Do you ever regret not slowing down a bit more...

[Murron]

I don't regret it ...I embrace it.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I'm makng myself slow down more. On my short (2 and 1/2 days) Dec. trip. I didn't do any evening EMH. Usually I do morning and evening but I only did one morning one.

I also only did one park for each day instead of hopping like I usually do. That felt strange but it worked well for me that time since I was upgraded to Club Level at the Grand Floridian. I was able to take advantage of breakfast each morning, and then two evenings I was back in the resort on time to enjoy a glass of wine and a few desserts before turning in.

I'm thinking of doing only one park per day and DTD on the evening of the day I do AK on my next trip whenever that may be - although I doubt I'll get bumped up to Club Level at the Grand ever again. LOL

 

[Micca]

Recovering commando tourist here. We did rope-drop to close for a number of years, but we're done with that now. We had already begun to slow down when we joined DVC and started visiting the parks more frrequently. It also is easy to slow down when you get old

 

[pookybean]

Our first trip we were total commando, I was checking things off the map as we did them! Near the end of that first trip I said to myself we are so coming back here and ended the trip a little better than we began. As time went on and we have been every year since we have gotten better at relaxing. We always take a mid day break now and swim/rest/shower then head back out for our pm park. We always tried to make rope drop and always are 10 mins late or run up just as the train pulls in! lol This last trip we took in Oct was completely different, we didn't plan it this way, but I'm glad it happened. We slept in almost every day, swam and then went out for the evening. We closed down the parks! It worked out so well for us that we are actually planning our next trip (August) around that routine. My youngest is not a morning person, so it is better for all of us that she can sleep! The parks got less crowded as the night goes on and at the end of the night rather than a mad dash for the buses we get a snack and stroll leisurely around or sit and eat.

What we dont do this time we can do next...usually! We might pay extra attention to what's closing or getting refurbed now!

 

[redsbe]

The only way we found to slow down was to add one more full day to our trip, instead of our usual 4 full days we went to 5. Combined with the 1/2 day travel days arriving and departing it allowed for more park time, especially at Epot and MK. Frankly if our vacation aim was to sleep in our enjoy the hotel/resort we would not be at WDW but instead at a non WSW or theme park vacation which we have also done. For us WDW and DL trips were always about park and ride/attraction time, we were never ones to sleep in or spend hours or days only at the resort. We were pretty much RD to close most days even with young kids, but with them we did take 1-2 hr mid afternoon breaks back at the pool as needed.

 

[PetePanMan]

OP here again...we did the RD thing for first few trips and no doubt it is really efficient but it is also tiring - getting up early, back and forth to parks etc. Also, many in our family are not mid-day nappers and I would then want to go explore the resort. After first couple trips we would then have some down days which helped. Now, I enjoy morning at resorts as much as in parks with much less rushing around and a bit more sleep.

 

[casperthegm]

It's tough for us to find the right balance, even after years of going to the parks. A big problem for us is that we really do get the most bang for the buck when we hit the parks at rope drop, or close it it. The park is practically ours for the first couple of hours. That means, right from the start, every morning we have to get up and move quicker than we would normally. So, early mornings are what they are- it's worth it to us. What we need to work on is the rest of the day, where we find ourselves running around, so that we can get more fp's and ride something that we've already ridden a couple of times. I'd rather relax and stake out a nice spot around the lake at Epcot and wait for the fireworks to begin, rather than try to get in one more ride at Test Track, then come out and find that the fireworks have just ended. We're getting better though.

 

[Alesia]

Never. We can sit around and do nothing at home for free.

We tried to take a day off in the middle of the trip once. We were bored to tears by 10:00 am.

 

[Mom2Kids2003]

We have always had a slower pace to our days. Our kids love staying in the parks until they close which means that we are rarely at a park before 11 or so. We love relaxing in the morning at our resort, having a slow-paced breakfast and getting to the park whenever we get there. If we do rope drop, then we come back to the resort after lunch for chilling out time. We love having time to hang out as a family and relax, so we don't go from sunup til sundown. Just not our cup of tea

 

[Planogirl]

It helped us to finally realize that we didn't have to do it all. Some attractions are one time and done and others we've done enough. We prioritize and otherwise skip the rest so we can relax more.

We also go offsite more but that's another story.

 

[msmama]

I was forced to slow down when I started traveling with a kid. And he's a very "strong willed" kid so I've never really been able to force him to do things he doesn't want to do. When he's done, he's done.

We usually do RD to dinner time-ish. It means not seeing all the night time shows, usually just one per trip but it almost makes them more special. We also spent time playing SOTMK last trip which was nice and fun.

I think the more often you go, the easier it is to slow down and do other things. That said there's no way we could handle a complete off day from parks. We'd be bored out of our minds!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Depends on the length of the trip. If we are lucky enough to have a week, then we go slower.

But a lot of our trips have been shorter in recent years, so we go-go-go on those ones. With the cost of airfare etc, we try to get as much done in the parks as we can and recuperate at home for free

 

[Accident]

YES YES and YES. Ever since we started going like it's a vacation, it's been 1000 times better, we doing more, changed what a must do is, spending less money and having the best times of our lives.. Everyone has a strategy but once we slowed down, we realized we didn't actually have a strategy, we just didn't try it other ways to see if there was a better way.. We're even ok with a quick couple day trip because something special is happening without doing anything we normally do now..

