Break or No Break?

[WDWRox]

I realize, of course, that there are certain mitigating factors that could come in (having small children, elderly parents, or physically challenged individuals with you) to play in this question, but I'll ask anyway....

During your WDW trip, do you tend to break up your day or are you constantly moving? Some people like to go to a park for a few hours and maybe return to the resort for an hour or two to rest up or go swimming or something, before venturing out again. In my case, it's not like we're all rush-rush-rush but we tend not to take breaks during our day for naps or swimming at the hotel. To me, I just feel that we're paying so much already for this trip, I'm not going to spend time doing the things I could just as easily do at home. I want to see everything I can and do it all as many times as I wish. I guess I just feel that break time = wasted time.

[Dopey's Girl]

I need the break most days. Not because I need to rest, but because that is just when I need a break from people for a while. I also like to clean up a bit, change shoes (no blisters here) and unload some junk. Since I go in cooler months, I also usually change clothes then too. It can get chilly at night!

[Crow]

sometimes.. or i hop parks a lot

[MaterializedHaunt]

Most days I go early AM to very late PM non-stop. This is just me on a Disney buzz having a blast. However sometimes you just need a break and have to crash for an hour or 2. Too much Disney a bad thing? I hate to think not.

[Itchy]

We usally take a break at around 1 in the afternoon. We go back to the resort and have a light lunch and maybe take a shower before we go to our dinner ADR.

We have been know to take a short nap. It really energizes us for our evening events.

Hope this helps...

[SBETigg]

We don't have to take a break, but we choose to. We don't spend all day in one park. Sometimes the break is just long enough to freshen up, have a snack or drink, and head to the next park. Other times, it's long enough for a nap, swim, shopping, or taking a boat out. We love the parks, but WDW is not just all about the parks for us.

[Tink#64]

We take that break everyday, the only exception is our DHS day, as it's a smaller park that we typically do in one day & don't revisit. Our first WDW trip, DS's were 4 & 6 & we only planned 4 park days (no breaks) - 1 day for each park! I can honestly say that by day 4 we hit that "Wall"! Every trip since, we take that break almost every single day! Most times it's a pool break with dinner being grabbed at our resort, eaten poolside! Our average break is about 3 hours, give or take. Enough time away from the hustle & bustle of the parks to relax a bit & be refreshed & ready to enjoy whatever park we're headed to for the evening! Typically, on the day(s) we don't break, we're at our resort by early evening & enjoying some pool/ down time & an earlier bed time & still refreshed & ready for the next day! In our experience, we can't go strong all day, burning the candle at both ends for more than a few days before it catches up to us! So we build in that "down time" everyday so we can enjpy each day to the fullest!

[stephicakes]

Yep - we are "breakers" too! We are the early-risers who love to hit EMH in the morning and do tons before lunch each day. We usually go back to the resort early afternoon to rest our feet, cool off in the pool with a delicious drink, and get reenergized for an evening of more fun at the parks

That mid-day break for us really helps everyone's patience and "go with the flow" attitude. Plus it gives everyone a chance to freshen up for dinner.

steph

[Kairi_7378]

We usually intend to take longer breaks, but sometimes, a park hop serves as a break for DH and DS.

For our first few trips, DH and I were park commandos (even taking a Keys to the Kingdom tour on our "relaxed day.") For our last trip, DS3's first, DH made me PROMISE that we would take a nap break every day. When the appointed time came, I couldn't get DH to leave the park! We did return to the room a few times to freshen up for dinners, but rarely had enough time to swim or nap. Our next trip will be a little longer, so I hope that we have an easier time slowing down :-)

[darthmacho]

I think my wife would love to take mid-day breaks, since she hates the heat, but the thought of leaving the parks and going back to the resort in the middle of the day just doesn't appeal to me. I'd be so restless during that time, it would drive me insane!

I think there are plenty of relaxing attractions and places to sit and eat that make excellent in-park break opportunities. I'd much rather do that than leave.

[BugeyedMuggy]

We take an afternoon break every day. If not for the heat just for the relaxation needed during our vacation. When we return to the parks early evening we usually encounter those who should have taken a break.

[SBETigg]

I think my wife would love to take mid-day breaks, since she hates the heat, but the thought of leaving the parks and going back to the resort in the middle of the day just doesn't appeal to me. I'd be so restless during that time, it would drive me insane!

I think there are plenty of relaxing attractions and places to sit and eat that make excellent in-park break opportunities. I'd much rather do that than leave.

You might change your mind when you're there longer. There's plenty of time to get stuff done and still have the break and not feel like you're missing anything. Or maybe just a break to explore other resorts. Having the luxury of more time at WDW lets you enjoy things at a more relaxed pace. But, maybe you're a go-all-day guy anyway. Some are. You get to investigate the matter again soon.

[LudwigVonDrake]

I tend to go in the summer so a mid-day nap certainly helps

[darthmacho]

You might change your mind when you're there longer. There's plenty of time to get stuff done and still have the break and not feel like you're missing anything. Or maybe just a break to explore other resorts. Having the luxury of more time at WDW lets you enjoy things at a more relaxed pace. But, maybe you're a go-all-day guy anyway. Some are. You get to investigate the matter again soon.

Unless someone was ill, I'd rather stick around the park until we've had enough, even if it means getting back to the resort early. The one day we leave and return to the park is when we have dinner at a monorail resort, and then come back for the nighttime parade. One of the days we'll go from Animal Kingdom to AKL to eat at Boma. Otherwise, we'll stick to one park for the day until we're done.

[SurferStitch]

We take an afternoon break every day. If not for the heat just for the relaxation needed during our vacation. When we return to the parks early evening we usually encounter those who should have taken a break.

Soooo perfectly stated!! DH and I love to go back to our resort to sit by the pool or just lay on the bed and watch a little TV or grab a quick nap. Then we freshen up, change, and head back out for the evening. Usually no more than a couple hours, and we're ready to take on the night!

And yes... we see PLENTY of those people when we go back in the evening who REALLY act like they needed a break. Lots of screaming kids and even louder parents.

[joonyer]

When our boys were little we used to always take a mid-day break to go back to the resort for the kids to swim and then a nap or rest. Then we would go late into the nights at an EMH park. Nowadays, we have to take a break for DW and myself to rest. But the kids are 19 & 16 now, so we leave them at the parks and head back to the resort, and then meet up with them for dinner somewhere after our rest!