1-two week stay or 2-one week stays?

[sammysam13]

In June 2008, my family is planning on a 2 week stay at the World! We figure with 10 days worth of park passes, we would have 4 days to relax and do other things that we always wanted to do (sleep in , check out other resorts , enjoy our resort's pools , etc.). We always seem to run out of time and never get to do any of these things .

The problem with this is that when the trip is over, we have the rest of summer left and the best part is over...Kind of like eating the apple pie and then realizing the liver and onions is still on the plate .

We then had this idea of splitting the trip into 2 parts: one week in summer (June), one weekp in winter (early December). This would be loads of fun, but I know that if we do this, there will be no relaxation and no doing the things we always neglect. What would you do?

[HndrdPrcnt]

First off, to Intercot!! You will love it here and you will be able to get so much great information for your trip!! Even better than that, you can make some great friends!!

Now, as far as whether to do 2 weeks or to split it up in to 2 trips, my recommendation would depend on how much it is going to cost you to get to WDW for each trip. For us, getting the family to WDW is a $2k venture. So, we would do a 2-week trip. But, if you are close enough to drive, then maybe breaking it up in to 2 trips would be fun too! You will still incur additional costs by doing 2 trips though. First of is the cost of the tickets. If you do a 10-day ticket, it would be a lot less money than 2 5-day tickets. Even if you get the no expiration option, that will cost you extra.

So, I would recommend taking the 2-week option and then really enjoying the trip. With 10 days in the parks and 4 days to enjoy everything else, you will really be able to enjoy it all and not feel like you need to rush through everything.

Best of luck on making your decision. Regardless of what you decide, I am sure that you will have a great time!

[faline]

Personally, I'd probably go for 2 weeks - I'd only have to pay for air fare once and I'd have some time to relax!

[tyandskyesmom]

For us, the more we go the more we slow down...however, that still is not much. I think for us, it would be difficult for us to slow down on a 2 week trip. Oh, we'd plan to, we would say we were going to but in actuality, we probably would not.

We usually go in Nov/Dec and that is our favorite time to go and we usually get 8-11 days out of it. We'd love to do 14 or more (Ty keeps asking when we can go for 20!)!

Being that your initial trip will be in June when it is very hot and very crowded, I think I'd opt for two seperate ones (remember I said I think!). That way you could experience the hot , summer benefits and then in December take it easier in the cooler, holiday, less crowded time of year...plus you'd get the holiday decorations too!

Plus, I'd be trying to see how to stick extra days onto each of those trips. Like leave on Saturday extremely early in the morning and return on Sinday extremely late to maximize time. And this past year we left Chicago on Thanksgiving so we had Thursday thru Sunday (11 full days!).

Oh, ya, and you might want to check into Annual Passes either way. That way you have the ability to come and go as you please and not feel guilty about wasting a day. And the added benefit is that maybe you'd get a room discount!

This is a difficult, albeit great delema to have!

102 more days!

[vicster]

I would do 2 one-week trips. If you go from Saturday - Saturday/Sunday you can get 9 days out of each trip. After you come back from WDW you're already looking forward to your next trip so you could already have one planned. You could also save money by getting an annual pass. I also feel the more we go the more time we find to relax as we're not so rushed to get everything done. Either way - have a great time.

[Marilyn Michetti]

Hey, Welcome to Intercot !!!

We're (cough), "older", so we go for one week in early Dec. DH is nearing retirement, so maybe when he does, we might go for longer, but the truth is, we're all worn out after seven days. I have to navigate with my ECV, and that's a bit stressful on a crowded bus. DH doesn't want to admit that a week of walking is getting hard on him, but he no longer suggests pushing a lightweight WC to avoid the bus, so maybe he's just getting older too? (Don't tell him I told you, but he will be 60 tomorrow).

I think two weeks at one time, and we would have to go to a nursing home for awhile.

That said, - AGAIN - WELCOME TO INTERCOT!

[mouseketeer mom]

I would chose the 2 one week trips. I love to have something else to plan and look forward to. I read somewhere that anticipating something positive (like an upcoming trip) is as beneficial to oneself as actually doing it! I really believe that too. Makes the departure day that much easier too! ou can say Hey, we'll be back in 6 mos, and that time goes by fast!

[MNMS]

I would do two one week trips -- for us part of the fun is the excitement of going/planning. We have a 6 and 4 yr old and they get so excited about going and then we get home and they want to know when we are going again.

Plus, June is likely to be crowded so the week in Nov/Dec you'll love vbacuase there woudl be fewer crowds.

Get the Annual Pass ($434 adult) -- it's definitley worth it and cheaper than two 7 day park hopper passes ($496 adult) or two 10 day park hopper passes ($508).

[CarolinaWDWFan]

I would go with the (2) 1 week scenario. It will give you something to look forward to and will give you two seasons to experience the park(late spring and Christmas).

[sammysam13]

I appreciate all your advice...You brought up several things that hadn't occurred to us. While we are still debating (we still have time) your answers are invaluable. Thanks once again .

[SBETigg]

I would also choose one two week trip. I really have trouble leaving. I would make it the first time knowing that I could come back, but leaving the second week would kill me. When I go for a two week stretch at once, I have really had time to do it all and fit in some relaxation, and I'm more ready to go at the end of the two weeks (even though it is still hard).

The temptation with two one week trips is to do the same trip over, redo all the favorites from the first week because it has been awhile in between, and still not see everything or have time to relax and enjoy the resort or some of the quieter WDW activities.

[DisneyLove]

I would say go for 1 two-week trip. When I was in high school, my family would go for two weeks (that was our spring break in March) and it was so nice- it felt like longer than 2 weeks, and we really had time to fit in things. Like the previous poster said, if you do 2 one-week trips you are more likely to do the same trip (which isn't a bad thing!) but you wouldn't try all the fun relaxing things you would with more time. This is how it has been since I was in high school- 2 shorter trips, but we never seem to have time for hanging out at the pool, having a bbq, mini-golf, community hall, visiting other resorts, relaxing, etc. While we want to do these on shorter trips, we always feel that "we're only here for 5 days, so we need to get in the favorite rides, etc." I remember one day going over to wilderness lodge and riding horses, or renting the water mice boats or surrey bikes- those things are really fun and relaxing, and if it's something you're interested in you might not do it if you have a shorter trip. Just my 2 cents, I was actually talking to my dad yesterday about how much I miss our long trips. Either way, WDW is fantastic and you should have a great time, but if I could, I'd be there for two weeks (actually, I'd be there for 52 weeks...I can always dream!)

Happy travels,

Katie