How long is too long at WDW?

[ArielSparrow]

My love of space rivals that of Disney and Harry Potter so I cannot recommend NASA enough. Science is real magic. I love looking at the rockets and shuttle, old control center, etc. The Saturn V is just mind blowing.

 

[skippytx]

Did 13 days/12 nights in 2016. We only did the parks 10 days, and I was done by the end of night 9 of the trip with 2 more park days to go. We had done everything we wanted to do at least twice, the things we love at least 4 or 5 and we were all just exhausted. This year we're going for 8 nights which I think is going to be perfect.

Did 5 days at DLR earlier this year, would have been fine with 3 full days, or 4. Day 5 was basically "ok what do you guys want to do for the 10th time?" 3 full days with MaxPass would have been plenty.

We definitely feel we have to go-go-go while on a Disney vacation though, we might think about spending more time in the future at resort pools and slowing things down a bit I think.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Surprised at the number of people saying that 4-5 weeks is too long. For those that think so, I'm curious as to whether you would say 4-5 week at some 5 star resort on a tropical island would be too long.

Yes, there are significant differences between Disney and a tropical island. But, the point is that you are 'escaping' it all and forgetting the stresses of everyday life as long as you can get away with it. It's just my opinion, but I think Disney World is a great place to escape. And, the longer the trip, the easier it would be to truly escape.

Want to sleep in today and miss rope drop? No big deal. I have 4 more weeks to worry about that. Not sure how that much freedom in an environment with so much to offer would get old.

Yes 5 weeks on a tropical island would be too much. In fact I get bored on the beach after 3-4 days! There’s nothing in my life to escape from for that long. Adn since money is an issue I would much rather spread out my $ and time doing other things as well as WDW.

 

[SplashMo]

Five weeks should be fine. We have stayed for 3.5 weeks and it was a blast. We did go to Kennedy Space Center and Seaworld. Afterwards we continued our vacation at Clear Water beach...

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

I’d go for five weeks if I could! I could also hang on a tropical island for five weeks with no problem. I wouldn’t take young children for that long, though. I find the kiddos (at least mine) get a little rambunctious when they’re off schedule for too long.

 

[Farro]

Surprised at the number of people saying that 4-5 weeks is too long. For those that think so, I'm curious as to whether you would say 4-5 week at some 5 star resort on a tropical island would be too long.

Yes, there are significant differences between Disney and a tropical island. But, the point is that you are 'escaping' it all and forgetting the stresses of everyday life as long as you can get away with it. It's just my opinion, but I think Disney World is a great place to escape. And, the longer the trip, the easier it would be to truly escape.

Want to sleep in today and miss rope drop? No big deal. I have 4 more weeks to worry about that. Not sure how that much freedom in an environment with so much to offer would get old.

For me 5 weeks anywhere would be too long! First and foremost, I'd miss my cats! Then my friends, our apartment, our neighborhood, our restaurants, my couch, my bed, cooking at home, heck even my job....

10 days at Disney enough for us, 7/8 nights on a cruise or an island is enough for us. Europe we may do close to 3 weeks and that's pushing it.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We always stay 4 weeks when we go to Europe. Considering flight prices to get there it doesn’t make sense to take a short trip. Guess it’s the same for OP coming here from Europe.

 

[purplejam]

We always stay 4 weeks when we go to Europe. Considering flight prices to get there it doesn’t make sense to take a short trip. Guess it’s the same for OP coming here from Europe.

One of the reasons I like to stay as long as possible (apart from loving America- it’s my favourite destination) is the journey time. I’m not a great lover of flying (nine or ten hour flights nearly kill me) so my reward for enduring the journey which can be nearly 24 hours if you count in traveling to and from the airport, waiting around in terminals etc, particularly if it’s an indirect flight, is staying for long as possible.

5 weeks is about the longest we can manage with our current work and school commitments but once I retire I’m planning on utilising the whole 90 days tourist visa that’s stamped in my passport each time I enter

 

[SanderMC]

I don't think it's too long. I routinely go for 2 weeks and would love to be able to go for longer. While we do have a few down days, we don't do very many. We tend to concentrate on the 4 major parks. By staying longer we would be able to take advantage of all the other things that Disney has to offer.

Something else I would like to mention.....you are asking your question on a board that is mostly Americans which don't vacation like the Europeans do. Most Americans only take a week of vacation at a time. While I am an American I work for a European company so I have a better understanding of European vacations (here in the US we know to get everything with our European colleagues complete by late June or else we won't get answers until mid-Aug. ) So I think the question is, can you afford it? If the Christmas party is something you think you would like to do I say go for it!

