it takes both my husband and myself at least the 1st 3 full days of a vacation to relax and unwind! That being said, we are the ultimate "lazy bones" tourers! We get up when we want, meander to a park, etc. Our rule is no watches, no televisions, no newspapers on vacation. Both of our jobs necessitate bringing laptops with us, but the no news rule continues....check on work, no surfing!

We tend to spend time at the resort, downtown Disney, etc along with plenty of park time. Being night owls, we typically will close a park rather than open it!

Wendy

[lightyearfan]

we've stayed for 2 weeks only once, i believe it was back in 96, back then it was me, dw and our dd, now it's just me and dw. what we did to break things up a bit was the 2 day Universal Studios ticket, and we also did Seaworld, and spent some time at the water parks which is something that me and dw don't do now, because we enjoy the parks tooo much:smickey::balloon:, and basically just took our time. we would also do eveything so that we could film and take pictures than as the last 4 days came upon us we would go without lugging any camera equipment and just enjoy the parks without the worry of filming and taking pictures. if you plan it out right you can have a great time without it getting old.


Victor

[DisneyWizard]

In addition to doing non-park stuff around the resort, on longer trips I make sure we take breaks almost every day. It recharges your batteries and you will have enough time to go back to hit attractions you missed. The middle of the day usually has the worst crowds and you don't want to wear yourself out early on in a longer trip.

[ParkMan]

We've done 10 days a couple of times now.

One thing I keep in mind while planning the trip is that there are 4 parks (and others if you count water parks). We always figure at least 2 days per park (which we do) and it quickly eats up 8 of those days. We plan at least 2 days to allow us a visit back to do our favorites again and do things a lot more slowly.

[Nurse Kim]

We are planning a 10 day trip in March 2009. We are planning both waterparks, Universal Studios and Seaworld during our trip as well as DTD/DQ. We just went in March 2008 and we didn't get to do near what we wanted to. I am trying to find a way we can stay 14 days. :secret:

[jans2kids]

The 4 of us (DH and DS 12 and 13) are staying 12 days again this year (3rd time) and have a 10 day pass. We love to spend time in the parks. Last year we purchased the water park option and went to TL twice, once for EMH, (fun riding the slides when its dark) BB once, Disney Quest, La Nouba and Pleasure Island. this year we did not purchase the options but are spending 5 of the nights at the Beach Club and plan to spend alot of time enjoying that resort. We usually spend the moring at one park and the evening at another, nothing is rushed. People ask how you can spend 10 days in the parks but we never seem to have a problem with it.