Taking a break at WDW

[mindeola]

I thought we would outgrow mid day breaks, but we actually still really like going back to the resort. We RD a park, take a break from 2-5ish and then close out the park that is open the latest. That still gives us 13 park hours in a day usually. Of course, a nice TS meal could be a great break instead of the resort. OR, some time at Disney Springs for a meal and a little shopping.

On your MK days you can take the Monorail to Contemp, Poly, or Grand Floridian and check out the Lobby and grounds for a nice break.

For DHS and Epcot, the Boardwalk and Epcot resorts are a boat ride or short walk away.

For AK, lunch at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani and viewing the savannas is a good mid-day break.

Are you staying at an onsite resort?

I agree with all of this too!

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

As others mentioned, options for a break from MK also include taking the monorail to the Poly/Contemporary and grabbing midday drinks/snacks at Tambu lounge or The Wave lounge or taking the boat to Wilderness Lodge and doing the same at Territory Lounge. You can do the same at Epcot and walk (or boat from DHS) to the Yacht/Beach Club and Boardwalk area and grab something from Crew's Cup Lounge (sit on the comfy couches), ESPN Club, or Big River.

 

[adisneyaunt]

At MK, we do carousel of progress or the people mover or train ride.
At AK we relax at an eatery with a cold drink. At Epcot, near American Pavillion , right rear area outside.
We both enjoy people watching!

We don't go back to our resort.. takes more energy than it's worth for us (and we do stay onsite )

We also enjoy taking a monorail loop or two... and pop in at Poly typically to grab a drink... relax
And head back to the park.

Enjoy whatever u choose OP!

 

[auntangi]

As a DLR vet, there are multiple things to consider. Here are my two cents:


o Taking hotel breaks can take a long time - be careful with this

On our trip last month it took us 90 minutes to get from MK FantasyLand to our hotel room at the Swan by Disney bus. To be fair, we did make a quick stop on Main Street at a store on the way out. So call it 75 minutes. I am not saying this is typical but I am saying that taking breaks can take a lot of time out of your day getting back and forth to your hotel.


o The ease of taking hotel breaks depends a bit on which hotel you are staying at.

For the days we were at the Swan, Epcot and DHS were much closer and easier to take breaks from

When we were at AKL, the same was true for AK park


o DHS is under huge construction right now with limited attractions and shows available. You can finish by 3 or 4PM if you want and make that be a half day

o AK used to be considered a half day park by many, but with the new Rivers of Light show at night and the opening of Pandora on May 27, that will change

o Make some dining reservations - WDW has many cool dining options - but lunch may be a better option than dinner if you want to take afternoon hotel breaks. The reason being is that you know you will be at the park at lunch but dinner timing is uncertain because of the potential hotel break

o Plan 2 days for MK and 2 days for Epcot

o As for breaks at the parks, Epcot has so many places you can just park yourself for awhile. Especially in World Showcase. For the other parks, not so much unless you are dining somewhere. AK has 2 animal viewing trails which are worth doing and sort of like a break. Not too many benches there as I recall and a mix of shade and sun.

Thank you for all of this advice and feedback

 

[auntangi]

On your MK days you can take the Monorail to Contemp, Poly, or Grand Floridian and check out the Lobby and grounds for a nice break.

For DHS and Epcot, the Boardwalk and Epcot resorts are a boat ride or short walk away.

For AK, lunch at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani and viewing the savannas is a good mid-day break.

Are you staying at an onsite resort?

We are staying onsite, at Beach Club, which I believe will make breaks while at Epcot very easy...and I hear that HS isn't too far away. But taking a break viewing the savannas sounds really nice. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[hiroMYhero]

We are staying onsite, at Beach Club, which I believe will make breaks while at Epcot very easy...and I hear that HS isn't too far away. But taking a break viewing the savannas sounds really nice. Thanks for the suggestion!

Beach Club is the ideal place for breaks on Epcot and DHS days. Also check out Yacht Club - the breakfasts at Captain's Grille are very good!

 

[auntangi]

Park closing time matters - the length of a mid-day break is directly proportional to closing time - the later it is open, the longer the possible break

Personally, we like long breaks. We are at the gates -towards the front, waiting for 'the rope to drop'. The first 2 hours a park is open are invaluable - the first hour is gold standard.

In most instances - we ropedrop, are out before lunch, usually go back to the hotel (onsite, because again ropedrop and morning EMH), grab an early dinner and then go back to a park.