My recommendations for anyone wanting to try things a little different and discover WDW again..:

- Try entering the park in time for a late lunch or when the afternoon parade happens. The crowd really changes and there starts to be sections of the parks with no crowd at all.
- If it's a low crowd day, don't rope drop because everyone is an expert that is rope dropping and the crowd is in the morning and the afternoon will be walk on.
- The parks have morning and evening things happening if you like the street performers and shows. Have a goal of morning or night activities and take the time to experience them.
- Look up, there's a lot around you that your not noticing.. Take it in..
- Skip the character meals one trip.. Spread out what you do when and you'll start to have different goals in what each trip is about making every trip something different and fun.
- It's ok to be tired and wake up late and lazy.. Book your adr's around the idea that you want some down days...
- know your going to change what your doing the next day? starting about 11pm, hard to get adr's start to appear for the next day as hoarders cancel them before getting charged no shows.
- Get your must dos out of the way early in your trip (especially on week days). If it's a really crowded weekend, just enjoy walking around, watching others or seeing the shows/parades/fireworks. You don't have to get on any ride to have a good time and an extended trip allows you to have days where you don't do much except experience being there.
- Leave the park if your just there or not having a good time. Figure out what everyone is actually in the mood for..
- Hang out at a resort you've never been at and maybe get something to eat.. I found my favorite resort this way and it was one I would have never choose to stay at until I walked around it.
- spend a day off site somewhere. Lots of little clusters of things to see and do outside of property that take no more than the cost to get there and back (uber, taxi, etc)
- with traffic, tampa can sometimes be easier and faster to get to then sites in orlando. There are zoos and interesting day trips you might be overlooking. (including busch gardens for the the coaster fan of the family)
- having a family afternoon/night that isn't the parks. Bowling, movie theater and other options on property at disney springs that are cheap and easy to get too.

 

[alicat8]

I've been over 20 times and I say I'm going to slow down every time. I never do! Next time I swear it's happening!!

 

[jrt1176]

We've never gone "commando" and I've never even seen a rope drop!

I guess we have gone so many times since I was a kid that we just always went with the flow. Granted, that is not the case with everyone and I realize now more than ever how lucky I was as a child!

Now that I take my niece(her 2nd trip is coming up in less than a month), I feel like I want her to see everything and probably go as "commando" as I ever will. Last trip we spent all day in the parks, but we didn't get there until 10am at the earliest. This trip I am planning to get to the parks earlier, but still be relaxed during the touring. I may even try to do a rope drop one morning!

 

[cbnsoul]

Funny you should bring this up as I have been beating myself up a bit over my tendency to "hurry to get everything done" when n the parks. We go several times a year but I always seem to want to get in all our favorite rides and restaurants each trip even though I know we'll be back in a few months. I'm trying to be a bit more laid back about it but my type A personality is getting I the way!

That said, when we do leave the park for the day, often by early afternoon, I'm content to just go with the flow and do whatever we feel like so I am improving at least a little bit.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We've been to WDW 5 times with last 3 as DVC owners (most recently from Dec trip). With each trip, we try to slow down a bit more at parks, sleep in more, spend more time at resorts etc. Yet, we are still a bit too frantic chasing another FP or ride or park or whatever. We are getting better and enjoy WDW as much or more than ever but still return thinking we would enjoy it even more by further slowing down. Anyone else like this? Any strategies you use to try to chill out a bit more?

I find it hard to slow down at wdw just because of the vastness of it and how long it takes to get places. Found it a lot easier to slow down at DLR this year. We didn't get to everything we wanted, but we had a fantastic time and weren't burnt out on our return. We just have to go back again to finish what we didn't see

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

The first 3-4 years I was going to Disney, it was very frantic. Getting in as much as we could, spending as much time as possible in the parks, going to the water parks, disney quest, downtown, EVERYTHING.

The last 4 years have been much slower. Typically sleep in...until about 9. Get up, maybe grab breakfast, do a ride or two, stroll around, grab lunch, do another ride or two, then head back to the room around 3 or 4. Relax. Maybe go to the pool for an hour. Maybe two hours at the pool. Grab a drink at the pool bar. Shower to get all the day's sweat, humidity, and sunscreen washed off. Change for dinner. Enjoy a relaxing dinner. Maybe go to the parks and get there in time for Wishes/Illuminations/Fantasmic... Possibly catch the second nightly parade at MK. If there are some REALLY late nights, we take advantage of those...nothing like going until 2 AM at the magic kingdom.

All-in-all, even though it is a much more relaxed pace, it's still quite tiring. I couldn't imagine trying to do the "storming the parks" thing any more. Too exhausting. With DVC, I know i'll be back...probably in only a few months, so I never regret missing anything on any one particular trip. I just enjoy myself and do whatever I feel like doing at any given moment.

I often play around with fast passes multiple times in the day to satisfy my whims. I always find something that makes me happy.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I'm not commando, but I like to have a basic plan. I know what our ADRs are for the day, and what our Fastpasses are. That is as much as I like to plan daily. I don't like to sleep in, I find rope drop to be valuable, and I still have the energy to stay in the parks until close.

One thing I don't mind doing is standing in lines. I think it gives a great opportunity to stop and appreciate the fact that I'm at WDW, catch up with my party members, etc. A WDW trip is certainly tiring but I really like the moments that my party gets to spend in line.

 

[RealBlast3]

I always take the time to slow down and smell the roses in Disney. Sometimes that means skipping certain prearranged plans I've made like fast-passes or even dining reservations. I plan to the nines, but I also remember this is my vacation and make adjustments accordingly so as my mind and spirit are happy and fulfilled, whether that means sleeping in when I need it or lingering around one of the World Showcase pavilions soaking in the atmosphere or what have you. I make sure I make it count and be memorable and last and don't let myself get too caught up on the runaway train that can be the Disney scheduler mind-set.