Debate: Is it even worth it to be inside the parks in the middle of the day?

[DLRExpert]

Middle of the day. You basically want to add the easy things to do while you buy some time until you can use your next Fastpass.

at Disneyland
- Visit the characters. Main Street is a much better option than Toontown when you want to meet the main Disney characters. Otherwise, use the Disneyland App to find your characters.
- Experience these attractions. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Main Street vehicles, Enchanted Tiki Room, Tarzans Treehouse, Path of the Jedi, Fantasy Faire Show, and Magic Map.
- These attractions may look to have long waits but the lines actually move fast. Autopia, It's a Small World (stay to the right when the line splits), and Pirates of the Caribbean

at Disney California Adventure
- Visit the characters. Buena Vista Street is a great location to meet the main Disney characters. Otherwise, use the Disneyland App to find your characters.
- Experience these attractions. The 3D shows in Bugs Land and Hollywood Land, Frozen the Musical, Disney Jr., Animation Academy, Buena Vista Trolley, and Redwood Creek Challenge
- The Little Mermaid attraction may look to have a long wait but the line will move fast.

ME

 

[NannyBeBe]

It is absolutely worth it because that is when we head to Clarabelles for a hot fudge sundae and people watching.

 

[VandVsmama]

For our family, it's not worth it to stick it out in the middle of the day. We have a much better time, are more relaxed, less cranky and more well rested when we take afternoon breaks at our hotel.

 

[bdiddy]

For those of you that take a break in the middle of the day, how long are you at the parks?

We only have 2 days and I'm already worried about trying to fit everything in and while I'm sure it would help my family by taking a break I really don't want to miss anything and don't know if we should just push through?

I'm going into it playing it by ear I guess and will see how much we get done in the morning.

 

[mom2rtk]

For those of you that take a break in the middle of the day, how long are you at the parks?

We only have 2 days and I'm already worried about trying to fit everything in and while I'm sure it would help my family by taking a break I really don't want to miss anything and don't know if we should just push through?

I'm going into it playing it by ear I guess and will see how much we get done in the morning.

With only 2 days, I'd have a hard time taking a break too. I would try to schedule some cooler things in the afternoon though to get out of the heat. Find a shaded spot to sit for a while waiting for the parade. See Frozen at DCA. Ride POTC a couple times followed by an afternoon ADR at Blue Bayou.

 

[nutshell]

I normally take an afternoon break, but don't do so when I only have two days. At a recent trip to DLR we did the following in the afternoon:

DCA. Lunch. Bakery tour. Goofy Sky School single rider. Heroes of Summer presentation. Cold drinks. Animation. Slow pace.

DL. Lunch. Small World. Tiki room with Dole Whip! Mickey's House. Path of the Jedi. Autopia.

No matter what you do. HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE. Force you and your family to drink a ton of water. In lines. Between rides. While walking. While sitting. Drink drink drink. Not soda. Not energy drinks. Not alcohol or coffee. Water. If you sense you're going down hill then add electrolytes, like Gatorade. You can probably also get electrolyte packages from first aid to add to your water.

 

[cruisehopeful]

We only have 2 days and I'm already worried about trying to fit everything in and while I'm sure it would help my family by taking a break I really don't want to miss anything and don't know if we should just push through?

I normally don't take a break. Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is a nice place to sit and chill for a while. The train will up and running again soon. You don't have to get off of it if you want to ride it around a couple times to really take a break. It's a small world is a long ride.

Indoor dining such as Carthay circle is good and actually can take a really long time. You can also do their lounge for drinks and small bites. If you really need to get out of the parks for your sanity (it happens sometimes), just go to Grand Californian and either have drinks in the lobby or food at White Water Snacks. All those things get you out of the really busy/crazy feeling and help you get out of the sun for a while, too.

 

[ktlm]

I keep seeing posts about how random days in the middle of the week were so crazy busy! But I swear in all my research it said to avoid the parks on the weekends so out schedule has us going next Tuesday and Wednesday so now I'm nervous! On crazy busy days like that are both parks usually the same in terms of crowds or is DL worse? We are going to DCA on Tuesday and DL on Wednesday. We are doing the opposite parks of when the EMH are so I thought that may help us a little.