 

[Babsy]

Four weeks would definitely be too long for us - five weeks would be out of the question! And, to stay for a WDW party? The Christmas party is really not that good anymore. It is more of the same MK that you do all day with a parade and fireworks. It is definitely not worth the time or expense of an extra week. Personally, I would take some of the money that extra week would have cost and do a VIP private tour instead. We typically don't bother with the parties anymore, even if we are there when they are happening.
If you are looking for some 'alone' time, try to build it into your four weeks. Four weeks is a long time to always be with family. We have found the right mix for us to be every other day we stay together with the extended family. Then we do our own thing on the alternate days. Time apart gives a breather for everyone to relax any tensions, allow people to do the things that others in the group would not want to do such as letting some people sleep in while early risers are rope dropping.
Flying is horrible these days, especially when for an extended time frame. However, being in a hotel room living out of a suitcase and sleeping in a 'strange' bed gets really old after a couple of weeks for us. Touring, crowds and heat also get to me after a few days. We prefer to do two shorter visits during the same year. And, although closer to Florida than the UK, with having to change flights en route, our travel time to get to Florida is typically about 14 hours (no issues, everything on time) or more. Unfortunately common, flight cancellations and delays often result in more than 24 hours of airport/travel time to get to Florida. NOT fun! But we still prefer two trips to staying for one longer visit. If changing a lot of time zones, we factor in a day to recover after travelling in either direction.

Just our opinion of course. YMMV.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

Thanks again, everyone. We are still discussing it, but I’m definitely interested in those who say that the Christmas party isn’t all that great. It wouldn’t be the only reason for staying, but I don’t think I would have even considered it, had we not just missed the first party with our current itinerary.

A few specific points I wanted to reply to:

@Babsy I’m interested in your mention of the VIP tour as an alternative to the extra week. We are doing the Adventure VIP tour with one set of friends who are only coming for a few days over a long weekend. I looked at the full VIP tour and discounted it as it didn’t look worthwhile given the length of our trip. Is that something you think we should reconsider?

@hereforthechurros I just wanted to point out that I’m not trying to escape anything in my life (with the possible except if a wet, Scottish autumn!). We enjoy travel and have a lot of job flexibility, which allows us to travel for long periods.

@SanderMC I appreciate you pointing out the cultural differences, and you make a very good point.

Thanks again, everyone. I really appreciate all the advice and opinions, and this thread has given me a lot to think about!

 

[k5thbeatle]

5 minutes.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

5 minutes.

In that case, I may have a problem...

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

5 weeks, even tho its Disney, would be too long for my family. We did a 3 week vacation hopping along the east coast, and that was too long for us. We had never been so happy to get home from a vacation, even tho it was absolutely one of our favorite vacations.

For Disney we find 9 nights is our sweet spot. Anything shorter feels too short and anything longer feels too long. It all begins to get to repetitious. The one time we did 12 nights we were really done by day 9\10.

Now if we are talking Disney, Universal, seaworld, beach for a few days, and some other things in the area 2 weeks would be plenty for us.

 

[smcabee]

8 or 9 days is our max anywhere. We usually do 7 days and thats plenty.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Thanks again, everyone. We are still discussing it, but I’m definitely interested in those who say that the Christmas party isn’t all that great. It wouldn’t be the only reason for staying, but I don’t think I would have even considered it, had we not just missed the first party with our current itinerary.

A few specific points I wanted to reply to:

@Babsy I’m interested in your mention of the VIP tour as an alternative to the extra week. We are doing the Adventure VIP tour with one set of friends who are only coming for a few days over a long weekend. I looked at the full VIP tour and discounted it as it didn’t look worthwhile given the length of our trip. Is that something you think we should reconsider?

@hereforthechurros I just wanted to point out that I’m not trying to escape anything in my life (with the possible except if a wet, Scottish autumn!). We enjoy travel and have a lot of job flexibility, which allows us to travel for long periods.

@SanderMC I appreciate you pointing out the cultural differences, and you make a very good point.

Thanks again, everyone. I really appreciate all the advice and opinions, and this thread has given me a lot to think about!

The person I responded to was saying WDW was an escape and who wouldn’t want to escape for that long. Didn’t mean you specifically were trying to escape anything!

 

[friedela]

My absolute max at Disney is 8 days. I can do everything I want to do in that time, including visiting other places. I can't imagine being on vacation anywhere for five weeks.

Even 8 days to me sounds like way too long, lol. We love it there but my max would be like 4 days. Everyone is so different!

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

The person I responded to was saying WDW was an escape and who wouldn’t want to escape for that long. Didn’t mean you specifically were trying to escape anything!

Oh no, I know - it was supposed to be tongue in cheek!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I’m escaping plenty of things when I go to Disney.... laundry,dishes,cleaning,cooking,work,
Carpool,kids sports practice...

 

[KittyKitty]

The first Christmas party starts a few days after we leave. We can’t arrive later because we are tied to school holidays. I am vaguely kicking around the idea of staying for the Christmas party, a total of 5 weeks. This was originally supposed to be our “one and done” trip for a big birthday and anniversary, though now we may end up going again in 2020 to stay in the Star Wars hotel

This is Disney's trap. Always adding or changing attractions, so we have to go back!

4 weeks you can see and experience most of what WDW offers. You can go to the Xmas party when you come back in 2020. But if you can do 5 weeks, time,want, and money wise, then do it.