While others may say that going back to the hotel can take a bite out of your day - I cannot say enough for the ability to take a swim, or a shower (or both), changing into fresh clothes when it's really hot, laying down for an hour - it's worth the transportation time in my opinion

The WDW parks are much larger than their DL counterparts. The weather in Orlando is not as forgiving (the humidity is no joke).

If you do not want to leave the parks to 'take breaks' - leverage air conditioning. That can be shows, attractions, meals, shopping

Leave the park - and go someplace close as others have mentioned - Epcot and Hollywood Studios have the boardwalk resorts, Magic Kingdom the monorail resorts, Animal Kingdom has the AKL - there really might not be anyplace more relaxing (and free) than the AKL lobby

I would caution against doing Disney Springs as your break, unless you are planning a long break - the buses are fairly unreliable and there is still a lot of walking and not a lot of shade - air conditioning is plentiful, but it is very sunny

Thank you so much for this feedback! We had not really thought about taking a break that includes a nap or a swim, but are now leaning toward a morning at the park, lengthy mid day break and back to the parks for dinner/nighttime activities. Thanks for putting this in our minds

 

[auntangi]

A first trip is the MOST exciting! Fun! Here's my take on midday breaks...
-I personally find going back to the hotel more exhausting than just staying at the parks. We've only done it a couple of times and I didn't find it relaxing, but that's me!
-I choose to do most days as early rope drop days, and I'll throw in a couple "late" days where we show up to the parks later so we can stay for a night time show, if there is one that interests us. I don't do rope drop + night shows, unless we take that break EARLY in the day and make sure its long and worth it.
-There are multiple rides I consider to be nice breaks in each park. For example, MK's PeopleMover always feels like a break. AK's train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Epcot's Spaceship Earth. HS has so many shows that you can sit and watch and rest through. Again, depends on how much of a break you need.

Question: Will you have a car, or use all Disney transport?

No vehicle, but we have heard that using Uber can be convenient and an option when waiting for transport is just too much. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[auntangi]

We always take midday breaks at our resort, which the last few trips has been Yacht Club. Easy walk from Epcot or a bit longer walk/boat ride from DHS. For MK and AK we typically take the bus back to the resort for the midday break, though this can take a bit of time. Still, we aren't interested in staying at the park for 12+ hours in 85 degree (or much hotter) weather. Simply isn't enjoyable for us. We are usually at the resort from noonish until 3-4ish, at which point we'll head somewhere for a drink or two and then grab dinner before going back to a park. So for example, I recall that last trip we went to DHS for rope drop one morning and were able to ride Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror (multiple times), along with Star Wars and Great Movie Adventure, before mosying around some of the shops and heading back to the resort. We then went to the pool for a few hours. After that headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge around 4 and walked around, grabbed a drink at the lounge, then had dinner at Boma. I believe we went to MK direct from AKL afterwards.

This totally sounds like our pace! Thanks for taking the time to respond!

 

[adamreisinger]

I usually don't take mid-day breaks that take me out of the park only to return to the same park, but I have found that stacking certain attractions around park-hopping (via Express Transportation) can result in a pretty relaxing time in the middle of the day to break things up. For example, if I'm going MK to Epcot, I might do the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, which is an indoor, seated, air conditioned show and happens to be right by the loading area for the express bus. Then take the bus over to Epcot and take the short walk over to Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is a 45-minute indoor seated experience. All combined, it ends up being something like a solid 90-minute "break", without having to go all the way back to the resort. Stack a table-service meal before or after, and you end up carving out a nice relaxing chunk of day in the afternoon while still sticking around the parks.

 

[auntangi]

My wife and I have the same attitude. Although for our trip in June we've made a small adjustment..........we originally planned to stay at WL, however due to a better discount/cost we moved to the Yacht club (as part of a split stay with POP). This plan works quite well for Epcot and HS days while we're at the YC. However for our MK day we've changed things a bit. We won't be going back to the YC instead we'll boat over to WL after the FOF parade for drinks/rest/early dinner at Geyser Pt. This keeps us close to the MK since we'll return there for the evening.......and gives us the serenity and peace we like by going to the WL. We're also looking forward to trying out Geyser Pt.

On the POP portion of our trip we'll just suck it up..........because POP isn't really closer to AK or the MK

Our bottom line is we always need a break............we work them into our plan..........I need my naps

Doug

We had not even thought about visiting WL, but I just checked out Geyser Points menu and now we are really interested! Thanks!

 

[Spork24]

I recently went on an adults only trip to MK on a Saturday, it was a day thy was scheduled 9-12 and we wanted to do open and close (which was pushed to 1am).

We were talking about heading back to the resort for a break, but as we were staying at one of the further resorts we decided to visit some bars on the monorail loop instead.