I don't want to scare you, but we have been in the summer the last 8 years- 4 times in June and then 4 times in July and the weekends have always been less crowded for us. Weekdays in July have not typically been that bad though- I don't know what was up with Tuesday this week- Wednesday was much better. Maybe it is because Fantasmic was back and people had stayed away a while because of the heat. My friend was there the week before and said it was not crowded.

DL always seems worse. We always get hopper and will jump around if it gets too crowded in one park. Just based on our experiences over the years, I would guess Wednesday would be the better day for DL.

For those of you that take a break in the middle of the day, how long are you at the parks?

We only have 2 days and I'm already worried about trying to fit everything in and while I'm sure it would help my family by taking a break I really don't want to miss anything and don't know if we should just push through?

I'm going into it playing it by ear I guess and will see how much we get done in the morning.

We would not take a break for 2 days. Too much to do and too little time. The most important think for you will be to get there at rope drop. Even on a crowded day those first couple of hours are usually great and you can get a lot done. If you need a break in the afternoon at CA you can go see Frozen or do animation academy.

 

[Tasscrapper]

We went in April for 4 days and June for 3 days. Both trips we went back to the hotel for anywhere from 4-6 hours a day. Some of us would swim, take naps, watch tv, eat, go shopping ect. Those in the family that wanted to go back did and those that wanted to chill at the hotel stayed there. For us being able to go have some downtime is very important I would almost say critical to a good trip when the park hours are so long. I like being at the parks as close to opening as possible which means by noon or 1pm the heat, thickening crowds and all the walking is starting to get to us. We typically head out of the parks between 1 and 2:30. We have the advantage of knowing what we like and what we don't mind missing so we don't even try to pack every single attraction in. We've had trips where we just pushed so hard it takes some of the enjoyment out of it. Going to the parks is kind of like a working vacation . . . physically it takes a lot of effort. It's fun but exhausting. If you have the time to take breaks I think it is totally worth it to give your bodies and minds a little down time and be able to enjoy the time you are in the parks.

 

[VandVsmama]

When we take afternoon breaks, we are at the parks for rope drop and usually leave 1-2pm. We then return around dinner time maybe a bit earlier if we want to see the afternoon parade. Then leave about 9:30pm

 

[jeffbeardreams]

Believe it or not, it's been humid for So Cal lately...lol But I'll take So Cal humid over east coast humid any day. Hahaha

Yeah. We're from North Carolina and listening to So Cal folks complain about the heat when to us it's only mildly warm is kind of amusing.

To the original question ... I'm a big fan of the mid-day break, personally. I like to hit rope drop, go hard through lunch time and then take a nice leisurely lunch and stroll our way out Main Street to take an afternoon break at the pool or Trader Sam's or whatever ... depending on which park, etc. Then gear it back up for dinner and an evening back in the parks. It's the rhythm we settled in when we had kids who needed naps, but we find that we still stick to it even as adults on our own.

Of course it helps that I'm in the parks 2-3 times a year so I don't have the pressure to do and see everything when I'm there. I know I'm coming back fairly soon and that changes your outlook.

 

[l4dyj8]

We normally leave DL by the afternoon and head over to CA. I agree it's much more crowded. There is also a parade crowd building up. This is also the time to take a late lunch

 

[minnieralyks]

For those of you that take a break in the middle of the day, how long are you at the parks?

We only have 2 days and I'm already worried about trying to fit everything in and while I'm sure it would help my family by taking a break I really don't want to miss anything and don't know if we should just push through?

I'm going into it playing it by ear I guess and will see how much we get done in the morning.

Are you staying in a hotel close by? If so, absolutely take a break. I know I would be completely exhausted after a long full day in the park, especially if it were really hot and humid. 1-2 hours at the hotel is plenty of time to rest up and relax a little before heading back into the parks.

In reality, 2 days isn't a very long time to be in the parks (especially if you want to see both parks). We go for 5+ days and still can't see everything. Unfortunately, it's inevitable that you'll miss out on some things, so I would prioritize as much as I could and stop to take breaks. It'll be a much more enjoyable trip!



Edit: If you can, try to coordinate breaks with FP return times. That way, the time spent "waiting in line" can be spent taking a break at the hotel.

 

[SteveMP]

With only 2 days, I'd have a hard time taking a break too. I would try to schedule some cooler things in the afternoon though to get out of the heat. Find a shaded spot to sit for a while waiting for the parade. See Frozen at DCA. Ride POTC a couple times followed by an afternoon ADR at Blue Bayou.

Pretty much all dark rides are air conditioned. Which is most of the rides. As long as you aren't planning on going on the carousels or carnival type rides then should be fine mid day. I am actually surprised how many people leave the parks, unless you have little kids. I think once out kids were past 4 or 5 we just stayed the whole day. Rent a stroller, find a shady tree and get an ice cream for 5 minutes. Then just cool off in the rides.

 

[mom2rtk]

Pretty much all dark rides are air conditioned. Which is most of the rides. As long as you aren't planning on going on the carousels or carnival type rides then should be fine mid day. I am actually surprised how many people leave the parks, unless you have little kids. I think once out kids were past 4 or 5 we just stayed the whole day. Rent a stroller, find a shady tree and get an ice cream for 5 minutes. Then just cool off in the rides.

The problem with the dark rides is that often you are in line in the heat longer than you are out of the heat when you actually ride.

 

[az4boys]

Mickey and the Magical Map is down tues-thur, so that's a bummer.

On our most recent trip we did a couple days of early mornings combined with late nights and rested mid-day. The last day we slept in and got to the parks just after lunch. I was not a fan of that time of day. The plan was to watch Mickey and the Magical Map until I realized it wasn't showing on a Wednesday. It was too hot and crowded and our FP line for Matterhorn wrapped around the mountain due to a breakdown. The heat got to us and we went home. Other times of the year we go all day, but I don't think we could in the summer without everyone being really grumpy.

 

[SteveMP]

The problem with the dark rides is that often you are in line in the heat longer than you are out of the heat when you actually ride.

Hmm. Maybe since I am a native southern californian. I guess people come from cold areas not used to the sun/warm? Never gets to us except the few days a year where its upper 90s.

 

[disneychrista]

The last summer trip I did was in August during a heat wave with HIGH humidity. It was NOT worth it to be there in the mid-afternoon heat. We went back to the hotel by about 2pm and returned at 6ish. I DO NOT enjoy the heat. And actually get sick if I'm in the sun too long. I must wear a hat & sunglasses and be in the shade as much as possible.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

For our family, it's not worth it to stick it out in the middle of the day. We have a much better time, are more relaxed, less cranky and more well rested when we take afternoon breaks at our hotel.

Same for our family. We try to be one of the first families in the park, head back to the hotel to rest between 12-4, return in time for Flag Retreat and stay until Park close typically.

 

[bdiddy]

Are you staying in a hotel close by? If so, absolutely take a break. I know I would be completely exhausted after a long full day in the park, especially if it were really hot and humid. 1-2 hours at the hotel is plenty of time to rest up and relax a little before heading back into the parks.

In reality, 2 days isn't a very long time to be in the parks (especially if you want to see both parks). We go for 5+ days and still can't see everything. Unfortunately, it's inevitable that you'll miss out on some things, so I would prioritize as much as I could and stop to take breaks. It'll be a much more enjoyable trip!



Edit: If you can, try to coordinate breaks with FP return times. That way, the time spent "waiting in line" can be spent taking a break at the hotel.

We are staying at a hotel really close. I think it's a 7 min walk? Unfortunately we only have the two days as much as I'd love more. I know there's no way we'll be able to do "everything" per se but we do have a priority list and there's stuff we don't really care to do (like Dumbo, the carousel, teacups for example to name a few) so once I cross off all the "don't care abouts" I'm hoping we'll be able to squeeze in the rest.