We hopped the boat to GF and enjoyed Mizners lounge, then walked over to Poly for the 4:00 opening of trader Sam's, then monorailed to the contemporary for drinks at the cali grill before hitting up dinner at the Wave.

It was much more relaxing than staying in the park for 16 hours and we wouldn't have gotten much done from 2-7 considering how crowded it was that day.

I highly recommend a similar afternoon if that sounds appealing. I personally really like the wave and it's and easy last minute reservation. You could also replace dinner at the wave with Ohana if you could get the reservation. (Or even California grill)

 

[auntangi]

We've been know to stay on the train (WDW Railroad) for a couple of loops around MK for a break in the shade. You'll have the audio part memorized, but a little breeze, some shade and sitting down for 30 mins or so makes it worthwhile.

I miss the train at DL, so for sure will do this. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[auntangi]

I recently went on an adults only trip to MK on a Saturday, it was a day thy was scheduled 9-12 and we wanted to do open and close (which was pushed to 1am).

We were talking about heading back to the resort for a break, but as we were staying at one of the further resorts we decided to visit some bars on the monorail loop instead.

We hopped the boat to GF and enjoyed Mizners lounge, then walked over to Poly for the 4:00 opening of trader Sam's, then monorailed to the contemporary for drinks at the cali grill before hitting up dinner at the Wave.

It was much more relaxing than staying in the park for 16 hours and we wouldn't have gotten much done from 2-7 considering how crowded it was that day.

I highly recommend a similar afternoon if that sounds appealing. I personally really like the wave and it's and easy last minute reservation. You could also replace dinner at the wave with Ohana if you could get the reservation. (Or even California grill)

I love the idea of stopping at lounges along the Monorail line!

 

[auntangi]

So man great responses and ideas, thanks! Our longest day is an AK day. We are rope dropping so we can get as much Pandora as possible, but staying until closing for Rivers of Light. Because of the distance from AK to our resort (Beach Club) I don't think going back to the resort makes sense. Any suggestions for a mid day break (we have 4:45 reservations at Tiffins) at or near AK? Thanks!

 

[Spork24]

So man great responses and ideas, thanks! Our longest day is an AK day. We are rope dropping so we can get as much Pandora as possible, but staying until closing for Rivers of Light. Because of the distance from AK to our resort (Beach Club) I don't think going back to the resort makes sense. Any suggestions for a mid day break (we have 4:45 reservations at Tiffins) at or near AK? Thanks!

Go hang out in the lobby at AKL. It's one of the most fun resorts to just visit.

 

[Delirium]

My answer is totally dependent on where you are staying and if you have park hoppers. The ideal scenario for Food & Wine is to be staying at an Epcot resort and to have hoppers. You simply tour one of the other parks until early afternoon, go back to your resort and relax, and then walk over to Epcot for the evening.

If you have hoppers but are not staying at an Epcot resort, you can use a hybrid approach and still use the Epcot resorts as a place to relax. You just won't have a guest room or a pool available.

If you don't have hoppers, then I agree with earlier posters that suggest using certain attractions in each park to get some rest.

 

[dprincessmom]

So man great responses and ideas, thanks! Our longest day is an AK day. We are rope dropping so we can get as much Pandora as possible, but staying until closing for Rivers of Light. Because of the distance from AK to our resort (Beach Club) I don't think going back to the resort makes sense. Any suggestions for a mid day break (we have 4:45 reservations at Tiffins) at or near AK? Thanks!

Rafiki's conservation station - cool, typically not crowded and a neat little train ride out there.

 

[jdmn2010]

We used to be go all day people, but not anymore. I actually didn't like leaving the park when the kids were little because it was such a pain to take everything we had and fold up the stroller etc to ride the bus back to the resort and the kids were likely to be too tired to go back to the park in the evening. Now that the kids are older and the stroller days are history, we find going back to the resort and relaxing usually in the pool to be necessary for us to stay a happy family on vacation. None of us do well in the heat, so we go swimming during the hot afternoons and then go back to enjoy the cooler evenings (or at least without the sun glaring down) at the parks. We also enjoy having park hoppers so we can go to a different park in the evenings if we want (some rides are even better when the sun goes down like SDMT). Personally, if I am going to walk over to the buses or monorail, I would rather go to my resort (we always stay onsite) than another resort to cool off/hang out. I used to think it was a waste of time to leave the parks, but now I find it so much more relaxing and fun. Last year we also did a water park for 1/2 day and then went to the MK for a late night and that was a great way to have a long day but not overdo it.